Ο αριθμός των ατόμων με χρόνιες ασθένειες αυξάνει καθώς ο πληθυσμός γερνάει όλο και περισσότερο. Οι χρόνιες ασθένειες δεν εμφανίζονται μόνο σε ασθενείς μεγάλης ηλικίας(αν και εκει είναι όμως είναι συχνότερες). Το Εθνικό Σύστημα Υγείας δεν περιλαμβάνει δομές Πρωτοβάθμιας Περίθαλψης, όμως με την βοήθεια της Τηλεϊατρικής μεμονωμένα κέντρα ή νοσοκομεία προσπαθούν να καλύψουν ασθενείς με χρόνιες παθήσεις δίνοντας τους την δυνατότητα να ζήσουν καλύτερα με την ασθένεια, να μειώσουν τις επισκέψεις στο Νοσοκομείο και το κυριότερο να έχουν ενεργό ρόλο στη διαχείριση της ασθένειάς τους. Στο πρόβλημα των χρόνιων ασθενειών η Τηλεϊατρική αποτελεί την βασική λύση, όμως για την ολοκληρωμένη διαχείριση των χρόνιων ασθενών χρειάζονται και επιμέρους υπηρεσίες που θα πρέπει να προέρχονται από το κράτος πρόνοιας. Η παρούσα εργασία αναλύει το πρόβλημα των χρόνιων παθήσεων και των ασθενών στην Ελλάδα, αναφέρει τις επιμέρους προσπάθειες που γίνονται, με όποια προβλήματα και ελλείψεις υπάρχουν καθώς επίσης και τα κέρδη (ποσοτικά και ποιοτικά) από την χρήση τέτοιων δομών. / The number of people with chronic diseases is increasing as the population ages more and more.Chronic diseases do not only occur in older patients but is more frequent. The National Health System does not include structures for Primary Care, but with the help of Telemedicine individual centers or hospitals try to provide patients with chronic diseases by giving them the opportunity to live better with illness, reduce hospital visits and most importantly be actively role in managing the disease problem safeguarded. In the era of chronic diseases that / where Telemedicine is the basic solution, but for the integrated management of chronic patients need and individual services should come from the welfare state. This paper analyzes the problem of chronic diseases and patients in Greece, reports on various efforts made, whatever the problems and deficiencies exist and to report its earnings (quantitatively and qualitatively) the use of such structures.

M.Tech. (Biomedical Technology) / Malawi is located in the south eastern Africa. It is a landlocked country covering an area of 118,484 Square Kilometres (45,747Sq.Miles) of which 20.6% is water. It is bordered with Zambia to the north-west, Tanzania to the north and Mozambique surrounding it on the south, east and west (refer map of Malawi on page 2). Malawi is one of the sub-Sahara heavily populated countries, having a population of about 13 million people of which about 80% live in the rural areas relying on small scale farming. The country is divided into three regions, south, centre and north and these regions are further divided into districts. The southern region has most districts and is the most heavily populated. Malawi’s economy heavily depends on agriculture. Cash crops such as tobacco, tea and sugar canes are grown by commercial farmers while smallholder farmers grow a variety of crops such as tobacco, coffee, beans, fava beans, cotton, rice, sorghum, soybeans, groundnuts, cassava, potatoes, wheat, millet, peas, bananas, citrus fruits, sugar canes, vegetables and maize which is the main staple food. Malawi has a subtropical climate with the rainy season starting from mid October up to April and the dry season is from May to October. During the dry season it is hot and humid in most parts of the country especially along the lake and the lower Shire valley, while the rest of the country can be cold at night with temperatures between 5ºC and 14ºC. The southern region has the highest annual rainfall and is humid most part of the year. This is where many tea plantations are and the climate allows growth of almost all types of crops and fruits. Most Malawians consume home grown unprocessed food commodities. There are only commodities are imported, mainly from South Africa. Malawi is self reliant on maize but when drought strikes, Malawi is forced to import from neighbouring countries or from South Africa and other countries as was the case in 2004 and 2005

Diabetic wounds frequently undergo impaired and prolonged wound healing due to a multitude of factors including hypoxia, impaired angiogenesis, hyperglycaemia, formation of ROS and AGEs, and infection - all of which may lead to cellular dysfunction. To date, however, treatment options for individuals suffering from impaired diabetic wound healing are limited, non-specific, and generally unsuccessful. The search for new and effective treatment strategies is severely hampered by the availability of adequately characterized screening models which comprehensively mimic the complexity of the diabetic wound healing process. In order to explore natural products as potential therapeutics to treat diabetic wounds and to encourage more research on this topic, this study sought out to develop and characterize a more convenient and cost effective in vitro screening assay which mimics the effects of protein glycation on the healing process of diabetic wounds. As proof of principal, this model was subsequently used to screen the potential of five wild mushroom species (P. tinctorius, R. capensis, B. badius, P. ostreatus and G. lucidum) as suitable diabetic wound healing therapies. The glycated gelatin model developed during this study was found to suitably mimic the diabetic state as it successfully simulated the major cellular dysfunctions in macrophages (NO production, phagocytosis, macrophage polarization, NF-ĸB translocation and COX-2 expression) and fibroblasts (proliferation and migration) documented during diabetic wound healing. Together these findings provide confidence that the model may serve as a valuable tool to study the poorly understood mechanisms which characterize cellular dysfunction in response to AGE accumulation and also to aid the identification of novel therapeutic agents to treat this pathology. Screening a number of mushroom extracts revealed that the ethanol extracts of R. capensis and P. ostreatus had the greatest potential for attenuating chronic inflammation due to their ability to promote macrophage phagocytosis, increased M2 activation (R. capensis) and decreased M1 activation (P. ostreatus) as well as reduced COX-2 expression while the water extract of G. lucidum proved to be the most promising candidate for stimulating fibroplasia as it was the most successful at promoting both fibroblast proliferation and migration. Different mushroom species were thus shown to promote different stages of the wound healing process providing sufficient evidence to support further studies related to the use of macrofungi as therapeutic agents in the search for more cost-effective and efficient treatment strategies for impaired diabetic wound healing.

