Is there any differential performance by age and gender in the production of emotional words in children?

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2010."A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2010."Includes bibliographical references (p. 26-28).The study aimed to examine the effect of age and genders and their interaction in the production of two types of emotional words (basic and advanced). A total of 40 Cantonese-speaking children, age ranged from 5;06 to 8;06, were asked to produce emotional words after listening to a story scenario. Three way (gender x age x type of emotion) univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to analyze the main effect of these variables and their interaction. Children performed significantly better on basic emotional words and their ability grew with age. The main effect of gender effect was not significant. No interaction effect was observed among all the variables. These patterns were discussed with reference to the culture in Hong Kong and the experimental design. Clinical implications were also discussed.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Patients with more comorbidities have better detection of chronic conditions, but poorer management and control:findings from six middle-income countries

Background The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rising rapidly in middle-income countries (MICs), where NCDs are often undiagnosed, untreated and uncontrolled. How comorbidity impacts diagnosis, treatment, and control of NCDs is an emerging area of research inquiry and have important clinical implications as highlighted in the recent National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines for treating patients suffering from multiple NCDs. This is the first study to examine the association between increasing numbers of comorbidities with being undiagnosed, untreated, and uncontrolled for NCDs, in 6 large MICs. Methods Cross-sectional analysis of the World Health Organisation Study of Global Ageing and Adult Health (WHO SAGE) Wave 1 (2007–10), which consisted of adults aged ≥18 years from 6 populous MICs, including China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa (overall n = 41, 557). Results A higher number of comorbidities was associated with better odds of diagnosis for hypertension, angina, and arthritis, and higher odds of having treatment for hypertension and angina. However, more comorbidities were associated with increased odds of uncontrolled hypertension, angina, arthritis, and asthma. Comorbidity with concordant conditions was associated with improved diagnosis and treatment of hypertension and angina. Conclusion Patients with more comorbidities have better diagnosis of chronic conditions, but this does not translate into better management and control of these conditions. Patients with multiple NCDs are high users of health services and are at an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Hence, improving their access to care is a priority for healthcare systems

Physical multimorbidity, health service use and catastrophic health expenditure by socio-economic groups in China::a population-based panel data analysis

Background Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more mental or physical chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs), is a major challenge for the health system in China, which faces unprecedented ageing of its population. This study examined: (1) the distribution of physical multimorbidity in relation to socio-economic status, (2) the relationships between physical multimorbidity, healthcare service use, and catastrophic health expenditures, and (3) whether these relationships varied by socio-economic groups and social health insurance schemes. Methods Panel data study design utilized three waves of the nationally-representative China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS 2011, 2013, 2015), which included 11 718 participants aged ≥50 years, and 11 physical NCDs. Findings Overall, 62% of participants had physical multimorbidity in China in 2015. Multimorbidity increased with age, female gender, higher per capita household expenditure, and higher educational level. However, multimorbidity was more common in poorer regions compared with the most affluent regions. An additional chronic NCD was associated with an increase in the number of outpatient visits of 28.8% (IRR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.27 to 1.31), and days of hospitalisation (IRR=1.38, 95% CI: 1.35 to 1.41). There were similar effects in different socio-economic groups and among those covered by different social health insurance programmes. Overall, multimorbidity was associated with a substantially greater odds of experiencing CHE (AOR=1·29 for the overall population, 95% CI=1·26, 1·32). The effect of multimorbidity on catastrophic health expenditures persisted even among the higher socio-economic groups and those with more generous health insurance coverage. Interpretation Multimorbidity was associated with higher levels of health service use and greater financial burden. Concerted efforts are needed to reduce health inequalities that arise due to multimorbidity, and its adverse economic impact in population groups in China. Social health insurance reforms must place emphasis on reducing out-of-pocket spending for patients with multimorbidity to provide greater financial risk protection

Multimorbidity and out-of-pocket expenditure on medicines : a systematic review

Background: Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more non-communicable diseases (NCD), is a costly and complex challenge for health systems globally. Patients with NCDs incur high levels of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), often on medicines, but the literature on the association between OOPE on medicines and multimorbidity has not been examined systematically. Methods: A systematic review was conducted via searching medical and economics databases including Ovid Medline, EMBASE, EconLit, Cochrane Library and the WHO Global Health Library from year 2000 to 2016. Study quality was assessed using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. PROSPERO: CRD42016053538. Findings: 14 articles met inclusion criteria. Findings indicated that multimorbidity was associated with higher OOPE on medicines. When number of NCDs increased from 0 to 1, 2 and ≥3, annual OOPE on medicines increased by an average of 2.7 times, 5.2 times and 10.1 times, respectively. When number of NCDs increased from 0 to 1, 2, ≥2 and ≥3, individuals spent a median of 0.36% (IQR 0.15%-0.51%), 1.15% (IQR 0.62%-1.64%), 1.41% (IQR 0.86%-2.15%), 2.42% (IQR 2.05%-2.64%) and 2.63% (IQR 1.56%-4.13%) of mean annual household net adjusted disposable income per capita, respectively, on annual OOPE on medicines. More multimorbidities were associated with higher OOPE on medicines as a proportion of total healthcare expenditures by patients. Some evidence suggested that the elderly and low-income groups were most vulnerable to higher OOPE on medicines. With the same number of NCDs, certain combinations of NCDs yielded higher medicine OOPE. Non-adherence to medicines was a coping strategy for OOPE on medicines. Conclusion: Multimorbidity of NCDs is increasingly costly to healthcare systems and OOPE on medicines can severely compromise financial protection and universal health coverage. It is crucial to recognise the need for better equity and financial protection, and policymakers should consider health system financial options, cost sharing policies and service patterns for those with NCD multimorbidities

