Laypersons' perception of common cold and influenza prevention : a qualitative study in Austria, Belgium and Croatia

Background: Common cold and influenza result in an increased number of primary care consultations, significant work/school absences and cause a socio-economic burden. Laypeople's perceptions and knowledge regarding common cold and influenza prevention is poorly understood and under-researched. Objectives: Our study explores laypeople's knowledge of prevention of common cold and influenza across three European countries. Furthermore, it investigates if there is any distinction between prevention activities focussing on reasons impacting the attitude towards influenza vaccination as well as investigating cross-country variation. Methods: In total, 85 semi-structured individual interviews were performed across three European countries (Austria n = 31, Belgium n = 30, Croatia n = 24). Qualitative thematic content analysis was performed. Results: Most participants across all three countries made no distinction between the prevention of the common cold and influenza and referenced the same preventative measures for both conditions. They mainly expressed negative attitudes towards influenza vaccination possibly effective but only intended for high-risk groups (bedridden/older people, chronic patients or health workers). There were very few cross-country differences in results. Conclusion: The perception of health risk of contracting influenza and a primary healthcare physicians' recommendation played an important role in shaping participants' decisions towards vaccination. Primary healthcare physicians are invited to assess and if necessary adjust inappropriate prevention behaviour through their everyday patient consultations as well as add to the knowledge about influenza severity and influenza vaccination benefits to their patients

Antibiotic resistance in primary care in Austria - a systematic review of scientific and grey literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antibiotic resistance is an increasing challenge for health care services worldwide. While up to 90% of antibiotics are being prescribed in the outpatient sector recommendations for the treatment of community-acquired infections are usually based on resistance findings from hospitalized patients. In context of the EU-project called "APRES - the appropriateness of prescribing antibiotic in primary health care in Europe with respect to antibiotic resistance" it was our aim to gain detailed information about the resistance data from Austria in both the scientific and the grey literature.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A systematic review was performed including scientific and grey literature published between 2000 and 2010. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined and the review process followed published recommendations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seventeen scientific articles and 23 grey literature documents could be found. In contrast to the grey literature, the scientific publications describe only a small part of the resistance situation in the primary health care sector in Austria. Merely half of these publications contain data from the ambulatory sector exclusively but these data are older than ten years, are very heterogeneous concerning the observed time period, the number and origin of the isolates and the kind of bacteria analysed. The grey literature yields more comprehensive and up-to-date information of the content of interest. These sources are available in German only and are not easily accessible. The resistance situation described in the grey literature can be summarized as rather stable over the last two years. For <it>Escherichia coli </it>e.g. the highest antibiotic resistance rates can be seen with fluorochiniolones (19%) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (27%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Comprehensive and up-to-date antibiotic resistance data of different pathogens isolated from the community level in Austria are presented. They could be found mainly in the grey literature, only few are published in peer-reviewed journals. The grey literature, therefore, is a very valuable source of relevant information. It could be speculated that the situation of published literature is similar in other countries as well.</p

The influence of general practitioners on access points to health care in a system without gatekeeping: a crosssectional study in the context of the QUALICOPC project in Austria

Aim To assess the rates of specialist visits and visits to hospital emergency departments (ED) among patients in Austria with and without concurrent general practitioner (GP) consultation and among patients with and without chronic disease. Methods The cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in the context of the QUALICOPC project in 2012. Fieldworkers recruited 1596 consecutive patients in 184 GP offices across Austria. The 41-question survey addressed patients’ experiences with regard to access to, coordination, and continuity of primary care, as well demographics and health status. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate regression models were applied. Results More than 90% of patients identified a GP as a primary source of care. Among all patients, 85.5% reported having visited a specialist and 26.4% the ED at least once in the previous year. Having a usual GP did not change the rate of specialist visits. Additionally, patients with chronic disease had a higher likelihood of presenting to the ED despite having a GP as a usual source of care. Conclusion Visiting specialists in Austria is quite common, and the simple presence of a GP as a usual source of care is insufficient to regulate pathways within the health care system. This can be particularly difficult for chronic care patients who often require care at different levels of the system and show higher frequency of ED presentations

“Grandma’s Old Tricks“- A Qualitative Study of Lay People’s Experiences in Treatment and Prevention of Common Cold and Influenza

We aimed to explore lay people’s perception of common cold and influenza as well as their experience in treatment and prevention of those conditions, with emphasis on the reasons impacting their decision towards influenza vaccination. 24 semi-structured, individual interviews were conducted, then transcribed and analysed to find emerging themes and sub-themes. Textual data were explored inductively using content analysis to generate categories and explanations. Five major themes and explanatory models of lay people’s perspective emerged from the data. The participants expressed satisfying knowledge regarding influenza and common cold symptoms, length, transfer and treatment options as well as described a clear distinction between those two diseases. On the other hand, they emphasized the same general preventative measures for both common cold and influenza, considering influenza vaccination primarily an option for chronic, old or bedridden patients and health workers. Facilitators in the vaccination decision making process were health professionals’ (mostly general practitioners’) recommendation, anxiety regarding influenza and possible complications, existence of chronic diseases and positive vaccination experience. As main reasons against vaccination participants stated perception of being at low risk for influenza, opinion that vaccination is necessary only for bedridden and old people, chronic patients or health workers and questionable effectiveness of the vaccine. Participants’ influenza vaccination knowledge was insufficient, which should direct further interventions, especially having in mind low vaccination rates. Since participants perceived general practitioner’s recommendation as a crucial facilitator in forming their positive attitude towards vaccination, practitioners are invited to assess and, when needed, modify inappropriate perception towards influenza prevention when leading person centred consultations

