Interventions to reduce the stigma of mental health at work: a narrative review

Abstract Background While there are reviews of the literature on mental health stigma reduction programs, very few have focused on the workplace. Objective: We sought to identify, describe and compare the main characteristics of the interventions to reduce the stigma towards mental health at work. Method The search of original articles (2007 to 2022) was carried out in the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus databases, selecting 25 articles from the key terms: 1. Stigma, 2. Workplace, 3. Anti-stigma intervention/program, 4. Mental health. Results: These interventions can be effective in changing the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of workers towards people with mental health problems, although further verification of these results is needed as they are limited to date. Discussion and conclusion Interventions to reduce stigma in the workplace could create more supportive work environments by reducing negative attitudes and discrimination and improving awareness of mental disorders.

Effectiveness of Teaching Standardized Protocol on Safe Medication Administration Process Upon the Level of Knowledge among Nurses at a Tertiary Care Hospital, Chennai

Strategies to improve medication safety focused on acute care settings. Twenty-six studies and descriptions of quality improvement projects were identified. Strategies used to focus on recommendations to prevent medication errors at various stages, from a nationwide voluntary organization to improve safety of patients and empower education system of nurses and other health care providers in safe practices in health care system and vast growing technology.

Health-care mechanism and medicine and food resources of invigorating spleen in traditional Chinese medicine / 中草药

According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), spleen and stomach are the most important visceral system to maintain human life and health, and healthy spleen and stomach can help to nourish the primordial qi, so as to maintain sufficient vitality of the body. Therefore, invigorating the spleen plays an important role in the prevention and recovery of human diseases. In this paper, the correlation between the theory of invigorating the spleen of TCM and the function of modern health care was discussed, and the relationship between spleen invigorating and digestive tract protection, immunomodulation, anti-oxidation, relieving physical fatigue, helping to reduce fat and lose weight, improving sleep and other modern health care functions and its mechanism were systematically summarized and analyzed. The mechanism and material basis of important spleen-invigorating Chinese medicinal materials such as Astragalus membranaceus, Poria cocos, Dioscorea opposita, Euryale ferox, Atractylodes macrocephala and Polygonatum sibiricum and classic recipe of invigorating spleen such as Guipi Decoction, Sijunzi Decoction, Buzhong Yiqi Decoction and Lizhong Decoction were briefly reviewed, in order to provide some new ideas and methods for the development and utilization of spleen-invigorating medicine and food resources in TCM and the research and development of TCM health food.

Reducción de la exposición en residentes de Cirugía frente al brote de COVID-19 / Reduction of exposure in residents of Surgery in face of the outbreak of COVID-19

El brote mundial de COVID-19 durante el primer trimestre de 2020 constituye un desafío sin precedentes para el sistema de salud. El objetivo es describir las estrategias adoptadas por los residentes de Cirugía General de un Hospital Universitario de la Argentina, para salvaguardar la salud de los residentes, reducir el riesgo de exposición de los pacientes quirúrgicos, mantener la formación académica continua y fomentar el trabajo en equipo. Minimizar la exposición de los residentes dividiendo el personal total en dos equipos que trabajan por quincenas; dividir las actividades, las horas dentro del hospital y los turnos por igual entre los residentes; usar telemedicina para controles posoperatorios/ ambulatorios; suspender la actividad de consultorio; organizar clases diarias en línea y revisiones de artículos publicados. En el contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19 se deben utilizar todos los medios para minimizar el riesgo de exposición para así optimizar los recursos humanos. A pesar de que estas estrategias pueden aplicarse fácilmente a otras residencias, se necesita más investigación para evaluar su impacto en la transmisión de enfermedades, y en la salud física y emocional de los profesionales de la salud.

