Search Results (22)

Background: Medical cannabis continues to generate interest as a potential therapeutic option, yet its acceptance in clinical practice faces challenges, including regulatory barriers, social stigma, and gaps in scientific evidence. Methods: This study explores the perspectives of Greek medical doctors and pharmacists on medical cannabis—key stakeholders in its clinical application—through semi-structured interviews with 12 participants from each profession. Results: Medical doctors and pharmacists expressed a range of views on medical cannabis, with many acknowledging its potential while emphasizing the need for rigorous, disease-specific research. Medical doctors highlighted the lack of consistent clinical trials, concerns about drug interactions, and the fine line between medical use and misuse. Pharmacists echoed these concerns, citing regulatory inconsistencies and the need for standardized dosing. Both groups agreed that social stigma and misinformation hinder cannabis adoption, advocating for targeted education and transparent research communication. Participants indicated that regulatory barriers also pose challenges, with calls for harmonized policies and phased market entry approaches. Effective communication strategies, including digital outreach and clear messaging, were suggested to differentiate medical cannabis from recreational use and improve trust among healthcare providers and patients. Participants also highlighted the urgent need for collaboration between policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals to establish medical cannabis as a credible therapeutic option. Conclusion: The insights gained provide actionable recommendations to bridge existing gaps and emphasize the need for a responsible, evidence-based approach to the acceptance of medical cannabis as a therapeutic option. Full article

Background/Objectives: In recent years, knowledge management and digital innovation have become pivotal in transforming healthcare systems, driving efficiency and enhancing patient outcomes. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of research trends at the intersection of knowledge management and digital innovation in healthcare, examining the scope, impact, and evolution of scholarly work in this domain. Methods: Using a comprehensive dataset from the Scopus database, we analyzed 419 publications from 1985–2023 to identify influential authors, journal collaborations, and emerging topics and methodologies in the field. Results: Our findings reveal a significant increase in research interest, highlighting themes such as data-driven healthcare, artificial intelligence in clinical decision support, and knowledge-sharing platforms’ role in improving healthcare delivery. The analysis also underscores the growing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between healthcare providers, technologists, and policy-makers. Conclusions: By mapping the intellectual structure of knowledge management and digital innovation in healthcare, this study provides valuable insights for academics, practitioners, and policy-makers seeking to harness knowledge management practices and digital technologies to foster innovation and resilience in healthcare systems. Full article

Background: This paper reviews cost containment policies to control pharmaceutical expenditure either by regulating the pharmaceutical industry or targeting the demand side. Methods: The method used was the narrative literature review of studies which assessed the effect of pharmaceutical cost containment policies. Results: Governments worldwide have implemented a great variety of policy measures to manage pharmaceutical expenditure while ensuring fair access to essential medicines. Cost-sharing schemes, value-based pricing, reimbursement, reference pricing, payback mechanisms and the substitution of original drugs with generics and biosimilars are pivotal in these efforts, albeit with differing effectiveness across healthcare systems. Overall, it appears that any gains may be outweighed by the unfavorable effects of policies impacting patients. Although interventions have been created to improve physicians’ prescribing practice, they often achieve very minor benefits and at considerable cost. Policy measures pertaining to the regulation of the supply side must be supported by thorough evaluation in order to ascertain costs and effects and guarantee that unintended consequences are minimized. Conclusions: Policymakers frequently enact numerous laws and regulations to control pharmaceutical expenditure, even if there is limited evidence that they are cost-effective. The most crucial component of any policy’s success, regardless of the one selected, is its evaluation. Further research is needed to develop context-specific guidance that balances cost containment, equity and sustainability. Full article

As early as 1978, the World Health Organization set primary healthcare as the basis on which health systems should be built worldwide. However, the health systems of the different countries show considerable variations in terms of the implementation of gatekeeping from primary to secondary healthcare and direct access to specialists and hospital care. This literature review attempts to present the gatekeeping system with references to the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany compared to the situation in Greece, where no gatekeeping system exists. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact of gatekeeping on the healthcare system’s efficiency, equity of access, and the quality of the services provided. Evidence on the effects of gatekeeping is conflicting or limited by the low internal validity. Making the right gatekeeping implementation decisions is difficult in the absence of data. High-quality research studies on health outcomes, clinical efficacy, cost-effectiveness, quality of life, healthcare quality, utilisation of healthcare services, the burden in the healthcare system, and the opinions of patients, physicians, and policymakers are all necessary for developing policy. Full article

