Search results

Introduction: Based on the given experiences, many government institutions failed in their strategic management and planning for managing COVID-19. Meanwhile, when a crisis disrupts a system, institutions lose their direction and fail to make necessary responses.

Purpose: The current study highlighted the impact of social justice and modern governance in providing equitable healthcare services and dealing with crises during the COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries.

Methodology: Cross-country analyses were used based on captured secondary data. We evaluated several indices, including, for example, Crisis Index Indicators, Worldometers, and the Global Health Security (GHS) Index 2019.

Findings: According to the GHS (2019) data, public health service delivery equity was ineffective, socially unjust, and unfair treatment was experienced in the context of the conflict-affected countries. Most conflict-affected countries (Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Venezuela) did not have guidelines or public reports committing to providing prioritized healthcare services to the public and healthcare workers. The experience of conflict-affected countries has shown that healthcare disparities still exist. While many governments in conflict-affected countries failed to give equitable access to healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic to the public.

Facing the burden of chronic diseases has become a priority for health-care systems’ economic and social sustainability. To this end, this paper aims to focus on adopting Health Lean Management (HLM), a widely used managerial approach, to improve the performance and quality of care provided in chronic care pathways. HLM addresses not only efficiency and timeliness issues but also care effectiveness and integration. Indeed, the lack of continuity and co-ordination of care constitutes a major challenge for chronic pathways. This research provides an innovative contribution, by extending the implementation of HLM to chronic pathways developed across hospital and territorial care. Indeed, HLM scope typically regards hospital units and departments; hence, analysing the interaction between different levels of care represents a novelty from an academic and practical perspective.

With the aim of understanding how to extend the adoption of HLM towards the territory, an action research project has been developed. In particular, an improvement project focused on breast cancer care pathways has been launched in a Spanish hospital. The research investigates which HLM activities, tools and practices need to be accomplished in this kind of project, grasping insights into emerging wastes. To this end, the HLM project followed the Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (DMAIC) cycle, supporting the project team in effectively conducting a preliminary context analysis, qualitative and quantitative data collection, the current state analysis and the countermeasure proposals.

The analysis conducted on the breast cancer care pathway highlighted major criticalities in managing the diagnosis of new patients. In particular, waiting times to obtain diagnostic imaging and breast specialist consultations highly impacted the care pathway effectiveness and efficiency. Specific wastes that caused these delays have been investigated, leading to the definition of specific countermeasures that could minimise the inefficiencies: an 85% reduction of the staging process lead time was estimated.

The achieved results contribute to enhancing the quality of care delivered to breast cancer patients. This paper enriches the theoretical knowledge about HLM, extending its typical field of application; provides practical support to health-care providers, managers and leaders with a case demonstrating how to develop HLM projects adopting the DMAIC cycle; and finally, it has valuable social implications, addressing the global threat of chronic disease.

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect of pomegranate juice (PJ) intake on glycemic control in adults.

Materials and methods: PubMed (Medline), ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Scopus databases, measuring glucose and/or insulin and Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) in adults, were searched from inception to December 11, 2021. Moreover, to examine whether grouping factors influenced heterogeneity between research results, subgroup analysis was used.

This meta-analysis showed that PJ intake reduced HOMA-IR significantly, especially if =250 mL was used. This reducing effect remained significant in females, nondiabetic patients and unhealthy subjects.

The authors believe the presented data would be highly motivating and of a wide readership for the readers of your journal, and this paper stimulating a surge of research on the impact of PJ consumption on glycemic indices.

Universal Health Coverage (UHC) means that all people can access quality essential health services, without having to suffer financial hardship. However, this remains a significant challenge in many parts of Africa, particularly for marginalized populations in hard-to-reach communities as the financial burden continues to be placed on the poor citizens. The rapid advancement of digital technologies has changed the healthcare landscape by introducing new, frugal methods for healthcare delivery, holding the potential to bridge the healthcare gap and enhance access to quality healthcare for marginalized populations. While the notion of frugal innovation (FI) is gaining worldwide traction, the application of digital technologies in driving FIs within African healthcare systems remains largely untapped. With this aim, the research conducted a comprehensive literature review and searched for articles that addressed digital technologies in the medical field and technology-enabled disruptive digital frugal innovations (DFIs), particularly in the healthcare sector in Africa from Scopus indexed journals. In addition, the technologies identified are examined with respect to their innovation characteristics. Inclusion and exclusion criterion were clearly defined. The inclusion criteria considered studies that explored digital technologies and their intervention characteristics and DFIs in healthcare. Articles that were excluded from the study consisted of those not written in English, studies that addressed broader aspects of technology without specific emphasis on DFIs in healthcare.

