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Nutrition and Public Health
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Nutrition and Public Health

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2020) | Viewed by 23638

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Sampath Parthasarathy
*
E-Mail Website
Collection Editor
Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, 8829 Kastler street, Orlando, FL 32727, USA
Interests: atherosclerosis; heart failure mechanisms; cardiovascular pharmacology; cardiovascular nutrition; fatty acids; lipids and lipoproteins; oxidative stress and antioxidants; endometriosis; macrophages
* Deceased, 1 December 2020.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nutrition at one time was taught in schools, yet was rarely used except to provide guidelines for diabetic patients who needed to control their diet. Insurance companies neglected the use of nutritional counseling as a means of preventing or controlling diseases. On the other hand, cultures from every part of the world were aware of the value of nutrition-based therapies as a kind of folk medicine. Often strict guidelines were in place to follow specific diets when ailing patients were treated. With the advent of the Internet culture and the massive amount of health and nutritional material freely available to the public, nutrition-based therapies have become highly popular. Combined with the expenses associated with non-nutritional therapies, more and more people are turning to nutritional means of treating disease.

Unfortunately, most medical schools shy away from teaching and practicing non-pharmacological means of dealing with diseases. The sad outcome is that only nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and other non-medical allied health professionals practice primary prevention of diseases.

People, in general, are now realizing that proper nutrition could lead to better health outcomes, not only for patients, but also could improve the quality of health of communities, and of society at large. There are many advantages such as cost saving, easily available resources, and independence from medical insurance. Many communities and hospitals are engaging in food and lifestyle modulation practices to the benefit of their patients and communities. However, nutrition is still in its infancy and often misunderstood. People are confused about daily recommendations and often contradictory claims of what amounts to good and bad nutrition.

This proposed section is geared to put nutrition health in perspective and provide guidelines for patients, communities and the general public to help them understand and follow nutritional guidelines that might be appropriate for them.

Prof. Dr. Sampath Parthasarathy
Collection Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutraceuticals
  • primary prevention
  • lifestyle modulation
  • alternative medicine
  • Internet nutrition

