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PloS One 2022Free-roaming dog population management is conducted to mitigate risks to public health, livestock losses, wildlife conservation, and dog health and welfare. This study...
Free-roaming dog population management is conducted to mitigate risks to public health, livestock losses, wildlife conservation, and dog health and welfare. This study aimed to determine attitudes towards free-roaming dogs and their management and describe dog ownership practices in three European countries. We distributed an online questionnaire comprising questions relating to dog ownership practices and attitudes towards free-roaming dogs using social media. We used logistic regression and ordinal probit models to determine associations between demographic and other factors with ownership practices and attitudes towards free-roaming dogs. This study found that most surveyed respondents wanted to see a reduction in free-roaming dog numbers, and felt that this should be achieved through sheltering, catch-neuter-release, and by controlling owned dog breeding. We identified significant associations between both attitudes and ownership practices with gender, religious beliefs, age, education level, reason for dog ownership, previous experience with free-roaming dogs, and country of residence. Respondents who identified as: (i) male, (ii) holding religious beliefs, (iii) owning dogs for practical reasons, (iv) being young, or (v) having no schooling or primary education had a lower probability of neutering and a higher probability of allowing dogs to roam. Respondents who identified as: (i) female, (ii) feeling threatened by free-roaming dogs, (iii) older, or (iv) having more education had a higher probability of answering that increases in free-roaming dog numbers should be prevented. These findings can help to inform future dog population management interventions in these countries. We emphasise the importance of considering local attitudes and dog ownership practices in the development of effective dog population management approaches.
Topics: Animals; Dogs; Ownership
PubMed: 35235582
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252368 -
Current Hypertension Reports Aug 2022Hypertension prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction are cornerstones in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Potential applicability of... (Review)
Review
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
Hypertension prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction are cornerstones in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Potential applicability of nontraditional cardiovascular risk reduction methods, such as pet ownership, raises a growing interest.
RECENT FINDINGS
Studies show that having pets may reduce the risk of death from any cause, particularly from cardiovascular causes. Furthermore, results of some studies indicate that having pets may reduce the risk of developing hypertension and improve blood pressure control in patients with established hypertension. In addition, there is evidence that having pets may improve the prognosis of patients after myocardial infarction and stroke. One of the most important cardioprotective mechanisms of pet ownership is reduction in activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Pet ownership has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, likely related to antihypertensive and cardioprotective mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Cardiovascular Diseases; Humans; Hypertension; Ownership; Pets; Risk Reduction Behavior
PubMed: 35451801
DOI: 10.1007/s11906-022-01191-8 -
Malaria Journal May 2024Malaria poses a substantial public health threat in Myanmar, indicating the need for rigorous efforts to achieve elimination of the disease nationwide by 2030. The use...
BACKGROUND
Malaria poses a substantial public health threat in Myanmar, indicating the need for rigorous efforts to achieve elimination of the disease nationwide by 2030. The use of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) forms part of a pivotal strategy for preventing transmission. This study explored the ownership and use of ITNs in Myanmar and identified factors associated with non-use of ITNs.
METHODS
Household datasets from the 2015-2016 Myanmar Demographic and Health Survey were utilised, which encompassed all household members except children under the age of five. Descriptive statistics and inferential tests, including simple and multiple logistics regression models and Pearson correlations, were employed for analysis. All analyses, taking the two-stage stratified cluster sampling design into account, used weighting factors and the "svyset" command in STATA. The ownership and use of bed nets were also visualised in QGIS maps.
RESULTS
Among the 46,507 participants, 22.3% (95% CI 20.0%, 24.5%) had access to ITNs, with only 15.3% (95% CI 13.7, 17.1%) sleeping under an ITN the night before the survey. Factors associated with the non-use of ITNs included age category (15-34 years-aOR: 1.17, 95% CI 1.01, 1.30; 50+ years-aOR: 1.19, 95% CI 1.06, 1.33), location (delta or lowland-aOR: 5.39, 95% CI 3.94, 7.38; hills-aOR: 1.80, 95% CI 1.20, 2.71; plains-aOR: 3.89, 95% CI 2.51, 6.03), urban residency (aOR: 1.63, 95% CI 1.22, 2.17), and wealth quintile (third-aOR: 1.38, 95% CI 1.08, 1.75; fourth-aOR: 1.65, 95% CI 1.23, 2.23; fifth-aOR: 1.47, 95% CI 1.02, 2.13). A coherent distribution of the ownership and use of ITNs was seen across all states/regions, and a strong correlation existed between the ownership and use of ITNs (r: 0.9795, 95% CI 0.9377, 0.9933, alpha < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
This study identified relatively low percentages of ITN ownership and use, indicating the need to increase the distribution of ITNs to achieve the target of at least one ITN per every two people. Strengthening the use of ITNs requires targeted health promotion interventions, especially among relatively affluent individuals residing in delta or lowland areas, hills, and plains.
