Tackling Access to a Healthier Life

Obesity is a known risk factor for complications during childhood and later in adult life. While numerous factors play a role in the prevalence of obesity, this project focused on better intervention for obesity management in the family medicine clinic located in Plattsburgh, NY. Interviews and literature searches were conducted to determine possible strategies to better assist patients in attaining their sustainable weight loss goals and an overall healthier lifestyle

How to Improve Child Health Service Utilisation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia successfully achieved Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing under five mortality by more than two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Adoption of the health extension programme, and implementation of the integrated management of neonatal and childhood illnesses (IMNCI) and the integrated community case management (iCCM) models of care, contributed to this achievement. However, child mortality remains high at 67 per 1,000 live births. The top six major causes of child morbidity and mortality are pneumonia, malaria, diarrheal diseases, malnutrition-associated illnesses, measles and perinatal causes

How to Improve Maternal Health Service Utilisation in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, as in many other low income countries, maternal morbidity and mortality is unacceptably high. Due to this high burden and its grave consequences, maternal health is one of the top priorities in the national health agenda, thus receiving the most attention

Knowledge and attitude toward depression among healthcare professionals working in Ilu Aba Bor zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia, 2021: a cross sectional study

BackgroundDepression is the major mental disorder that frequently co-occurs with other physical illnesses, although its detection at primary healthcare is limited. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate health professionals’ knowledge and attitude toward depression and its related factors.ObjectiveTo assess knowledge and attitude of healthcare professionals toward people with depression at different health facilities of Ilu Aba Bor zone, Ethiopia, 2021.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out involving 404 primary healthcare professionals using a systematic random sampling technique in February 2021. Attitude was assessed using depression attitude questionnaires. Epi-data version 3.1 and SPSS version 26 was used for data entry and analysis. The p-values lower than 0.05 were deemed statistically significant.ResultIn the current study, 30.4% (95% CI; 25.86, 34.94) of the respondents have inadequate knowledge and 29.9% (95% CI; 25.4, 36.8) have negative attitude toward depression. A vast majority (77.7%) of healthcare professionals have never received any kind of training on mental health. Accordingly, contact with the person with mental illness and mental health training were significantly associated with inadequate knowledge. In addition, perceived cause of depression and mental health training were significantly associated with negative attitude.ConclusionAccording to this study, the magnitude of inadequate knowledge and negative attitude in the diagnosis and treatment of depression is comparably high. Therefore, primary healthcare settings should prioritize raising awareness, promoting positive attitudes, and improving detection and treatment of depression cases

Age Well: Home Health Care Shortages in Northwestern VT during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As of February 2021, there have been over 26.6 million cases and over 450,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19. Since the outbreak, a critical focus in the healthcare system has shifted towards protection of healthcare providers as well as vulnerable patients such as the elderly. The growing shortages of providers has resulted in a growing need for home health care (HHC). Beyond HHC addressing this workforce gap, evidence has shown a reduction in emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions and a 14- million-dollar savings in healthcare cost. While the role of HHC has been crucial for the efficacy of the healthcare system, like many other sectors, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unforeseen challenges. According to a 2020 survey conducted by Home Health Care News, 92% of HHC agencies have lost a substantial amount of revenues due to shortage of resources in addition to an increase in patient and caregiver anxiety.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1305/thumbnail.jp