Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

The Association Between Drinking Habits and Family Relationships in 3 Villages of Indigenous Taiwanese
Although the vast majority of indigenous peoples in Taiwan consume alcohol, little is known about the relationship between alcoholic behavior and family relationships. A total of 471 residents from 3 villages in Alishan township in Taiwan were interviewed using a questionnaire that asked for demographic information and included the Family Function Scale and questions regarding the individual’s consumption of alcohol. It was found that 50% of the participants drink alcohol, and 71% of their family members consume alcohol; 47% of the respondents indicated excessive alcohol consumption (ie, were heavy drinkers). When in...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Chen, C.-H., Chang, Y.-C., Hsieh, Y.-H., Chen, Y.-C., Huang, Y.-C., Kuo, H.-W. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Seroprevalence of Antibody Against Diphtheria Among the Population in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand
To assess diphtheria immunity in the northeastern region of Thailand, a seroepidemiological survey was undertaken in 2011 from 516 healthy individuals (age range 2-87 years) in Khon Kaen province. Diphtheria antitoxin levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and titers of ≥0.1 IU/mL were considered to be protective antitoxin levels. Among the studied population, 94.8% have fully protective levels. The younger population (age range 2-19 years) has higher diphtheria immunity with seroprotection rates of 96.8% to 97.9%, compared with the adult population. The proportion of protective diphtheria antitoxin l...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Bansiddhi, H., Vuthitanachot, V., Vuthitanachot, C., Prachayangprecha, S., Theamboonlers, A., Poovorawan, Y. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Family Function of the Families Consisting of Asian Immigrant Women Living in South Korea: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study
Marriages between Korean men and immigrant women from elsewhere in Asia have increased rapidly during recent years. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship within families consisting of immigrant women and to identify the relevant factors. The study subjects were 62 Asian immigrant women married to South Korean men living in South Korea. In a baseline study in August 2008, the socioeconomic factors and family APGAR (adaptation, partnership, growth, affection, and resolve) scores were measured. Family APGAR has been widely used to study the relationship of family function and health problems in the busy clinic...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kim, Y.-P., Joh, J.-Y., Shin, I.-S. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Physical, Psychological, and Social Aspects of Quality of Life in Filarial Lymphedema Patients in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Quality of life (QOL) was assessed in 141 filarial lymphedema patients and 128 healthy people in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka, by administering modified, translated, and validated (in Sri Lanka) versions of the Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire (SF-36) and the 30-item General Health questionnaire (GHQ-30). The GHQ-30 assesses the current mental health status. The SF-36 measures health on 8 multi-item dimensions covering functional state, well-being, and overall evaluation of health (physical functioning, role limitations resulting from physical health problems, role limitations resulting from emotional problems,...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Wijesinghe, R. S., Wickremasinghe, A. R. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Effectiveness of Community Participation in a Surveillance System Initiative to Prevent Drowning in Thailand
This study had a 2-group pre-post quasiexperimental design and was conducted in 2 selected areas of Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. The objective was to evaluate the extent to which the surveillance system that was developed helped in drowning prevention. The development process involved extensive participation from the community. System efficiency was evaluated, and the drowning rates were compared. The system demonstrated 82.8% system sensitivity and 87% positive-predictive value. There were 90.0% rescues with no injury during the study period. The relative risk of drowning injury suggests that the control area was ...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Sansiritaweesook, G., Muangsom, N., Kanato, M., Ratanasiri, A. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Socioeconomic Factors Associated With Contraceptive Use and Method Choice in Urban Slums of Bangladesh
This article explores the socioeconomic factors affecting contraceptive use and method choice among women of urban slums using the nationally representative 2006 Bangladesh Urban Health Survey. Both bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied to examine the relationship between a set of sociodemographic factors and the dependent variables. Overall, the contraceptive prevalence rate was 58.1%, of which 53.2% were modern methods. Women’s age, access to TV, number of unions, nongovernmental organization membership, working status of women, number of living children, child mortality, and wealth index wer...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kamal, S. M. M. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Relationship Between Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Function in a Community-Dwelling Population in Japan
In conclusions, present study failed to substantiate dose-dependent associations between dietary patterns and the risk of poor cognitive function. Further studies with longitudinal observations are warranted. (Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Sugawara, N., Yasui-Furukori, N., Umeda, T., Tsuchimine, S., Kaneda, A., Tsuruga, K., Iwane, K., Okubo, N., Takahashi, I., Kaneko, S. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables in Malaysia: Profiling the Daily and Nondaily Consumers
This study examines the sociodemographic factors associated with daily fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Malaysia. Based on a cross-sectional sample of 2447 individuals from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1, a multivariate sample selection system is developed and estimated, to accommodate high frequencies of daily FV consumption and the days of servings among nondaily consumers. Results indicate that the authors’ attempt to account for endogenous sample selectivity and cross-equation correlations is justified. There exist positive correlations between FV consumption likelihoods and longer wo...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Yen, S. T., Tan, A. K. G., Feisul, M. I. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

