birth options after a previous Cesarean section

• Outcomes of birth options after a previous Cesarean section

• Around the world there have been increases in cesarean section deliveries, leading to a larger proportion of pregnant women with a history of cesarean section.

• For women who have had previous cesarean section, the researchers estimated the short term maternal and perinatal health outcomes associated with attempting a vaginal birth compared to planning another cesarean section. 45,579 women gave birth by planned cesarean and 28,464 attempted vaginal birth, 28.4% of whom went on to have an emergency cesarean section.

• Attempting vaginal birth was associated with an increased risk of the mother having serious birth and post-birth related problems compared to electing for another cesarean section. Attempting vaginal birth was more likely to result in uterine rupture (69 vs 17 women, adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 7.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.9-13.9), a blood transfusion (324 vs 226 women, aOR 2.3, 95% CI 1.9-2.8), sepsis (76 vs 78 women, aOR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.7 ), surgical injury (aOR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8-4.8), and more serious infant outcomes such as stillbirth, admission to neonatal unit, resuscitation requiring drugs or intubation, or an Apgar score less than seven at five minutes (2,049 vs 2,570).

• It should be noted that the absolute risk of complications were small for either type of delivery. Overall, just 1.8% of those attempting a vaginal birth and 0.8% of those having a planned cesarean experienced serious maternal complications. 8.0% of those attempting a vaginal birth and 6.4% of those having a planned cesarean had one or more of the adverse infant outcomes examined.

Sociology and Health

Sociology and Health

 Sociology is a social science and is the study of human society and this unit is designed to allow learners to gain an understanding of some of the more common perspectives sociologists have applied to health and social care.
 Sociology can help learners understand the impact of social processes upon the health of individuals and social groupings. By studying how societies work it will help learners understand how social factors influence individuals’ beliefs about health and why behaviour such as unhealthy lifestyle choices occurs.
 The sociology of health and illness studies the interaction between society and health. In particular, sociologists examine how social life impacts morbidity and mortality rates and how morbidity and mortality rates impact society.

 The sociology of health and illness requires a global approach of analysis because the influence of societal factors varies throughout the world. Diseases are examined and compared based on the traditional medicine, economics, religion, and culture that is specific to each region. For example, HIV/AIDS serves as a common basis of comparison among regions. While it is extremely problematic in certain areas, in others it has affected a relatively small percentage of the population. Sociological factors can help to explain why these discrepancies exist.
 There are obvious differences in patterns of health and illness across societies, over time, and within particular society types. There has historically been a long-term decline in mortality within industrialized societies, and on average, life-expectancies are considerably higher in developed, rather than developing or undeveloped, societies. Patterns of global change in health care systems make it more imperative than ever to research and comprehend the sociology of health and illness. Continuous changes in the economy, therapy, technology, and insurance can affect the way individual communities view and respond to the medical care available. These rapid fluctuations cause the issue of health and illness within social life to be very dynamic in the definition. Advancing information is vital because as patterns evolve, the study of the sociology of health and illness constantly needs to be updated.
 The sociology of health and illness is not to be confused with medical sociology, which focuses on medical institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and physician offices as well as the interactions among physicians.

Primary Healthcare

What is Primary Healthcare

Primary healthcare is a vital strategy which remains the backbone of health service delivery. Primary healthcare is the day-to-day care needed to protect, maintain, or restore our health. For most people, it is both their first point of contact with the healthcare system and their most frequently used health service.

Essential Health care based on practical, scientifically sound, and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost that the country and community can afford.

Principles of Primary Healthcare

The ultimate goal of primary healthcare is the attainment of better health services for all. It is for this reason that the World Health Organization (WHO), has identified five key elements to achieving this goal:

Ø  reducing exclusion and social disparities in health (universal coverage reforms);

Ø  organizing health services around people's needs and expectations (service delivery reforms);

Ø  integrating health into all sectors (public policy reforms);

Ø  pursuing collaborative models of policy dialogue (leadership reforms); and

Ø  increasing stakeholder participation.

Primary health care (PHC) addresses the majority of a person’s health needs throughout their lifetime. This includes physical, mental and social well-being and it is people-centred rather than disease-centred. PHC is a whole-of-society approach that includes health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care.

A primary health care approach includes three components:

Ø  meeting people’s health needs throughout their lives;

Ø  addressing the broader determinants of health through multisectoral policy and action; and

Ø  empowering individuals, families and communities to take charge of their own healt

Healthcare and Paediatrics

                                 What to Do If You Think Your Child Has Strep Throat?

Sore throat is a common problem during childhood and is usually the result of a bacterial or viral infection. Although sore throat usually resolves without complications, it sometimes requires treatment with an antibiotic. There are some less common causes of sore throat that are serious or even life-threatening.
The treatment of sore throat depends upon the cause; strep throat is treated with an antibiotic, while viral pharyngitis is treated with rest, pain relievers, and other measures to reduce symptoms.
• Strep throat —Children who are allergic to penicillin will be given an alternate antibiotic. The antibiotic is usually given in pill or liquid form one, two, or three times per day..
• Throat pain can be treated with non-prescription pain medication if needed.
• Viral throat pain — Sore throat caused by viral infections usually lasts four to five days. During this time, treatments to reduce pain may be helpful but will not help to eliminate the virus. Antibiotics do not improve throat pain caused by a virus and are not recommended.
• Pain medications — Throat pain can be treated with a mild pain reliever such as acetaminophen (sample brand name: Tylenol) or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent such as ibuprofen (sample brand names: Advil, Motrin).
• Monitor for dehydration — some children with a sore throat are reluctant to drink or eat due to pain. Drinking less fluid can lead to dehydration. To reduce the risk of dehydration, parents can offer warm or cold liquids.
• Oral rinses — Salt-water gargles are an old standbyhttps://healthcare.healthconferences.org for relief of throat pain. It is not clear if this treatment is effective, but it is unlikely to be harmful. Most recipes suggest 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of salt per cup (8 ounces [approximately 240 mL]) of warm water. The water should be gargled and then spit out (not swallowed). Children younger than six years usually are not able to gargle properly.
• Sprays — Sprays containing topical anaesthetics are available to treat sore throat.
• Lozenges — A variety of medicated throat lozenges are available to relieve dryness or pain.
• Alternative therapies — Health food stores, vitamin outlets, and websites offer alternative treatments for relief of sore throat pain. We do not recommend these treatments due to the risks of contamination with pesticides/herbicides, inaccurate labelling and dosing information, and a lack of studies showing that these treatments are safe and effective.