Empowerment, the process by which a person is enabled to increase control over decisions concerning their life, is a multidimensional construct that has been extensively discussed by various disciplines for more than four decades. Several empowerment models have been presented, based on different approaches. This paper proposes a four-step model, based on individual and contextual awareness and advancement. Disparate factors may positively or negatively affect empowerment, including gender, race, culture, education, financial autonomy, socioeconomic status, family, neighborhood, religion, social cohesion, civic society, and political context. Empowerment has been extensively discussed in parallel with health promotion, since it is expected to positively affect health, both on the level of the individual and community, as well as in the context of the patient–healthcare professional relationship. Considering the position of women in patriarchal societies, where women may experience feelings of powerlessness, their social position and more importantly health may be adversely affected. Gender biases that were developed due to the marginalized position of women in different societies, coupled with paternalistic approaches of healthcare professionals, may significantly contribute to higher comorbidity, albeit longer life expectancy for women. Empowerment can therefore be a powerful tool for achieving equity in health and improving women’s well-being. Full article

Background/Objectives: Unmet dental needs involve cases wherein someone needed dental care and did not receive it. Published data on unmet dental needs are limited. This cross-sectional study investigates unmet dental needs in Greece before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: For this study, a questionnaire was created and distributed to a non-random sample. It was completed by 277 individuals. The questionnaire was based on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) tool, which is used to investigate unmet health needs. It was enriched with questions about unmet dental needs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Of the 277 participants, 23.1% reported unmet dental needs before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which decreased to 13.4% after the onset of the pandemic. However, a significant proportion of the sample (48.3%) reported no need for dental care after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also worth noting that there were instances of dental visit avoidance, both when symptoms were present and for standard check-up/follow-up purposes, at rates of 17% and 27.8%, respectively. Conclusions: Unmet dental needs occurred at lower rates after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic than those recorded before the pandemic. The main reasons for unmet needs before the pandemic were the cost of dental services and fear of treatment procedures or the visit to the dentist, while after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of time and fear of coronavirus transmission were added. Full article

Given the plethora of studies today that focus on the same topic, clinicians and other healthcare professionals increasingly rely on meta-analysis to aid in their evidence-based decision-making. This research method, which combines data from multiple studies to produce a single, more precise estimate of effect size, is invaluable for synthesizing evidence, resolving inconsistencies and guiding clinical practice and public health policies. Especially in disease prevention and control, meta-analysis has emerged as a critical tool. Meta-analysis is particularly valuable in assessing the effectiveness of preventive interventions such as vaccines, lifestyle modifications and screening programs. It provides robust evidence that supports the implementation of effective preventive measures and the discontinuation of ineffective or harmful ones. Furthermore, meta-analysis provides evidence to develop clinical practice guidelines, ensuring patients receive evidence-based treatments. In addition, public health policies aimed at disease prevention and control often rely on evidence from meta-analyses, which provide the data needed to justify and design large-scale public health initiatives. This comprehensive review delves into the role of meta-analysis in disease prevention and control, exploring its advantages, applications, challenges and overall impact on guiding clinical practice and public health policies. Through case studies and an examination of future directions, this paper underscores the pivotal role of meta-analysis in disease prevention and control. Full article

Any hospital’s primary goal is to restore human health and save lives through health services provided to patients, but at the same time, hazardous wastes are produced. Inconsistent management of unsafe wastes might cause adverse effects and other issues for workers, the environment, and public health. Segregation is considered the critical stage in successful medical waste management. Mixing hazardous medical waste with non-hazardous medical waste will be avoided by correctly applying practices at the segregation stage. This study aimed to assess personnel’s knowledge about infectious medical waste and segregation practices used at six wards in Nicosia General Hospital. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted, and data were collected through a structured self-administered questionnaire. The Statistical Package of Social Science (SPPS) version 25 was used with a minimum statistical significance of α = 0.05. The study population was nurses, nurse assistants, ward assistants, and cleaners working at the study wards. Out of 191 questionnaires, 82 were received, with a response rate of 42.93%. Most participants were female (72%) and nurses (85.4%). Participants had moderate knowledge about infectious medical waste management and good knowledge regarding segregation practices applied in their ward. Segregation was not carried out as it should have been, since most participants stated that infectious medical waste was mixed with non-hazardous medical waste. The number of correct answers the participants gave regarding the colour-coding of different medical waste categories was 67.5%, and only four answered correctly to all questions. Although participants knew segregation practices and the colour-coding process applied to medical waste, they did not use them satisfactorily. They applied methods regarding segregation without specific training, knowledge and guidance. Due to the issue’s importance, training programs must be implemented and performed. Full article