An Asset-Focused Health Needs Assessment in a Rural Community in North India
Conclusions. In low-resource developing country contexts with poor information systems, HNA is possible and useful. Including RPA and community participation to also assess assets resulted in programs responding to communities’ needs using existing resources. (Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health)
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Mathias, K. R., Mathias, J. M., Hill, P. C. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Effectiveness of Acupuncture for Smoking Cessation in a Chinese Population
An observational study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture for smoking cessation, and determine predictors for successful quitters. Smokers received at least 6 sessions of body acupuncture provided by Chinese medicine practitioners and initiated self-administered auricular acupuncture. We determined self-report 26-week and 52-week quit rates by intention-to-treat analysis and examined predictors for successful quitting by univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of 1002 smokers were recruited; 26-week and 52-week quit rates were 16.8% and 15.8%, respectively. Male sex, older age, lower nicotine ...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Ma, E., Chan, T., Zhang, O., Yang, J.-s., Wang, Y.-y., Li, Y.-c., Ho, R., Lai, C., Lam, P.-y. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Risk Factors of Future Smoking Among Thai Youth: A Secondary Analysis of the Thai Global Youth Tobacco Survey
The study aimed to identify the risk factors for future smoking among Thai youth aged 13 to 15 years (seventh to ninth grade). Data from the nationally representative 2005 Thai Global Youth Tobacco Survey (n = 15 774) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression. Among nonsmoking Thai youth, boys were much more likely to have intention of future smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.37-0.84). Younger youth were more likely to be cigarette smokers in the future (OR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.56-0.88). Youth having the intention of smoking from a friend’s cigarette offer were 5...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Lee, G., Lee, J., Lee, S. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Salient Latent Constructs Underlying Smoking Initiation and Continuous Use by Student-Smokers of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
The factor analysis model was used to parsimoniously reduce the number of variables that influence smoking among students to salient factors that cut across continents, race, and sociocultural settings among university students in China. Stratified random sampling and snowball techniques were employed to obtain the sample. A Likert-type questionnaire was used to collect data. The results revealed that of the 39 variables identified to influence smoking, 34 were retained and regrouped in terms of common features they share into 13 salient factors that accounted for 58% of variances in the original variables. The predominant...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Turkson, A. J., Wang, X. J., Gobah, F. F. K. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Prevalence and Demographic Distribution of Adult Survivors of Child Abuse in Japan
A cross-sectional study was conducted with a national epidemiological survey to investigate the prevalence and demographic distribution of adult survivors of child abuse in Japan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the history of child abuse and the demographic characteristics. The participants reported the following 4 types of child abuse: physical abuse (3%), sexual abuse (0.6%), neglect (0.8%), and psychological abuse (4%). Significant unequal distribution of child abuse was found to be associated with sex, living region, marital status, job status, and educational status. We determined the prevalence...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tsuboi, S., Yoshida, H., Ae, R., Kojo, T., Nakamura, Y., Kitamura, K. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Stakeholder Perceptions of a Pharmacy-Initiated Tuberculosis Referral Program in Cambodia, 2005-2012
Intensifying detection of tuberculosis (TB) symptomatic patients is a priority for Cambodia’s National Tuberculosis Program, in a country where two-thirds of the population has latent TB infection. In 2005, the National Tuberculosis Program initiated a public-private mix (PPM) collaborative program with external and local stakeholders to identify and refer persons with TB symptoms from private sector pharmacies to public sector clinics for diagnosis and treatment. This qualitative study conducted in-depth interviews with organizational stakeholders to assess their perceptions of PPM program collaboration and its sust...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Bell, C. A., Duncan, G. J., Eang, R., Saini, B. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research

Factors Influencing Unmet Need for Health Care Services in Korea
This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of unmet need based on both subjective assessment and adjustments for need-predicted utilization and to examine factors associated with them. Data from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a population-based, cross-sectional study, were used in this study. Participants included 11 620 Koreans (4959 males and 6661 females) aged 19 and older. The results for subjective unmet need suggested that female or younger individuals were more likely to experience unmet need, compared to male or older individuals. Those residing outside the capital ha...
Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health - March 31, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Kim, J., Kim, T. H., Park, E.-C., Cho, W. H. Tags: E-articles Source Type: research