Search Results (2,087)

This study investigated the prevalence, severity, and implications of depressive and anxiety behaviors among individuals aged 30–75+ who have recovered from COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health challenges, prompting a critical examination of its psychological aftermath. Employing a quantitative research design, the study utilized a cross-sectional approach to gather data from 422 participants recruited through convenience sampling from healthcare facilities, community organizations, and online platforms. Participants, who had tested positive for COVID-19 and recovered, completed standardized assessments including the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) for depressive symptoms and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder seven-item scale (GAD-7) for anxiety symptoms. Demographic variables were also collected to explore the correlations and potential risk factors using SPSS software. Key findings highlight significant levels of depressive and anxiety-related symptoms among the study population, emphasizing the necessity for tailored interventions and support services. The study’s limitations include the inability to establish causal relationships due to its cross-sectional nature and potential biases associated with convenience sampling. Nevertheless, the research underscores the urgent need for healthcare and mental health professionals to prioritize the psychological well-being of COVID-19 survivors through targeted strategies and resource allocation. By addressing these challenges, policymakers and practitioners can enhance the resilience and recovery of individuals affected by the pandemic’s psychological toll. Full article

Women seeking care during the perinatal period often face delays or long waits at healthcare facilities due to lack of providers and/or resources, leading to sub-optimal outcomes. We implemented a program whereby patients with concerns could receive same-day care virtually from a midwife rather than presenting to the clinic or hospital for care. Implementation strategies included virtual training, a staged increase in patient volume, and frequent communication between the midwives via text, email, and monthly meetings. Virtual visits included a variety of complaints, the five most common being to establish care, first-trimester bleeding, nausea and vomiting, mental health concerns, and postnatal breast problems. There was a threefold increase in virtual visits during the first 6 months with 92% of patients not requiring urgent face-to-face follow-up. Midwives were able to provide high-quality telehealth care that met the patients’ needs and decreased the demand on hospital-based services. With the growing ubiquity of mobile phones and internet access, this strategy may be effective in providing quality care while decreasing demands on physical infrastructure. More research is needed to assess acceptability in other contexts. Reproducibility in low-resource settings may be limited if women lack access to video conferencing on phones or laptops. Full article

This study delves into hospital mobility within the Italian regions of Apulia and Emilia-Romagna, interpreting it as an indicator of perceived service quality. Utilizing logistic regression alongside other machine learning techniques, we analyze the impact of structural, operational, and clinical variables on patient perceptions of quality, thus influencing their healthcare choices. The analysis of mobility trends has uncovered significant regional differences, emphasizing how the regional context shapes perceived service quality. To further enhance the analysis, SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values have been integrated into the logistic regression model. These values quantify the specific contributions of each variable to the perceived quality of service, significantly improving the interpretability and fairness of evaluations. A methodological innovation of this study is the use of these SHAP impact scores as weights in the data envelopment analysis (DEA), facilitating a comparative efficiency analysis of healthcare facilities that is both weighted and normative. The combination of logistic regression and SHAP-weighted DEA provides a deeper understanding of perceived quality dynamics and offers essential insights for optimizing the distribution of healthcare resources. This approach underscores the importance of data-driven strategies to develop more equitable, efficient, and patient-centered healthcare systems. This research significantly contributes to the understanding of perceived quality dynamics within the healthcare context and promotes further investigations to enhance service accessibility and quality, leveraging machine learning as a tool to increase the efficiency of healthcare services across diverse regional settings. These findings are pivotal for policymakers and healthcare system managers aiming to reduce regional disparities and promote a more responsive and personalized healthcare service. Full article

The Chinese government’s recent low-income housing scheme aims to tackle housing challenges faced by the urban floating population. A notable shift in this initiative is the focus on the job–housing balance. This study proposes that the spatial interaction between land designated for affordable rental housing and land for commercial facilities serves as a fundamental metric for evaluating this equilibrium, providing insights into the effectiveness of China’s nascent affordable housing efforts. Drawing on post-2021 data, when China’s revamped affordable housing policy took effect, our research examines the spatial distribution of affordable rental housing and commercial service land in Shanghai. By employing coupled coordination models and local entropy metrics, we delve into the supply equilibrium and pragmatic interrelation of these land types. Our findings reveal localized clustering in the spatial arrangement of rental and commercial land within Shanghai. Zones in the urban core exhibit a supply balance, while the peripheries display diminishing accessibility between these land types. Core urban areas have a lower supply balance but higher accessibility, whereas urban fringes face both low supply balance and low accessibility. These study outcomes have significant implications for strategic planning and the construction of affordable rental housing. Full article

