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Journal of Mental Health (Abingdon,... Oct 2023Traditionally, veteran research and support have centred on the requirements of a predominantly male population. However, as female participation in the Armed Forces... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Traditionally, veteran research and support have centred on the requirements of a predominantly male population. However, as female participation in the Armed Forces increases and their roles diversify, consideration of women's unique mental health needs is imperative. Women veterans are at greater risk of post-service mental health challenges than their male counterparts, and female mental health outcomes have deteriorated in recent years.
AIMS
To determine the provenance of these outcomes, a scoping review considering both barriers and facilitators to female veteran participation in mental health services was conducted.
METHODS
A review was carried out following the 2020 Joanna Briggs Institute Scoping Review framework. Twenty-four papers were identified, with all but one originating from the US.
RESULTS
This research indicated that whilst women experience barriers common to male veterans (e.g. help-seeking stigma), they also experience unique gender-specific barriers to accessing mental healthcare services (e.g. lack of gender-sensitive treatment options, feeling uncomfortable) and such barriers result in under-utilization of services.
CONCLUSIONS
Literature indicates that consideration and mitigation of these barriers might improve access and health outcomes for women veterans. Further research is required outside the US to understand the barriers to mental healthcare experienced by women veterans internationally.
Topics: Female; Male; Humans; Veterans; Delivery of Health Care; Military Personnel; Mental Health Services; Mental Health
PubMed: 36062860
DOI: 10.1080/09638237.2022.2118686 -
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and... Dec 2023Understanding user behavior patterns and visual analysis strategies is a long-standing challenge. Existing approaches rely largely on time-consuming manual processes...
Understanding user behavior patterns and visual analysis strategies is a long-standing challenge. Existing approaches rely largely on time-consuming manual processes such as interviews and the analysis of observational data. While it is technically possible to capture a history of user interactions and application states, it remains difficult to extract and describe analysis strategies based on interaction provenance. In this article, we propose a novel visual approach to the meta-analysis of interaction provenance. We capture single and multiple user sessions as graphs of high-dimensional application states. Our meta-analysis is based on two different types of two-dimensional embeddings of these high-dimensional states: layouts based on (i) topology and (ii) attribute similarity. We applied these visualization approaches to synthetic and real user provenance data captured in two user studies. From our visualizations, we were able to extract patterns for data types and analytical reasoning strategies.
PubMed: 34910635
DOI: 10.1109/TVCG.2021.3135697 -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Aug 2023
Topics: Humans; Varicose Veins; Eczema
PubMed: 37591526
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-074602 -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Dec 2023
PubMed: 38061778
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-078766 -
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex... Nov 2023This study aims to improve the current method of studying potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban dust using direct chemical evidence (from dust, rock, and emission...
This study aims to improve the current method of studying potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban dust using direct chemical evidence (from dust, rock, and emission source samples) and robust geochemical methods. The provenance of urban dust was determined using rare earth elements (REEs) and geochemical diagrams (V-Ni-Th*10, TiO vs. Zr, and Zr/Ti vs. Nb/Y). The geogenic or anthropogenic source of PTEs was determined using the enrichment factor (EF) and compositional data analysis (CoDA), while a PTE's point emission source was identified using a 3.1*La-1.54*Ce-Zn diagram, mineralogy, and morphology analyses. The spatiotemporal distribution of PTEs was determined using a geographic information system, and their health risk (by inhalation) was estimated using a lung bioaccessibility test and particle size distribution. We collected urban dust (n = 38), rock (n = 4), and zinc concentrate (n = 2) samples and determined PTEs and REEs in a city of 1.25 million inhabitants in central Mexico. Results showed that urban dust derived from the San Miguelito Range. REEs, Sc, and Zr were geogenic, while Mn, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb were anthropogenic. Due to the presente of sphalerite particles, a zinc refinery was identified as the point emission source of Zn, As, and Pb. High concentrations of Zn (5000-20,008 mg/kg), As (120-284 mg/kg), and Pb (350-776 mg/kg) were found in urban dust near the zinc refinery. Additionally, particles of PM (66-84%), PM (13-27%), PM (3-8%), and PM (0-2%) and lung bioaccessibility of Sr (48.5-72.4%), Zn (9.6-28.4%), Cu (10.5-27.0%), Fe (4.5-8.6%), Mn (2.9-9.2%), Cr (38.3%) and Pb (30.6%) demonstrated a latent risk to human health. These approaches improve our understanding of the provenance of urban dust and its PTE emission sources in urban areas.
