Biomimicry is the application of existing features in nature to human technologies, such as the invention of aircraft inspired by bird flight. In the development of medical solutions, biomimicry is a growing field of research, where a holistic understanding of nature can inspire cutting-edge design. The purpose of this study was to create an educational, visual resource exemplifying up-and-coming medical applications of biomimicry. A website was created to present 2D motion graphics (animations) and illustrations. Animation is an established and useful method of communicating health information to the public. This presents an accessible interface for the public to interact with and learn about this area of research, bridging the gap between the two. Increasing public knowledge, engagement, and interest can expand the reach and thereby influence future research. A survey was conducted to assess public engagement and opinions on both the resource and the topic of biomimicry and medical design. The results suggested that participants positively engaged with the resource; 95.7% strongly agreed/agreed that the animations were beneficial for learning. All responding participants agreed that biomimicry could provide useful solutions in medical design. This study suggests that graphic motions are effective at communicating complex ideas for public outreach.

The effectiveness of high-quality dental care predominantly lies on the communication between dentist and patient. However, little literature has reported the importance of these \"soft skills\" in dental practice. The aim of this literature review is to explore strategies for effective dentist-patient communication. Dentist-patient communication is a bidirectional process involving the exchange of ideas that should be clear (easy to understand), correct (accurate), concise (to the point), complete (with essential information), and cohesive (well-organized). Effective communication empowers patients with the knowledge required to make an informed decision about their own oral health. It not only improves the dentist\'s efficiency and boosts patient confidence, but also alleviates patients\' dental anxiety and fear, addresses patients\' needs and preferences, increases patients\' adherence, and enhances patient satisfaction. To enhance dentist-patient communication, dentists should take the patient-centered approach as a premise. The approach comprises understanding patients\' illnesses, shared decision-making, and mindful intervention at the patient\'s own pace. In addition, dentists should use simple, succinct language, proper body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact when interacting with patients. Dentists should show empathy, encourage questions and feedback, employ visual aids, and give ample time to patients. Nowadays, dentists and their patients use messaging applications in their communication. This form of telecommunication is not only a convenient way of communication but also reduces the costs associated with a dentist visit. In conclusion, effective dentist-patient communication is vital for the success of dental practice. Dentists who prioritize communication and build positive relationships with their patients are more likely to achieve positive outcomes and foster the expansion of their dental practice.

A hazánk felnőtt lakosságának közel egyharmadát érintő elhízás krónikus betegség, amely más krónikus betegségek kockázati tényezőjeként rontja a szomatikus és mentális egészséget, az életminőséget és az életkilátásokat. Valamennyi bizonyítékalapú testsúlycsökkentő terápia alapja az életmódváltás, amely minimálisan az energiabevitel korlátozását és a fizikai aktivitás növelését igényli. A betegek azonban az esetek túlnyomó többségében vonakodnak az életmódváltástól, aggodalmakat fejezve ki ezzel kapcsolatban (például „Én a levegőtől is hízom!”, „Nem bírok sportolni!”, „Nem akarok éhezni!”). Gyakori az orvosok részéről e félelmek „kifogásként” történő értelmezése. Ez az interpretáció egyfelől indulatot szül a páciensek irányában, másfelől meggátolja a figyelmes meghallgatást és az empátia kifejezését, így az ellenállás hátterében álló tényezők nem kerülnek feltárásra, feloldásra. Ennek következtében a szakember vagy nem tudja bevonni a pácienst a terápiába, vagy ha mégis, akkor az együttműködés mértéke elmarad az elvárttól, rontva a kezelés hatékonyságát. A páciens kioktatása vagy akár elmarasztalása pedig rontja az orvos-beteg kapcsolatot, és az egészségügyi ellátórendszer kerüléséhez vezethet, ami súlyosbíthatja úgy a súlyfelesleg mértékét, mint a kísérő betegségek lefolyását. A jelen tanulmány célja annak bemutatása, hogy hogyan érdemes reagálni a páciensek vonakodást kifejező mondataira, és milyen kommunikációs eszközökkel facilitálhatjuk a súlycsökkentő kezelésbe való sikeres bevonódást és az életmódváltás iránti elköteleződés erősödését, eszközöket adva az egészségkárosító szokások fokozatos leépítéséhez és a hosszú távon is fenntartható, hatékony, egészséges testtömegkontrollt szolgáló egészségvédő szokások kialakításához. Orv Hetil. 2024; 165(19): 727–733.