The transportation of patients in emergency medical situations, particularly in rural areas, often faces significant challenges due to long travel distances and limited access to healthcare facilities. These challenges can result in critical delays in medical care, adversely affecting patient outcomes. Addressing this issue is essential for improving survival rates and health outcomes in underserved regions. This study explored the potential of advanced air mobility to enhance emergency medical services by reducing patient transport times through the strategic placement of vertiports. Using North Dakota as a case study, the research developed a GIS-based optimization workflow to identify optimal vertiport locations that maximize time savings. The study highlighted the benefits of strategic vertiport placement at existing airports and hospital heliports to minimize community disruption and leverage underutilized infrastructure. A key finding was that the optimized mixed-mode routes could reduce patient transport times by up to 21.8 min compared with drive-only routes, significantly impacting emergency response efficiency. Additionally, the study revealed that more than 45% of the populated areas experienced reduced ground travel times due to the integration of vertiports, highlighting the strategic importance of vertiport placement in optimizing emergency medical services. The research also demonstrated the replicability of the GIS-based optimization model for other regions, offering valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders in enhancing EMS through advanced air mobility solutions. Full article

To address the problem of accurately evaluating age-friendly retrofit indicators in urban communities, this study constructs an evaluation model that takes into account user preferences and their interaction needs based on the social–ecological–technological systems (SETS) theory. The model aims to establish a set of precise community retrofit indicators, covering aspects such as public participation level, public ancillary facilities, green space layout, living environment building, health service support, and accessible design. By employing prioritization strategies, the model seeks to maximize resident satisfaction and promote harmonious coexistence between the community and the environment. Firstly, the retrofit evaluation indicators are formulated using the SETS theory. The entropy weight method (EWM) is then applied to determine the initial weights of these evaluation indicators, followed by the use of the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method to analyze the interrelationships among the indicators. The Kano model is integrated to adjust the weights, reflecting their importance. The final weights of the indicators are determined through normalization. Based on this, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is employed to rank and analyze the importance of age-friendly retrofits in the community. Finally, six communities in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, are selected as samples to evaluate and analyze the age-friendly retrofit indicators. Different methods are compared, and their advantages and disadvantages are ranked to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach. Based on the analysis results, specific design schemes for improving the identified shortcomings in age-friendly aspects of these communities are proposed, considering the needs of aging populations and taking into account community public facilities, accessible design renovations, and the enhancement of green space layouts. This study aims to explore the comprehensive benefits of an age-friendly retrofit in urban communities and provide reference for the deep integration of social, ecological, and technological benefits in urban renewal. The evaluation indicators, methods, and conclusions presented can serve as a decision-making basis for the renovation and renewal of aging urban communities, particularly in terms of age-friendly updates. Full article

Under the influence of mountainous terrain, the spatial synergy between tourism resources and tourism service facilities has emerged as a pivotal factor affecting the overall efficiency enhancement of regional tourism destinations. In order to explore the synergistic effect of the two, taking Qimen County as the study site, this study utilizes Point of Interest (POI) data of tourism resources and tourism service facilities. It constructs a fine-scale multidimensional spatial synergy methodology based on grid vectorization to conduct scenario-based comparative analyses of altitude and population density. The objective is to elucidate the effects of fine-scale tourism development synergy and propose enhancement strategies. The findings are as follows: (1) The vertical zonation of mountains has led to a widespread, decentralized distribution of natural tourism resources in mid-to-high-altitude areas, while humanistic tourism resources in low-altitude urbanized areas exhibit a granular, clustered distribution. These contrasting scenarios manifest a polarization, making it difficult to achieve supply–demand matching of the layout pattern of tourism service facilities along transportation routes. (2) The spatial gradient effect of the synergy between the two in mountainous counties is significant, with a higher synergy level in core towns and obvious misalignment in peripheral areas. (3) Altitude and population density are critical factors influencing the supply of tourism service facilities. Through scale aggregation guidance and cost–benefit mechanisms, the spatial distribution can be classified, stratified, and optimized to better serve resource development. This study provides valuable insights into understanding laws governing development and utilization within mountainous county areas for academic research purposes. Full article

