BACKGROUND: This article aims to characterise hospital admissions involving opioid toxicity across South Australia to guide future implementation and evaluation of risk mitigation strategies.
METHODS: International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition codes (T40.0-T40.4) were used to identify admissions involving pre-hospital opioid toxicity in public hospitals across South Australia from 1 June 2017 to 30 August 2020. Demographic and episode of care data were extracted and summarised using descriptive statistics. Admission cost estimates were calculated using Independent Hospital Pricing Authority data.
RESULTS: A total of 2046 cases met the criteria for inclusion; over half (56%) were female and median age on admission was 44 years (interquartile range 27 years). Where opioid toxicity was the primary diagnosis, 70% of admissions did not specify the responsible opioid and 23% were related to heroin use. One-fifth of admissions occurred outside of metropolitan Adelaide. Individuals living in an area of relative socio-economic disadvantage were over-represented. Over half of admissions required a stay >24 h; 19% were admitted for ≥5 days, 22% required intensive care and ~10% required mechanical ventilation. The total estimated cost of admissions involving opioid toxicity in South Australia over the 3-year period was $18,230,546.50, equating to $5.6 million per annum.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the significant personal, fiscal, and systemic impacts of opioid toxicity-related hospital admissions in South Australia and provide a baseline to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives to reduce opioid-related harm, including real-time prescription monitoring and take-home naloxone supply.

OBJECTIVE: Preconceptual care aiming to improve health is influenced by various factors including health literacy. Considering the importance and necessity of high quality preconceptual care, this study aimed to determine the relationship between health literacy and receiving components of preconceptual care prior to pregnancy.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 693 participants with pregnancies of less than 14 weeks gestation referred to health centers and gynecologists in Shiraz city, Iran. Multi-stage sampling was done from May 2021 to February 2022 in 18 comprehensive urban health centers and 20 gynecology offices via proportional allocation method. The data collection tool comprised a questionnaire consisting of 3 parts: (1) individual and fertility characteristics, (2) information related to the components of preconceptual care and (3) health literacy for Iranian adults. This was completed by individual participants via the self-reporting method.
RESULTS: The majority of participants were between 30 and 34 years old. They also identified as women with a university education and were predominantly unemployed. The mean health literacy of participants was 76.81%. Health literacy obtained the highest mean score in the dimension of \'understanding\' and the lowest mean score in the dimension of \'access\'. The frequency of preconceptual counseling, folic acid supplement consumption, exercise, blood testing, dental visits, genetic counseling, Pap smear testing and rubella, diphtheria, and hepatitis vaccinations prior to pregnancy was 66.8%, 53.8%, 45.6%, 71.86%, 44.44%, 12%, 53.4%, 10.83%, respectively. Many (> 64%) received preconceptual care at specialist gynecology offices. Results demonstrated that health literacy had a statistically significant relationship with preconceptual care, folic acid consumption, exercise and dental care, (p < 0.001), along with blood testing and Pap smear testing (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, our results demonstrate that despite health literacy being optimal, uptakes of some components of preconceptual care are low. As such, it will be important to further raise awareness of the importance of preconceptual care for people prior to pregnancy as a priority in health promotion and education.

To date, no established protocol exists for measuring functional voice changes in singers with subclinical singing-voice complaints. Hence, these may go undiagnosed until they progress into greater severity. This exploratory study sought to (1) determine which scale items in the self-perceptual Evaluation of Ability to Sing Easily (EASE) are associated with instrumental voice measures, and (2) construct as proof-of-concept an instrumental index related to singers\' perceptions of their vocal function and health status. Eighteen classical singers were acoustically recorded in a controlled environment singing an /a/ vowel using soft phonation. Aerodynamic data were collected during a softly sung /papapapapapapa/ task with the KayPENTAX Phonatory Aerodynamic System. Using multi and univariate linear regression techniques, CPPS, vibrato jitter, vibrato shimmer, and an efficiency ratio (SPL/PSub) were included in a significant model (p < 0.001) explaining 62.4% of variance in participants\' composite scores of three scale items related to vocal fatigue. The instrumental index showed a significant association (p = 0.001) with the EASE vocal fatigue subscale overall. Findings illustrate that an aeroacoustic instrumental index may be useful for monitoring functional changes in the singing voice as part of a multidimensional diagnostic approach to preventative and rehabilitative voice healthcare for professional singing-voice users.

