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Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between poor Oral Health‐Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and oral health determinants (eg being 75 years of age or greater, marital status, smoking status, denture wearing, depression, low educational level (≤8th grade), poor general health, caries history, tooth‐induced pain, decayed, missing filled teeth (DMFT) scores and periodontal diseases) among the elderly. Methods: Formal search strategies in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science were performed to identify studies in English published before 1 December 2019. We assessed the impacts of the oral health determinants including being 75 years of age or greater, marital status, smoking status, denture wearing, depression, low educational level (≤8th grade), poor general health, caries history, tooth‐induced pain, DMFT scores and periodontal diseases) on OHRQoL among elderly individuals. The data were analysed using Stata 12.0 software. Results: In total, 19 publications met the inclusion criteria of this meta‐analysis. Findings indicate a positive association between low educational level (ie ≤8th grade), marital status, depression, smoking status, denture wearing, poor general health, tooth‐induced pain, periodontal diseases and poor OHRQoL among the elderly. We also observed a negative association between DMFT, being older than 75 years of age on poor OHRQoL among the elderly. Conclusions: This review identified that several oral health determinants were associated with poor OHRQoL. The efficacy of preventive measures and the economic aspects of tooth replacement approaches should be explored in the future. Developing oral healthcare plans and policies with the specific aim of improving OHRQoL among this group is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the impacts of oral health determinants (eg frequency of brushing < 2 day, poor life style and non‐white ethnicity) and clinical oral caries indices (eg Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT)) and periodontal disease) on Poor Quality of Life (PQoL) among PW. Methods: The search strategy was restricted to publications in English before 1 December 2019 in the PsycINFO, PubMed, SciELO, Scopus and Web of Science databases. We only included oral diseases considered as public health issues with a global burden. As a result, investigations reporting the frequency of brushing, poor lifestyle behaviours, non‐white ethnicity, DMFT scores and periodontal disease as an outcome were included. The two reviewers resolved any disagreements. Reviewers analysed the full texts, considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Also, a manual search of the reference lists was performed on all the selected studies. Results: In total, 11 publications were included in the meta‐analysis. Findings indicate a positive association between non‐white ethnicity and PQoL among PW. Among PW, those who had non‐white ethnicity were 1.43 times more likely to have PQoL (OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.17, 1.70). A positive association between DMFT and poor QoL among PW was also observed. Those who has suffered DMFT were 1.4 times more likely to have poor QoL (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.24, 1.55). Conclusions: Results from this meta‐analysis support the need for behavioural interventions for improving oral hygiene in expectant mothers. This could help to decrease periodontal conditions and improve their oral and general life quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Policymakers require a systematic approach when planning for information technology needs in healthcare. Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain experts' predictions of future health information technology (HIT) needs until 2025 for Iran in relation to the relative importance of key technologies, expected timeframe of realisation, areas that may be impacted upon and obstacles to achieving these goals. Method: This article presents results from the third phase (a Delphi study) of a larger mixed-method study. Policymakers from the Iranian Ministry of Health and faculty members from different medical universities across the country who were expert in the field of HIT were invited to participate (n = 61). Results: Participants (39) completed the first-round questionnaire and 24 completed the second. The development of personal health records (n = 32, 82.0%), the development of clinical decision-making systems (n = 30, 76.9%) and the use of business intelligence for collecting and analysing clinical and financial data (n = 32, 82.0%) were predicted to occur after 2025. The healthcare areas predicted to experience the greatest impact from most HITs were facilitating patient–provider communication and improving healthcare quality. Key barriers to achieving HITs were related to weaknesses in planning and limited financial resources for most technologies. Conclusion: By identifying the areas of impact and the barriers to achieving the HIT goals, more accurate planning is possible and resources can be allocated according to priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of HIV-related stigma on people living with HIV has been well documented, but there have been few studies examining how drug-related stigma impacts risk-taking in the lives of people who inject drugs (PWID). This meta-analysis aimed to determine HIV and drug-related stigma and the association