A 38-year-old pathologist developed multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS). He documented his visual impairment in detail utilizing a light microscope for pathological diagnosis. Notably, the subjective defects illustrated by the patient were in good spatiotemporal agreement with diagnostic outcomes. The present report enhances the understanding of visual impairment associated with MEWDS through a comparative analysis of subjective experiences and objective clinical findings.

BACKGROUND: It has been said that physicians should provide their patients with accurate evidence in terms of information on treatment options. However, in some cases, although the physician provides accurate and sufficient information, the patient still chooses the medically not-recommended treatment. The purpose of this research is to clarify how patients\' decisions differ when a physician changes the frame of an explanation when he/she provides information about cancer treatment.
METHODS: An online questionnaire survey was conducted in March 2017. Through the aid of a survey company, we emailed questionnaires to 1,360 cancer patients who received treatment within the last 2 years. We randomly assigned participants to 6 hypotheticals scenario of a terminal cancer patient, and presented hypothetical evidence in different ways. Subsequently, we asked survey participants whether they would choose to receive additional anti-cancer treatment.
RESULTS: Although there was no statistically significant difference between scenarios, the \"social burden\" groups showed a lower rate of patients who preferred to continue a medically ineffective anti-cancer treatment than the control group, at a 10% significance level. The scenario significantly affected the patients\' sense of abandonment [F(5, 1,354)=5.680, P<0.001], sense of distress [F(5, 1,354)=3.920, P=0.002], and necessity of improvement [F(5, 1,354)=2.783, P=0.017].
CONCLUSIONS: Nudges were not shown to be effective in situations where discontinuation of anticancer treatment was being considered. On the other hand, some nudges were found to be invasive and should be used with caution.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the factors that affect the normal dental development of preschool children in Latvia, and to investigate sources that mothers use to get information on children\'s oral health.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in two kindergartens in Latvia (cluster sampling). The study sample comprised 141 child-mother pairs of preschool children aged 4-7 years. The dental situation of all children was assessed including evaluation by an orthodontist and a speech therapist, and mothers of children filled out the survey on oral health-related habits and information about it.
METHODS: We described individually factors related to orthodontal situations, children\'s speech problems, and factors that can affect tongue thrust. We investigated relationships between sources of mothers\' information and oral health-related behaviors using univariate (Kruskal-Wallis test, a chi-squared test, a Fisher test, or Cramer\'s V test) and multivariate analyses. We built a multiple logistic regression model adjusted for the demographic and oral health-related factors to investigate the factors associated with tongue thrust. Results of multiple logistic regression were presented with odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
RESULTS: In total, 36.9% of children grazed vegetables several times a week, and 61.0% cleaned their teeth twice a day. Of mothers, 12% did not receive any information about child dental care from their general physician, and 23.4% found the received information insufficient. A total of 43.3% of mothers received oral health-related information from friends, and it was significantly related to less carbonated water (p < 0.01), more help during teeth cleaning (p = 0.03), starting cleaning teeth in earlier age (p = 0.03), and more frequent visits to a child dentist (p = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: A lack of knowledge was found to be prominent in mothers of kindergarten children in Latvia, and most of them received information not from official sources such as their general physician. This can be related to some problems in oral health behaviors and oral health-related diseases. Communication among dental health specialists, state authorities, and families is crucial for the improvement of children\'s dental situation.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The proliferation of misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic provides a clear example of the harms that can occur when medical professionals do not engage with the public regarding health topics. To address this need for accessible, accurate medical information, we taught medical students a COVID-19-specific curriculum tailored to sharing this information with the lay public via social media. Through active learning, students developed their understanding of disease-specific pathophysiology, prevention techniques, treatments, and public health interventions while practicing new skills in public communication as health professionals. After two cohorts completed the course, students\' high-quality medical information about COVID-19 reached >100,000 viewers. To further broaden the impact, we shared the course curriculum through the Association of American Medical College (AAMC) iCollaborative. This curriculum provides a model for future engagement of medical students in health communication with lay audiences.