The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2020 constitutes an unprecedented challenge for the health system. The aim is to describe the strategies adopted by residents of General Surgery of a university hospital of Argentina, to safeguard the health of residents, reduce the risk of exposure of surgical patients, maintain continuous academic training and promote teamwork. Minimize resident exposure by dividing the group into two teams that work by fortnights; divide activities, hours within hospital, and shifts equally among residents; use telemedicine for postoperative / ambulatory controls; suspend office activity; organize daily online classes and reviews of published articles. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, all means should be used to minimize the risk of exposure in order to optimize human resources. Although these strategies can easily be applied to other residencies, more research is needed to assess their impact on disease transmission, and on the physical and emotional health of health professionals.

Cambios en el Programa de Formación Quirúrgica en la era COVID-19 / Changes in the Surgical Training Program in the COVID-19 era

La aparición de esta nueva enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) ha generado un gran impacto dentro de los equipos de salud, obligando a realizar cambios profundos en la actividad diaria. Estas modificaciones están orientadas a promover un ambiente de trabajo seguro para el personal médico y no médico. Sin embargo, algunos de esos cambios pueden tener consecuencias sobre el proceso de aprendizaje de los médicos en formación. El desafío que enfrenta un Servicio de Cirugía de un Hospital Universitario es mantener la continuidad de los programas formativos asegurando a la vez la seguridad de los médicos residentes. En este comunicado se describen los cambios realizados en el Programa de la Residencia de Cirugía General en un Hospital Universitario, orientados a brindar la misma calidad educativa, en un entorno seguro durante el transcurso de esta pandemia.

The appearance of this new coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) has generated a great impact within health teams, forcing profound changes in the daily activity. These modifications are aimed at promoting a safe work environment for medical and non-medical personnel. However, some of these changes may have consequences on the learning process of doctors in training. The challenge faced by a Surgery Service of a University Hospital is to maintain the continuity of the training programs while ensuring the safety of Residents. This report describes the changes made to the General Surgery Residency Program at a university hospital, aimed at providing the same educational quality, in a safe environment during the course of this pandemic.

Clinicopathological Study of Cancer Larynx

Background: In India, laryngeal cancer contributes to approximately 3–6% of all cancers in men.Objective: The aim of this study was to study the clinicopathology of cancer larynx with respect to age, sex, site, complaints,histology, staging, and predisposing factors.Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of 100 patients who were suffering from cancer larynx. A completeclinical history was taken from the patients. After the clinical diagnosis of growth larynx, the patients were prepared for directlaryngoscopy under general or local anesthesia. The lesions were visualized, the extent of growth defined, and biopsy taken andthen sent for histopathological examination. The staging of cancer larynx was done according to tumor, node, and metastasisclassification.Results: There were 80 male (80%) and 20 female (20%) patients. Maximum patients were in the age group of 51–60 years(40%). 54% showed supraglottic cancer, 45% had glottic cancer, and only 1% had subglottic cancer. In cases of supraglotticcancer, the most common complaint was difficulty in swallowing seen in all 54 patients; in cases of glottis cancer, the mostcommon complaint was hoarseness of voice seen in 88.88%. There was only 1 patient of subglottic cancer who presentedwith difficulty in swallowing and difficulty in breathing. Out of 100 cases, there were 99 cases of squamous cell carcinomawhereas there was only 1 case of adenocarcinoma. Out of total 100 patients, overall most common stage was Stage 2 (34%),followed by Stage 3 (25%), Stage 4a (16%), Stage 1 (15%), and Stage 4b (10%). Smoking was found to be the most commonpredisposing factor (92%), followed by alcohol intake (78%) and tobacco chewing (50%).Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment of laryngeal cancer is important to reduce the morbidity and mortality of patients.

