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Purpose: To analyse physical activity of patients during their hospital stay and to explore the relationship between physical activity and barriers to physical activity.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of physical activity data for patients admitted to the internal medicine and surgical wards. Physical activity data, collected with a wireless patch sensor, was operationalized as time spent lying, sitting/standing, and walking. Barriers to physical activity included patients’ pain levels, the use of urinary catheters, intravenous tubing, oxygen lines, drains, and level of dependence. Regression analysis explored the relationship between physical activity and barriers to physical activity.

Results: Physical activity data were collected in 39 patients (aged 27–88, mean 54 years) during hospital stay. Patients were admitted for a median of 10 d (interquartile range [IQR]: 7–15 d). These patients were lying for a median of 12.1 h (7.6–17.7), sitting/standing 11.8 h (6.3–15.7), and walking 0.1 h (0–0.3) per day. Time lying during the day related to pain levels (β = 0.4 h per unit increase in pain, p < 0.01) and drain use (β = 3.1 h, p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Patients spent the most time during the hospital stay lying in bed. Improved pain management and decreased drain use may be worth exploring to increase inpatient physical activity.

"This publication summarizes the current gaps, needs and opportunities for intervention in the field of assistive technology in Tajikistan. The situational analysis was conducted under the leadership of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, Republic of Tajikistan and with technical support from the WHO Country Office, Tajikistan. It was undertaken in collaboration with different Government ministries and State agencies, development partners, United Nations agencies, nongovernmental organizations, disabled people’s organizations and users of assistive products. It adopted a realist synthesis approach, responsive to the unique social, cultural, economic and political circumstances in the country. The evaluation focuses on assistive technology policy and governance, service provision and the impact of assistive technology on the health and well-being of individual users and their families, with the aim of improving access to high-quality, affordable assistive products in Tajikistan.

200 persons with disabilities participated in a survey designed to collect information on self-reported need for assistive products, user experiences and barriers to access. An additional 11 focus groups made up of persons with disabilities and older adults held indepth discussions on assistive technology. The major providers of assistive technology (Government facilities, nongovernmental organizations, local producers) were also interviewed as part of the research"

Purpose: In general, multidrug therapy (MDT) completion rate and the change in disability levels before and after medical treatment are reported as outcomes in leprosy programmes. Changes in activity and social participation levels are rarely reported, possibly because the parameters are more difficult to measure. The study aimed to assess and evaluate the changes in social participation among leprosy-affected persons after completion of MDT.

Method: An observational study was conducted among 108 newly-diagnosed leprosy- affected clients, who were registered at the Leprosy Referral Hospital in Champa, Chhattisgarh. Their disability levels pre- and post- MDT were assessed using the WHO Disability Grading, and their social participation level was assessed using the Participation Scale.

Results: Of the 108 clients registered during the study period, 90 completed the full course of MDT and were included in the analysis. The majority of these 90 clients or 83% were multibacillary and 23% had Grade 2 disability at the time of diagnosis. At the end of MDT with steroids therapy for reaction and neuritis, the proportion of clients with no participation restriction increased from 76% to 93%. Clients with visible impairments had more restriction as compared to those with no deformity or no visible deformity, before and after MDT. Among those with visible impairments, 78% had mild to severe restriction before MDT and it declined to 26% on completion of treatment.

Conclusion: Presence of Grade 2 disability at the time of diagnosis was significantly associated with participation restriction. MDT and steroid therapy for management of reaction and/or neuritis improves the participation level of leprosy-affected clients, suggesting that early detection and appropriate management would reduce their risk of participation restriction.

This is a practical manual about mental health care, aimed at community health workers, primary care nurses, social workers and primary care doctors, particularly in low resource settings. It describes more than 30 clinical problems associated with mental illness, using a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. It addresses the lack of understanding of mental health among many health workers. Mental health issues as they arise in specific contexts are described - in refugee camps, in school health programmes, as well as in mental health promotion. The final section helps the reader to personalise for a particular location, for example, by entering local information on voluntary agencies, the names and costs of medicines and words in the local language for symptoms.

This product is an update of the first edition 2003. It is also available as Open Access.

The manual is structured in three parts.

• Part One “Epidemics of the 21st century” provides vital insights on the main features of the 21st century upsurge and the indispensable elements to manage them.
• Part Two “Be in the know. 10 key facts about 15 deadly diseases” contains key information about 15 diseases (Ebola Virus Disease, Lassa Fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Yellow Fever, Zika, Chikungunya, Avian and Other Zoonotic Influenza, Seasonal Influenza, Pandemic Influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Cholera, Monkeypox, Plague, Leptospirosis and Meningococcal Meningitis). This section provides tips on the interventions required to respond to epidemics of all these diseases.
• Part Three “Tool boxes” gives an overview and summarized guidance on some other important topics, including: the role of WHO, the International Coordinating Group, laboratory diagnosis and shipment of infectious diseases substances, and vector control.

The handbook enables the three levels of WHO – its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Country Offices to work efficiently together by building the foundations of a shared conceptual and thinking framework, which includes common terminology. 

A special issue of the online journal "Intersectionalities - A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice", Vol 5, No.3 (2016) providing 10 articles on the theme of Mad studies. Titles of papers included are: 

Doing Mad Studies: Making (Non)sense Together; 

An Introduction to Anti-Black Sanism; 

Why Mad Studies Needs Survivor Research and Survivor Research Needs Mad Studies; 

Recovery-as-Policy as a Form of Neoliberal State Making; 

“About Nothing Without Us”: A Comparative Analysis of Autonomous Organizing Among People Who Use Drugs and Psychiatrized Groups in Canada; 

Too Young to Be Mad: Disabling Encounters with 'Normal' from the Perspectives of Psychiatrized Youth; 

Relocating Mad_Trans Re_presentations Within an Intersectional Framework; 

A Desire to be ‘Normal’? A Discursive and Intersectional Analysis of ‘Penetration Disorder’; 

Racialized Communities, Producing Madness and Dangerousness; 

Psy-Times: The Psycho-Politics of Resilience in University Student Life

Symptoms of dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue hemorrhagic shock are listed. The epidemiology of dengue is outlined and a map shows countries where there is risk of dengue infection worldwide. Precautions to prevent dengue and what to do if you contract dengue whilst travelling are outlined.    

Malezi AIDS Care Awareness Organization (MACAO) is a non-profit organization reaching out to neglected Indigenous people in Ngorongoro District, Arusha Region of Northern Tanzania.  Macao founded in 2003, Macao is a humanitarian organization that provides assistance to approximately 200,000 Indigenous Maasai community in Ngorongoro district for addressing needs of water and sanitation, food security, health Care Research, Education, Research environment, Maasai Traditional Research, Human Rights and sustainable economic development by strengthening their livelihoods.  In addition to responding to major relief situations, MACAO focuses on long-term community development through over 4 Area Development Project. We welcome the donors and volunteers to join us in this programs, we are wolking in ruro villages.

The goal of this report is to provide the best possible data on the global AIDS epidemic, with a particular focus on information and analysis on the people left behind. The report highlights these gaps firstly in regional terms, providing “Regional Snapshots” and then explores issues faced by the following 12 populations that have been left behind by the AIDS response: people living with HIV, adolescent girls and young women, prisoners, migrants, people who inject drugs, sex workers, gay men and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, children and pregnant women living with HIV, displaced persons, people with disabilities and people aged 50 years and older