WHO International Health Regulations (IHR) vs COVID-19 Uncertainty.

One of WHO primary function is to control and monitor internationally the spread of infectious diseases of the common killers. After SARS-COV, the International Health Regulations (IHR) was adopted in 2005 by all 194 member states to set up national preparedness for an efficient "early alert and response system". COVID-19 is a novel virus with an unpredictable course and many uncertainties about its biological, clinical and epidemiological characteristics. COVID-19 is a game changer and calls for a revision of IHR as well as a more biological, clinical and community-cantered preparedness strategy.

Diplopia and ptosis after diarrhea - A diagnostic challenge.

A woman developed transient diplopia and ptosis of the left eyelid after a Campylobacter infection. The symptoms were interpreted as a Miller Fisher syndrome, a variant of Guillain Barré syndrome.

Operationalising ethical challenges in dementia research-a systematic review of current evidence.

Background: the worldwide number of dementia cases is increasing, and this is a trend that is expected to continue as a growing proportion of the population ages. However, conducting research with persons suffering from dementia can be fraught due to fears surrounding research risks in vulnerable populations. This can make seeking approval for studies difficult. As research directly involving persons with dementia is key for the development of evidence-based best practice, the development of a coherent ethical strategy to perform such research feasibly and effectively is of paramount importance. Objective: this paper aims to review and synthesise ethical challenges in performing research with persons who have dementia. Methods: in undertaking a systematic review of the current research literature, we will identify the central issues and arguments characterising research that concerns the ethical dimensions of research participation in the dementia population. Data were analysed using both inductive and deductive content analysis. Ethical considerations in research involving persons with dementia primarily concern the representation of the interests of the person with dementia and protection of their vulnerabilities and rights. Results: a total of 2,894 results were returned from initial searches, following deduplication. In total, 2,458 were excluded at title review, and following abstract review 158 papers remained; 29 papers were included for analysis after full paper review and data extraction. Papers ranged between 1995 and 2013. Conclusion: this review has highlighted a lack of consensus in current research and guidelines addressing these concerns; a clear stance on ethical governance of studies is important for future research and best evidence-based practice in dementia.

Aging Prisoners in Switzerland: An analysis of Their Health Care Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: This study assessed health care utilization of aging prisoners and compared it with that of younger prisoners. METHOD: Health care utilization comprised visits to general practitioners (GPs), nurses, and mental health professionals (MHPs) for a period of 6 months. Using retrospective study design, data were extracted from medical records of 190 older prisoners (50 years and older) and 190 younger inmates (18-49 years). Age group was a dichotomous predictor variable with type of sentencing and time spent in prison as covariates. Descriptive statistics and generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) were performed. RESULTS: For each of the three outcome variables, two GLMMs were constructed. The first model only included age group as the predictor variable (3 × Unadjusted models). The second included the two covariates in addition to the predictor variable (3 × Adjusted model). Results from the adjusted model indicate that visits to GPs significantly differed between the two age groups (p = .022). Older prisoners visited GPs 1.43 times more often than younger prisoners over the 6-month period (adjusted risk ratio [RR] = 1.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.05, 1.94]). The finding for visits to nurses was not statistically significant (p = .080). However, older prisoners visited nurses 1.36 times more frequently (adjusted RR = 1.36, 95% CI = [0.96, 1.91]). Finally, older prisoners visited MHPs 1.24 times more often than younger prisoners (adjusted RR = 1.24, 95% CI = [.95, 1.61]) and this finding was also not statistically significant (p = .11). DISCUSSION: Study findings underline that older prisoners utilized health care more often than younger prisoners although in most models the finding did not reach statistical significance. The prison system must develop solutions to address the needs of an aging population, particularly those with physical and mental health problems.

Computer literacy and E-learning perception in Cameroon: the case of Yaounde Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

BACKGROUND: Health science education faces numerous challenges: assimilation of knowledge, management of increasing numbers of learners or changes in educational models and methodologies. With the emergence of e-learning, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and Internet to improve teaching and learning in health science training institutions has become a crucial issue for low and middle income countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. In this perspective, the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (FMBS) of Yaoundé has played a pioneering role in Cameroon in making significant efforts to improve students' and lecturers' access to computers and to Internet on its campus.The objective is to investigate how computer literacy and the perception towards e-learning and its potential could contribute to the learning and teaching process within the FMBS academic community. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among students, residents and lecturers. The data was gathered through a written questionnaire distributed at FMBS campus and analysed with routine statistical software. RESULTS: 307 participants answered the questionnaire: 218 students, 57 residents and 32 lecturers. Results show that most students, residents and lecturers have access to computers and Internet, although students' access is mainly at home for computers and at cyber cafés for Internet. Most of the participants have a fairly good mastery of ICT. However, some basic rules of good practices concerning the use of ICT in the health domain were still not well known. Google is the most frequently used engine to retrieve health literature for all participants; only 7% of students and 16% of residents have heard about Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).The potential of e-learning in the improvement of teaching and learning still remains insufficiently exploited. About two thirds of the students are not familiar with the concept of e-leaning. 84% of students and 58% of residents had never had access to e-learning resources. However, most of the participants perceive the potential of e-learning for learning and teaching, and are in favour of its development at the FMBS. CONCLUSION: The strong interest revealed by the study participants to adopt and follow-up the development of e-learning, opens new perspectives to a faculty like the FMBS, located in a country with limited resources. However, the success of its development will depend on different factors: the definition of an e-learning strategy, the implementation of concrete measures and the adoption of a more active and participative pedagogy.