Frontiers in Oral Mucosal Immunity and the Microbiome

The 2nd International Conference on Oral Mucosal Immunity and the Microbiome (OMIM) took place at the Grecotel Kos Imperial Hotel, Kos, Greece, between 25th and 30th September 2021, under the auspices of the Aegean Conferences. This has only been the second Aegean Conference of this thematic, the first one having taken place in 2018 in Crete, during the same period of the year. Given the hardships in travel and heightened infection transmission risks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference was well attended by 29 international speakers across the world. For many of the participants, this was the first conference travel in the post-pandemic era, and quite significant that it has taken place on the island of Hippocrates. Stringent regional health and safety regulations had to be followed to accomplish for this in-person Conference to take place. Frontiers in Oral Health has hosted papers from presentations of the Conference, whereas the present article serves as the proceedings of the Conference with summaries of the presentations.

Fostering Regional Cooperation and Integration for Recovery and Resilience: Guidance Note

The coronavirus disease or COVID-19 has brought countries together to mitigate its spread and cushion its adverse consequences. Regional cooperation will be perhaps even more important in building an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economic revival. This guidance note advocates wider, deeper, and more open regional cooperation and integration. Cooperation can be widened to include regional health security, trade in information and communication technology-enabled services, and financial safety nets, for example. It can be deepened to reach more stakeholders and sectors. It can also become more open through flexible collaboration and greater sharing of knowledge and expertise.

Raising the level of the regional healthcare development

The article is devoted to the consideration of the possibilities of change management in the regional health care system. The research methodology includes the provisions of theories of change management, innovation management, concepts of organizational development, strategic management. The author's approach to managing changes in the Russian healthcare system at the regional level was developed using a systemic, multilevel, integrative, interdisciplinary approach, methods of comparative, factor analysis, instrumental methods of statistics. The study revealed shortcomings of the management systems in the healthcare during the pandemic. Proposed current approaches to change management, author's approach to their assessment in regional health care. The studies carried out show the high potential of the Russian medical science, the sanitary and epidemiological service, the rapid adaptation of the healthcare system in the face of the challenges associated with the pandemic. Along with the success of the Russian healthcare, serious problems have been identified in the management of the industry, including due to insufficient resource provision. A conclusion is made about the possibilities of increasing the level of development of the regional healthcare as a result changes in the industry through integration of medical science and practical healthcare, active implementation of innovations, digitalization, public-private partnership tools that contribute to preservation of the human potential and strengthening the socio-demographic, economic security of the region.

Health Literacy And Health-Related Quality of Life Among Patients With Cardiovascular Disease in Tagus Valley Regional Health Hospital, Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose The aims of this study were to examine the association between health literacy (HL) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to investigate the possible determinants of both variables among patients with cardiovascular diseases in Tagus Valley Regional Health Hospital, Portugal.Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 28 patients with CVD. A convenient sampling technique was used to enrol the study participants. Data were collected using a validated Portuguese version of Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHPLA-23) and a validated Portuguese version of Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v2). The multiple linear regression was used to investigate the possible associated variables and the association between HL and HRQoL by using SPSS version 25.Results The results showed the majority of patients with CVD had inadequate HL (89.3%). The majority of the participants had poor HRQoL with Physical Component Score (PCS) scored lower (38.77±9.9) than the Mental Component Score (MCS) (44.13±9.9). Educational level was found to be associated with HL. Level of education, employment status, family history of CVD and history of readmission because of CVD were the variables found to be associated with the PCS. However, no variable was found to be associated with the MCS of QoL. HL was shown to be the best predictor of the PCS (β=0.518, p=0.002) while the history of readmission because of CVD was identified as the second-best predictor of the PCS (β=-0.373, p=0.022). Conclusions Health literacy was significantly associated with the PCS of HRQoL.

Impact of the early COVID-19 pandemic on outcomes in a rural Ugandan neonatal unit: A retrospective cohort study

Background During the early COVID-19 pandemic travel in Uganda was tightly restricted which affected demand for and access to care for pregnant women and small and sick newborns. In this study we describe changes to neonatal outcomes in one rural central Ugandan newborn unit before and during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We report outcomes from admissions captured in an electronic dataset of a well-established newborn unit before (September 2019 to March 2020) and during the early COVID-19 period (April–September 2020) as well as two seasonally matched periods one year prior. We report excess mortality as the percent change in mortality over what was expected based on seasonal trends. Findings The study included 2,494 patients, 567 of whom were admitted during the early COVID-19 period. During the pandemic admissions decreased by 14%. Patients born outside the facility were older on admission than previously (median 1 day of age vs. admission on the day of birth). There was an increase in admissions with birth asphyxia (22% vs. 15% of patients). Mortality was higher during COVID-19 than previously [16% vs. 11%, p = 0.017]. Patients born outside the facility had a relative increase of 55% above seasonal expected mortality (21% vs. 14%, p = 0.028). During this period patients had decreased antenatal care, restricted transport and difficulty with expenses and support. The hospital had difficulty with maternity staffing and supplies. There was significant community and staff fear of COVID-19. Interpretation Increased newborn mortality during the early COVID-19 pandemic at this facility was likely attributed to disruptions affecting maternal and newborn demand for, access to and quality of perinatal healthcare. Lockdown conditions and restrictions to public transit were significant barriers to maternal and newborn wellbeing, and require further focus by national and regional health officials.

Regional Health Care Profiles – An Improved Method For Generating Case Studies On The Catchment Areas of Envisaged Primary Health Care Units In Austria: A Report To The Infact Joint Action

Background: The recent Austrian Primary Care Act established new primary health care units (PHCUs) and obliged them to draw up a “care strategy” specifying their focal care tasks and objectives and emphasizing the health care needs of the population in their catchment area with its specific local health and epidemiological profile. The main purpose of these care strategies is thus to ensure that care-providers meet the local needs, but they also provide a rationale for evaluation and organizational development. To assist new PHCUs in establishing care strategies it was necessary to develop a method for automatically generating comprehensive local case studies for any freely definable location in Austria. Results: We designed an interactive report generator capable of producing location-specific regional health care profiles for a PHCU located in any of Austria’s 2,122 municipalities and of calculating the radius of its catchment area (defined by different levels of maximum car-travelling times). The reports so generated, called “regional health care profiles for primary health care” (RHCPs/PHC), are in comprehensive PDF report format. The core of each report is a set of 35 indicators, classified under five health and health service domains. The reports include an introductory text, definitions, a map, a graphic and tabular presentation of all indicator values, including information on local, supra-regional and national value distribution, a ranking, and numbers of service providers (e.g. pharmacies, surgeries, nursing homes) located within the catchment area.Conclusions: The RHCPs/PHC support primary health care planning, efforts to improve care-effectiveness, and strategic organizational development by providing comprehensive information on the health of the population, the utilization of health services and the health structures within the catchment area. In addition to revealing the scope and nature of the health care needed, they also provide information on what public health approaches are necessary. RHCPs/PHC for different locations have already been distributed to numerous stakeholders and primary health care providers in Austria.