Digital health technologies in enhancing patient and caregiver engagement in heart failure management: Opportunities and challenges.

The management of heart failure has undergone significant evolution, advancing from the initial utilization of digitalis and diuretics to the contemporary practice of personalized medicine and sophisticated device therapy. Despite these advancements, the persistent challenge of high hospitalization and readmission rates underscores an urgent need for innovative solutions. This manuscript explores how the integration of digital health technologies into interventional cardiology marks a paradigm shift in the management of heart failure. These technologies are no longer mere adjuncts but have become foundational to a modern approach, providing tools for continuous monitoring, patient education, and improved outcomes post-intervention. Through an examination of current trends, this perspective article highlights the transformative impact of wearable technologies, telehealth platforms, and advanced analytical tools in reshaping patient engagement and enabling proactive care strategies. Case studies illustrate the practical advantages, including enhanced medication adherence, early detection of heart failure signs, and a reduction in healthcare facility burdens. Central to this new digital health landscape is the Information Technology Management (ITM) system, a framework poised to revolutionize patient and caregiver engagement and pave the way for the future of interventional cardiology. This manuscript delineates the ITM system's innovative architecture and its consequential role in refining current and prospective cardiological interventions.

Community Participation Approaches for Effective National COVID-19 Pandemic Preparedness and Response: An Experience From Oman.

Oman, like other countries in the world, was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the WHO's declaration of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health of Oman has initiated its preparedness and response to the pandemic, with community participation as one of the key components of the national preparedness and response plan. This paper is a descriptive study aims at describing the three community approaches that exist in Oman and reviewing their role in preparedness and response strategies to COVID-19 pandemic and discuss the lessons learned. Community participation approaches in Oman were translated into action during the pandemic through empowering community members, mobilizing resources, and strengthening the ownership among the local community to ensure effective advocacy, proper networking, and dissemination of information and, subsequently, actions at the level of the community. The first community participation approach is community organizations within the healthy cities and villages initiative, which facilitated networking and acted as a platform for community engagement, reviewing the health information and updating them accordingly to meet evloving demands. The second approach is Willayat (District) health committees, with their unique multi-sectoral structure, that enhanced collaboration at the state level with different community leaders and groups to develop pandemic action plans, which were implemented using available local resources. The third approach is community volunteers that remain the key information providers, particularly when physical access becomes limited due to physical distancing measures. Based on this review, we advocate to further strengthen these approaches and recommends that they are implemented for the protection and promotion of health and well-being, including for health emergencies.

Injuries presented at a primary care setting in oman.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to measure the rate, types, and causes of injuries presented at a primary care setting in the Muscat governorate. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out where all patients who attended the Al Moabelah Health Center from the period of 1(st) January 2010 to the 31(st) December 2010 were identified from the electronic medical records. Patients identified with any type of injury were then selected for further data collection with their age and gender recorded. Details such as the type, cause and nature of the injury at the clinic were gathered from the clinical notes. RESULTS: A total number of 86,554 visits were recorded for the year 2010. The rate of injury visits was 24 per 1000 visits. In this study, the rate of injury visits was found to be four times more common in males (44.4 per 1000) than in females (11.5 per 1000), p≤0.001. While children aged under 12 years accounted for 41.4%, and elderly patients aged over 60 years accounted for 3.5% of the total visits emanating from injuries. The results show that home was the most common place where the majority of injuries occurred (42%), followed by playgrounds (10.2%). The most common causes of injury visits were falls, followed by cutting/piercing by sharp objects and sports injuries, which accounted for 40%, 13.4%, and 12%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Injuries in a primary care setting with close proximity to emergency departments of secondary and tertiary hospitals may only account to less than 3% of the total visits.