Uganda’s aquaculture sub-sector is rapidly developing, contributing up to 22% of all fish produced in the country. However, the sub-sector still faces challenges related to limited access to extension services, production inputs, post-harvest handling facilities, disease incidences, value-addition skills and weak market linkages. Although there have been isolated interventions at different aquaculture value-chain nodes, the registered challenges continue to recur. To address prioritized issues in Uganda’s aquaculture sub-sector, nine zonal aquaculture innovation platforms were established based on the country’s nine agro-ecological zones. These platforms brought together different stakeholders to identify solutions to common problems in each aquaculture value-chain node. Each innovation platform consisted of fish farmers, hatchery operators, traders, extension workers, researchers, input dealers, local leaders, and financial institutions. During a series of zonal workshops, participants identified constraints to the aquaculture sub-sector in their respective zones. From the findings, there are technical knowledge gaps across the entire aquaculture value chain mainly affecting hatchery operators, input suppliers, and farmers. Therefore, there is need for coordinated interventions to enhance access to production technologies, innovations, knowledge, and skill transfer to promote gender-centered aquaculture development. Full article

With the support of big data mining techniques, utilizing social media data containing location information and rich semantic text information can construct large-scale daily activity OD flows for urban populations, providing new data resources and research perspectives for studying urban spatiotemporal structures. This paper employs the ST-DBSCAN algorithm to identify the residential locations of Weibo users in four communities and then uses the BERT model for activity-type classification of Weibo texts. Combined with the TF-IDF method, the results are analyzed from three aspects: temporal features, spatial features, and semantic features. The research findings indicate: ① Spatially, residents’ daily activities are mainly centered around their residential locations, but there are significant differences in the radius and direction of activity among residents of different communities; ② In the temporal dimension, the activity intensities of residents from different communities exhibit uniformity during different time periods on weekdays and weekends; ③ Based on semantic analysis, the differences in activities and venue choices among residents of different communities are deeply influenced by the comprehensive characteristics of the communities. This study explores methods for OD information mining based on social media data, which is of great significance for expanding the mining methods of residents’ spatiotemporal behavior characteristics and enriching research on the configuration of public service facilities based on community residents’ activity spaces and facility demands. Full article

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening (CCS) in lower-resource settings; however, quality varies widely, and it is difficult to maintain a well-trained cadre of providers. The Smartphone-Enhanced Visual Inspection with Acetic acid (SEVIA) program was designed to offer secure sharing of cervical images and real-time supportive supervision to health care workers, in order to improve the quality and accuracy of visual assessment of the cervix for treatment. The purpose of this evaluation was to document early learnings from patients, providers, and higher-level program stakeholders, on barriers and enablers to program implementation. Methods: From 9 September to 8 December 2016, observational activities and open-ended interviews were conducted with image reviewers (n = 5), providers (n = 17), community mobilizers (n = 14), patients (n = 21), supervisors (n = 4) and implementation partners (n = 5) involved with SEVIA. Sixty-six interviews were conducted at 14 facilities, in all five of the program regions Results SEVIA was found to be a highly regarded tool for the enhancement of CCS services in Northern Tanzania. Acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, and coverage of the intervention were highly recognized. It appeared to be an effective means of improving good clinical practice among providers and fit seamlessly into existing roles and processes. Barriers to implementation included network connectivity issues, and community misconceptions and the adoption of CCS more generally. Conclusions: SEVIA is a practical and feasible mobile health intervention and tool that is easily integrated into the National CCS program to enhance the quality of care. Full article

With the expansion of Chinese university campuses, electric bikes (E-bikes) have become the most sustainable and effective commuting option because they are a flexible and energy-saving travel mode. Consequently, campus E-bike charging piles have become one of the most essential public service facilities on campuses. However, since most Chinese campuses are closed and independent, the principles of urban public service facilities cannot be simply applied to the layout and use of campus charging facilities. Thus, this study focuses on Zijingang Campus at Zhejiang University, and proposes an optimization strategy for the spatial and temporal layout of E-bike charging piles on the campus. First, trip chain demand models are constructed to examine the travel patterns of E-bike users on campus and the demands for charging areas and time. Second, a space location model is constructed to locate the charging piles in areas with high demand. Finally, according to the charging times of different users, user charging time is integrated into the strategy. This study enhances the layout and utilization system of campus E-bike charging facilities by considering both temporal and spatial dimensions. Overall, this study contributes to the advancement of sustainable transportation infrastructure planning on a campus-wide scale, offering theoretical insights for the design and utilization of functional facilities in large-scale, semi-enclosed environments (e.g., university campuses). Full article