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving significant transformation inside the administrative and clinical workflows of healthcare organizations at an accelerated rate. This modification highlights the significant impact that AI has on a variety of tasks, especially in health procedures relating to early detection and diagnosis. Papers done in the past imply that AI has the potential to increase the overall quality of services provided in the healthcare industry. There have been reports that technology based on AI can improve the quality of human existence by making life simpler, safer, and more productive. A comprehensive analysis of previous scholarly research on the use of AI in the health area is provided in this research in the form of a literature review. In order to propose a classification framework, the review took into consideration 132 academic publications sourced from scholarly sources. The presentation covers both the benefits and the issues that AI capabilities provide for individuals, medical professionals, corporations, and the health industry. In addition, the social and ethical implications of AI are examined in the context of the output of value-added medical services for decision-making processes in healthcare, privacy and security measures for patient data, and health monitoring capabilities. Full article

Understanding the extent of human health risks with an emphasis on carcinogenesis development attributable to potentially toxic chemicals is critical to effective prevention and mitigation strategies. Chromium (Cr), mainly the hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)), is a chemical associated with cancer when found in drinking water, making it a major public health issue. This study assessed a possible carcinogenic human health risk among the general population due to exposure to total or hexavalent chromium. We performed a systematic review of the international scientific literature, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) protocol to determine the human risk of cancer mortality and morbidity. In total, 76 articles were checked for eligibility, 13 of which were included in the final systematic review. Only scientific articles from January 2000 to November 2022 published on PubMed were included. Data from both epidemiological ecological studies (Relative Risk and Rate Ratio—RR and Standardized Mortality Rate—SMR) and epidemiological case studies (Lifetime Cancer Risk—LCR, Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk—ILCR, Cancer Risk—CR, Hazard Quotient—HQ, Hazard Index—HI, Health Risk Assessment—HRA, Disability-Adjusted Life Year—DALY, and Chronic Daily Intake Index—CDI) were included for the overall assessment of carcinogenicity in the general population. According to most articles, there is credible evidence that hexavalent chromium via water is indicated as a major contributor to the global burden of cancer in humans. Some of them emphasize malignant neoplasms in the lung, liver, stomach, and genitourinary system. Although the health index data of the case studies are based on a limited number of samples, they raise concerns about the possibility of an increase in the degree of carcinogenesis. However, there are significant limitations due to the lack of information on the dose and duration of exposure in the target group. Further research involving extensive analysis of the association of the two variables is needed, which depends on more complete information extraction and advanced methodologies. Full article

Technological innovation has become an integral aspect of our daily life, such as wearable and information technology, virtual reality and the Internet of Things which have contributed to transforming healthcare business and operations. Patients will now have a broader range and more mindful healthcare choices and experience a new era of healthcare with a patient-centric culture. Digital transformation determines personal and institutional health care. This paper aims to analyse the changes taking place in the field of healthcare due to digital transformation. For this purpose, a systematic bibliographic review is performed, utilising Scopus, Science Direct and PubMed databases from 2008 to 2021. Our methodology is based on the approach by Wester and Watson, which classify the related articles based on a concept-centric method and an ad hoc classification system which identify the categories used to describe areas of literature. The search was made during August 2022 and identified 5847 papers, of which 321 fulfilled the inclusion criteria for further process. Finally, by removing and adding additional studies, we ended with 287 articles grouped into five themes: information technology in health, the educational impact of e-health, the acceptance of e-health, telemedicine and security issues. Full article

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the level of fear related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the association of fear, and of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). A large sample of the Greek general population (N = 583) completed the validated versions of the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19s) and the 12-item Short Form (SF-12), and provided data on socio-demographic status, health history and COVID-19 protective behaviors. Variables were compared with Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and associations with Spearman’s correlations. Gamma regression models investigated the influence of sociodemographic and COVID-related variables on HRQoL. The mean FCV-19s score for the sample was 18.3 ± 5.6, and physical and mental component summary scores were 50.2 ± 7.9 and 46.7 ± 10.1, respectively. More fear of COVID-19 was expressed by females (p < 0.001), individuals with comorbidities (p < 0.01), those with contacts with comorbidities (p < 0.001), and individuals not having caught COVID-19 (p < 0.05). Contrastingly, less fear was expressed by unvaccinated individuals and those with less frequent intake of information about the pandemic. Item level and overall FCV-19s scores were negatively associated with SF-12 summary scores, and fear of COVID-19 was the most important predictor of both physical and mental HRQoL. The findings from this and other similar studies could help to identify specific population groups in need of interventions to improve their physical and mental health, which had deteriorated due to the pandemic. Full article

