114 research outputs found
Health promotion and the community pharmacist
Health is a precondition for wellbeing and quality of life. It is also a basic human right and is essential for social and economic development. Increasingly, health promotion is being recognised as an essential element of health development. It is a process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health whether it is physical, mental, emotional or spiritual.peer-reviewe
The weight reduction service organised by the Health Promotion Department, Malta
The very first participants of the weight reduction programme organised by the Health Promotion Department did so in 1995. This was a key breakthrough in services provided free by the national health service whereby a key risk factor to the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases (NCDâs) is tackled directly by motivating patients to lose excess weight over a period of eight weeks.peer-reviewe
Maternal awareness of health promotion, parental and preschool childhood obesity
Aim: To investigate the association between parental and preschool childhood obesity, as well as maternal awareness of public health promotion on healthy eating with parental and preschool childhood obesity.
Methods: Data were collected by measuring the height and weight of two hundred randomly selected three-year old children and their parents. Details of the early feeding and dietary styles and level of health promotion awareness were assessed in faceto-face structured health interviews with the parents.
Results: There were statistically significant relationships between childhood obesity and parentsâ obesity (r=0.2; p<0.001). A higher proportion of overweight and obese preschool children showed that their mothers lacked awareness of health promotion as compared to children with normally accepted weight (Ï2 (6, n=200)=17.32, p=0.008). Maternal awareness of health promotion on healthy eating appeared to have a protective effect against overweight/obesity in three year old children (odds ratio=0.38, 95% CI=0.20 to 0.70). Furthermore, a higher proportion of overweight/obesity mothers had no awareness of health promotion as compared to mothers with normally accepted weight (Ï 2 (4, n=200)=13.29, p=0.01). Maternal awareness of health promotion appeared to also have a protective effect against overweight/obesity in mothers (odds ratio=0.51, 95% CI=0.28 to 0.95).
Conclusions: This study showed the protective effect of maternal awareness of health promotion on maternal and preschool childhood obesity. Additionally, this study showed that overweight and obese preschool children had parents who were also overweight and obese.peer-reviewe
Dwarna : a blockchain solution for dynamic consent in biobanking
Dynamic consent aims to empower research partners and facilitate active participation in the research process. Used within
the context of biobanking, it gives individuals access to information and control to determine how and where their
biospecimens and data should be used. We present Dwarnaâa web portal for âdynamic consentâ that acts as a hub
connecting the different stakeholders of the Malta Biobank: biobank managers, researchers, research partners, and the
general public. The portal stores research partnersâ consent in a blockchain to create an immutable audit trail of research
partnersâ consent changes. Dwarnaâs structure also presents a solution to the European Unionâs General Data Protection
Regulationâs right to erasureâa right that is seemingly incompatible with the blockchain model. Dwarnaâs transparent
structure increases trustworthiness in the biobanking process by giving research partners more control over which research
studies they participate in, by facilitating the withdrawal of consent and by making it possible to request that the biospecimen
and associated data are destroyed.peer-reviewe
Health complaints and use of medicines among adolescents in Malta
Objective: To investigate self-reported health
complaints and the use of medicines among
adolescents in Malta.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was
used to survey self-reported health complaints, the
use and the sources of medicines that had been
accessed, during the preceding 3 months among
adolescents attending secondary schools in Malta.
A stratified random sample design generated a
sample size of 514 students. The health complaints
and use of medicines that were investigated
included ear problems/hay fever/cold/cough,
headache, skin problems, sport injuries,
indigestion/diarrhoea/constipation, eye problems
and menstrual pain (for girls). The use of vitamins
and antibiotics was also investigated.
Results: A total of 477 students participated in the
final data collection. Correct information was
submitted by 474 students, (aged 14-16 years), who
formed the analytical sample, of which 53.8% were
girls. The students reported a mean number of 2.70
(SD = 1.39) out of a total of 7 health complaints and
90.3% reported using at least 1 medicine during the
preceding 3 months. The community pharmacy was
cited as the most commonly accessed source for
most of the medicines that were investigated. A
proportion of 24.3% of the students had taken at
least 1 medicine without adult guidance during the
preceding 3 months. Almost 10% of those who had
taken antibiotics, had accessed them from the home
medicine cabinet.
