Google Maps: Prevalence and Distribution of Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Kalasin Province, Thailand.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major public health problem worldwide. Most of the problems are caused by uncontrolled blood sugar level, resulting in complications and possible death. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and distribution of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A cross-sectional of 385 patients between September 2019 and December 2019, using the google maps, a questionnaire and laboratory examination. The results revealed that the prevalence of uncontrolled T2DM was 79.74% and densely distributed in the municipality. This data indicates that the prevalence and distribution of uncontrolled T2DM need to be concern and solve problems to decrease complications and death rates from diabetes.

Improving mental health literacy in adolescents: systematic review of supporting intervention studies.

OBJECTIVE: Mental health literacy (MHL) in adolescents is an important issue as it can lead to early detection and recognition of mental illness. The aim of this systematic review was to explore the effect of supporting interventions on improving MHL in adolescents. METHODS: Systematic literature review by searching the ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Crochrane and CINAHL databases. Seven of 1107 papers were included in the final review. RESULTS: Supporting interventions for improving MHL in adolescents could be categorised into school-based and community-based. Both types used an education stand-alone strategy or an education plus contact-based group in their programmes. To provide knowledge of mental illness to adolescents, teaching methods should be interactive and use various media such as group discussion, videos and movies. CONCLUSIONS: School-based and community-based interventions were likely to improve MHL among adolescents. However, further research with objective tool measures is needed to confirm the findings.

OBJECTIF: La littératie sur la santé mentale (LSM) chez les adolescents est un sujet important car elle peut conduire à la détection et à la reconnaissance précoces des maladies mentales. Le but de cette revue systématique était d'explorer l'effet du soutien des interventions sur l'amélioration de la LSM chez les adolescents. MÉTHODES: Analyse systématique de la littérature en recherchant dans les bases de données ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Crochrane et CINAHL. 7 des 1.107 articles ont été inclus dans l'analyse finale. RÉSULTATS: L'effet des interventions de soutien visant à améliorer la LSM chez les adolescents pourraient être classés en soit du milieu scolaire, soit communautaire. Les deux types ont utilisé une stratégie basée sur l'éducation seule ou sur l'éducation et des contacts dans leurs programmes. Fournir des connaissances de la maladie mentale aux adolescents, les méthodes d'enseignement devraient être interactifs et utiliser divers médias comme la discussion de groupe, des vidéos et des films. CONCLUSIONS: Les interventions en milieu scolaire et communautaires étaient susceptibles d'améliorer la LSM chez les adolescents. Cependant, des recherches supplémentaires avec des mesures d'outils objectives sont nécessaires pour confirmer les résultats.

Using Action Research to prevent work-related illness among rubber farmers in Northeastern Thailand.

OBJECTIVES: This research aimed to enhance self-care among rubber farmers for preventing work-related illness. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: The project used Action Research's four phase iterative process: fact-finding to understand the problems, action planning, action plan implementation, and evaluation and reflection on action plan impacts. Sixty-six participants (46 rubber farmers and 20 community stakeholders) were purposively recruited from two villages in the top 10 rubber producing provinces in Northeastern Thailand. MEASURES: Demographic and work-related illness data were collected in face-to-face structured interviews, Focus group interviews and participant observations were used to collect data in each project phase. Night group meetings were held throughout the research phases. The intervention included training workshops and establishing a community health education team for ongoing farmer support. RESULTS: Results showed improved farmer self-care behaviors and establishment of a community health education team to encourage farmers to care for themselves properly. CONCLUSION: Community nurses, other health personnel, and the Thai government can build on initiatives like this to strengthen occupational health and safety practices and services policy for rubber farmers.

Socioeconomic disparities and chronic respiratory diseases in Thailand: The National Socioeconomics Survey.

This study aimed to determine the association between socioeconomic determinants and Chronic Respiratory Diseases (CRDs) in Thailand. The data were used from the National Socioeconomics Survey (NSS), a cross-sectional study conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), in 2010 and 2012. The survey used stratified two-stage sampling to select a nationally representative sample to respond to a structured questionnaire. A total of 17,040 and 16,905 individuals in 2010 and 2012, respectively, were included in this analysis. Multiple logistic regressions were used to identify the association between socioeconomic factors while controlling for other covariates. The prevalence of CRDs was 3.81% and 2.79% in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The bivariate analysis indicated that gender, family size, geographic location, fuels used for cooking and smoking were significantly associated with CRDs in 2010, whereas education, family size, occupation, region, geographic location, and smoking were significantly associated with CRDs in 2012. Both in 2010 and 2012, the multiple logistic regression indicated that the odds of having CRDs were significantly higher among those who lived in urban areas, females, those aged ≥41-50 or ≥61 yr old, and smokers when controlling for other covariates. However, fuels used for cooking, wood and gas, are associated with CRDs in 2010.

Development and validation of a work-related low back pain risk-assessment tool for sugarcane farmers.