Implications of Multimorbidity Patterns on Healthcare Utilisation and Quality of Life in Middle-Income Countries:Cross-sectional analysis

Background: Past studies have demonstrated how single non-communicable diseases (NCDs) affect health care utilisation and quality of life (QoL), but not how different NCD combinations interact to affect these. Our study aims to investigate the prevalence of NCD dyad and triad combinations, and the implications of different NCD dyad combinations on health care utilisation and QoL. Methods: Our study utilised cross-sectional data from the WHO SAGE study to examine the most prevalent NCD combinations in six large middle-income countries (MICs). Subjects were mostly aged 50 years and above, with a smaller proportion aged 18 to 49 years. Multivariable linear regression was applied to investigate which NCD dyads increased or decreased health care utilisation and QoL, compared with subjects with only one NCD. Results: The study included 41 557 subjects. Most prevalent NCD combinations differed by subgroups, including age, gender, income, and residence (urban vs rural). Diabetes, stroke, and depression had the largest effect on increasing mean number of outpatient visits, increasing mean number of hospitalisation days, and decreasing mean QoL scores, respectively. Out of the 36 NCD dyads in our study, thirteen, four, and five dyad combinations were associated with higher or lower mean number of outpatient visits, mean number of hospitalisations, or mean QoL scores, respectively, compared with treating separate patients with one NCD each. Dyads of depression were associated with fewer mean outpatient visits, more hospitalisations, and lower mean QoL scores, compared to patients with one NCD. Dyads of hypertension and diabetes were also associated with a reduced mean number of outpatient visits. Conclusions: Certain NCD combinations increase or decrease health care utilisation and QoL substantially more than treating separate patients with one NCD each. Health systems should consider the needs of patients with different multimorbidity patterns to effectively respond to the demands on health care utilisation and to mitigate adverse effects on QoL

Beyond sight : Victor Tan.

“Beyond Sight” (Duration: 8 min 18 s) is a video documentary about Victor Tan Wee Tar, a 28-year-old blind sculptor. The documentary attempts to show how Victor functions as a sculptor and student at the La Salle-SIA College of the Arts despite his disability. Using a combination of personal narrative and interviews, the video hopes to reveal some of Victor’s personal thoughts and some issues and problems that he faces as an artist. The video begins with a montage that shows Victor working on a sculpture. This is mixed with shots of one of Victor’s completed sculptures. Accompanying the montage are several soundbites praising Victor’s capability as a sculptor. As the montage ends, we see Victor on his way to school. Over visuals of him travelling to school, Victor describes how he became blind and how he decided to pick himself up to start a new life as a student with La Salle-SIA College of the Arts. At the college, the video shows him attending classes with the rest of the students. Later, Victor demonstrates how he sculpts. Relying on his memory, Victor is able to visualise his sculptures before he sculpts and, using materials that are highly tactile in nature, he then proceeds to sculpt highly realistic human figures. A short montage on one of his works follows. In this beautifully-shot montage, Victor’s voice drifts in to explain that the use of wire in his work represents his continuous interaction with other people around him. This links to the next segment, which shows how interaction is part and parcel of his learning process. Victor reveals that for his theory classes, he needs the help of his friends to read him the necessary readings. Also in this segment, his classmates and lecturers give their opinions of him as a friend, student and artist, As the video draws to a close, the documentary probes deeper into Victor’s psyche. In a last interview, Victor reveals his frustration at being labelled a “disabled artist”. What he wants is for the audience to judge his works based solely on his ability. The audience should disregard his blindness when judging his art.Bachelor of Communication Studie

PUBLIC HEALTH BURDEN OF MULTIMORBIDITY IN ADULTS: OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENDITURE, WORK PRODUCTIVITY, HEALTHCARE UTILISATION, QUALITY OF LIFE, AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (SPH

Conceptualizing transnationalism and transculturalilsm in Chinese American women narratives and memoirs: JadeSnow Wong, Ruthanne Lum McCunn, and Amy Tan

published_or_final_versionEnglishMasterMaster of Philosoph

Oscillation Criteria for First and Second Order Forced Difference Equations with Mixed Nonlinearities

Some new criteria for the oscillation of certain difference equations with mixed nonlinearities are established. The main tool in the proofs is an inequality due to Hardy, Littlewood, and Pólya