Effect on visual parameters in myopic children wearing spectacle lens designed to reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

@#AIM: To study the efficacy of AMSPL on myopia control, and confirm the security of wearing AMSPL, through comparing the impacts on visual parameters between myopic children wearing spectacle lens designed to reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus(AMSPL)and myopic children wearing the standard design control lens(SPL).<p>METHODS: Totally 50 children aged 8 to 14 years wearing spectacle lens designed to reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus(AMSPL)were collected into the AMSPL group, and other 50 children in the same age, the same degree of myopia and the same glasses time wearing standard design control lens(SPL)were selected into normal control group randomly(SPL group). We reviewed their documents and exam all patients. The examination include intraocular pressure, refraction under cycloplegia, distant strabismus and near strabismus, AC/A ratio. <p>RESULTS: The children wearing spectacle lens designed to reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus(AMSPL)had lower feeling of comfort than SPL group, mainly in peripheral vision confused, but no difference between them 1mo later. The AMSPL group's average growth of refractive error is -0.62±0.50D, the SPL group's average growth of refractive error is -0.77±0.48D(<i>P</i>=0.072). In myopic children aged 8 to 10 years, the AMSPL group's average development of refractive error is -0.71±0.41D, lower than the SPL group that of -1.05±0.39D, the difference was significant(<i>t</i>=2.164, <i>P</i>=0.041). Between the two groups, there was no significant difference(<i>P</i>>0.05)in visual parameters of distant strabismus, near strabismus, AC/A ratio.<p>CONCLUSION: Wearing spectacle lens designed to reduce peripheral hyperopic defocus(AMSPL)can delay the progression of myopia to a certain extent, especially for myopic children aged 8 to 10 years. It suggests that wearing AMSPL has the same safety with SPL for myopic children.

Study on Radix Scrophulariae for the treatment of hyperthyroidism rat model of yin deficiency based on urine metabonomics / 药学学报

The Chinese herbal Radix Scrophulariae is the main medicine for nourishing yin and reducing fire. It can be used to treat hyperthyroidism due to yin deficiency and fire hyperactivity, but its mechanism is not clear. The present study was aimed to explore the mechanism of Radix Scrophulariae treatment of hyperthyroidism due to yin deficiency and fire hyperactivity. The urine metabolomic approach was conducted using the method of UPLC-TOF-MS. The results showed that Radix Scrophulariae has good therapeutic effects on hyperthyroidism rat model of yin deficiency. After treatment with Radix Scrophulariae, through metabolic profiling and protocol analysis, 6 potential metabolic markers may be closely related with the treatment mechanism of Radix Scrophulariae on this disease, including proline betaine, estrone, thymidine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, cyclic AMP and L-dopa. The strongest metabolic pathways were associated with tryptophan metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, tyrosine metabolism, purine metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis. The urine metabolomic approach can be applied to clarify the therapeutic mechanism of Radix Scrophulariae on hyperthyroidism rat of yin deficiency, and provide the theoretical basis for the clinical practice of Radix Scrophulariae on nourishing yin to reduce pathogenic fire.

Razones para reducir el consumo de alcohol en universitarios / Reasons to reduce alcohol consumption in university students

Las razones para reducir el consumo de alcohol pueden ser definidas como motivos que llevan a una persona a disminuir el consumo de alcohol o mantener la sobriedad. Este tema suele ser poco estudiado, particularmente en países latinoamericanos y en poblaciones en riesgo. El objetivo de esta investigación de diseño secuencial exploratorio fue explorar las razones para cambiar el consumo de alcohol en universitarios que lo hayan modificado (N = 100), de la ciudad de Mar del Plata, Argentina, con una pregunta abierta. A su vez, la descripción se realizó sobre la base de la experiencia previa de consumo excesivo episódico del alcohol, trastornos por uso de alcohol, y el sexo de los participantes. Los resultados indican que el motivo más frecuente es el disgusto o indiferencia por la sustancia en casi todos los grupos considerados. Sin embargo, cuando el trastorno por uso de alcohol fue grave o moderado, se observaron diferencias. Se discuten los aportes teóricos de la investigación, entre ellos, comprender qué lleva a cada grupo a cambiar su consumo alcohol, y las implicancias para el desarrollo de intervenciones específicas basadas en esta información.