Topics: Humans; Metals, Heavy; Environmental Monitoring; Dust; Lead; Mexico; Metals, Rare Earth; Cities; Zinc; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 37683756
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122525 -
Pragmatic and Observational Research 2023Real-world evidence (RWE) is being used to provide information on diverse groups of patients who may be highly impacted by disease but are not typically studied in... (Review)
Review
Real-world evidence (RWE) is being used to provide information on diverse groups of patients who may be highly impacted by disease but are not typically studied in traditional randomized clinical trials (RCT) and to obtain insights from everyday care settings and real-world adherence to inform clinical practice. RWE is derived from so-called real-world data (RWD), ie, information generated by clinicians in the course of everyday patient care, and is sometimes coupled with systematic input from patients in the form of patient-reported outcomes or from wearable biosensors. Studies using RWD are conducted to evaluate how well medical interventions, services, and diagnostics perform under conditions of real-world use, and may include long-term follow-up. Here, we describe the main types of studies used to generate RWE and offer pointers for clinicians interested in study design and execution. Our tactical guidance addresses (1) opportunistic study designs, (2) considerations about representativeness of study participants, (3) expectations for transparency about data provenance, handling and quality assessments, and (4) considerations for strengthening studies using record linkage and/or randomization in pragmatic clinical trials. We also discuss likely sources of bias and suggest mitigation strategies. We see a future where clinical records - patient-generated data and other RWD - are brought together and harnessed by robust study design with efficient data capture and strong data curation. Traditional RCT will remain the mainstay of drug development, but RWE will play a growing role in clinical, regulatory, and payer decision-making. The most meaningful RWE will come from collaboration with astute clinicians with deep practice experience and questioning minds working closely with patients and researchers experienced in the development of RWE.
PubMed: 37786592
DOI: 10.2147/POR.S396024 -
Research in Social & Administrative... Jun 2024The pharma supply chain comprises various parties including distributors, manufacturers, raw material suppliers, regulators, pharmacies, hospitals, and patients. Due to... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The pharma supply chain comprises various parties including distributors, manufacturers, raw material suppliers, regulators, pharmacies, hospitals, and patients. Due to the product's complexity and transaction flows, an efficient traceability system is needed in the pharma supply chain to identify the current and all previous product owners. Digitizing the track and trace process significantly improves regulatory oversight and guarantees product quality. A distributed platform for shared data that is immutable, trustworthy, accountable, and transparent in the pharmaceutical supply chain could be built using blockchain-based drug traceability.
OBJECTIVE
This review aims to shed light on blockchain technology's significance and necessity for pharmaceutical supply chain management systems.
METHOD
A comprehensive literature review was performed between January 2017 and September 2023. The search was conducted to elaborate on blockchain technology. Blockchain is a software-based technology that logs and records transactions using a block structure arranged chronologically. Cryptography technology links and secures these blocks on a peer-to-peer network. Blockchain is anticipated to transform the pharmaceutical supply chain by giving all participants access to a single, straightforward system that provides transparency, security, and oversight of the end-to-end delivery of goods.
RESULT
In all, various literature data were included in this review. Using a supply chain powered by blockchain has many benefits. To begin with, it gives a thorough account of the entire procedure from start to finish. A single piece of software can manage the entire supply chain. Additionally, it increases communication between parties with permission. The enhanced security and traceability that blockchain offers is another important benefit. A blockchain system can track, trace, and recall products.
CONCLUSION
Blockchain-based pharmaceutical supply chain management enables the tracking of medicinal drug transactions from raw materials suppliers to end consumers. The pharma blockchain has the potential to enhance the security, integrity, data provenance, and functionality of the supply chain due to its transparency, immutability, and auditability.
Topics: Blockchain; Humans; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Drug Industry; Software
PubMed: 38423927
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.02.014 -
Blockchain in Healthcare Today 2023Blockchain technology is a radical innovation with the potential to disrupt and re-imagine more collaborative established business structures and processes. Significant... (Review)
Review
UNLABELLED
Blockchain technology is a radical innovation with the potential to disrupt and re-imagine more collaborative established business structures and processes. Significant advances, particularly in the payments space, include newer, faster, and less costly options for moving money. The underlying blockchain technology can be used for broader use cases spanning several verticals, including healthcare - although its adoption here is less than complete. Numerous proofs-of-concept and pilots have been executed and are increasing, although enterprise blockchain applications in healthcare at the production scale enabling transformative constituent processes are limited. In this article, the authors analyze the blockchain in healthcare literature for critical success factors and add practitioner views on crossing the chasm from proof-of-concept and pilots to a transformational scale. We explore 24 articles for key inflections for scale and highlight the need for a multifaceted execution framework to resolve the practical barriers to enabling reimagined network-based blockchain use cases for efficiencies, particularly in disparate health systems such as the U.S. In addition, we introduce the blockchain discovery framework to make this emerging technology meet the mainstream operations at scale systematically and in a stair-stepped and future-proofed manner, addressing practical stakeholder concerns. Finally, the authors present a reference case study discovered through the framework of one such healthcare administrative process for a scaled reimagined implementation. Healthcare executives and portfolio managers will benefit from these insights and help to increase the enterprise adoption of this inevitable technology of the future.
PLAN LANGUAGE SUMMARY
This article presents a practitioner's view of operating in emerging technology, exploring and advancing blockchain-based transformation in healthcare. Blockchain technology is maturing quickly, with financial technology (aka fintech) leading the way with efficient options for moving money, particularly in the public permissionless blockchain segment. The underlying technology allows for a broader set of capabilities, including provenance, data sharing, immutability, non-repudiation, and auditability, which provides for complete rethinking of existing business processes. These features can help to reimagine a more comprehensive set of use cases in many disciplines, including healthcare. However, enterprise adoption needs to catch up.
PubMed: 38187959
DOI: 10.30953/bhty.v6.280 -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Mar 2024
Topics: Humans; Dry Eye Syndromes; Ophthalmic Solutions; Disease Management
PubMed: 38527751
DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2023-077344 -
BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) Jun 2024
Topics: Humans; Influenza, Human; Influenza in Birds; Animals; Birds; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype
PubMed: 38834195
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q1199