Structured exercise program on Foot Biomechanics & Insulin Resistance among people living with type 2 diabetes with and without peripheral neuropathy

Background: The biomechanical changes in foot among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus often leads to various foot complications which could further add to diabetes related morbidity & mortality. These changes could be seen due to musculoskeletal factor like reduction in intrinsic foot muscle strength, tightness of lower limb muscles, postural changes, etc. Aim: To design and determine the efficacy of a structured exercise program on foot kinetics and kinematics among type 2 participants Materials and methods: A total of 35 participants with type 2 diabetes (n=15, type 2 diabetes mellitus without neuropathy and n=20, type 2 diabetes with peripheral neuropathy) were recruited. All participants were screened clinically & biochemically and given a set of structured exercise program, three times a week for 12weeks along with standard medical care. Results: The mean age of the participants was 56±10.5 (Non neuropathy) 62.3±7.35 (Neuropathy) years, mean duration of diabetes was 8.7±8.95 (Non neuropathy), 10.97±8 (Neuropathy) years, mean Body mass index was 26.54± 4.83(Non neuropathy), 24.39±3.58 (Neuropathy), Significant differences have been observed in kinetic and kinematic variables. Conclusion: The present study shows that the structured exercise protocol is very effective in improving the biomechanics of foot in people with type 2 diabetes with and without neuropathy. It could help to correct the structure and function of the foot and eventually could reduce the risk of foot complications like diabetic foot ulcers

Analysis of hospital website contents for promoting medical tourism among accredited and non-Accredited hospitals

Hospital websites act as significant marketing channels for promoting and showing medical destinations, amenities, medical personnel, and services. It is believed that the accreditation status of hospitals assures the provision of quality care and adherence to high standards of patient safety practices. Hence, a cross-sectional analysis of hospital websites is performed to examine the association between the status of accreditation and hospital website content in promoting medical tourism. The contents of 111 hospitals’ websites were coded using an ‘ad-hoc Codebook’ that has five categories of website information summing to a total of 38 items and the total evaluation scores were calculated for each hospital. The findings show a significant difference in the 3 groups of hospitals. JCI accredited hospitals displayed most of the information on their websites significantly, followed by NABH accredited hospitals. Minimum information such as accommodation/travel arrangements and photos of the facilities were predominantly displayed on the websites of non-accredited hospitals. A high percentage of hospitals need improvement in the areas of admission and medical services follow-up through phone calls, email, or real-time chats