Impairment in Activities of Daily Living, Care Receipt, and Unmet Needs in a Middle-Aged and Older Rural South African Population: Findings From the HAALSI Study.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Harling G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6675676 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Community-based healthcare delivery systems frequently lack cancer-specific survivorship support services. This leads to a burden of unmet needs that is magnified in rural areas. Using sequential mixed methods we assessed unmet needs among rural cancer survivors diagnosed between 2015 and 2021. The Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) assessed 5 domains; Physical and Daily Living, Psychological, Support and Supportive Services, Sexual, and Health Information. Needs were analyzed across domains by cancer type. Survey respondents were recruited for qualitative interviews to identify care gaps. Three hundred and sixty two surveys were analyzed. Participants were 85% White (n = 349) 65% (n = 234) female and averaged 2.03 years beyond cancer diagnosis. Nearly half (49.5%) of respondents reported unmet needs, predominantly in physical, psychological, and health information domains. Needs differed by stage of disease. Eleven interviews identified care gap themes regarding; Finding Support and Supportive Services and Health Information regarding Care Delivery and Continuity of Care. Patients experience persistent unmet needs after a cancer diagnosis across multiple functional domains. Access to community-based support services and health information is lacking. Community based resources are needed to improve access to care for long-term cancer survivors.
| S-EPMC10949551 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesOlder populations have a relatively high prevalence of unmet healthcare needs, which can result in poor health status. Moreover, in the coming century, frailty is expected to become one of the most serious global public health challenges. However, there is a lack of clear evidence proving an association between unmet healthcare needs and frailty. This study aimed to assess whether unmet healthcare needs predict the onset of frailty in China.MethodsThe association between frailty and unmet healthcare needs was explored by analyzing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) using random-effects logistic regression and Cox regression with time-varying exposure.ResultsAt baseline, 7,719 respondents were included in the analysis. Random-effects logistic regression shows that unmet outpatient healthcare needs were associated with increased risk of both contemporaneous (adjusted OR [aOR], 1.17; 95% CI, 1.02-1.35) and lagged (aOR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.05-1.45) frailty, as were unmet inpatient needs (contemporaneous: aOR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.00-1.64; lagged: aOR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.17-2.06). For respondents not classified as frail at baseline (n = 5,392), Cox regression with time-varying exposure shows significant associations of both unmet outpatient needs (adjusted HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.05-1.44) and unmet inpatient needs (adjusted HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.11-1.99) with increased risk of developing frailty.ConclusionsReducing unmet healthcare needs would be a valuable intervention to decrease frailty risk and promote healthy aging in middle-aged and older populations. It is urgent and essential that the equity and accessibility of the medical insurance and health delivery systems be strengthened.
| S-EPMC9939901 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionThe real-world association between male circumcision and HIV status has important implications for policy and intervention practice. For instance, women may assume that circumcised men are safer sex partners than non-circumcised men and adjust sexual partnering and behavior according to these beliefs. Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is highly efficacious in preventing HIV acquisition in men and this biological efficacy should lead to a negative association between circumcision and HIV. However, behavioral factors such as differential selection into circumcision based on current HIV status or factors associated with future HIV status could reverse the association. Here, we examine how HIV prevalence differs by circumcision status in older adult men in a rural South African community, a non-experimental setting in a time of expanding VMMC access.MethodsWe analyzed data collected from a population-based sample of 2345 men aged 40 years and older in a rural community served by the Agincourt Health and socio-Demographic Surveillance System site in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. We describe circumcision prevalence and estimate the association between circumcision and laboratory-confirmed HIV status with log-binomial regression models.ResultsOne quarter of older men reported circumcision, with slightly more initiation-based circumcisions (56%) than hospital-based circumcisions (44%). Overall, the evidence did not suggest differences in HIV prevalence between circumcised and uncircumcised men; however, those who reported hospital-based circumcision were more likely to test HIV-positive [PR (95% CI): 1.28 (1.03, 1.59)] while those who reported initiation-based circumcision were less likely to test HIV-positive [PR (95% CI): 0.68 (0.51, 0.90)]. Effects were attenuated, but not reversed after adjustment for key covariates.ConclusionsMedically circumcised older men in a rural South African community had higher HIV prevalence than uncircumcised men, suggesting that the effect of selection into circumcision may be stronger than the biological efficacy of circumcision in preventing HIV acquisition. The impression given from circumcision policy and dissemination of prior trial findings that those who are circumcised are safer sex partners may be incorrect in this age group and needs to be countered by interventions, such as educational campaigns.
