The coronavirus is naturally mutating over time and producing new variants. Some of them are more contagious and destructive than previous strains. Also, some variants are capable of therapeutic ...escaping. Earlier SARS-CoV-2 variants proved that some are supercritical, and newly mutated strains are creating new challenges to the global healthcare systems. Here we aimed to evaluate different coronavirus variants and associated challenges for healthcare systems. We searched for information online and on the PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases. We found the wild-type virus is more sensitive for neutralization and more controllable than newer variants. The Delta and Omicron variants are more highly transmissible than Alpha, Beta, and Gamma variants. Also, few strains are resistant to neutralization. Therefore, there is a chance of reinfection among the vaccinated population. The transmissibility and resistance of the recently identified Omicron variant is still unclear. The Delta variant is the most dangerous among all variants due to its high transmissibility, disease severity, and mortality rate. For poor and developing countries, oxygen supply, medication, vaccination, and device supply are challenging during epidemic waves. Slowing down the transmission, mass vaccination, vaccine redesign, re-compiling action plans, and following safety guidelines can be effective solutions to the new challenges.
Robotics has a significant potential to enhance the overall capacity and efficiency of healthcare systems. Robots can help surgeons perform better quality operations, leading to reductions in the ...hospitalisation time of patients and in the impact of surgery on their postoperative quality of life. In particular, robotics can have a significant impact on microsurgery, which presents stringent requirements for superhuman precision and control of the surgical tools. Microsurgery is, in fact, expected to gain importance in a growing range of surgical specialties as novel technologies progressively enable the detection, diagnosis and treatment of diseases at earlier stages. Within such scenarios, robotic microsurgery emerges as one of the key components of future surgical interventions, and will be a vital technology for addressing major surgical challenges. Nonetheless, several issues have yet to be overcome in terms of mechatronics, perception and surgeon-robot interfaces before microsurgical robots can achieve their full potential in operating rooms. Research in this direction is progressing quickly and microsurgery robot prototypes are gradually demonstrating significant clinical benefits in challenging applications such as reconstructive plastic surgery, ophthalmology, otology and laryngology. These are reassuring results offering confidence in a brighter future for high-precision surgical interventions.
The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges women face before inflammatory vulvar dermatosis diagnosis to guide interventions for improving time to diagnosis and health care experiences.
...The present analysis was part of a larger study exploring sexual health and quality of life of women with vulvar and nonvulvar inflammatory dermatoses, evaluated via a 20-minute web-based survey. One open-response item asked participants to "briefly describe any challenges you faced with regards to health care or health care providers in the time when you were seeking a diagnosis"; this item informed the present study. Eligible participants were women older than 18 years, living in the United States, with diagnosis of an inflammatory vulvar dermatosis persisting at least 1 month. Participants (n = 118) had a mean age of 46.55 ± 15.35 years, and 64% (n = 75) had lichen sclerosus.
Provider-based challenges consisted of insensitive communication and ascribing physical symptoms to mental health issues, self-harm, or other factors. System-based challenges included confusing referral networks, limited specialist access, and widespread lack of provider education. Personal challenges for participants seeking care included feelings of embarrassment and reduced health care efficacy. Challenges led to emotional response and impact for participants, characterized by negative (e.g., distrust in the medical system) or positive (e.g., self-advocacy efforts, strong social media communities) outcomes.
Findings provide unique insights into the challenges women experience before inflammatory vulvar dermatosis diagnosis. This study creates new knowledge exploring the diagnostic journey accompanying inflammatory vulvar dermatoses and contributes practically to clinical and research needs of this understudied population.
Health care environments have historically faced stressful situations that place those working in those environments at risk for substance use disorders. Over the past several years, the rates of ...burnout, workplace violence, diverse population stigmatization, and mental health concerns (including suicide) during the Covid-19 pandemic have increased, further challenging and contributing to development of negative coping skills, including use of substances to reduce the side effects and emotions from work. This article introduces the problem of substance use disorders, pathophysiology, and how the challenges contribute to the development of turning to substances to cope.
Critical care nursing is a postgraduate residency program that was initiated by the Indian Nursing Council to address the critical care service requirements for the increasing number of patients ...across India due to the increasing burden of communicable and noncommunicable diseases among its population. This article describes the experiences and challenges of a leading nursing institution in India, the Manipal College of Nursing (Manipal), in initiating and implementing the program. Additionally, the authors discuss the need for starting a critical care nurse practitioner program in India and the introduction of critical care nursing in the country. The government of India and the Indian Nursing Council have made a prudent decision to start a postgraduate residency program in critical care to address the requirement of the Indian population. Despite the infancy stage of this program, its graduates provide hope for competent care to critically ill patients. It is the most cost-effective method for a resource-scarce country such as India to fulfill the requirements of critically ill patients. However, further nationwide uniform policies are essential for credentialing, privileging, and creating appropriate employment for the graduates of the program.
Biomedical Entanglements is an ethnographic study of the Giri people of Papua New Guinea, focusing on the indigenous population's interaction with modern medicine. In her fieldwork, Franziska A. ...Herbst follows the Giri people as they circulate within and around ethnographic sites that include a rural health center and an urban hospital. The study bridges medical anthropology and global health, exploring how the 'biomedical' is imbued with social meaning and how biomedicine affects Giri ways of life.
Biomedical Reproductive Health Care Meaningful Conclusion Glossary References Biomedical Entanglements is an ethnographic study of the Giri people of Papua New Guinea, focusing on the indigenous ...population's interaction with modern medicine. In her fieldwork, Franziska A. Herbst follows the Giri people as they circulate within and around ethnographic sites that include a rural health center and an urban hospital. The study bridges medical anthropology and global health, exploring how the 'biomedical' is imbued with social meaning and how biomedicine affects Giri ways of life.
The purpose of this article is to discuss specific challenges faced by hospitals adopting the use of electronic medical records and implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems. Challenges ...include user and information technology support; ease of technical use and software interface capabilities; compliance; and financial, legal, workforce training, and development issues. Electronic health records are essential to preventing medical errors, increasing consumer trust and use of the health system, and improving quality and overall efficiency. Government efforts are focused on ways to accelerate the adoption and use of EHRs as a means of facilitating data sharing, protecting health information privacy and security, quickly identifying emerging public health threats, and reducing medical errors and health care costs and increasing quality of care. This article will discuss physician and nonphysician staff training before, during, and after implementation; the effective use of EHR systems' technical features; the selection of a capable and secure EHR system; and the development of collaborative system implementation. Strategies that are necessary to help health care providers achieve successful implementation of EHR systems will be addressed.
The health care environment is undergoing radical changes. Educators are challenged to prepare students for the new environment. New skills and roles for the dietitian require changes in curriculum ...and creativity on the part of educators so dietitians can compete and thrive in the new marketplace. This article explores skills that will be necessary and how competencies can be achieved in supervised practice programs
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