Deer Island Treatment Plant Performance (2010-12)

The increasing focus of healthcare systems worldwide on long-term care highlights the need for culturally sensitive Health-Related Quality of Life instruments to accurately capture perceived health of various populations. Such instruments require a contextualized conceptual framework of health domains, which is lacking in some socio-cultural contexts. We developed a comprehensive and culturally sensitive conceptual framework of health domains relevant to the Singaporean population. We recruited Singaporeans/ permanent residents, English/ Chinese-speaking, with/ without chronic illnesses to participate in focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs). We elicited health areas participants perceived to be important for them to be happy and satisfied with life. To encourage spontaneous emergence of themes, we did not specify any aspect beyond the broad domains of Physical, Mental, and Social health so as not to limit the emergence of new themes. Themes from the transcripts were distilled through open coding (two independent coders), then classified into more abstract domains (each transcript coded independently by two coders from a pool of six coders). From October 2013 to August 2014, 121 members of the general public participated in 18 FGDs and 13 IDIs (44.6% males, mean age: 53.3 years 77% Chinese, 9% Malay, 12% Indian, 63% with chronic illness) while 13 healthcare workers participated as patient-proxies in three FGDs. Thematic analysis identified 27 domains. The 15 physical domains included physical appearance, energy, physical fitness, and health and resistance to illness. The nine mental domains included emotions, self-esteem, and personal freedom. The three social domains were social contact, social relationships, and social roles. This conceptual framework reflected physical, mental, and social dimensions of well-being, suggesting that the Singapore population's views on health support the World Health Organization's definition of health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"

Oral nutritional supplementation with dietary counseling improves linear catch-up growth and health outcomes in children with or at risk of undernutrition: a randomized controlled trial

IntroductionChildhood undernutrition is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and a high socio-economic burden.MethodsSupporting Pediatric GRowth and Health OUTcomes (SPROUT) is a randomized, controlled trial evaluating the effects of an oral nutritional supplement (ONS) with dietary counseling (DC; n = 164) compared to a DC-only group who continued consuming their habitual milk (n = 166; NCT05239208). Children aged 24–60 months who were at risk or with undernutrition, as defined by weight-for-age [WAZ] < −1 and height-for-age [HAZ] < −1 according to the WHO Growth Standards, and who also met the criterion of weight-for-height [WHZ] < 0, were enrolled in Vietnam.ResultsONS + DC had a larger WAZ increase at day 120 (primary endpoint) vs. DC (least squares mean, LSM (SE): 0.30 (0.02) vs. 0.13 (0.02); p < 0.001), and larger improvements in all weight, BMI and weight-for-height indices at day 30 and 120 (all p < 0.01). Height gain was larger in ONS + DC in all indices, including height-for-age difference [HAD; cm: 0.56 (0.07) vs. 0.10 (0.07); p < 0.001], at day 120. ONS + DC had larger arm muscle but not arm fat indices, higher parent-rated appetite, physical activity and energy levels, longer night sleep, fewer and shorter awakenings, and better sleep quality than DC.ConclusionAdding ONS to DC, compared to DC-alone, improves growth in weight and height, linear catch-up growth, and health outcomes in children with or at risk of undernutrition

Domain definitions and sample quotes [16].

<p>Domain definitions and sample quotes [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0199881#pone.0199881.ref016" target="_blank">16</a>].</p

Health domains framework [10] with three components (physical, mental, social health) and 27 domains, one of the first in an Asian sociocultural context [13–15].

<p>Health domains framework [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0199881#pone.0199881.ref010" target="_blank">10</a>] with three components (physical, mental, social health) and 27 domains, one of the first in an Asian sociocultural context [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0199881#pone.0199881.ref013" target="_blank">13</a>–<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0199881#pone.0199881.ref015" target="_blank">15</a>].</p