As a technology for water landscape performance that considers landscape, ecological, and social effects, nature-based solutions play a crucial role in enhancing the functionality of integrated ecosystem services on the micro-scale. This study conducted a systematic investigation into the landscape performance of the “Clear as a Drain” composite sponge facility at Handan Garden Expo Park. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) In terms of ecological restoration support services, the “Clear as a Drain” artificial wetland exhibited diverse habitat types, a rich variety of plant species specific to the site’s region, and high plant diversity indices for shrubs (1.776) and herbaceous aquatic plants (3.352). Reclaimed water reused in the artificial terraced wetland promoted plant growth and diversity while contributing to site self-rehabilitation; plants also significantly contributed to carbon fixation, oxygen release, and carbon emission reduction. (2) Regarding ecological restoration regulation services, the artificial wetland effectively purified reclaimed water with substantial improvements observed in incoming water quality during spring, summer, and autumn—particularly notable purification effects were observed during the summer months. Pollutant reduction rates for COD, BOD₅ ammonia nitrogen, TP, and TN reached 75.8%, 72.1%, 93.8%, 96.7%, and 90.3%, respectively; different independent subsystems within the wetland demonstrated distinct advantages in pollutant removal; park plants displayed strong air purification capabilities; annual energy savings from park plants could fully cover daily energy consumption for nearby residents. This case could serve as guidance for scientific management and design parameter optimization of other composite sponge facilities. Full article

Expanding refugee influxes have involved a rising number of European countries in recent years. In this context, our study investigates attitudes of international protection seekers regarding their prospects of staying permanently in a transit country such as Greece. This research was based on primary statistical data collected through the dissemination of structured questionnaires from a sample of refugees from the Closed Controlled Facility of Samos island, Eastern Greece, one of the most attended gates allowing access to Europe from Turkey and the Middle East. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics and results from a logistic regression contributed to the examination of factors that simultaneously determine the will of the refugees to stay in Greece instead of moving to another country. The main reasons they want to stay in Greece are primarily for employment opportunities and a better quality of life. They aspire to learn Greek to integrate better into the local society, actively seeking this skill from their initial arrival. However, their social integration into the local host community cannot be achieved effectively at the current time due to the absence of appropriate strategies at the local/regional levels. The need for employment (expressed by attempts to find work), the quality of life (access to public and private services), the country of origin, marital status and, finally, the sense of safety based on the existence (or, conversely, lack) of xenophobic and racist incidents are the main reasons that simultaneously determine their decision to stay permanently in Greece. Full article

Healthcare services and spaces are recognized as complex ecosystems where different user categories interact daily facing often urgent and difficult situations that challenge the established organizational and procedural models. The increasingly evolving needs and conditions influencing the processes affect the capacity to quickly adapt the available operational models as well as spaces to provide a timely and efficient response. This calls for new approaches and methods to enable the managing staff to overcome the conventional silos-based structure and integrate new methods and tools to facilitate interdisciplinary analysis and synergies. Some frontrunning healthcare structures started to adopt Service Design practices, which are largely grounded in the Design Thinking approach, to reshape the conventional models for improving the quality of user experience with remarkable expected impacts on social, economic, and environmental sustainability in the mid-long run. Following the rigorous investigation structure of Systemic Review, the paper explores the adoption of Service Design practices in frontrunner experiences focusing on organizational aspects to draft a reference framework, including successful factors, barriers, and viable pathways, which are currently missing. The main scope of the paper is accordingly to address the detected gaps in clarifying methods tools and goals of Service Design-oriented practices for improving healthcare processes and user experience quality. The main reported findings highlight the importance of introducing Co-Design and participative practices to integrate specialistic perspectives and organizational aspects as well as to engage all the key players at different levels. Full article

As an alternative to SU-8 soft lithography, a new silicon mold process of fabricating PDMS microchannel chips was proposed. A picosecond laser is used to cut through a 550 μm thick silicon wafer and generate the original microchannel pattern with a 50 μm minimum feature size. This single-crystal silicon pattern, with the edge debris caused by laser cutting being trimmed off by a KOH solution and with the protection field oxide layer being removed by BOE afterwards, firmly resided on a glass substrate through the anodic bonding technique. Four-inch wafers with microchannel patterns as the PDMS mold cores were successfully bonded on Pyrex 7740 or Eagle XG glass substrates for the follow-up PDMS molding/demolding process. This new maskless process does not need a photolithography facility, but the laser cutting service must be provided by professional off-campus companies. One PDMS microchannel chip for particle separation was shown as an example of what can be achieved when using this new process. Full article