A study of Chinese cancer patients' health information preferences and practices

Health communications are pivotal to cancer patients’ care and management, yet no empirical knowledge exists that could explain how cancer patients’ information preferences (needs and wants) and practices (seeking, avoiding, sharing, and accepting) interact and influence their health outcomes, especially for Chinese cancer patients. This grounded theory study focuses on identifying factors that shape the relationship between Chinese cancer patients’ health information preferences and practices, with close consideration of Chinese cultural context. This study recruited eighteen cancer patients to be interviewed using the purposive theoretical sampling technique, with data analysis guided by the constant comparative method. The basic social process emerged in response to the research question is: interaction with health information is a family activity. This basic social process is further manifested in the theoretical categories identified: getting prepared for managing cancer, prioritizing questions according to family needs, balancing truth, trust, and respect, navigating around information sources (two sub-categories: nurturing the support network and focusing on productive interactions), and responding to culturally-sensitive cancer care. The findings suggest that it is important to acknowledge and address the family’s indispensable role in Chinese cancer patients’ interaction with health information. What might be considered self-management of cancer among Chinese cancer patients appears to be more akin to family-management of cancer. Also, Chinese cancer patients’ other culturally-sensitive care needs (e.g., socially appropriate interaction with healthcare professionals or HCPs) also emerged as important, as these patients’ health information preferences and practices center on the need to be culturally respectful. Results of this study suggest that it is imperative for HCPs, when responding to patients’ questions and concerns, to adopt culturally-sensitive communication styles. This includes empathetic consideration of the interests and characteristics of patients and their family members in order to achieve respectful and constructive patient-family-provider communication. The adoption and diffusion of these empathetic communication styles have the potential to improve patients’ health outcomes (e.g., quality of life) along with optimizing valuable medical resources. This dissertation discusses, in more detail, the implications that can emerge with the adoption and diffusion of empathetic communication styles.Advertisin

Chinese international students in the United States: The interplay of students’ acculturative stress, academic standing, and quality of life

Background: Acculturation could cause grave health consequences in international students. However, there is a shortage of research into how acculturative stress might affect international students’ quality of life in light of their academic standing and experience. The lack of research is particularly pronounced among Chinese international students, representing the largest body of international students studying in the United States (U.S.). Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine the interplay between international students’ acculturative stress, academic standing, and quality of life among a nationally representative sample of Chinese international students studying in the United States. Methods: An online survey that gauges Chinese international students’ levels of acculturative stress, academic standing, and quality of life was developed. Over 350 higher education institutions across the United States were approached, including public universities, private universities, and community colleges, among which approximately 220 institutions responded positively and supported survey distribution. A total of 751 students completed the survey. Multiple regression analyses were carried out to examine the associations between students’ acculturative stress, academic standing, and quality of life. Results: Findings reveal that acculturative stress negatively affects all four domains of Chinese international students’ quality of life, irrespective of their academic standing. Data analyses also show that compared to master’s and doctoral students, undergraduates experience the highest levels of acculturative stress. Furthermore, a significant difference emerged among undergraduate and doctoral international students’ acculturative stress levels, but not among undergraduate and master’s students, or master’s and doctoral students. Conclusion: Our study found that, compared to master’s and doctoral students, undergraduates had more significant acculturative stress associated with lower levels of quality of life. This finding highlights the potentially positive role of academic experience – while acculturative stress deteriorates international students’ quality of life, students’ academic standing and experience could be the protective factor in the equation. Future research could further examine how universities and colleges can capitalize on their academic apparatuses and resources to improve international students’ academic performance and students’ acculturation experience and quality of life

Supplementary Health System in Brazil: Business Model Not Threatened by Socioeconomic Crisis

Objective: The performance of the supplementary health system (SSS) in Brazil depends on the country's ability to generate employment and income. Yet, on the other hand, even in the face of the economic crises that have hit Brazil in recent years and, more sharply, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the SSS ended 2021 with continuous growth in the number of beneficiaries. This perspective suggests possible causes to explain this contradiction while questioning the role of the State in providing a constitutional right for Brazilians.   Theoretical framework: Brazilian health system can be divided into three segments: a public segment financed by the State (Unified Health System, SUS), a private segment, and a supplementary health segment, the latter two with public and private funding. The Supplementary Health System (SSS) represents a highly regulated area.   Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of this work followed the rigor and steps to develop a current perspective on supplementary health in Brazil. Insights from this perspective shed light on the subject of supplementary health by providing insight into existing issues, concepts and prevailing notions about health systems.   Findings: The healthcare system in Brazil is complex and combines market elements of public and social interest in a single environment. In this way, the question remains whether business models geared to the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) community have focused exclusively on making a profit by “selling to the poor” or whether they have brought a valuable commitment to social development in the country.   Research, Practical & Social implications: This question deserves attention due to the de-prioritization of health on the political agenda in an election year and the critical post-Covid-19 pandemic situation. Social policies in Brazil need to go beyond guaranteeing access to credit compensating for the lack of public provision, at the risk of mortgaging the SUS as a sign of modernity and progress.   Originality/value: This perspective suggests possible causes to explain this contradiction while questioning the role of the State in providing a constitutional right for Brazilians