Background: Inadequate staffing, increased responsibilities and a high workload are some of the factors that are directly related to stress levels experienced by pharmacists, which in turn affect job satisfaction. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess job satisfaction and stress levels of pharmacists in Cyprus, involving those working in the public and private sector. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed which involved the completion of the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) questionnaire to estimate job satisfaction, and the Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14) questionnaire to evaluate perceived stress. Data collection took place between January and March 2020 and the participation rate was 71.6% (n = 585). Results: Employees in private pharmacies overall reported higher levels of job satisfaction compared to public sector pharmacists. Public sector pharmacists were found to have stronger self-efficacy beliefs compared to other groups (p < 0.001). Female pharmacists had a higher average level of perceived helplessness than male pharmacists (p = 0.001). Regarding public sector pharmacists, it was generally observed that pharmacists working under the management of the Ministry of Health (MoH) had reduced job satisfaction than those working for other organizations. Additionally, pharmacists working under the management of the State Health Services Organization (SHSO) had the least overall perceived stress levels (p = 0.008), high self-efficacy beliefs (p = 0.006) and low perceived helplessness (p = 0.031) compared to pharmacists in other workplaces. Employees of private pharmacies were found to have higher levels of job satisfaction (p < 0.001) than SHSO pharmacists. However, those employees demonstrated increased perceived stress levels (p < 0.001) in comparison with SHSO pharmacists. Conclusions: Pharmacists’ job satisfaction is negatively correlated with perceived stress levels and helplessness, and positively correlated with self-efficacy beliefs. In the public sector, it seems that a re-evaluation is critical regarding the determinants that adversely influence job satisfaction amongst pharmacists. Full article

This study compares EQ-5D-3L, EQ-5D-5L, and SF-6D utilities in patients with different musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders, also differing in disease severity as defined by valid clinical indexes. Utilities were measured from a cross-sectional sample of rheumatoid arthritis (N = 114), psoriatic arthritis (N = 57), ankylosing spondylitis (N = 49), and osteopenia/osteoporosis (N = 95) patients. For the first three groups, disease activity (severity) was measured with the DAS-28, DAPSA, and BASDAI clinical indexes, respectively. Mean differences and effect sizes were measured, and agreement between utilities was estimated with the intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman plots. Higher agreement was observed between EQ-5D-5L and SF-6D, compared to EQ-5D-3L and SF-6D, in all MSK disorder groups and severity levels. In groups with moderate to high severity, agreement between EQ-5D-3L/SF-6D and EQ-5D-5L/SF-6D was between low and fair, and both EQ-5D-3L and 5L utilities were lower than SF-6D (p < 0.001). On the other hand, in remission or low activity groups, agreement was excellent, and SF-6D utilities were again typically higher than EQ-5D-3L/5L, but not significantly. In more severe patients, SF-6D generated significantly higher utilities than EQ-5D-3L and 5L, which is consistent with most previous studies. Such discrepancies could have implications on economic evaluations of interventions targeting patients with MSK disorders. Full article

The specific attributes of agrifood supply chains, along with their importance for the economy and society, have led to an increased interest in the parameters that enhance their effectiveness. Recently, numerous digital tools aimed at improving supply chain effectiveness have been developed. The majority of existing research focuses on optimizing individual processes rather than the overall growth of a food supply chain. This study aims to identify the stages of the information systems planning (ISP) process that affect the success of developing a strategic decision support system (DSS) for improving the decision-making process in the agrifood supply chains. Data were collected from 66 IT executives from Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agrifood sector and analyzed using regression analysis. The results revealed that situation analysis is the only stage of ISP that predicts ISP success. These findings can assist managers in appreciating the critical role of ISP for improving the performance of agrifood supply chain operations. Implementing the most appropriate information systems (IS) and digital tools results in increased competitive advantage, cost savings, and increased customer value. Full article