Every day, multilinguals around the world make important healthcare decisions while using a foreign language. The present study examined how the use of a native vs. non-native language shapes evaluations and decisions about preventative care. Bilinguals were randomly assigned to evaluate a series of medical scenarios in either their native or non-native language. Each scenario described potential adverse effects of a medical condition and a preventative treatment, as well as the population risk of disease- or treatment-related complications. Participants judged the perceived negativity and likelihood of experiencing adverse effects and indicated how willing they would be to accept the preventative treatment. We found that bilinguals using a foreign language perceived disease symptoms and treatment side effects to be less negative than those using their native tongue. Foreign language users were also more likely to account for the objective risks associated with medical conditions and treatments when making decisions about preventative care. We conclude that the use of a native vs. foreign language changes how people evaluate the consequences of accepting and declining preventative treatment, with potential implications for millions of providers and patients who routinely make medical choices in their non-native tongue.

BACKGROUND: The AmbIGeM system augments best practice and involves a novel wearable sensor (accelerometer and gyroscope) worn by patients where the data captured by the sensor is interpreted by algorithms to trigger alerts on clinician handheld mobile devices when risk movements are detected.
METHODS: A 3-cluster stepped wedge pragmatic trial investigating the effect on the primary outcome of falls rate and secondary outcome of injurious fall and proportion of fallers. Three wards across two states were included. Patients aged >65 years were eligible. Patients requiring palliative care were excluded. The trial was registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials registry, number 12617000981325.
RESULTS: 4924 older patients were admitted to the study wards with 1076 excluded and 3240 (1995 control, 1245 intervention) enrolled. The median proportion of study duration with valid readings per patient was 49% (IQR 25-67%). There was no significant difference between intervention and control relating to the falls rate (ARR=1.41, 95% CI (0.85, 2.34; p=0.192)), proportion of fallers (OR=1.54, 95% CI (0.91, 2.61); p=0.105) and injurious falls rate (ARR=0.90, 95% CI (0.38, 2.14); p=0.807). In a post hoc analysis, falls and injurious falls rate were reduced in the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit (GEMU) wards when the intervention period was compared to the control period.
CONCLUSIONS: The AmbIGeM system did not reduce the rate of falls, rate of injurious falls or proportion of fallers. There remains a case for further exploration and refinement of this technology given the post hoc analysis findings with the GEMU wards.

There are currently no studies examining healthcare access and utilization by Syrian Americans. A better understanding of the determinants of healthcare utilization among this group could help aid in the design of culturally competent programs. A self-administered survey was distributed at events across Southern California and Jacksonville, Florida from January 2018 to May 2019. Statistical analysis utilized multivariate regressions. Insurance coverage was associated with a preference for speaking Arabic (OR 0.433, p = 0.02) and increased length of residency (OR 1.04, p = 0.02). Routine checkup was associated with female sex (OR 1.97, p = 0.001), age (OR 1.05, p < 0.001), and insurance coverage (OR 6.96, p < 0.001). Colonoscopy compliance rate was 43.3% and positively associated with higher education (OR 2.70, p = 0.002), routine checkup (OR 7.61, p = 0.009) and increased length of residency (OR 1.06, p < 0.001). Syrian Americans may benefit from further health promotion campaigns with regard to insurance coverage, preventative care and cancer screenings.