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2516 KiB  
Article
Design, Assessment, and Validation of a Questionnaire to Estimate Food-Dependent Exercise-Induced Anaphylaxis Prevalence in Latin American Population
by Jhonatan González-Santamaría, Jesús Gilberto Arámburo-Gálvez, Carlos Eduardo Beltrán-Cárdenas, José Antonio Mora-Melgem, Oscar Gerardo Figueroa-Salcido, Giovanni Isaí Ramírez-Torres, Feliznando Isidro Cárdenas-Torres, Itallo Carvalho Gomes, Tatiane Geralda André, María Auxiliadora Macêdo-Callou, Élida Mara Braga Rocha, Noé Ontiveros and Francisco Cabrera-Chávez
Healthcare 2020, 8(4), 519; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare8040519 - 29 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2403
Abstract
There are no epidemiological data about food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) in Latin America. Our aim was to design, assess, and validate a questionnaire to identify potential FDEIA cases and/or estimate its prevalence by self-report. Questions were included in the instrument to address the [...] Read more.
There are no epidemiological data about food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIA) in Latin America. Our aim was to design, assess, and validate a questionnaire to identify potential FDEIA cases and/or estimate its prevalence by self-report. Questions were included in the instrument to address the main symptoms of FDEIA, type/intensity of physical activity, and anaphylaxis. The instrument’s clarity, comprehension and repeatability were evaluated. These evaluations were carried out by Hispanic people (Argentinians/Colombians/Mexicans/Peruvians), including nine individuals with medical diagnosis of FDEIA, and Brazilians. The Flesch–Kincaid score was calculated using the INFLESZ software. The instrument was translated from Spanish to Brazilian Portuguese following the translation back-translation procedure. The participants rated the two versions of the questionnaire as clear and comprehensible (three-point ordinal scale) and very easy to understand [0.33; average (scale 0–10)]. For these evaluations, the Kendall’s W coefficient showed strong agreement among raters (W = 0.80; average). The Flesch–Kincaid score was 63.5 in average (documents considered as readable). The Cohen’s Kappa coefficient showed almost perfect agreement in repeatability (0.88; average). The validation process of two versions of an instrument, used to identify potential FDEIA cases, was successfully carried out and it was found applicable to Latin American countries for generating epidemiological data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Public Health)
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12 pages, 244 KiB  
Article
The Nutritional Status of Adult Antiretroviral Therapy Recipients with a Recent HIV Diagnosis; A Cross-Sectional Study in Primary Health Facilities in Gauteng, South Africa
by Khabo Mahlangu, Perpetua Modjadji and Sphiwe Madiba
Healthcare 2020, 8(3), 290; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare8030290 - 24 Aug 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3160
Abstract
The study determined the nutritional status of adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) recipients, and investigated the association between the duration on ART and the nutritional status. This study was based in primary health facilities in Gauteng, South Africa. The data collected included sociodemographic variables; [...] Read more.
The study determined the nutritional status of adult antiretroviral therapy (ART) recipients, and investigated the association between the duration on ART and the nutritional status. This study was based in primary health facilities in Gauteng, South Africa. The data collected included sociodemographic variables; the duration of the treatment; and the body mass index (BMI), classified as undernutrition (<18.5 kg/m2), normal (18.5–24.9 kg/m2), or overweight/obesity (≥25 kg/m2). ART recipients (n = 480) had a mean age of 35 (± 8.4SD) years. All had taken ART for six months or more (range 6–48 months). The data were analyzed using STATA 13.0. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was 39%, it was higher in females (46%) than in males (30%), 26% were overweight, and 13% were obese. Underweight was 13%, and was higher in males (18%) than females (9%). Being overweight was more likely in those aged ≥35 years and those in smaller households. Being obese was less likely in males, in the employed, and in those with a higher income, but was more likely in those with a longer duration on ART. Abdominal obesity was high, but less likely in males. Interventions to prevent overweight/obesity should be integrated into routine HIV care, while at the same time addressing the burden of undernutrition among ART recipients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Public Health)
9 pages, 241 KiB  
Article
Sex-Based Differences in the Association between Nutrition Label Awareness and the Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis: A Cross-Sectional Survey
by Soo Jin Kwon and Yoonjung Kim
Healthcare 2020, 8(3), 210; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare8030210 - 13 Jul 2020
Viewed by 1914
Abstract
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic allergic disease with multifactorial causation. Although its association with diet has been demonstrated, it remains unclear whether the prevalence of atopic dermatitis among adults is associated with nutrition label awareness. Nutrition label awareness indicates knowledge of the existence [...] Read more.
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic allergic disease with multifactorial causation. Although its association with diet has been demonstrated, it remains unclear whether the prevalence of atopic dermatitis among adults is associated with nutrition label awareness. Nutrition label awareness indicates knowledge of the existence of nutrition labels on processed food, and the use of them for food selection. In this cross-sectional study, we analyzed the relationship between nutrition label awareness and the prevalence of atopic dermatitis among men and women using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013–2015), including a nationally representative sample of 13,505 Korean adults (aged > 19 years). The relationship between the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and nutrition label awareness was evaluated using t-tests, χ2 tests and multivariate adjusted logistic regression analysis. Although univariate analysis showed that atopic dermatitis was associated with nutrition label awareness in both men and women, after adjustment for covariates, there was no significant association among men. The significant association between the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and nutrition label awareness among women reveals a sex-based difference in this relationship in adults, and atopic dermatitis may be managed and prevented among women by targeted education regarding nutrition labels and diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Public Health)
9 pages, 1154 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Perceived and Observed Hand Hygiene Compliance in Healthcare Workers in MERS-CoV Endemic Regions
by Modhi Alshammari, Kelly A. Reynolds, Marc Verhougstraete and Mary Kay O’Rourke
Healthcare 2018, 6(4), 122; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare6040122 - 07 Oct 2018
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 9018
Abstract
This study investigated healthcare workers’ perceptions of hand hygiene practices by comparing personal reports, as assessed by questionnaires, to direct observations of the workers’ hand hygiene practices. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. Observations were made using a 16-item checklist, based on [...] Read more.
This study investigated healthcare workers’ perceptions of hand hygiene practices by comparing personal reports, as assessed by questionnaires, to direct observations of the workers’ hand hygiene practices. The study employed a cross-sectional research design. Observations were made using a 16-item checklist, based on three sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and Boyce and Pittet’s guidelines of hand hygiene. The checklist was used for both direct-observation and self-reported data collection purposes. Pearson correlation and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) were utilized to statistically determine the relationship between healthcare workers’ reports of hand hygiene practices and observed hand hygiene behaviors. The study was conducted in the outpatient examination rooms and emergency departments of three types of hospitals in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia where Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is endemic and is observed in routine cases and outbreaks. The total sample size included 87 physicians and nurses recruited while on duty during the scheduled observation periods, with each healthcare worker being observed during individual medical examinations with at least three patients. No statistically significant correlations between the healthcare workers’ perceptions of hand hygiene practices and healthcare workers’ actual behaviors were evident. Based on the self-report questionnaires, significant differences were found between physicians’ and nurses’ hand hygiene practices reports. Healthcare workers clearly understand the importance of careful hand hygiene practices, but based on researchers’ observations, the medical personnel failed to properly implement protocol-driven hand hygiene applications. However, the significant differences between physicians’ and nurses’ self-reports suggest further inquiry is needed to fully explore these discrepancies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Public Health)
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Review

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22 pages, 2336 KiB  
Review
Assessment of Health Information Technology Interventions in Evidence-Based Medicine: A Systematic Review by Adopting a Methodological Evaluation Framework
by Stella C. Christopoulou, Theodore Kotsilieris and Ioannis Anagnostopoulos
Healthcare 2018, 6(3), 109; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/healthcare6030109 - 31 Aug 2018
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6339
Abstract
Background: The application of Health Information Technologies (HITs) can be an effective way to advance medical research and health services provision. The two-fold objective of this work is to: (i) identify and review state-of-the-art HITs that facilitate the aims of evidence-based [...] Read more.
Background: The application of Health Information Technologies (HITs) can be an effective way to advance medical research and health services provision. The two-fold objective of this work is to: (i) identify and review state-of-the-art HITs that facilitate the aims of evidence-based medicine and (ii) propose a methodology for HIT assessment. Methods: The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Furthermore, we consolidated existing knowledge in the field and proposed a Synthesis Framework for the Assessment of Health Information Technology (SF/HIT) in order to evaluate the joint use of Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) along with HITs in the field of evidence-based medicine. Results: 55 articles met the inclusion criteria and refer to 51 (RCTs) published between 2008 and 2016. Significant improvements in healthcare through the use of HITs were observed in the findings of 31 out of 51 trials—60.8%. We also confirmed that RCTs are valuable tools for assessing the effectiveness, acceptability, safety, privacy, appropriateness, satisfaction, performance, usefulness and adherence. Conclusions: To improve health service delivery, RCTs apply and exhibit formalization by providing measurable outputs. Towards this direction, we propose the SF/HIT as a framework which may help researchers to carry out appropriate evaluations and extend their studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutrition and Public Health)
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