it has with risk-taking behaviors among PWID. We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases independently in March 2019. After reviewing for any study duplicates the full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals. After a detailed assessment, a total of 14 studies containing 13,689 participants met the eligibility criteria. Among the potential risk factors: employment status, depression and sharing injecting paraphernalia had a significant relationship with HIV and drug stigma among PWIDs respectively (OR = 0.78, 95%CI = 0.62–0.98), (OR = 1.84, 95%CI = 1.45–2.33) and (OR = 2.20, 95%CI = 1.84–1.63). Illicit drug use related stigma was found to be associated with several concurrent effects. The impact of stigma should be considered in the development of drug use prevention strategies. Perceived stigma is correlated with numerous negative consequences in other populations including people living with HIV/AIDS. These data suggest this could also be generalized to people who inject drugs because it seems that individuals with internalized stigma experience drug dependence, reduced comfort in seeking help from services and higher rates of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The high prevalence of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) is a significant health concern among people who inject drugs (PWIDs). This meta-analysis estimates the prevalence of SSTIs and its related risk behaviors among PWIDs. Methods: We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases independently in February 2018. After reviewing for duplication, full-text of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using certain Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results: After a detailed assessment, a total of 20 studies containing 9,502 patients met the eligibility criteria. A pooled prevalence of 44% (95% CI, 31–56%) was estimated for SSTIs among PWIDs. Among the potential risk factors, only injecting frequency has a significant positive relationship with SSTIs among PWIDs (OR = 1.20, 95%CI = 1.03–1.37). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that PWIDs have a very high burden of SSTs infection, and also emphasized the potential role of higher injecting frequency on the prevalence of SSTs among PWIDs. These results suggest that more interventions to reduce of injection frequency might be useful in decreasing of SSTs burden among PWIDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of injection duration on injection and sexual high-risk behaviors among people who inject drugs (PWID), in order to inform development of intensive HIV prevention services for selected PWID sub-populations. We searched PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Cochrane electronic databases independently in December 2018. After reviewing for duplication, full-texts of selected articles were assessed for eligibility using certain Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcomes (PICO) criteria. We used fixed and random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate the pooled prevalence, pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Our result indicated significant association between age of injection initiation > 17 years, frequency of drug injection > 5 times/day, injection by others, having sex partner, history of imprisonment with new injectors (OR = 0.93, 95%CI = 0.87–0.98), (OR = 0.51, 95%CI = 0.29–0.73), (OR = 1.11, 95%CI = 1.05–1.17), (OR = 2.08, 95%CI = 1.02–3.14) and (OR = 1.20, 95%CI = 1.03–1.37). Our research found that new injectors were more likely to report frequency of injections injected by others, has sex partner and prison detention. Our findings are significant for policy makers and public health practitioners to implement and design HIV prevention programs among PWID with shorter periods of injection. The findings of the present study extend our knowledge about new injection drug users, the significance of assured behaviors at IDUs' initial injection, and the educational importance of syringe exchange programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, share of the scientific output, citation per paper, and coauthorship for articles indexed in databases such as ISI Web of Science, are very important criteria for the evaluation and ranking of countries, researchers, institutes, articles, disciplines and journals in the world. Therefore, the main objectives of the study were to determine co-authorship, the average citation per paper and the most prolific Iranian university or institution in the field of immunology. Methods: For performing this scientometric study, we employed survey methods and citation analysis of the indexed papers in the ISI Web of Science from 1974 to 2010. Results: A total of 1775 articles by Iranian authors in the field of immunology had been indexed in the database for the aforesaid period. Most collaborations and co-authorship of Iranian authors was with their counterparts from the USA. The average citation per paper in the field was 6.26 per paper. Tehran University of Medical Sciences had the highest number of articles in the database. Conclusion: According to the results, Iranians collaborated with American peers more than any other nationality and the average citation per paper in the field of immunology is higher than that of other fields in Iran but lower than the global average. Tehran University of Medical Sciences is the most prolific university in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]