| S-EPMC6070310 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IN BRIEF Given the progressive nature of type 2 diabetes, treatment intensification is usually necessary to maintain glycemic control. However, for a variety of reasons, treatment is often not intensified in a timely manner. The combined use of basal insulin and a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist is recognized to provide a complementary approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This review evaluates the efficacy and safety of two co-formulation products, insulin degludec/liraglutide and insulin glargine/lixisenatide, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on either component agent alone. We consider the benefits and limitations of these medications based on data from randomized clinical trials and discuss how they may address barriers to treatment intensification.
| S-EPMC5898173 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionDespite rapid population aging, there are currently limited data on the incidence of aging-related cognitive impairment in sub-Saharan Africa. We aimed to determine the incidence of cognitive impairment and its distribution across key demographic, social, and health-related factors among older adults in rural South Africa.MethodsData were from in-person interviews with 3,856 adults aged ≥40 who were free from cognitive impairment at baseline in the population-representative cohort, "Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa" (HAALSI), in Agincourt sub-district, Mpumalanga province, South Africa (2014-19). Cognitive impairment was defined as scoring <1.5 standard deviations below the mean of the baseline distribution of orientation and episodic memory scores. Incidence rates and rate ratios for cognitive impairment were estimated according to key demographic, social, and health-related factors, adjusted for age, sex/gender, and country of birth.ResultsThe incidence of cognitive impairment was 25.7/1,000 person-years (PY; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 23.0-28.8), weighted for mortality (12%) and attrition (6%) over the 3.5-year mean follow-up (range: 1.5-4.8 years). Incidence increased with age, from 8.9/1,000 PY (95% CI: 5.2-16.8) among those aged 40-44 to 93.5/1,000 PY (95% CI: 75.9-116.3) among those aged 80+, and age-specific risks were similar by sex/gender. Incidence was strongly associated with formal education and literacy, as well as marital status, household assets, employment, and alcohol consumption but not with history of smoking, hypertension, stroke, angina, heart attack, diabetes, or prevalent HIV.ConclusionsThis study presents some of the first incidence rate estimates for aging-related cognitive impairment in rural South Africa. Social disparities in incident cognitive impairment rates were apparent in patterns similar to those observed in many high-income countries.
| S-EPMC8058235 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeThis study aimed to describe the system of continuing medical education (CME) in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and to ascertain the perceived needs related to that system, in order to improve the performance of health professionals in Chinese township health centers (THCs).MethodsIn-depth key informant interviews were conducted to gain insights into the current CME system. A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered structured questionnaire was also carried out from March to August 2014 in order to identify perceived needs among THC personnel in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Logistic regression was used to identify factors related to respondents' interest in pursuing different levels of degree study.ResultsThe areas of need perceived by the respondents included general clinical competence and emergency or first aid knowledge. Most respondents wanted to study at medical colleges in order to obtain a higher degree. Respondents aged below 45 years with neutral or positive attitudes about the benefit of degree study for the licensure examination were more likely to attend a bachelor-level CME program than their older peers and respondents with negative attitudes towards degree study. Female respondents and respondents aged below 45 years were more likely to attend a junior college CME program than males and older respondents, respectively.ConclusionIt is necessary to develop degree-linked CME programs to meet the need for young health professionals in Chinese THCs; therefore, this programs can improve the expertise of poorly educated young health workers, who overwhelm rural Chinese heath systems.
| S-EPMC4536342 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundFrailty is a key predictor of death and dependency, yet little is known about frailty in sub-Saharan Africa despite rapid population ageing. We describe the prevalence and correlates of phenotypic frailty using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies of an INDEPTH Community cohort.MethodsWe analysed data from rural South Africans aged 40 and over. We used low grip strength, slow gait speed, low body mass index, and combinations of self-reported exhaustion, decline in health, low physical activity and high self-reported sedentariness to derive nine variants of a phenotypic frailty score. Each frailty category was compared with self-reported health, subjective wellbeing, impairment in activities of daily living and the presence of multimorbidity. Cox regression analyses were used to compare subsequent all-cause mortality for non-frail (score 0), pre-frail (score 1-2) and frail participants (score 3+).ResultsFive thousand fifty nine individuals (mean age 61.7 years, 2714 female) were included in the analyses. The nine frailty score variants yielded a range of frailty prevalences (5.4% to 13.2%). For all variants, rates were higher in women than in men, and rose steeply with age. Frailty was associated with worse subjective wellbeing, and worse self-reported health. Both prefrailty and frailty were associated with a higher risk of death during a mean 17 month follow up for all score variants (hazard ratios 1.29 to 2.41 for pre-frail vs non-frail; hazard ratios 2.65 to 8.91 for frail vs non-frail).ConclusionsPhenotypic frailty could be measured in this older South African population, and was associated with worse health, wellbeing and earlier death.
