Impacts of biomedical hashtag-based Twitter campaign: #DHPSP utilization for promotion of open innovation in digital health, patient safety, and personalized medicine

The open innovation hub Digital Health and Patient Safety Platform (DHPSP) was recently established with the purpose to invigorate collaborative scientific research and the development of new digital products and personalized solutions aiming to improve human health and patient safety. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a Twitter-based campaign centered on using the hashtag #DHPSP to promote the visibility of the DHPSP initiative. Thus, tweets containing #DHPSP were monitored for five weeks for the period 20.10.2020–24.11.2020 and were analyzed with Symplur Signals (social media analytics tool). In the study period, a total of 11,005 tweets containing #DHPSP were posted by 3020 Twitter users, generating 151,984,378 impressions. Analysis of the healthcare stakeholder-identity of the Twitter users who used #DHPSP revealed that the most of participating user accounts belonged to individuals or doctors, with the top three user locations being the United States (501 users), the United Kingdom (155 users), and India (121 users). Analysis of co-occurring hashtags and the full text of the posted tweets further revealed that the major themes of attention in the #DHPSP Twitter-community were related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), medicine and health, digital health technologies, and science communication in general. Overall, these results indicate that the #DHPSP initiative achieved high visibility and engaged a large body of Twitter users interested in the DHPSP focus area. Moreover, the conducted campaign resulted in an increase of DHPSP member enrollments and website visitors, and new scientific collaborations were formed. Thus, Twitter campaigns centered on a dedicated hashtag prove to be a highly efficient tool for visibility-promotion, which could be successfully utilized by healthcare-related open innovation platforms or initiatives

Knowledge and Attitudes about Antibiotic Use and Resistance: A CrossSectional Study among Primary Healthcare Center Attendees in an Urban area, Alexandria, Egypt

Antibiotic misuse and bacterial resistance is a significant public health concern worldwide. Egypt lacks policies and regulations concerning medication prescriptions. The study explores the knowledge and attitudes regarding antibiotic use and resistance among adults attending a primary healthcare centre in an urban area of Alexandria. The researcher conducted a single point, descriptive cross-sectional study on 87 adults aged ≥18 years attending a primary healthcare center in an urban area of Alexandria in January 2019 using a semi-structured questionnaire to gather data about the knowledge and attitudes of using antibiotics and resistance through the face-to-face interviewing method. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics to explore the respondents’ level of knowledge with respect to the use of antibiotics and resistance. High level of knowledge was assigned as > 66.7% of the total score. About 52.8% of the respondents (63.2% of them were females) lack adequate knowledge about the use and resistance of antibiotics. Almost 65.6% of males had less restrictive knowledge about the use of antibiotics and resistance than 45.5% of the females. Simultaneously, 47.1% of the respondents erroneously believed that antibiotics work on both bacterial and viral infections and 14.9% thought it just fights viruses. Approximately, 66.7% of them were unaware of the meaning of antibiotic resistance. Moreover, 33.3% stated they have no role to play against bacterial resistance. 83.9% of respondents knew that vaccination can prevent bacterial resistance. The findings display poor knowledge and attitudes of proper antibiotic use and resistance among respondents. Healthcare providers should utilize these findings to educate the public on how to rationally use antibiotics and the health hazards of bacterial resistance

Knowledge of Preventable Risk Factors and Beliefs About Cancer A Cross-Sectional Study

A crucial element of cancer controlling programs for the expanding burden in Egypt is public awareness of preventable risk factors. The study explores the knowledge of some preventable risk factors and beliefs about cancer among adults attending a primary health care center in an urban area of Alexandria. The researcher conducted a single point, a descriptive cross-sectional study of 85 adults aged ≥18 years in February 2019 using a semi-structured questionnaire to gather data through the face-to-face interviewing method. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. Good levels of both cancer knowledge and beliefs were assigned as ≥75% of the total score. Respondent's mean age was 43.6 years and around 64.7% were females. Nearly 74.1% of respondents had a poor knowledge score of cancer preventable risk factors, especially low vegetables and fruit consumption (55.3%) excessive exposure to sun radiations (52.9%), physical inactivity (44.7%), overweight and obesity (44.7%) and pollution (43.5%) respectively. Furthermore, almost 38.8% of respondents had some false beliefs about cancer. Almost 44.7% of respondents disagreed with the presence of signs and symptoms to cancer while around 24.7% of them reported that cancer could not be prevented. Moreover, nearly 25.9% of them disapproved that cancer patients need psychological support. The Study population had poor knowledge of lifestyle-related cancer preventable risk factors and some false beliefs need correction. Therefore, we need to improve public knowledge of these factors that may lead to adopting health-protective behaviors reducing cancer risk

Pharmaceutical effluent evokes superbugs in the environment: A call to action

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global threat, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), causing prolonged illnesses, heightened antimicrobial use, increased healthcare expenses, and avoidable deaths. If not tackled, AMR could force 24 million people into severe poverty by 2030 and hinder progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). AMR spreads through interconnected ecosystems, with humans, animals, and the environment serving as reservoirs. Pharmaceutical wastewater, loaded with antibiotics and resistance genes, poses a significant environmental risk, mainly due to inadequate treatment and irresponsible disposal. The pharmaceutical industry is a notable contributor to environmental antibiotic pollution, with varying effluent management practices. Contaminated pharmaceutical wastewater discharge harms water sources and ecosystems. Urgent collaborative efforts are needed across policymakers, regulators, manufacturers, researchers, civil society, and communities, adopting a One Health approach to curb AMR's spread. Developing global standards for pharmaceutical effluent antibiotic residues, effective treatment methods, and improved diagnostics are vital in addressing AMR's environmental impact while safeguarding public health and the environment. National action plans should encompass comprehensive strategies to combat AMR. Preserving antibiotic efficacy and ensuring sustainable production require a united front from all stakeholders

Potential reach of mobile health for educating, empowering and engaging chronically diseased patients: evidence from a survey in Egypt

Patient education includes multiple interventions for teaching patients about their health to improve their outcomes. The term has evolved to the more active terms (patient engagement and empowerment). Patients, who are diagnosed with chronic diseases that cost patients lifelong treatment and dangerous complications (e.g. Diabetes mellitus) need to be responsible for their health by self-management. With more computers and mobile devices owners globally, telehealth offers promising healthcare technology interventions to improve the patient’s health literacy

Egypt towards Better Health and Well-being

Good health and well-being are essential for a stronger society and a fundamental human right. Ill health is evidently associated with poverty. Egypt targets improving health services, despite the scarcity of financial resources, a growing population, and the need for better governance. The Ministry of Health has identified strategic objectives to be achieved by 2030, which primarily targets improving the health of citizens by providing and enhancing primary healthcare via awareness and preventive measures; and achieving comprehensive healthcare coverage for all citizens. Recently, Egypt has a new success story in managing hepatitis C virus (HCV). Egypt was among the top countries with a highly prevalent HCV. Eliminating HCV faced several obstacles including shortage in global funding for treatment, late diagnosis, insufficient data, and poor screening. Treating HCV in Egypt has been nationally prioritized with the rise of the highly effective direct-acting antivirals. Egypt implemented a pattern of care, which could aid other similar countries in combating HCV. Moreover, In December 2017 followed by May 2018, the universal health insurance law and its executive regulations were issued successively in Egypt. Under the new law, health care will be accessible for all citizens and expanded to the estimated 30% of the Egyptians who cannot afford it. Enrollment in the scheme will be mandatory, with fees rated according to income with supplementary funding resources including taxes on polluting industries. The system will be initially adopted in five governorates and will be gradually implemented between 2018 and 2032