Healthcare and Emerging trends

HEALTHCARE AND EMERGING TRENDS

Healthcare is an industry that affects everyone, but one that has historically had a reputation for less-than-positive customer experiences. However, customer experience is now becoming a focus of many healthcare companies and clinics. Doctors, hospitals, and health companies now have insight into all factors that can affect the patient’s health.

https://healthcare.healthconferences.org

Advance Technology in Hospitals

 Advances in technology have created a new wave of products to improve patient comfort and care. Technology has alleviated some of the pressure on healthcare providers and once again put customers in control. Smart technology comes in varied forms to increase comfort, efficiency and decrease risks. Hospitals in few countries have started using self-adjusting smart beds that adjust itself to the correct pressure and support for each patient’s preferences and condition. Smart devices and applications will continue to grow and spread throughout the healthcare field.

Telehealth

According to Definitive Healthcare’s 2017 Inpatient Telemedicine study, over 70 per cent of consumers would rather use video than visit their primary care provider in person. Telehealth is already growing fast, accounting for almost $22B in 2017, and it is expected to reach $93.45B by 2026.

Cybersecurity

An increase in mergers and acquisitions have created new vulnerabilities in information sharing. In 2018 alone, we saw many data breaches that exploited healthcare records; eight of those breaches exposed over 500,000 healthcare records, and three of those breaches revealed over a million. These attacks are high-profile and often highly-targeted, with the majority being financially motivated. Healthcare is already high stakes with personal, sensitive data – and will continue to be the main target for attacks in the coming year

Modern healthcare techniques

What is healthcare management?

Healthcare management is the profession that provides leadership and direction to organizations that deliver personal health services, and to divisions, departments, units, or services within those organizations.

Healthcare management is exactly what the name implies. It’s the overall management of a healthcare facilities, such as a clinic or hospital

Importance of Healthcare management

Health care management has evolved into a dynamic and complex field with an ability to churn various employment opportunities as the industry continues to grow. This diverse industry is always changing due to scientific discoveries that bring significant contributions to improve the health standards of our communities. The changes have moved on to determine new ways about how and where health care is provided

                                   

Benefits of Healthcare Management

People With Careers In Health Care Management (HCM) Are Really Making a Difference

When most people think of a healthcare management career, they might imagine working long days in a sterile hospital office. Or maybe they visualize spending their workday on the phone negotiating with managed care companies or in long meetings discussing how to transform millions of paper records into an electronic database.

1. In Sub-Sahara Africa, people with health care management degrees are teaching billionaires like Bill Gates how to administer their life-saving drugs in a harsh environment complete with impassable roads and no electricity.

2. In Asia, health care management workers in information technology are teaching health workers to use Bluetooth and other wireless technology to store health data for villagers in rural India, according to the World Health Organization.

3. In Uganda, dairy farmers have developed a pre-paid health care delivery programs using their dairy cooperative infrastructure, with a little help from a Minnesota management care company and, yes you guessed it, people with health care administration experience.

4. HCM Graduates are working for non-profit associations in Colorado where they are teaching individuals about disease prevention or working in development to provide services to underserved communities.

5. HCM Graduates are working in Denver hospitals to improve efficiency and quality of care offered.

Improve Your Community as a Health Care Administrator

One of the amazing benefits of working in the health care industry is that your work can truly change the world. Health care managers help health systems work more efficiently which in turns helps in patient care. Health care administrators have been pioneers in advocating healthcare policy changes that seek to provide healthcare coverage for the poor, provide broader preventive care to at-risk populations, and to bring about other changes to improve health care delivery to broader segments of the community and population at large.

https://healthcare.healthconferences.org

Dental Healthcare

What is Oral Health

 According to WHO  oral health is “a state of being free from chronic mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer,  and other diseases and disorders that limit an individual’s capacity in biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial wellbeing.”

Importance of  Good Oral Health

Good oral and dental hygiene can help prevent bad breath, tooth decay and gum disease—and can help you keep your teeth as you get older.

Diseased, crooked or missing teeth or a misshapen jaw can interfere with your speech; make chewing your food properly difficult and painful; and lead to expensive corrective procedures.

 Oral hygiene is Important so that teeth should be free from from   formation and buildup of plaque and tartar, to prevent dental caries and periodontal disease, and to decrease the incidence of halitosis.

Good oral hygiene Practices at Home

·         Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a soft-bristled brush using fluoride toothpaste

·         Floss daily to remove plaque from places your toothbrush can't reach

·         Use mouthwash to remove food particles left after brushing and flossing

·         Eat a healthy and Balanced  diet to provide the nutrients necessary (vitamins A and C, in particular) to prevent gum disease.

·         Avoid cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, which are known to contribute to gum disease and oral cancer.

·         Visit the dentist regularly for cleanings and exams. This is one of the most effective ways to detect the early signs of gum disease

·         Replace your toothbrush every three months or sooner if bristles are splayed or worn.