Prevalence, Distribution, and Risk Factor Correlates of High Thoracic Periaortic Fat in the Framingham Heart Study

Background: Thoracic periaortic adipose tissue (TAT) is associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and may play a role in obesity‐mediated vascular disease. We sought to determine the prevalence, distribution, and risk factor correlates of high TAT. Methods and Results: Participants from the Framingham Heart Study (n=3246, 48% women, mean age 51.1 years) underwent multidetector computed tomography; high TAT and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were defined on the basis of sex‐specific 90th percentiles in a healthy referent sample. The prevalence of high TAT was 38.1% in women and 35.7% in men. Among individuals without high VAT, 10.1% had high TAT. After adjustment for age and VAT, both women and men with high TAT in the absence of high VAT were older and had a higher prevalence of CVD (P<0.0001) compared with those without high TAT. In addition, men in this group were more likely to be smokers (P=0.02), whereas women were more likely to have low high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.005). Conclusions: Individuals in our community‐based sample with high TAT in the absence of high VAT were characterized by an adverse cardiometabolic profile. This adipose tissue phenotype may identify a subset of individuals with distinct metabolic characteristics

'With fever it's the real flu I would say' : laypersons' perception of common cold and influenza and their differences : a qualitative study in Austria, Belgium and Croatia

Background: There is little research on laypersons' perceptions regarding common cold and influenza, their symptomatic distinction and considerations of risk. This study investigates understanding of pathogenesis across three European countries and provides a knowledge base from which adequate prevention recommendations and treatment advice can be derived. Methods: This is a qualitative research study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 85 participants from three European countries (Austria n=31, Belgium n=30, Croatia n=24) about their experiences, perceptions and risk considerations regarding the common cold and influenza. We performed a qualitative thematic content analysis. Results: Three main themes were identified: common cold as harmless with individualistic symptoms; influenza as mainly distinguishable by fever, confinement to bed and severity of symptoms, but description about onset and duration are diverse; and views on pathogenesis contain references to disease causing agents and circumstances. Overall we found that risk perception is based largely on personal experience and risk is assumed moderate for both diseases. Conclusions: Study participants possessed a fairly good understanding of symptoms, differences and pathogenesis of common cold and influenza; but explanations integrated misconceptions, such as misinterpretation of fever, disease continuums, diverse onset ideas etc. Perceptions were largely based on lived experiences and interventions for prevention and treatment should be led by health care workers and focus on these issues. Basic consultations, awareness raising activities and other knowledge disseminations strategies should include aspects of communicableness and the self-limiting nature of both diseases. An informed understanding of both infectious diseases is crucial and may also increase influenza vaccination coverage in the three respective countries effectively

A climate for contemporary evolution

A new study of divergence in freshwater fish provides strong evidence of rapid, temperature-mediated adaptation. This study is particularly important in the ongoing debate over the extent and significance of evolutionary response to climate change because divergence has occurred in relatively few generations in spite of ongoing gene flow and in the aftermath of a significant genetic bottleneck, factors that have previously been considered obstacles to evolution. Climate change may thus be more likely to foster contemporary evolutionary responses than has been anticipated, and I argue here for the importance of investigating their possible occurrence

The Ursinus Weekly, November 14, 1960

Focus on fraternities • Sixteen men accept bids on Nov. 7 to join four of U.C.\u27s local frats • WAA, Woodruff discuss possible ski weekend • Constitution is changed by Curtain Club members • U.C. groups hear Dr. Adams of Yale • Historical article by Dr. Armstrong printed in Church History • Whitians hold tea in Paisley for 50 women • Dr. Zucker to discuss disarming at International Relations Club • Frosh MSGA reps to prepare report on 1960 customs • Y introduces the Aetheneum Society • Juniors present The Bowery November 19 in T-G gym • ICG plans meeting for Nov. 4 in Bomberger chapel at 7 p.m. • Senior Ball set for December 2 • Pre-medders go to AED conference • Young Democrats got out vote, now drive for new membership • Newman Club schedules trip to Greek Catholic church • Bosniak, Dassler are selected 1962 Ruby editors • Harry Sprogall addresses forum • Shaw\u27s Androcles and the Lion subject of English Club meeting • French Club to be shown slides; Field trip discussion planned • Editorial: Forbearance • Letters to the editor • Review of the student concert • Novembers ago • Book review: We the living • Parting political shots: Meeting of minds; Not quite Lincoln and Douglas • Intramural corner • Soccer team drops three close games • Mariners best Bears; U.C. clobbers Fords • Lassies shut out Drexel, Beaver • French film to be shown at Franklin Institutehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1326/thumbnail.jp

Gender integration in social and behavior change

This document is a review of recent social and behavior change-focused program literature focusing on the integration of gender considerations into health and non-health social and behavior change interventions. The review revealed eight promising practices: employing a gender perspective throughout the program cycle to improve outcomes; synchronizing gender strategies to ensure inclusion of men and women, boys and girls; addressing gendered health disparities that affect service use; reducing harmful traditional practices; ensuring community involvement and accountability for promotion of gender equality; considering gender during emergency preparedness and response; accounting for intersecting gendered vulnerabilities that influence health and development outcomes; and building organizational capacities and systems for gender integration through a continuous learning approach. These gender integration practices were found to be operationalized at different levels of the Socio-Ecological Model for Change and were mutually reinforcing. When employed, these practices can strengthen gender integration and mainstreaming efforts within social and behavior change programming