The latest medical research on Medical Administration

There are health disparities and inequities in the outcomes of critical illness survivors related to the influence of social determinants of health on recovery. The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between critical illness recovery and the intermediary social determinants of health in the Canadian context. Because Canadian healthcare is provided within a universal publicly funded system, this analysis sheds light on the role of social determinants of health in the context of universal health services and a relatively robust social safety net.

The 74 study participants included 30 patients (mean age 58 years, 18 men and 12 women) and 25 family caregivers (mean age 55 years, 8 men and 17 women), representing 37 cases, as well as 19 healthcare providers.

Challenges with employment and finances, home set-up, transportation, food and nutrition, medications and social support complicated and hindered critical illness recovery. Critical illness sequelae also altered these social determinants of health, suggesting a reciprocal relationship. Furthermore, individuals experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage before critical illness described being at a greater disadvantage following their critical illness, which interfered with their recovery and suggests an accumulation of risk for some.

Our findings underscore the significant influence of social determinants of health on critical illness recovery, highlighting the importance of creating and evaluating comprehensive approaches to health and well-being that address health inequities.

Since this study is based on the analysis of already published research articles, ethical approval is not required. The results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed academic publications and presentations, informing further research and practice regarding BSE education programmes.

This paper presents a protocol for conducting a systematic review aiming to synthesise studies on the enablers and barriers to implementing BSE education programmes among adolescent girls in SSA.

The systematic review will be conducted from December 2024 to August 2025, following the predefined methodological framework outlined in the PRISMA guidelines. To gather relevant studies, a comprehensive search will be conducted across four main online databases, namely PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and EMBASE, along with other relevant grey literature sources, such as Google Scholar, to identify pertinent literature on this topic. The screening process will involve an initial review of titles and abstracts to quickly identify relevant studies, followed by a thorough assessment of the full-text versions of selected studies. Two reviewers, working independently, will extract data and evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies using either the Joana Briggs Institute's Critical Appraisal tool or Cochrane's Risk of Bias tool V.2 (RoB 2). The focus of the included studies will be on BSE among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years of age. Depending on the results of the literature search and the characteristics of the findings in the selected studies, we will conduct a meta-analysis if possible. Alternatively, a narrative synthesis will be conducted. The review will provide empirical evidence to inform health promoters and policymakers in advocating for BSE, particularly, among adolescent girls in SSA, with the ultimate goal of mitigating the risk of breast cancer.

To investigate the details of disaster-related deaths due to the indirect health effects of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident following the Great East-Japan Earthquake in 2011 and serve as a source of reference in the event of similar circumstances in the future.

520 residents of Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, who were certified as having died from disaster-related causes between September 2011 and February 2021.

The most common cause of death was circulatory system diseases (27.7%), followed by respiratory system diseases (25.0%) and neoplasms (15.4%). The prevalence of circulatory and respiratory diseases is higher in older people, suggesting that they are more susceptible to indirect health effects due to the environmental changes related to evacuation. Malignant neoplasms accounted for the third and leading cause of death overall and for people in their 50s, respectively, implying the potential impact of evacuation on cancer diagnosis and treatment. Suicide is the leading cause of death among younger people and can occur even long after a disaster, which shows the psychological impact of environmental changes.

To prevent indirect disaster-related deaths in the future, it is important to consider appropriate intervention methods by age group and period since disaster occurrence. It is especially important to improve the environment of evacuation shelters and establish a healthcare system for evacuees, create a system for cancer screening and treatment during evacuation and expand long-term suicide prevention measures.