This paper investigates causal connections between childhood adversities and chronic health problems among Brazilians aged 50 and over.

The study employed propensity score matching (PSM) using data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). The sample analyzed consisted of two groups: individuals who experienced childhood adversities and those who did not.

Individuals who experienced nutritional and health adversities in childhood are more likely to develop health problems at older ages, such as high blood pressure, osteoporosis, asthma, rheumatism and chronic column problems in adulthood.

The main limitation of this research is the use of a cross-sectional database, which poses challenges such as recall bias and sample selection bias.

The study reinforces the importance of investing in childhood to mitigate the severity of chronic diseases in later life.

The findings support increased investment in childhood nutritional programs and healthcare, which can improve human capital and reduce long-term medical and economic losses due to chronic diseases.

While economic research on medical issues is abundant in developed countries, where a predictable causal relationship between childhood adversities and chronic health problems in later life has been established, there is a lack of depth in this research in developing countries, particularly in Brazil. This study aims to contribute to health policy formulation, the development of medical facilities and research in Brazil.

This research introduces and validates psychological ownership of health as a novel theoretical construct characterized by individuals’ perceived possessiveness, attachment and responsibility toward their health. This study aims to examine the construct’s ability to predict and explain consumers’ health-related decision-making for themselves and others.

Two online surveys with US participants (N = 680) were conducted. The psychological ownership of health scale was first validated through confirmatory factor analysis. Next, the influence of psychological ownership of health on positive health behaviors and blood donation intentions was assessed using multiple regression analyses and conditional process modeling.

Psychological ownership of health demonstrated significant positive associations with health-promoting behaviors (dietary choices, physical activity, sleep hygiene) mediated by health self-efficacy. In addition, psychological ownership of health predicted increased blood donation intentions, and this relationship is amplified among individuals high in cultural collectivism.

The findings suggest that interventions fostering psychological ownership of health may simultaneously promote personal health maintenance and prosocial health behaviors. These dual implications offer promising applications for individualized and public health initiatives.

This research advances psychological ownership theory by establishing and validating a health-specific dimension that predicts critical health behaviors at individual and societal levels. By identifying cultural collectivism as a moderator, this research also integrates psychological ownership theory with cultural dimensions theory, revealing cultural variability in health ownership’s influence on prosocial health outcomes.

This study aims to systematically review and critically assess research methods for studying aging populations in tourism and hospitality. It identifies gaps and provides recommendations for advancing methodological innovation in response to emerging research agendas.

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of existing literature on aging populations in tourism and hospitality. Searches were performed in major databases, including Scopus and Web of Science, to collect peer-reviewed, English articles published in Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)-indexed tourism and hospitality journals from 1965 to 2025. The methodologies employed in the selected studies were thoroughly analyzed.

A total of 184 articles were included in the final analysis. The review revealed that current research methods predominantly rely on surveys and interviews, with limited methodological diversity. Gaps were identified, and a conceptual model was proposed to advance cross-disciplinary integration and foster innovative methods that could more comprehensively capture the complexities of senior tourists, particularly those with health conditions.

This paper is likely the first to synthesize research methodologies within this specific context, outlining a path forward for researchers to adopt more innovative, multidisciplinary approaches. This study lays the foundation for future empirical investigations into the behaviors and experiences of senior tourists, as well as the potential role of tourism in promoting healthy aging. Additionally, it provides valuable insights for tourism marketing practitioners to better accommodate this growing segment.

This study aims to evaluate and compare the occurrence of sweet craving and eating practices related to the consumption of sweets among undergraduate students of health courses in Brazil and Spain, as well as associated factors.

Sociodemographic data, presence of sweet craving and characterization of practices related to the consumption of sweets were assessed.

