Biomedical subjects

C Borrell

Publications and source records attributed to C Borrell.

77 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Practical evaluation of standard-based low-cost video conferencing in telemedicine and epidemiological applications.

The results of the evaluation of use of low-cost video conferencing systems (VCSs) in telemedicine is presented. Applications sharing, a new feature of these systems, recently has allowed high-quality computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). The video conferencing (VCing) equipment used was Intel ProShare 200 v2.0a. It is representative of other low-cost VCSs. The areas of application are epidemiology and telemedicine (orthopaedics and radiology). Potential end users filled out 58 evaluation questionnaires concerning user profiles, contents and benefits of the sessions, organizational aspects, user friendliness, user acceptance, cost effectiveness, technical and multipoint related aspects. Although the end users had a lot of computer experience, their knowledge in VCSs was rather limited. The users assessed the system capable of being integrated into routine work, despite a high organizational impact. The VCS is user friendly, application sharing being used in almost every session. Audio quality was not always sufficient. The remote video was sufficient, as was the quality of medical images such as CT, MRI or X-ray. The user acceptance of the system was high. Multipoint sessions require a structured protocol to be effective. Some technical problems with MCUs (Multipoint Control Units) occurred. The use of low-cost standard VCSs in telemedicine is advisable and is a good substitute for real meetings.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Housework, gender and health in the working population].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the relation between domestic workload and self-perceived health status among workers and to examine whether there are gender inequalities. METHODS: The selected population were the 215 men and 106 women younger than 65 years interviewed in the Terrassa Health Survey, 1998 who had a paid work and were married or cohabiting. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) by domestic workload, age and occupational social class with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. RESULTS: Whereas among men domestic workload was not associated with health status, among women poor self-perceived health status was positively related to household size (aOR = 3.65; 95% IC = 1.06-12.54) and to lack of a person for doing domestic tasks (aOR = 4.43; 95% CI = 1.05-18.62). CONCLUSION: Both household characteristics and having a support for facing domestic tasks play an important role in gender health inequalities.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Influence of social inequality, social unrest and extreme poverty on tuberculosis morbidity in the City of Barcelona].

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of this study was to analyse inequalities between tuberculosis/intravenous drug user and tuberculosis/not intravenous drug user among the different neighbourhoods of Barcelona and the relationship to socioeconomic indicators and social/material deprivation indicators throughout the 1990-1995 period. METHODS: An ecological study which included all cases of tuberculosis among residents of Barcelona, the analysis unit being the neighbourhood. Intravenous drug users within the 15-49 age range and non-intravenous drug users over age 14 were included. The mean annual incidence rate standardized by age was used. The social indicators considered were the inner city areas, unemployment, less than primary education, overcrowding, social unrest and extreme poverty. In the bivariate analysis, the relationship between tuberculosis incidence and the social indicators was studied by means of the Spearman correlation coefficient, and the multivariate analysis by means of the Poisson regression. RESULTS: The incidence rates were higher in the inner city neighbourhoods, followed by the newer outlying working class neighbourhoods in both groups studied, and in other older outlying districts for the non-users of intravenous drugs. Among the intravenous drug user group, the variables related to a greater risk of tuberculosis were: man (RR = 7.42, confidence interval at 95% ICI95%-: 6.16-8.93), age (RR = 61.51, CI95%: 34.64-109.20), unemployment (RR = 1.68, CI95%: 1.51-1.88), social unrest (RR = 1.29, CI 95%: 1.04-1.58), overcrowding (RR = 1.36, CI 95%: 1.19-1.55) and inner city areas (RR = 1.92, CI 95% 1.48-2.50). Among the male non-users of intravenous drugs, no interaction between unemployment and age was found. Neighbourhoods with extreme poverty and inner city neighbourhoods showed a higher risk of tuberculosis (RR = 1.11, CI 95% 1.08-1.135 and RR = 1.80, CI95%: 1.51-2.14). Among the female non-users of intravenous drugs, a relationship was found in those of lesser age (RR = 1.29, CI 95%: 1.05-1.57), unemployment (RR = 1.18, CI 95%: 1.09-1.26), extreme poverty (RR = 1.95, CI 95%: 1.56-2.45) and inner city areas (RR = 1.72, CI 95%: 1.35-2.19). CONCLUSION: Inequalities in tuberculosis are related to different social indicators such as unemployment and inner city areas. A difference exists between the two groups studied. Tuberculosis is related with social unrest and overcrowding among intravenous drug users and with extreme poverty among non-users of intravenous drugs.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Epidemiological surveillance of mortality based on burrial records].

The purpose of this work is to build a prediction model of weekly general mortality in Barcelona, using weekly burials as a quick indirect indicator of mortality, and to illustrate its use in the detection of a suspected epidemic of influenza. Mortality data have been modelled following the methodology proposed by Box and Jenkins, and have been regressed using a simple linear model against burial data, so that for every week the expected number of deaths is computed. The model identified that best fitted mortality data was an ARI-MA (3,0,0). The lineal regression model relating mortality and burial data was deaths = 15.94 + 0.80 burials. The use of this methodology allowed the detection of the increase in deaths which occurred during an influenza epidemic in the beginning of 1987. This method allows the rapid weekly monitoring of mortality in a well defined geographic area, and it is a potentially useful tool to support public health departments in their epidemiologic surveillance responsibilities.

Death Certificates↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Leisure time physical activity and its association with demographic variables and other behaviors related with health].

OBJECTIVES: To describe leisure-time physical activity at the levels considered more beneficial for health and to analyze the association with sociodemographic variables and other health behaviors, among the population older than 14 years in Barcelona, Spain. METHODS: A sample of 4,171 adults answered the Health Interview Survey of Barcelona in 1992. Those who had participated less than three times (20 minutes at least) in moderate and/or intense exercise in the week before to the interview were considered inactive. Bivariate and multivariate analyse using logistic regression were used to study the association of leisure-time physical activity and the study variables. RESULTS: 80.7% of population older than 14 years in Barcelona participated less than three times in moderate and/or intense leisure-time physical activity and 20% did not participate in any exercise. Inactivity was higher in women, and increased significantly with age and in people with a low socioeconomic level. Men and women with incomplete primary studies were more likely to be inactive than people with graduate studies (ORa-adjusted odds ratio-1.8, 95% confidence interval-CI-: 1.1-2.9 and 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0-2.4 respectively). For men working eight or more hours with interruption per day the ORa for inactivity was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.2-2.9) with respect to men working less than eight hours without interruption. Smoking men were more inactive than non smokers. CONCLUSIONS: These result suggest that health promotion programmes to promote physical activity for adult in Barcelona should facilitate the incorporation of older people, women, people with low socioeconomic level and the working population, besides reinforcing sports habits among the youngest population.

Adolescent↗