Background: As a person nears the end of their life, culture and ethnicity increasingly drive preferences and priorities for care. Understanding these preferences and priorities is fundamental to health care professionals\' goals to respect decision making and support the individual throughout this phase of life. Across Africa, several countries are in the initial stages of implementing palliative care services in their burgeoning health care systems. Moving forward, it is imperative to consider cultural similarities and differences when compared with the Western world, where the field of palliative care evolved, to create a tailored palliative care approach that is consistent with African culture. In palliative care, understanding cultural preferences and priorities requires communication between the patient and the provider and is a crucial step toward a successful implementation in Africa. A paternalistic patient-provider relationship is the current leading model in sub-Saharan Africa.1 Aim: This narrative review explores the prevalence of paternalism and explores its appropriateness and necessity in the current application of palliative care in sub-Saharan African countries. Methods: This narrative review was conducted using four databases as well as hand searching of relevant articles sourced from references of already selected articles. A total of 730 articles were identified. Fourteen articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria set for this narrative review. Results: In sub-Saharan Africa, the leading patient-provider relationship was determined to be paternalistic. Reasons for this were language, education, cultural norms and expectations, lack of time, and benevolence. Conclusions: The implementation of palliative care often relies on communication of patient desires and goals. Consideration is needed to determine how a provider can appropriately know these factors in a paternalistic relationship.

BACKGROUND: Our knowledge about the attitudes of healthcare staff to palliative care in pediatric oncology is scarce. We aimed to assess their perceptions of palliative care in Hungary and find answers to the question of how to provide good palliative care for children.
METHODS: Physicians (n = 30) and nurses (n = 43) working in the field of pediatric oncology (12 of them specialized in hospice care) were interviewed. Palliative care practice (communication, integration of palliative care, professionals\' feelings and attitudes, and opportunities for improvement) was assessed by semi-structured interviews evaluated in a mixed quantitative and qualitative way by narrative categorical content analysis and thematic analysis.
RESULTS: All providers displayed high negative emotions, positive evaluations, and used many active verbs. Nurses showed higher levels of denial, more self-references, and were more likely to highlight loss. Physicians emphasized the importance of communication regarding adequate or inadequate palliative care. Hospice specialists showed a higher passive verb rate, a lower self-reference, a lower need for psychological support, and a greater emphasis on teamwork and professional aspects.
CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that nurses are more emotionally stressed than doctors in palliative care in pediatric oncology. To our knowledge, a study comparing doctors and nurses in this field has yet to be carried out. Our results suggest that pediatric oncological staff can positively evaluate a child\'s palliative care despite the emotional strain. Regarding hospices, professional practice in palliative care may be a protective factor in reducing emotional distress and achieving professional well-being.

Loneliness and social isolation are common among older adults. To deliver high-quality care to older patients, healthcare professionals should know the social conditions of their patients. Addressing social determinants of health (SDH) in daily practice is beneficial to both patients and healthcare professionals. We illustrate a patient with congestive heart failure and cognitive decline whose social conditions improved through an SDH assessment. An SDH assessment has some potential advantages, which include facilitating a comprehensive understanding of patients\' social conditions, visualizing how patients\' social conditions have changed, deepening interprofessional collaboration, and ameliorating unnecessary negative emotions toward patients. This case report conveys two key messages. Firstly, healthcare professionals have the capability to evaluate patients\' social backgrounds and enhance their health and social conditions through routine care. Secondly, the utilization of an SDH screening toolkit can support and enhance this initiative.