Our study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between social participation and both mortality and the need for long-term care (LTC) simultaneously.
A prospective cohort study with 9.4 years of follow-up.
Six Japanese municipalities.
The participants were 15 313 people who did not qualify to receive LTC insurance at a baseline based on the data from the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES, 2003-2013). They received a questionnaire to measure social participation and other potential confounders. Social participation was defined as participating in at least one organisation from eight categories.
The primary outcomes were classified into three categories at the end of the 9.4 years observational period: living without the need for LTC, living with the need for LTC and death. We estimated the adjusted OR (AOR) using multinomial logistic regression analyses with adjustment for possible confounders.
The primary analysis included 9741 participants. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that social participation was associated with a significantly lower risk of the need for LTC (AOR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.97) or death (AOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.88).
Social participation may be associated with a decreased risk of the need for LTC and mortality among elderly patients.

To investigate the effect of a 2-year multidomain lifestyle intervention on daily functioning of older people.
A 2-year randomized controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01041989).
Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability.
A total of 1260 older adults, with a mean age of 69 years at the baseline, who were at risk of cognitive decline.
A multidomain intervention, including simultaneous physical activity intervention, nutritional counseling, vascular risk monitoring and management, and cognitive training and social activity.
The ability to perform daily activities (activities of daily living [ADLs] and instrumental ADLs) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery).
The mean baseline ADL score was 18.1 (SD = 2.6) points; the scale ranges from 17 (no difficulties) to 85 (total ADL dependence). During the 2-year intervention, the ADL disability score slightly increased in the control group, while in the intervention group, it remained relatively stable. Based on the latent growth curve model, the difference in the change between the intervention and control groups was -0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.61 to -0.28) after 1 year and -1.20 (95% CI = -2.02 to -0.38) after 2 years. In terms of physical performance, the intervention group had a slightly higher probability of improvement (from score 3 to score 4; P = .041) and a lower probability of decline (from score 3 to scores 0-2; P = .043) for chair rise compared to the control group.
A 2-year lifestyle intervention was able to maintain the daily functioning of the at-risk older population. The clinical significance of these results in this fairly well-functioning population remains uncertain, but the study results hold promise that healthy eating, exercise, and cognitive and social activity may have favorable effects on functional independence in older people.

Preventive healthcare is the focus of a large proportion of UK small animal veterinary consultations. The evidence base for how to optimise these consultations is limited. Therefore, evidence-based practical recommendations are needed for veterinary surgeons conducting these consultations. The aim of this study was to use an evidence-based methodology to develop the first consensus recommendations to improve dog and cat preventative healthcare consultations (PHCs).Evidence from multiple sources was systematically examined to generate a list of 18 recommendations. Veterinary surgeons and pet owners with extensive experience of PHCs were recruited to an anonymous panel to obtain consensus on whether these recommendations would improve PHCs. A Delphi technique was followed during three rounds of online questionnaire, with consensus set at 80 per cent agreement or disagreement with each recommendation. Thirteen of the original 18 recommendations reached consensus (>80per cent agreement), while the five remaining recommendations did not reach consensus.Globally, these are the first evidence-based recommendations developed specifically in relation to small animal general practice PHCs, generated via a Delphi panel including both veterinary surgeons and pet owners. Future work is needed to understand how these recommendations can be implemented in a range of veterinary practice settings.

Objectives Diabetes is a debilitating disease that affects the way the body uses or produces insulin. Research evaluating the usefulness in screening patients admitted to a clinical decision unit (CDU) from the emergency department (ED) has been limited. Methods A retrospective chart review of patients admitted to a CDU from the ED was performed. Patients included were > 18-year-old who were observed in the CDU, had blood glucose drawn greater than eight hours after admission, and who had not been previously diagnosed with diabetes. Age, sex, and fasting glucose level were collected. The analysis was done to evaluate the percentage of patients undiagnosed and at risk for diabetes mellitus by assessing fasting blood glucose the morning after admission. Results Study revealed that 27.8% of the patients analyzed in this study had fasting blood glucose levels meeting or exceeding the diagnostic threshold of 126 mg/dL and could potentially have undiagnosed diabetes. Conclusion Screening patients admitted to a CDU from the emergency department identified that 27.8% had fasting plasma glucose levels ≥ 126 mg/dL. Consideration should be made to obtain a fasting blood glucose level in those without a previous diagnosis of diabetes who are observed overnight in a CDU.