This cross sectional study developed and validated a LBP risk-factor screening scale for use with sugarcane farmers. The scale was developed from a synthesis of LBP risk factors, pretested with 30 sugarcane farmers and administered to five hundred and forty sugarcane farmers to test its psychometric properties. Results indicated construct validity for three factors; physical factors (19 items) with factor loadings of 0.406 to 0.881 and communalities between 0.471 and 0.991; psychological factors (7 items) with factor loadings of 0.635 to 0.821 and communalities between 0.444 and 0.714, and third, working environment factors (2 items), with factor loadings between 0.345 and 0.347 and communalities between 0.946 and 0.953. The content validity index was 0.90 with reliability index of 0.87. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 82.02%, 30.49%, 62.65% and 54.40% respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic was 0.56. The scale's high specificity and sensitivity and comprehensive three risk-factor dimensions should make it a very useful screening tool in primary health care for early detection of LBP and for LBP risk-reduction and prevention advice. Future studies could focus on confirming content and predictive validity in other settings to assess generality of its usage.

Association between Socioeconomic Status and Diabetes Mellitus: The National Socioeconomics Survey, 2010 and 2012.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is increasing, globally. However, studies on the association between Socioeconomic Status (SES) factors and DM have mostly been conducted in specific areas with rather small sample sizes or not with nationally representative samples. Their results have also been inconclusive regarding whether SES has any influence on DM or not. AIM: To determine the association between SES and DM in Thailand. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study utilized the data from the National socioeconomics survey, a cross-sectional study conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2010 and 2012. A total of 17,045 and 16,903 participants respectively who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. The information was collected by face-to-face interview with structured questionnaires. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the potential socioeconomic factors associated with DM. RESULTS: The prevalence of DM was 3.70% (95% CI: 3.36 to 4.05) and 8.11% (95%CI: 6.25 to 9.74) in 2010 and 2012 respectively and the prevalence of DM in 2012 was 1.36 times (95% CI: 1.25 to 1.48) when compared with 2010. The multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression observed that odds of having DM were significantly higher among those who aged 55-64 years old in 2010 and 65 years old or greater in 2012 (ORadj = 18.13; 95%CI: 9.11 to 36.08, ORadj 31.69; 95%CI: 20.78 to 48.33, respectively), females (ORadj = 2.09; 95%CI: 1.66 to 2.62, ORadj = 1.77; 95%CI: 1.54 to 2.05, respectively), and had lower education attainment (ORadj = 5.87; 95%CI: 4.70 to 7.33, ORadj= 1.22; 95%CI: 1.04 to 1.45, respectively) were also found to be associated with DM . CONCLUSION: The study indicated that SES has been associated with DM. Those with female gender, old age and low educational attainment were vulnerable to DM.

Socioeconomic disparities in income, education and geographic location for hypertension among Thai adults: Results from the National Socioeconomic Survey.

Background: Hypertension (HT) has been one of the leading global risk factors for health and the leading cause of death in Thailand for decades. The influence of socioeconomic factors on HT has been varied and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to determine the association between socioeconomic determinants and HT in Thailand. Methods: This study used data from the National Socioeconomic Survey, a cross-sectional study that was conducted by the National Statistical Office of Thailand in the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. In our analysis, data were collected on gender, age, marital status, smoking status, education, status of work, occupation, current liability (short-term debt), household monthly income, residential area, region and previously diagnosed HT by a physician. Results: The odds of having HT were significantly higher among those who had household monthly income, education, residential area and region. The participants who had monthly income of <10001 baht (2005: AOR = 3.19, 95%CI:1.47 - 6.92; 2006: AOR 2.53, 95%CI:1.37 - 4.69; 2007: AOR = 3.35, 95%CI: 1.97 - 7.00), were living in Bangkok compared with the Northeast region (2005: AOR = 1.72, 95%CI:1.37 - 2.17; 2006: AOR =  2.44, 95%CI: 1.89 - 3.13; 2007: AOR =  2.63, 95%CI 2.08 - 3.45), lived as an urban resident (2005: AOR= 1.32, 95%CI: 1.12 - 1.56; 2006: AOR= 1.21, 95%CI: 1.02 - 1.43; 2007: AOR= 1.47, 95%CI: 1.18 - 1.62), and finished primary education (2005: AOR =1.21, 95%CI: 1.03 - 1.43; 2006: AOR= 1.23, 95%CI: 1.04 - 1.46; 2007: AOR= 1.18, 95%CI: 1.01 - 1.38) when controlling for other covariates. Conclusion: This study indicated that socioeconomic disparity has an influence on HT. Those with low educational attainment, low income, lived in urban regions, and were metropolitan residents (Bangkok) were vulnerable to HT.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders among sugarcane farmers in north-eastern Thailand.

This cross-sectional analytical study aimed to identify prevalence and factors associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) among sugarcane farmers. Cluster random sampling was used to select 540 sugarcane farmers from 3 provinces in North-Eastern Thailand. Three related questionnaires, plus assessments by 2 expert physiotherapists, were used to check for factors associated with WMSDs and prevalence of WMSDs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regressions. The results indicated the prevalence of WMSDs among sugarcane farmers in the 7 days before the interview and looking back over the previous 12 months were 82.96% and 88.70%, respectively. Factors significantly associated with reporting WMSDs (P value < .05) during past 12 months were (a) repetitive motions (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.05-3.43), (b) working in awkward postures (adjusted OR = 1.95; 95% CI = 1.01-3.77), (c) forceful exertions (adjusted OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.54-5.02), and (d) stress about future income (adjusted OR = 1.80; 95% CI = 1.02-3.16). Recommendations are made for risk prevention strategies.