Construction of a tool to assist nurses to assess the abilities of patients, with chronic conditions, to feed themselves was based upon twenty-one identified feeding behaviors derived from observations of a random sample of fifty such patients from two urban hospitals. Observations were also made of the nurses who cared for these patients. Identifying specific behavior items was concurrent with defining five categories along the dependence-independence continuum during analysis of the data. A 3:1:1 ratio for weighting behavioral components was established arbitrarily. The Kenny Self-care five point numerical rating scale was adapted to provide a method of determining the amount of help a patient would require to feed himself. Experts in the field agreed, with minor modifications, that the tool could determine a measure of independent feeding. A reliability test, using eight pairs of registered nurses to assess thirty-two patients produced a reliability coefficient of .849; evidence that this tool is dependable and consistent in measuring the relative state of feeding dependence-independence of patients with chronic conditions. Rating behaviors provides written evidence of the degree to which the patient is able to feed himself. The difference between what a patient can do and the criteria for independent feeding provides a measure of the help a patient will require to feed himself. Further research is indicated in the areas of usefulness of the tool for registered nurses, identifying psychosocial behaviors more precisely, testing the tool in different feeding situations and expansion of the tool to include the other activities of daily living. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

Obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions contributing to the majority of Americans experiencing a state of chronic inflammation. Associations between inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased disease risk contribute to detrimental consequences of obesity. Regulation of inflammation and oxidative stress is possible via antioxidants consumed through a diet adequate in fruits and vegetables but consumption among adults is poor. Previous studies have assessed the impact of fruit, vegetable, and antioxidant consumption on oxidative stress and inflammation among healthy individuals. However, no studies have examined effects of education and fruit and vegetable consumption on markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and other chronic disease biomarkers in a single study of overweight and obese adults. The purposes of this study were to examine effects of nutrition education and fruit and vegetable consumption on: interest and knowledge related to antioxidants; consumption patterns; weight, body mass index (BMI), body composition, blood lipids, and blood glucose; and biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Fifty-four adults (19 men/35 women; age 44.7±12.1 y; BMI 33.2±7.7 kg/m2 were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups. The control group received no intervention, the education group attended weekly nutrition lessons, and the fruit and vegetable group attended weekly nutrition lessons and received one serving of fruits and two servings of vegetables per day for 10 weeks. Fruit and vegetable-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors were assessed using questionnaires. Fruit, vegetable, and antioxidant consumption was assessed using semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires and three-day food records and anthropometric measurements and fasting blood draws were conducted. Results indicated improvements in fruit and vegetable-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors and increased consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables following nutrition education. Associations existed between increased fruit and vegetable consumption and improvements in LDL cholesterol. However, minimal associations between changes in consumption of fruits, vegetables, and antioxidants and biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress were indicated. In order to be effective, nutrition intervention programs need to thoroughly address participants' fruit and vegetable-related knowledge and attitudes, provide exposure to fruits and vegetables, and promote adequate consumption of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables while concurrently emphasizing management of overall energy intake.

A collection of poems around themes of motherhood, chronic illness, memory, and internal and external landscapes coalescing.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study set out to develop an integrated model that could explain the sustainable adoption of mHealth, among the rural populations. With a penetration level of 130%, the ubiquitous mobile phone infrastructure was conducive to implementing mHealth even in the remote and rural regions of Kenya, which otherwise grapple with inequality and inequity of the healthcare system and a rising chronic diseases burden. Whereas mHealth could provide a suitable low-cost solution to disseminate targeted education to the grass-root masses in a short time, its uptake was reported to be low and short- lived. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to evaluate the factors that could explain the low levels of mHealth adoption for education on chronic diseases in the rural settings of the country. From a theoretical perspective, a combination of four social behaviour change theories, three technology adoption models, and two health behaviour change models guided the development of the theoretical framework. Seven factors were subsequently tested: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, age, and language literacy, all of which measured mobile phone use for health literacy. Thirteen hypotheses were formulated from these factors.

Thesis (M.Psych./Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed 5 May 2008). Includes questionnaires, interview guides, consent form, participant information sheet. Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Dept. of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.