Background: Elderly falls increase dramatically with age and are a leading cause of injury, carrying a risk of loss of independence and death. We studied the effects of a health education program on fall-risk prevention among urban elderly persons in the municipality of Khon Kaen, Thailand. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2 communities. The calculated sample size was 216 individuals: 108 for intervention and 108 for control, all of whom were 60 or older, and registered at the Samlium Primary Care Unit (SPCU). The educational intervention was a fall risk intervention program by an elderly buddy. A structured questionnaire that incorporated questions from the Thai Fall Risk Assessment Tool (Thai-FRAT) was used to collect general and specific information. Data were analyzed using the independent sample t-test and c2, with P<0.05 being statistically significant. Results: The response rate was 94.4%. More than half of the respondents were at risk of a fall. The prevalence of risk of a fall among the intervention group was slightly less than that for those within the control group [Intervention group=52.9% (95%CI: 42.85, 62.81, P<0.001); Control group=60.8% (95%CI: 50.59, 70.15, P=0.016)]. After 6 months of intervention, the balance impairment, medicine usage, and overall proportion with risk of fall were decreased. The difference between the intervention and control groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: The provision of a health education program designed for fall risk prevention among the elderly would be a useful public health initiative.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of Bafa Wubu Tai Chi (BW-TC) and traditional He-style Tai Chi (TH-TC) exercises on physical health risk factors in overweight male college students and to compare the effectiveness of the two Tai Chi exercise forms in improving these risk factors. Methods: Eighty-one overweight male university students between the ages of 18 and 23 were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the BW-TC group, TH-TC group, and control group (CG). The Tai Chi exercise training consisted of 12 weeks, three times a week, for 60 min per session. The CG attended three health lectures and maintained their normal study routine. The outcomes were body composition and blood lipids. Data were collected at baseline and post-intervention and analyzed using one-way ANOVA and mixed-design ANOVA. Results: At baseline, there were no significant differences in demographic characteristics and assessed parameters (p > 0.05) among the groups. The BW TC and TH TC groups both significantly decreased their body weight (2.69 kg, 2.04 kg, respectively), body mass index (0.90 kg/m2, 0.67 kg/m2, respectively), body fat percentage (1.46%, 1.10%, respectively), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (8.82 mg/dL, 9.27 mg/dL, respectively), total cholesterol (8.57 mg/dL, 9.34 mg/dL, respectively) and triglycerides (10.14 mg/dL, 10.63 mg/dL, respectively); and increased their muscle mass (−0.56 kg, −1.13 kg, respectively) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−5.77 mg/dL, −6.37 mg/dL, respectively). Multiple comparisons showed that both Tai Chi groups were significantly better than the CG in improving the evaluated parameters. Conclusions: Two types of Tai Chi interventions were effective in improving body composition and blood lipids in overweight university students, without significant differences between the two.
Asthma is a controllable disease. Poor asthma symptom control increased the risk of exacerbation. Accurate knowledge about asthma control can reduce risk behaviors, enhance good symptom control, and result in a minimal exacerbation. This study aimed to assess accurate knowledge about asthma control and factor related among asthma patients in a rural community. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 786 asthma patients using a simple random sampling method. Questionnaires were used, comprising two parts: socio-demographic and knowledge about asthma control. Data were collected by well-trained university student interviewers using the local language and then analyzed using frequency, percentage, independent sample t-test, ANOVA, multiple linear regression, and 95% CI. The response rate was 92.36% (726/786). This study found that 49.4.0% (359/367) (95% CI:45.75, 53.15) of asthma patients had accurate knowledge about asthma control. The most accurate knowledge referred to the exacerbation symptom “frequent asthma attacks showing the severity of the disease” (69.1%). The most inaccurate issue referred to the risk factor of the allergy to fabrics, drugs, food, chemicals, insects (59.0%). The factors related to accurate knowledge about asthma control levels in the asthma patients were age, marital status, and education. Half of the asthma patients had inaccurate knowledge about asthma control in terms of risk factors about allergic things and risk of asthma exacerbation from chronic sinusitis. For improvement, more attention should be paid to the misunderstood issues, namely, the risk factors, especially some triggers of asthma exacerbation.
This study aims to determine factors related to good glycemic control among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients living in rural communities. A case-control study was conducted, and data were collected from T2DM patients registered at health promotion hospitals. The sample size calculated required 101 samples for cases and 303 samples for controls. The case and control groups were interviewed using questionnaires and clinical record forms. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, 95% confidence interval (CI), Chi-squared, adjusted odds ratio (AOR), and multiple logistic regressions. The response rate was 100%. Most of the sample was female, age 60 and over, married, had no schooling or primary school level, was still working, had a family caregiver, and used the universal coverage as the welfare scheme. When controlling for other significant factors, this study found the significant factors were drinking coffee with sugar and cream regularly (AOR 0.36, 95% CI 0.19-0.69), taking the number of diabetes drugs indicated at the right dose prescribed by doctors (AOR 2.01, 95% CI 1.12-3.61) and diabetes control literacy (AOR 1.44, 95% CI 1.32-1.57). Interventions need to be considered to modify these significant factors associated with T2DM patients with uncontrolled blood sugar levels for diabetes control literacy, taking drugs at the right dose, and promoting awareness of drinking coffee with sugar and cream regularly as risk factors.
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