Frequency of health care provider recommendations for HPV vaccination: a survey in three large cities in China

IntroductionHuman papillomavirus (HPV) infection, an important pathogenic factor for cervical cancer, can be prevented by the HPV vaccine. Health care provider (HCP) recommendations contribute to improve HPV vaccination coverage. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of HCP recommendations for HPV vaccination and associated factors.MethodsFrom Nov 8 to Dec 6 in 2018, a cross-sectional study was conducted through online questionnaires among HCPs (n = 1,371) from hospitals in three large cities in China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen). Data on demographic characteristics, the frequency of HPV vaccination recommendations, HPV knowledge and related attitudes were collected through the questionnaires.ResultsAmong 1,371 participants, only 30.2% reported that they frequently recommended HPV vaccination. Multivariate analyses indicated that female sex, being employed in obstetrics or gynecology departments and community health service centers, and having higher self-reported and actual knowledge of HPV were factors associated with a higher recommendation frequency. Factors including a self-perceived non-obligation to provide recommendations and difficulties in discussing sexual topics were significantly correlated with less frequent recommendations. Employment in a community health service center (OR = 2.068, 95% CI: 1.070–3.999) was the strongest factor associated with the frequency of HCPs’ recommendations for HPV vaccination.DiscussionThe frequency of HCPs’ recommendations for HPV vaccination in China was much lower than that in many developed countries. To enhance the recommendation frequency, medical institutions should help HCPs gain more knowledge of HPV and master communication skills. At the same time, the government should take measures to enhance the accessibility of HPV vaccines. The media should help to alleviate people’s concerns and encourage them to face up sexual health

The growth in newspaper coverage of tobacco control in China, 2000-2010

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Media coverage of tobacco-related issues can potentially shape individual beliefs, attitudes and behaviors about tobacco use. This study aims to describe news coverage of tobacco control related issues in Chinese newspapers from 2000 to 2010.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>All 1149 articles related to tobacco control were extracted from the Database of Chinese Important Newspapers and content analyzed for the period Jan 1, 2000 to Dec 31, 2010. The changing pattern of tobacco control topic, article type, viewpoint, and article origin, and their relationship were analysed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>News coverage of tobacco control related issues increased significantly (<it>p </it>< 0.01) from 2000 to 2010, with news coverage being relatively intensive in May and June (<it>p </it>< 0.01), around World No Tobacco Day. 24.9% (n = 286) of all articles focused on secondhand smoke, 25.3% (n = 291) warned about the dangers of active smoking, and 10.0% (n = 115) focused on prevention and cessation programs and campaigns. Tobacco control topics varied significantly between national vs city/regional newspapers (<it>χ</it>²= 24.09, <it>p </it>= 0.002) and article types (<it>χ</it>²= 193.35, <it>p </it>< 0.001). Articles in national newspapers had more coverage of the dangers of tobacco and on enforcing bans on tobacco-advertising. News stories centered around monitoring tobacco use and smoke free activity, while editorials focused on enforcing bans on tobacco-advertising, youth access and programs and campaigns. Letters to editors focused on the dangers of smoking, raising tax, and smoking cessation. More articles (50.4%) took an anti-tobacco position (compared with 10.5% which were pro-smoking), with the amount of negative coverage growing significantly across the decade. National articles tended to lean toward anti-tobacco, however, local articles tended mix of pro-tobacco and neutral/balance positions. Editorials seemed to be more anti-tobacco oriented, but letters to the editor tended to show a mix of anti-tobacco and pro-tobacco positions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Chinese newspapers are giving increasing attention to tobacco control, but coverage remains lower than in the USA and Australia. Health workers need to give higher priority to efforts to increase news coverage beyond the present concentration around World No Tobacco Day and to develop strategies for making tobacco control issues more newsworthy to both national and local news outlets.</p

Smoke-Free Homes and Home Exposure to Secondhand Smoke in Shanghai, China

Few studies have examined home exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in China. This study aimed to document: (1) the prevalence and correlates of exposure to SHS in homes (in adult non-smokers) in Shanghai, and (2) enforcement of rules, harm reduction behaviors, and self-efficacy for maintaining smoke-free homes in Shanghai. A total of 500 participants were recruited using a multistage proportional random sampling design in an urban and suburban district to complete a survey. Among the total 355 nonsmokers, 127 (35.8%) participants reported being exposed to SHS in the past 7 days. Participants living with smokers in the home, with no smoking restriction at home, and having children younger than 18 were more likely to be exposed to SHS at home. Higher self-efficacy in maintaining a smoke-free home was negatively associated with home SHS exposure. Having visitors who smoke was the greatest policy enforcement challenge. Ineffective measures such as opening windows were more commonly used in homes with partial bans. Educational initiatives to protect against SHS exposure in the home should promote smoke-free homes, address challenges to implementing such policies, and address misconceptions regarding the effectiveness of supposed harm reduction behaviors

Development of a simplified version of the smoking rationalization belief scale for Chinese male smokers

ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to simplify the smoking rationalization belief (SRB) scale among Chinese male smokers and provide a convenient measuring tool with good reliability and validity to promote the assessment and further intervention of SRB among smokers.MethodsThrough purposive sampling, a questionnaire survey was conducted among adult male smokers in three districts in Shanghai, and 1,307 valid questionnaires were collected. Exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze the simplified scale, and Pearson correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and Cronbach's α were used to test the reliability and validity of the simplified scale.ResultsThe SRB scale was simplified from 26 items to 8 items and had good overall reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.757). There was a strong correlation between the simplified scale and the original scale (P &lt; 0.001, r = 0.911), and the scores of SRB measured by the two scales were both negatively associated with a willingness to quit smoking (P &lt; 0.001), which reflected the practical effectiveness of the simplified version.ConclusionThe simplified version of the SRB scale showed good reliability and validity among Chinese smokers, which facilitates smoking cessation-related research and practice

A Study to Decipher the Potential Effects of Butylphthalide against Central Nervous System Diseases Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Integration Strategy

Background. Butylphthalide (NBP), approved by the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS), showed pleiotropic potentials against central nervous system (CNS) diseases, including neuroprotection and cognitive deficits improvement. However, the effects and corresponding modes of action were not fully explored. This study was designed to investigate the potential of NBP against IS-associated CNS diseases based on network pharmacology (NP) and molecular docking (MD). Methods. IS was inputted as the index disease to retrieve the “associated diseases” in DisGeNET. Three-database-based IS genes were obtained and integrated (DisGeNET, Malacards, and OMIM). Then, IS-associated genes were identified by combining these genes. Meanwhile, PubMed references and online databases were applied to identify NBP target genes. The IS-related disease-disease association (DDA) network and NBP-disease regulation network were constructed and analyzed in Cytoscape. In silico MD and references were used to validate the binding affinity of NBP with critical targets and the potential of NBP against certain IS-related CNS disease regulation. Results. 175 NBP target genes were obtained, while 312 IS-related disease genes were identified. 36 NBP target genes were predicted to be associated with IS-related CNS diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), epilepsy, major depressive disorder (MDD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and dementia. Six target genes (i.e., GRIN1, PTGIS, PTGES, ADRA1A, CDK5, and SULT1E1) indicating disease specificity index (DSI) >0.5 showed certain to good degree binding affinity with NBP, ranging from −9.2 to −6.7 kcal/mol. And the binding modes may be mainly related to hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic “bonds.” Further literature validations inferred that these critical NBP targets had a tight association with AD, epilepsy, ALS, and depression. Conclusions. Our study proposed a drug-target-disease integrated method to predict the drug repurposing potentials to associated diseases by application of NP and MD, which could be an attractive alternative to facilitate the development of CNS disease therapies. NBP may be promising and showed potentials to be repurposed for treatments for AD, epilepsy, ALS, and depression, and further investigations are warranted to be carefully designed and conducted

Smoke-free restaurants in Shanghai: Should it be mandatory and is it acceptable?

Objectives This study aims to describe secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure in restaurants in Shanghai and to explore the impact on the health of restaurant workers. Attitude to smoke-free restaurants among restaurant workers and customers was also determined in this study.Methods A random sample of 242 workers, 284 customers, and 46 restaurant owners participated in face-to-face questionnaire interviews.Results A total of 219 (90.7%) restaurant workers surveyed were found to be exposed to SHS during working hours with 24.2 ± 18.6 h of exposure on average per week. Exposure time each week was significantly associated with the symptoms of dyspnea and irritated eyes. Among the customers surveyed 73.9% supported the concept of a 100% smoke-free law in restaurants and 49.6% expressed that they would be more likely to eat in restaurants if smoking was banned in restaurants. And 58.6% of the restaurant owners surveyed regarded smoke-free laws banning smoking in restaurant as feasible and 56.5% estimated such bans would decrease the profit.Conclusion Both restaurant workers and customers are substantially exposed to SHS. Although some restaurant owners are concerned about a decrease in profits, the fear of losing business is not supported by the response among customers. Therefore, introducing a law-banning smoking in restaurants appears to be feasible and acceptable in Shanghai.Secondhand smoke Smoke-free restaurants Restaurant workers

Relationship between smoking abstinence self-efficacy， smoking rationalization belief and willingness to quit smoking—a questionnaire survey of 336 male smokers in Shanghai

ObjectiveTo explore the influencing factors of willingness to quit smoking in smokers， and to provide reference for further smoking cessation intervention.MethodsThrough purposive sampling， smokers were recruited from 4 residential communities and 3 companies in Shanghai for an online questionnaire survey. The survey included general demographic characteristics， willingness to quit smoking， smoking condition， tobacco addiction， awareness of influence of smoking， smoking abstinence self-efficacy， and smoking rationalization belief. T-test， χ2 test and multiple logistic regression were used to analyze the data.ResultsA total of 336 valid questionnaires were collected. The average age of the smokers was （37.1±10.2） years， and most of their education level was college or above （58.3%）. The daily number of cigarette use was （11.46±7.22） and most of smokers were classified as low nicotine dependence （58.3%）. Today 248 smokers planned to quit smoking in the next six months. Compared with smokers with low smoking abstinence self-efficacy， smokers with high self-efficacy were more likely to quit smoking （OR=2.406，95%CI： 1.357‒4.267）； Smokers with low smoking rationalization belief were more likely to quit smoking than those with high rationalization belief （OR=2.112， 95%CI： 1.167‒3.821）.ConclusionSmoking abstinence self-efficacy has a positive impact on willingness to quit smoking， while smoking rationalization belief has a negative impact on the willingness to quit smoking. Efforts to improve smoking abstinence self-efficacy and dispel smoking rationalization beliefs of smokers should be made to promote the intention to quit among smokers