COVID-19 vaccine donations — Vaccine empathy or vaccine diplomacy? A narrative literature review

Introduction: Vaccine inequality inflames the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring equitable immunization, vaccine empathy is needed to boost vaccine donations among capable countries. However, damaging narratives built around vaccine donations such as “vaccine diplomacy” could undermine nations’ willingness to donate their vaccines, which, in turn, further exacerbate global vaccine inequality. However, while discussions on vaccine diplomacy are on the rise, there is limited research related to vaccine diplomacy, especially in terms of its characteristics and effects on vaccine distribution vis-à-vis vaccine empathy. Thus, to bridge the research gap, this study aims to examine the defining attributes of vaccine diplomacy and its potential effects on COVID-19 immunization, particularly in light of vaccine empathy. Methods: A narrative review was conducted to shed light on vaccine diplomacy’s defining attributes and effects in the context of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and dissemination. Databases such as PubMed and Medline were utilized for literature search. Additionally, to ensure up-to-date insights are included in the review, validated reports and reverse tracing of eligible articles’ reference lists in Google Scholar have also been conducted to locate relevant records. Results: Vaccine empathy is an individual or a nation’s capability to sympathize with other individuals or nations’ vaccine wants and needs, whereas vaccine diplomacy is a nation’s vaccine efforts that aim to build mutually beneficial relationships with other nations ultimately. Our findings show that while both vaccine empathy and vaccine diplomacy have their strengths and weaknesses, they all have great potential to improve vaccine equality, particularly amid fast-developing and ever-evolving global health crises such as COVID-19. Furthermore, analyses show that, compared to vaccine empathy, vaccine diplomacy might be a more sustainable solution to improve vaccine donations mainly because of its deeper and stronger roots in multilateral collaboration and cooperation. Conclusion: Similar to penicillin, automated external defibrillators, or safety belts amid a roaring global health disaster, COVID-19 vaccines are, essentially, life-saving consumer health products that should be available to those who need them. Though man-made and complicated, vaccine inequality is nonetheless a solvable issue—gaps in vaccine distribution and dissemination can be effectively addressed by timely vaccine donations. Overall, our study underscores the instrumental and indispensable role of vaccine diplomacy in addressing the vaccine inequality issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its potentials for making even greater contributions in forging global solidarity amid international health emergencies. Future research could investigate approaches that could further inspire and improve vaccine donations among capable nations at a global scale to advance vaccine equity further

Vaccines are not yet a silver bullet: The imperative of continued communication about the importance of COVID-19 safety measures

COVID-19 vaccines are by no means a silver bullet. With more COVID-19 vaccines expecting approval in the coming months, it is necessary to note that vaccine availability does not equate to vaccine accessibility, nor vaccine efficacy. Some research suggests that approximately 9 out of 10 individuals living in lower-income countries will not have access to COVID-19 vaccines until 2023 or later. For higher-income countries, such as the United States, the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy may further compound the situation. These insights combined, in turn, emphasize the fact that even though COVID-19 vaccines are becoming more available, safety measures (e.g., face masks, personal hygiene, and social distancing) are still of pivotal importance in protecting personal and public health against COVID-19. Furthermore, this paper argues for the continued imperative for health experts and government officials to communicate and emphasize the importance of COVID-19 safety measures with the public, to make sure people are protected against COVID-19 till the pandemic ceases to pose a threat to personal or public health

A race for a better understanding of COVID-19 vaccine non-adopters

In this paper, we aim to underscore the need for a more nuanced understanding of vaccine non-adopters. As the availability of vaccines does not translate into their de facto adoption—a phenomenon that may be more pronounced amid “Operation Warp Speed”—it is important for public health professionals to thoroughly understand their “customers” (i.e., end users of COVID-19 vaccines) to ensure satisfactory vaccination rates and to safeguard society at large

Self-compression of stimulated Raman backscattering by flying focus

A novel regime of self-compression is proposed for plasma-based backward Raman amplification(BRA) upon flying focus. By using a pumping focus moving with a speed equal to the group velocity of stimulated Raman backscattering(SRBS), only a short part of SRBS which does always synchronize with the flying focus can be amplified. Due to the asymmetrical amplification, the pulse can be directly compressed in the linear stage of BRA. Therefore, instead of a short pulse, the Raman spontaneous or a long pulse can seed the BRA amplifiers. The regime is supported by the 2D particle-in-cell(PIC) simulation without a seed, presenting that the pump pulse is compressed from 26ps to 116fs, with an output amplitude comparable with the case of a well-synchronized short seed. This method provides a significant way to simplify the Raman amplifiers and overcome the issue of synchronization jitter between the pump and the seed