ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people to change many behaviours, including physical distancing, hygiene measures and lifestyles. This study aimed to evaluate the indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of non-COVID-19 infections and medical care costs/visits using health insurance claims. STUDY DESIGN: This was an observational study using patient-based administrative claims covering approximately 800,000 insured persons and their dependents in the Mie Prefecture in Japan. METHODS: This study identified non-COVID-19 infectious disease incidences, number of outpatient visits and healthcare costs between 2017 and 2021. Each year was divided into quarters. The adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) during the pandemic (January 2020 to September 2021) and during the prepandemic period (January 2017 to December 2019) were determined using Poisson regression. RESULTS: The adjusted influenza IRRs from April 2020 were close to zero. The incidence of upper respiratory tract infections and bacterial pneumonia was significantly reduced (IRRs range: 0.39-0.73 and 0.43-0.84, respectively). Gastrointestinal and urinary tract infection incidences decreased by approximately 30% and 10%, respectively. In contrast, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including syphilis, gonococcal infection and Chlamydia trachomatis infection, did not decrease during the pandemic but increased significantly between April and June 2021 (adjusted IRR, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.18-1.60). The adjusted IRRs for outpatient visits and healthcare costs were 0.86-0.93 and 0.91-0.97, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to other infections, STIs did not decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IRR of STIs during the pandemic period is an area of public health concern. Appropriate screening and medical consultations are strongly recommended.
ABSTRACT
Due to the spread of new coronavirus infections, it is desirable to allow people to use public devices such as PIN type smart locks or vending machines without touching them directly. Therefore, we developed a method that enables contactless operation of various public devices using personal smartphones while reducing the impact on existing public devices. This method imitates chameleons of the animal. Therefore, we call it chameleon. We developed the chameleon based on Web application and applied it to PIN type smart locks. Then, we confirmed the effectiveness of the chameleon as the method of contactless operation. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Due to the spread of new coronavirus infections, it is desirable to allow people to use public devices such as bank ATMs and beverage vending machines without touching them directly. Therefore, we developed a system that enables non-contact operation of various public devices using personal smartphones while reducing the impact on existing public devices.
ABSTRACT
We have developed the system to measure the effectiveness of influencer marketing by a general-purpose method using web browsers and web servers. This system uses the "COVID-19 Contact-Confirming Application" (COCOA) as a reference model. COCOA was developed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in response to the epidemic of COVID-19, to detect suspicions of close contact while maintaining anonymity. The same model was applied to the cyberspace, and the "close contact confirmation method in the cyberspace" was considered in this study. We implemented a prototype and confirmed its functional validity while solving implementation problems using the Cross-Storage library.
ABSTRACT
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, the main business has been hit, and there are many situations in which the business has to be closed. Therefore, recently, more and more people are starting side business in search of multiple sources of income instead of relying solely on their main business. In addition, in recent years, attention has been focused on the "service consumption" thinking of buying experiences from the "goods consumption" thinking of paying money to buy something. Therefore, this time, we have developed a matching application Yattekoh that combines "side business" and "service consumption". However, in order to develop it as a regional SNS rooted in the region, issues related to reliability have emerged. In this paper, I will introduce Yattekoh and its problems.
ABSTRACT
a mobile payment has attracted attention because of a consumption tax returns or measures against COVID-19. However, hurdles for those who are not used to using a mobile payment, especially for the elderly, in using the method is high. The reason for this is that they concern about using it since an exchanging of money is unseen. Therefore, we developed Smart Cash Tray that enables a virtual exchange of money in a mobile payment. We developed a prototype system that enables threedimensional displays of payment amounts with Pepper's ghost. We are trying to use ECHONET Lite for practical use. © 2020 IEEE.