The reasons to reduce alcohol consumption may be defined as the causes leading a person to decrease alcohol consumption or to stay sober. This topic is not often widely studied, particularly in Latin American countries and at-risk populations. The aim of this sequential exploratory research was to explore, through an open question, the reasons why university students (N = 100) of the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina, changed their alcohol consumption. Additionally, the description was based on previous heavy episodic alcohol consumption, disorders caused by alcohol use, and participants' gender. The results indicate that almost all studied groups reduced alcohol consumption due to their distaste or indifference for the substance. However, when disorders caused by alcohol use were severe or moderate, differences were observed. The theoretical contributions of this research are discussed, including the understanding of what leads each group to change its alcohol consumption, and the implications for the development of specific interventions based on this information.

Clinical Observation of Chronic Pharyngitis Treated with Acupuncture / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and medicine for the treatment of chronic pharyngitis. Methods Sixty chronic pharyngitis patients were randomized into treatment group and control group, 30 cases in each group. The treatment group was treated with acupuncture mainly on acupoints of Zhaohai(KI6), Lieque(L7), Tiantu(CV22) , Lianquan(CV23), Tianrong(SI17) , Hegu(LI), Yuji (LU10) for nourishing yin to reduce fire and clearing throat. The supplementary acupoints were selected according to the symptoms and physical signs. Acupuncture was performed once a day and 6 times a week. The control group received western medical therapy including pharyngeal application with 1% iodine glycerin preparation and oral use of Cydiodine tablets, 3 times per day. Four weeks constituted one treatment course and the treatment for the two groups covered 2 courses. After treatment, the therapeutic effect was evaluated. The scores of the signs and s ymptoms as well as scores of chronic pharyngitis syndrome discomfort rating questionnaire(CPSDQ) evaluated by visual anal og scale(VAS) were observed. Results (1) The overall effective rate of the treatment group was 93.3%, higher than that of the control group(73.3%), and the inter-group difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). (2) After treatment, scores of the signs and symptoms and VAS for CPSDQ scores in the two groups were reduced as compared with those before treatment(all P<0.05 or P<0.01 ) .The improvement of the scores in the treatment group was superior to that in the control group(all P<0.05 or P<0.01).(3) During the treatment , needling-induced mild pain and bleeding occurred in the treatment group. No acupuncture syncope, stuck needles or allergic and toxic-side effect was shown in the two groups. Conclusion Acupuncture therapy can obviously relieve the symptoms, signs and discomfort in the patients with chronic pharyngitis, and the curative effect is superior to the drugs.

Study on the ability of New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme to reduce health risk factors in Anhui province / 中国卫生政策研究

Objective: To describe the degree of poverty caused by diseases among farmers who have joined New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme( NRCMS) in Anhui province, and analyze the ability of NRCMS to reduce health risk factors in Anhui province, in order to provide suggestions for improving the NRCMS strategy. Methods: This paper randomly selects three counties to conduct comparative analysis on the NRCMS strategic changes from the aspects of registration rates, funding levels and compensation ratios between 2013 and 2014, in order to analyze the ability of NRCMS to reduce health risk factors from the aspects of the rate of poverty caused by diseases, the resolving degree of poverty caused by diseases, the alleviation degree of poverty caused by diseases, etc. Results: The ability of NRCMS to reduce health risk factors in Anhui province has improved between 2013 and 2014 , but the improve-ment is limited. Conclusions:In order to reduce the incidence of poverty caused by diseases among the farmers, gov-ernment should reform the payment methods, control the outflow of patients and improve the multi-level security sys-tem, in order to gradually reduce the poverty caused by diseases among farmers.

Effect of Oscillatoria willei – a marine cyanobacterium on hydrazine induced toxicity

Aims: To find out the effect of crude extract of Oscillatoria willei, a marine cyanobacterium on hydrazine induced toxicity. Methodology and Results: In this study, the experimental mice were injected intramuscularly with 5 mg of hydrazine/kg body weight continuously for 20 days. Crude extract of Oscillatoria willei was given to the animals induced with hydrazine toxicity. The animals were subjected to various biochemical and immunological parameters after exposing to hydrazine and followed up treatment. The results revealed that intra-peritoneal administration of O. willei reduced interleukin 2 (IL-2), reducing sugar, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), liver enzymes, bilirubin, creatinine and uric acid level. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: O. willei treatment was found to reduce the ill effects induced by hydrazine.