Conclusion: A high proportion of adolescents in
Malta reported the use of medicines to alleviate the
symptoms of common health complaints. This result
is concordant with previous research carried out in
the United Kingdom, Germany, Slovakia and
Kuwait. A considerable proportion of students in this
study had obtained medicines without adult
guidance and accessed antibiotics from the home
medicine cabinet. This highlights the importance of
carefully designed education programs for adolescents that will integrate information about the
proper use of medicines.peer-reviewe
Knowledge and sources of information about medicines among adolescents in Malta
Objective: To investigate knowledge of medicines
and sources of information about medicines among
adolescents in Malta.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was
used to survey knowledge of medicines and
information sources among adolescents attending
secondary schools in Malta. A random stratified
sample design generated a sample size of 514
students. Knowledge of medicines was investigated
by questions that included topics about the efficacy
of medicines, proper communication during a
medical consultation, the safety of medicines,
antibiotic use and pictograms.
Results: The analytical sample, of which 53.8%
were girls, was made up of 474 students, aged 14-
16 years. The students obtained a mean score of
22.92 points (SD = 4.31) out of a maximum of 32
points for medicine knowledge. More than 30.0% of
the respondents did not mark the correct answer for
40.6% of the questions that investigated knowledge
of medicines. The family physician, community
pharmacist and parents were the sources of
information that were mostly cited. A proportion of
4.4% had obtained information from the teacher. A
quarter of the respondents (24.7%) had obtained
information from friends/schoolmates, young
relatives or the media, generally television (17.3%).
Conclusion: Although the level of knowledge about
medicines among this study sample of Maltese
students was good, there appeared to be particular
misconceptions with regard to important aspects
associated with the proper use of medicines. These
findings highlight the need to educate adolescents
about the proper use of medicines. The most
important information providers about medicines
appeared to be the physician, pharmacist and
parents. It is being suggested that education
campaigns should be organized in order to help
parents guide adolescents on how to use medicines
appropriately. In addition, adolescents would benefit
if more information about the proper use of
medicines would be disseminated by means of television programs and school-based health
education curricula.peer-reviewe
An analysis of gender differences in self-reported heaith, use of medicines and access to information sources about medicines among adolescents
Adolescence is a key period in the emergence of gender differences in health that persist
into adulthood. Knowledge about health-related gender differences among adolescents could be
instrumental in informing policy and practice to effect health improvement among this age group. The
main objectives of this study were lherefore to investigate gender differences in self-reported health
complaints and use of medicines during the preceding 3 months and access to information sources
about medicines among adolescents in Malta. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed
among adolescents attending secondary schools in Malta. A stratified :-andom sample design
generated a sample size of 514 students. Common health complaints, use of medicines, and sources of
information about medicines were investigated by means of author-designed checklists. The
analytical sample was formed from 474 usable questionnaires collected from students aged 14-16
years, of which .8% were females. In general, a femaie excess emerged for health complaints and
use of medicines except for sport injuries and use of vitamins. Gender differences were statistically
significant for a female excess in the retrieval of information from the package insert (p < .001 ),
parents or adult relatives (p < .01) and friends or schoolmates (p < .05). The findings of this study
underscore the need for awareness of gender differences in the health o:f adolescents among health
care providers, policy makers, and educators. An important implication of the findings is lhat the
health needs of adolescents could be more equitably addressed by adopting a holistic patient-oriented
approach particular to the health needs of each individual.peer-reviewe
Quality by design optimisation of active pharmaceutical ingredient dispersions based on physicochemical parameters
Current information lacks richness in systematic methods that may give an indication as to the effectiveness of a specific set of dispersing conditions prior to their application, particularly for dispersions in hydrophobic media. This study addressed the possibility of constructing a predictive model that may indicate the effectiveness of a specific set of dispersion conditions prior to their application, particularly for dispersions in hydrophobic media. In particular, the objectives were to determine the physicochemical characteristics of the dispersing media that are potentially influential in the dispersability of powders, to characterise the properties of the active pharmaceutical ingredients that could contribute to the ability to form stable dispersions, and to characterise the dispersions of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in the dispersing media or dispersing media-surfactant mixtures.peer-reviewe
Insights into the molecular mechanisms of stress and inflammation in ageing and frailty of the elderly
Frailty is a natural state of physical, cognitive and mental decline that is expected in the elderly. The role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of frailty has been hypothesized, and so far many studies have been performed in order to understand the mechanism of action underlying this association. Recent studies support this hypothesis and show a clear association between inflammation, frailty, and age-related disease. Chronic inflammation is key pathophysiologic process that contributes to the frailty directly and indirectly through other intermediate physiologic systems, such as the musculoskeletal, endocrine, and hematologic systems. The complex multifactorial etiologies of frailty also include obesity and other age-related specific diseases. Herein, we investigate the link between chronic inflammation and frailty of the older people. In particular, we present an up-to-date review of the role of cytokines, interleukins, cardiovascular abnormalities, chronic high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia and diabetes in relation to the severity of frailty in the elderly
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