Topics: Myanmar; Insecticide-Treated Bednets; Ownership; Adult; Adolescent; Middle Aged; Male; Young Adult; Female; Humans; Health Surveys; Malaria; Aged; Mosquito Control; Child, Preschool; Family Characteristics; Infant
PubMed: 38807175
DOI: 10.1186/s12936-024-04994-z -
Archives of Pathology & Laboratory... Sep 2019
Topics: Autopsy; Cadaver; Humans; Informed Consent; Ownership; Tissue and Organ Procurement
PubMed: 31453728
DOI: 10.5858/arpa.2019-0225-ED -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Jul 2023To review the evidence on trends and impacts of private equity (PE) ownership of healthcare operators.
OBJECTIVE
To review the evidence on trends and impacts of private equity (PE) ownership of healthcare operators.
DESIGN
Systematic review.
DATA SOURCES
PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and SSRN.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR STUDY SELECTION
Empirical research studies of any design that evaluated PE owned healthcare operators.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The main outcome measures were impact of PE ownership on health outcomes, costs to patients or payers, costs to operators, and quality. The secondary outcome measures were trends and prevalence of PE ownership of healthcare operators.
DATA SYNTHESIS
Studies were classified as finding either beneficial, harmful, mixed, or neutral impacts of PE ownership on main outcome measures. Results across studies were narratively synthesized and reported. Risk of bias was evaluated using ROBINS-I (Risk Of Bias In Non-randomised Studies of Interventions).
RESULTS
The electronic search identified 1778 studies, with 55 meeting the inclusion criteria. Studies spanned eight countries, with most (n=47) analyzing PE ownership of healthcare operators in the US. Nursing homes were the most commonly studied healthcare setting (n=17), followed by hospitals and dermatology settings (n=9 each); ophthalmology (n=7); multiple specialties or general physician groups (n=5); urology (n=4); gastroenterology and orthopedics (n=3 each); surgical centers, fertility, and obstetrics and gynecology (n=2 each); and anesthesia, hospice care, oral or maxillofacial surgery, otolaryngology, and plastics (n=1 each). Across the outcome measures, PE ownership was most consistently associated with increases in costs to patients or payers. Additionally, PE ownership was associated with mixed to harmful impacts on quality. These outcomes held in sensitivity analyses in which only studies with moderate risk of bias were included. Health outcomes showed both beneficial and harmful results, as did costs to operators, but the volume of studies for these outcomes was too low for conclusive interpretation. In some instances, PE ownership was associated with reduced nurse staffing levels or a shift towards lower nursing skill mix. No consistently beneficial impacts of PE ownership were identified.
CONCLUSIONS
Trends in PE ownership rapidly increased across almost all healthcare settings studied. Such ownership is often associated with harmful impacts on costs to patients or payers and mixed to harmful impacts on quality. Owing to risk of bias and frequent geographic focus on the US, conclusions might not be generalizable internationally.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
PROSPERO CRD42022329857.
Topics: Humans; Ownership; Hospitals; Nursing Homes; Health Services; Outcome Assessment, Health Care
PubMed: 37468157
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-075244 -
PloS One 2022The study examined the relationship between ownership structure and financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya for the period 2009-2020. The data were collected...
The study examined the relationship between ownership structure and financial performance of commercial banks in Kenya for the period 2009-2020. The data were collected from audited financial statements of 39 commercial banks in Kenya. Regression results found strong evidence on ownership structures in explaining the differences in commercial banks' financial performance. The results established that the greatest influence of ownership structures was on net interest margin at 53.04% and return on assets at 31.37%. Influence of ownership structures was found to be low on return on equity at 3.32% and earnings per share at 2.13%. The results found a negative association between state ownership and net interest margin, negative association between management ownership and both net interest margin and earnings per share, negative association between institutional ownership and return on assets and a negative association between foreign ownership and earnings per share. Based on the findings, commercial banks should vary their ownership structures to boost financial performance. Secondly, banks with high percentage of state ownership should consider partial privatization to improve corporate governance practices. Third, banks should adopt managerial ownership policy limiting the proportion of equity stock on executives to limit their powers in strategic decision making. Fourth, the study proposes a percentage limit on equity stock of an individual institutional investor. Lastly, the study proposes that bank's management to come up with a policy detailing the role and place of foreign investors in strategic decision making to ensure their presence in every decision undertaken by bank managers.