Política fiscal, asequibilidad y efectos cruzados de precios en la demanda de productos de tabaco: el caso de Uruguay / Fiscal policy, affordability and cross effects in the demand for tobacco products: the case of Uruguay

Uruguay es un país que desde 2005 ha realizado una política activa de control del tabaco. Sin embargo, la evolución de la demanda del total de productos de tabaco muestra un descenso insignificante en los últimos cinco años, lo que es contrario a lo esperado. La hipótesis es que el fuerte crecimiento del ingreso de los hogares unido a una elasticidad-ingreso de la demanda de cigarrillos cercana a 1 fue uno de los factores que contrarrestó el aumento real en los precios vía impuestos. El aumento en el ingreso de los hogares fue de 36 por ciento en términos reales en el periodo 2005-2009 debido a la fuerte recuperación luego de la crisis del año 2002. Por otro lado, un segundo factor explicativo importante de la demanda de cigarrillos en el Uruguay es la sustituibilidad entre cigarrillos y tabaco de armar. El impuesto y precio del tabaco de armar sigue siendo sustancialmente más bajo que el del cigarrillo, de forma que en los últimos años la cantidad demandada de tabaco de armar ha subido. El trabajo consistió entonces en revisitar un estudio de demanda realizado en 2004 por los autores y volver a estimar una función demanda de los dos productos principales de tabaco en el Uruguay (cigarrillos y tabaco de armar), lo que permite estimar las elasticidades precio, ingreso y cruzadas. A partir de estas estimaciones se realiza un ejercicio de simular alternativas de incrementos de impuestos con lo que se evalúa qué aumentos son necesarios para realmente impactar sobre la demanda en un escenario de crecimiento del ingreso de los hogares moderado de 2.5 por ciento anual y alto de 5 por ciento anual. Se confirma que se necesitan aumentos de impuestos muy superiores a los verificados en el último quinquenio.

Uruguay, a country with a solid tobacco control policy since 2005 shows, contrary to expectations, an insignificant decrease in total tobacco products' sales in the last five years. The hypothesis is that on one side, changes in household income and the income elasticity of the demand for cigarettes were important countervailing factors in the demand of both products. The period 2005-2009 shows a large increase of 36 percent in household real income in Uruguay due to fast economic recovery after the 2002 crisis. The second factor is the interchangeability of roll your own and cigarettes and the impact on the demand of each product as a reaction to tax and price changes. The tax and price of roll your own tobacco remains substantially lower than that of cigarettes. This fact, and the increased substitution of roll your own for cigarettes seems to be the main reasons for the low impact of the policy of tobacco tax and price increases. This paper then consists of a revision of a 2004 study to estimate separate demands for both main tobacco products and obtain estimates for own price, cross price and income elasticities. Then, a simulation study was performed using the elasticities found and two scenarios of increases in household income: moderate (2.5 percent per year) and high (5 percent per year) confirming that countries where income is growing fast and with a potential for substitution towards cheaper products require substantial cigarette tax and price increases for a fiscal tobacco control policy to become effective.

Protection of Herbal Medicines to Tonify Qi and Strengthen the Spleen on Antituberculotic Liver Damage / 中医杂志

Objective To explore the protective effect of herbal medicine to tonify qi and strengthen the spleen on liver damage induced by antituberculotic according to the TCM theory "reinforce the earth to reduce the wood".Methods The 100 tuberculosis patients randomized into two groups,50 in each,all took antituberculosis drugs with the liver-protecting medicine,Tiopronin,and the herbal medicines to nourish qi and strengthen the spleen were administered to those in the treatment group.Incidence of liver damage and the changes of liver function including serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST) and total bilirubin(TBiL) were observed for four weeks.Results In the treatment group,the incidence of liver damage was significantly lower than that in the control group(P