| S-EPMC5745732 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesIn rural areas of Korea, where public transportation infrastructure is lacking and alternative systems are poor, the elderly experience inconveniences in using healthcare, although their need is high. This study aimed to analyze the association between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly.MethodsThe data used were collected in the 2016 Community Health Survey among rural elderly individuals aged 65 or older. Dependent variable was the unmet healthcare needs, explanatory variable was the convenience of transportation. The elderly were divided into 3 groups: with no driver in the household, with a driver, and the elderly individual was the driver (the self-driving group). Covariates were classified into predisposing, enabling, and need factors. They included gender, age, education, income, economic activity, household type, motor ability, subjective health level, number of chronic diseases, anxiety/depression, and pain/discomfort. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and stratification.ResultsA significant association was found between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs. When examined unadjusted odds ratio of the group with a driver in the household, using the group with no driver as a reference, was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.68), while that of the self-driving group was 0.34 (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.38). The odds ratios adjusted for all factors were 0.69 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.80) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.67 to 0.91).ConclusionsWe confirmed a significant association between inconvenient transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly even after adjustment for existing known factors. This implies that policies aimed at improving healthcare accessibility must consider the means of transportation available.
| S-EPMC6893226 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and Objectives:Aging parents often incur disabilities in activities of daily living, which may limit their ability to give support and necessitate increased support from middle-aged children. Research has predominantly assessed disabled parents' retrospective reports of receiving support, but we know little about their daily support exchanges with middle-aged children. This study examined practical support, emotional support, and advice that aging parents with and without disabilities provided and received from middle-aged children, and links between these support exchanges and parents' daily mood. Research Design and Methods:Aging parents (N = 202, Mage = 79.86) from the Family Exchanges Study II indicated their disabilities and background characteristics. They also reported daily exchanges of practical, emotional support, and advice with each middle-aged child and their daily mood for 7 days. Results:Multilevel models revealed that aging parents suffering disabilities were equally likely to provide each type of support but more likely to receive practical support. Aging parents' disabilities seemed to buffer the effects of these support exchanges, such that parents with disabilities versus parents without disabilities reported less negative mood when providing practical support or emotional support, and more positive mood when receiving practical support. Discussion and Implications:Exploring the role of aging parents' disabilities in their daily support exchanges with middle-aged children expands on the literature of late-life disabilities and parent-child ties. Despite increasing disabilities, aging parents continue to engage in support exchanges with middle-aged children in daily life and these parents appear to benefit from such involvement.
| S-EPMC6137346 | biostudies-other
Project description:The ability of sepsis to induce acute phase hearing impairment has been evaluated in septic and sepsis-surviving mice. The relationship between septicemia and long-term hearing impairment remains unknown in humans.The data were obtained from the Taiwan Longitudinal National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2013. We identified patients suffering from septicemia after discharge, excluding those younger than 18 years old and older than 65 years old. The comparison group was matched based on age, sex, and comorbidities. The outcome was hearing impairment occurring after septicemia. The risk factors associated with hearing impairment were established using multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression.Our study found that septicemia associated with hearing impairment had an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 53.11 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 41.74-67.59). The other factors related to hearing impairment in young and middle-aged septicemia survivors included male sex (adjusted HR 1.31 [95% CI: 1.14-1.5]), chronic kidney disease (adjusted HR 1.63 [95% CI: 1.38-1.94]), and otoscleroisis (adjusted HR 231.54 [95% CI: 31.61-1695.8]).Our study revealed that septicemia was associated with increased development of hearing impairment in young and middle-aged humans in the long term. Clinicians should be aware of long-term septicemia-related hearing impairment and provide prevention strategies for otopathy in septicemia survivors.
| S-EPMC7373505 | biostudies-literature