Topics: Internationality; Kenya; Ownership
PubMed: 35594258
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268301 -
Circulation. Cardiovascular Quality and... Oct 2019
Topics: Animals; Cardiovascular Diseases; Cohort Studies; Dogs; Humans; Ownership; Walking
PubMed: 31592727
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.119.005887 -
BMC Medical Ethics Oct 2022The ownership status of individual-level health data affects the manner in which it is used. In this paper we analyze two competing models of the ownership status of the...
BACKGROUND
The ownership status of individual-level health data affects the manner in which it is used. In this paper we analyze two competing models of the ownership status of the data discussed in the literature recently: private ownership and public ownership.
MAIN BODY
In this paper we describe the limitations of these two models of data ownership with respect to individual-level health data, in particular in terms of ethical principles of justice and autonomy, risk mitigation, as well as technological, economic, and conceptual issues. We argue that undifferentiated application of neither private ownership nor public ownership will allow us to resolve all the problems associated with effective, equitable, and ethical use of data. We suggest that, instead of focusing on data ownership, we should focus on the institutional and procedural aspects of data governance, such as using Data Access Committees (DACs) or equivalent managed access processes, which can balance the elements of these two ownership frameworks.
CONCLUSION
Undifferentiated application of the ownership concept (private or public) is not helpful in resolving problems associated with sharing individual-level health data. DACs or equivalent managed access processes should be an integral part of data governance. They can approve or disapprove data access requests after considering the potential benefits and harms to data subjects, their communities, primary researchers, and the wider society.
Topics: Humans; Ownership; Information Dissemination; Research Personnel; Moral Obligations; Social Justice
PubMed: 36309719
DOI: 10.1186/s12910-022-00848-y -
Scientific Reports Jul 2022Free-roaming dogs can present significant challenges to public health, wildlife conservation, and livestock production. Free-roaming dogs may also experience poor health...
Free-roaming dogs can present significant challenges to public health, wildlife conservation, and livestock production. Free-roaming dogs may also experience poor health and welfare. Dog population management is widely conducted to mitigate these issues. To ensure efficient use of resources, it is critical that effective, cost-efficient, and high-welfare strategies are identified. The dog population comprises distinct subpopulations characterised by their restriction status and level of ownership, but the assessment of dog population management often fails to consider the impact of the interaction between subpopulations on management success. We present a system dynamics model that incorporates an interactive and dynamic system of dog subpopulations. Methods incorporating both fertility control and responsible ownership interventions (leading to a reduction in abandonment and roaming of owned dogs, and an increase in shelter adoptions) have the greatest potential to reduce free-roaming dog population sizes over longer periods of time, whilst being cost-effective and improving overall welfare. We suggest that future management should be applied at high levels of coverage and should target all sources of population increase, such as abandonment, births, and owners of free-roaming dogs, to ensure effective and cost-efficient reduction in free-roaming dog numbers.
Topics: Adoption; Animals; Animals, Wild; Contraception; Dogs; Ownership; Population Density
PubMed: 35794142
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15049-1 -
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2020In recent years, more and more health data are being generated. These data come not only from professional health systems, but also from wearable devices. All these 'big... (Review)
Review
In recent years, more and more health data are being generated. These data come not only from professional health systems, but also from wearable devices. All these 'big data' put together can be utilized to optimize treatments for each unique patient ('precision medicine'). For this to be possible, it is necessary that hospitals, academia and industry work together to bridge the 'valley of death' of translational medicine. However, hospitals and academia often are reluctant to share their data with other parties, even though the patient is actually the owner of his/her own health data. Academic hospitals usually invest a lot of time in setting up clinical trials and collecting data, and want to be the first ones to publish papers on this data. There are some publicly available datasets, but these are usually only shared after study (and publication) completion, which means a severe delay of months or even years before others can analyse the data. One solution is to incentivize the hospitals to share their data with (other) academic institutes and the industry. Here, we show an analysis of the current literature around data sharing, and we discuss five aspects of data sharing in the medical domain: publisher requirements, data ownership, growing support for data sharing, data sharing initiatives and how the use of federated data might be a solution. We also discuss some potential future developments around data sharing, such as medical crowdsourcing and data generalists.
Topics: Delivery of Health Care; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Information Dissemination; Male; Ownership; Publishing
PubMed: 32349396
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17093046