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Do elders care about eHealth? A correlational study between eHealth consumption and literacy

Liang et al. | Jul 19, 2023

Do elders care about eHealth? A correlational study between eHealth consumption and literacy
Image credit: Liang and Sposa

As digital tools become more prevalent in medicine, the ability for individuals to understand and take actions based on what they read on the internet is crucial. eHealth literacy is defined as as the ability to seek, find, understand, and evaluate health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem. In general, Americans have low eHealth literacy rates. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the eHealth literacy level among older Chinese adult immigrants in the U.S. To determine the eHealth literacy of elderly Chinese immigrants, we sent out an eHealth survey and relevant computer skills survey using a modified version of the eHEALS (eHealth Literacy Scale) health literacy test. We hypothesized that elders who consumed more electronic health content would have a higher eHealth literacy score. The results of this survey showed that there was a positive correlation between the frequency of electronic health information consumption and the participant's eHealth literacy rate. In addition, the results of our computer literacy test show that the frequency of consumption and computer literacy are positively correlated as well. There is a strong positive correlation between the level of computer skills and eHealth literacy of participants. These results reveal possible steps individuals can take to reduce health misinformation and improve their own health by attaining, understanding, and taking action on health material on the internet.

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Using broad health-related survey questions to predict the presence of coronary heart disease

Chavda et al. | Aug 23, 2024

Using broad health-related survey questions to predict the presence of coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the U.S., responsible for nearly 700,000 deaths in 2021, and is marked by artery clogging that can lead to heart attacks. Traditional prediction methods require expensive clinical tests, but a new study explores using machine learning on demographic, clinical, and behavioral survey data to predict CHD.

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The effects of age on quality of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bui et al. | Jul 15, 2024

The effects of age on quality of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

The impact of age on mental health is a crucial yet understudied aspect of public health. While mental health is gaining recognition as a vital component of overall well-being, its correlation with age remains largely unexplored. In Canada, where the median age has risen significantly over the past half-century, understanding this relationship becomes increasingly pertinent. Researchers hypothesized that older adults would exhibit lower rates of mental health disorders and report better perceived mental health due to increased emotional stability and maturity.

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COVID 19 and the perceived impacts on adolescents’ and young adults’ mental health: A quantitative survey

Kumar et al. | Jul 31, 2023

COVID 19 and the perceived impacts on adolescents’ and young adults’ mental health: A quantitative survey
Image credit: Nick Fewings

Here, recognizing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young peoples' mental health and wellbeing the authors used an online survey which included the short General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to probe 102 young adults. Overall they found that young adults perceived the pandemic to be detrimental to many areas of their wellbeing, with females and those aged 18-19 and 22-23 reporting to be the most significantly impacted.

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A comparison of use of the mobile electronic health record by medical providers based on clinical setting

Stover et al. | Jul 12, 2023

A comparison of use of the mobile electronic health record by medical providers based on clinical setting
Image credit: Tima Miroshnichenko

The electronic health record (EHR), along with its mobile application, has demonstrated the ability to improve the efficiency and accuracy of health care delivery. This study included data from 874 health care providers over a 12-month period regarding their usage of mobile phone (EPIC® Haiku) and tablet (EPIC® Canto) mEHR. Ambulatory and inpatient care providers had the greatest usage levels over the 12-month period. Awareness of workflow allows for optimization of mEHR design and implementation, which should increase mEHR adoption and usage, leading to better health outcomes for patients.

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Health services in Iraq - A cross-sectional survey of adolescents in Basra

Al Saeedi et al. | Aug 12, 2022

Health services in Iraq - A cross-sectional survey of adolescents in Basra

This study is a cross-sectional survey of adolescents in Basra, Iraq, from November 2020 to March 2021 about types of adolescent problems, the individuals and institutions adolescents turn to, and the role of public health centers in dealing with their problems. The survey found that psychological problems represent the largest proportion of health problems, and most adolescents turn to their parents to discuss their problems. The work indicates that there is an urgent need to pay attention to public health centers and provide health and psychological support to adolescents.

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Repurposing citrus peel waste and its positive effects on our health and communities

Kim et al. | Feb 08, 2021

Repurposing citrus peel waste and its positive effects on our health and communities

Every year, more than 30% of food products go to waste. This is approximately 1.3 billion tons of food, which is equivalent to 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars. While conventional solid waste treatments and fertilization of food waste are common, citrus fruit peels require secondary applications and advanced disposal management due to their low pH values and high antimicrobial characteristics. Since citrus fruits are well-known sources of vitamin C and antioxidants, we hypothesized that their peels also contain high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants. In our study, five common citrus peels including grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and tangerine, were used to determine the amounts of vitamin C and total soluble antioxidants.

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