The prevalence of sweet craving was higher among Brazilian students (46.6% vs. 32.9%, p = 0.020). The percentage of students who reported they could not resist the sweet cravings (p < 0.001); consumed sweets to feel better (p < 0.001); ate increasingly higher quantities of sweets (p < 0.001); and consumed more sweets than intended (p < 0.001), was also higher among Brazilian ones. Gender, age and college major were not associated with sweet craving. However, the fact that students were Brazilian was independently associated with consuming sweets to feel better [odds ratio (OR): 4.02; 95% confidence interval (CI95%): 2.39–6.77], eating increasingly higher quantities of sweets (OR: 5.79; CI95%: 2.86–11.71) and always eating more than intended (OR: 3.33; CI95%: 2.03–5.46). Body mass index (BMI) was independently associated with sweet craving in both countries (OR: 1.09; CI95%: 1.03–1.16). The results of the present research show that cultural elements are interwoven with craving and eating practices related to sweets.

The manuscript investigated the occurrence of sweets cravings and eating habits related to the consumption of sweets among university students of health courses in Brazil and Spain, as well as the associated factors. The results highlight the influence of cultural elements on eating practices related to sweets. The research is relevant to the journal Nutrition and Food Science for its contribution to understanding cultural differences in food choices and their impact on health, which can inform strategies to promote healthy eating habits in different contexts.

This article explores the main elements of co-participation in health, examining how community engagement can improve health outcomes and health services’ overall efficiency. It aims to discuss and identify key features that facilitate co-participation strategies in service delivery and health program implementation.

The authors conducted a general literature review to comprehensively explore the role of co-participation in health, drawing on scientific literature and real-world examples to identify key factors that contribute to successful health interventions. A total of 50 published resources were included, and a descriptive analysis was performed, focusing on summarizing existing literature and highlighting key themes and practical strategies. Documents were selected from publications dated between 2004 and 2024.

Community participation is presented as a critical factor in improving population health outcomes. The examined initiatives promote the idea that community integration into the design and implementation of health programs increases treatment adherence, users' health perception and improved health outcomes. Several strategies and approaches are presented as key tools to adequately integrate community engagement such as community empowerment, government decentralization and incorporation of technology, among others.

Coparticipation in health improves health outcomes and promotes greater equity and social justice. Involving citizens in health decision-making contributes to improving the quality of life and well-being of the community. Empowering patients’ decision-making not only builds one’s self-agency in health decision-making but also simultaneously facilitates closing the gaps in healthcare service delivery due to large shortages in the health workforce around the world. This has further implications for overall health systems’ financing, efficiency and sustainability.

This research has social implications as it underscores how community participation is essential for fostering equity, justice and inclusivity within health systems.

This article offers an innovative perspective on the role of partnership in achieving good health outcomes, highlighting the importance of adapting interventions to local contexts, the need for sustainable financing and the inclusion of a wide range of actions toward participation.

This review explores the challenges and opportunities of implementing telemedicine in rural Tanzania. The study examines how telemedicine can address healthcare gaps in underserved areas and identifies key barriers that hinder its full adoption. It also provides insights into strategies for improving healthcare delivery through telemedicine in rural settings.

A systematic literature review methodology was employed following the PRISMA guidelines. The study collected and analysed relevant academic and grey literature from PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus databases. The search focused on telemedicine in rural Tanzania, with a thematic analysis used to categorise the challenges and opportunities identified in the literature.

The review found that the major challenges to telemedicine implementation in rural Tanzania include inadequate telecommunications infrastructure, limited digital literacy among healthcare providers, insufficient financial investment and weak regulatory frameworks. Despite these barriers, telemedicine presents significant opportunities to improve healthcare access, particularly by connecting rural patients with specialists, reducing travel times and integrating telemedicine with national health insurance systems. Innovations such as drone-based medical deliveries and SMS-based health interventions also show promise.

This paper comprehensively overviews telemedicine’s potential to transform healthcare delivery in rural Tanzania. It synthesises existing literature, highlights critical gaps in telemedicine adoption and proposes actionable strategies for overcoming these barriers. The study contributes valuable insights for policymakers, healthcare providers and stakeholders interested in leveraging telemedicine to enhance healthcare outcomes in underserved regions.