Objective: This study investigates the influence of tobacco prices on consumption habits among 200 smokers in Lisbon, Portugal, focusing on generational preferences and perceptions of tobacco taxes. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a quantitative approach. Participants were categorized by generational cohort, and data on tobacco consumption types, awareness of tobacco taxes, and opinions on tax increases were collected. Statistical analyses were used to explore relationships and predictors. Results: Findings reveal that 46.5% of participants favored heated tobacco, 37.0% smoked cigarettes, and 16.5% consumed other types like roll-your-own tobacco and electronic cigarettes. Significant generational differences were observed, with older cohorts predominantly smoking cigarettes (51.5%), while Generation Z showed a preference for heated tobacco (55.2%). Most smokers (79.5%) were aware of tobacco taxes, with diverse opinions on their purpose: revenue generation (44.0%), consumption reduction (44.5%), and indifference (11.5%). Despite this awareness, 60.5% reported no change in consumption habits due to tax increases. Conclusion: The study underscores the complexity of tobacco consumption behaviors influenced by price and generational factors. While heated tobacco gains popularity among younger smokers, traditional cigarettes remain prevalent among older cohorts. The findings highlight challenges in tobacco control policies, suggesting a need for comprehensive strategies integrating price measures with targeted educational and cessation interventions to effectively reduce tobacco use across different generations.

Introduction: In Central Europe, in Hungary, the state guarantees access to health care and basic health services partly through the Semmelweis Plan adopted in 2011. The primary objectives of the Semmelweis Plan include the optimisation and transformation of the health care system, starting with the integration of hospitals and the state control of previously municipally owned hospitals. The transformation of the health care system can have an impact on health services and thus on meeting the needs of the population. In addition to reducing health inequalities and costs, the relevant benefits include improving patients’ chances of recovery and increasing patient safety. The speciality under study is decubitus care. Our hypothesis is that integration will improve the chances of recovery for decubitus patients through access to smart dressings to promote patient safety. Objective: to investigate and demonstrate the effectiveness of integration in improving the chances of recovery for decubitus ulcer patients. Material and methods: The research compared two time periods in the municipality of Kalocsa, Bács-Kiskun County, Southern Hungary. We collected the number of decubitus patients arriving and leaving the hospital from the nursing records and compared the pre-integration period when decubitus patients were provided with conventional dressings (01.01.2006–2012.12.31) and the post-integration period, which entailed the introduction of smart dressings in decubitus care (01.01.2013–2012.12.31). The target population of the study was men and women aged 0–99 years who had developed some degree of decubitus. The sample size of the study was 4456. Independent samples t-test, Chow test and linear trend statistics were used to evaluate the results. Based on the empirical evidence, a SWOT analysis was conducted to further examine the effectiveness of integration. Results: The independent samples t-test model used was significant (for Phase I: t (166) = −16.872, p < 0.001; for Phase II: t (166) = −19.928, p < 0.001; for Phase III: t (166) = −19.928, p < 0.001; for Phase III: t (166) = −16.872, p < 0.001). For stage III: t (166) = −10.078, p < 0.001; for stage IV: t (166) = −10.078, p < 0.001; for stage III: t (166) = −10.078, p < 0.001). for stage III: t (166) = −14.066, p < 0.001). For the Chow test, the p-values were highly significant, indicating a structural break. Although the explanatory power of the regression models was variable (R-squared values ranged from 0.007 to 0.617), they generally supported the change in patient dynamics after integration. Both statistical analyses and SWOT analysis supported our hypothesis and showed that integration through access to smart dressings improves patients’ chances of recovery. Conclusions: Although only one segment of the evidence on the effectiveness of hospital integration was examined in this study, integration in the study area had a positive impact on the effective care of patients with decubitus ulcers, reduced inequalities in care and supported patient safety. In the context of the results obtained, these trends may reflect different systemic changes in patient management strategies in addition to efficient allocation of resources and quality of care.

The privacy of personal information is aimed at protecting human rights both under the international human rights regime and the Saudi Arabian constitution and other statutes and regulations, subject only to some exceptions that include the protection of public health. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about certain challenges that necessitate strategies to augment the conventional surveillance of infectious diseases, contact tracing, isolation, reporting and vaccination. Several governments institutions, and agencies presently adopt mobile applications for collecting, analyzing, managing, and sharing critical personal data of individuals infected with or exposed to COVID-19. While the benefits of sharing private information for achieving public health needs may not be disputed, the risk of breach of personal privacy is enormous. This had forced the national governments into a dilemma of either succumbing to public health needs, strictly respecting and protecting the privacy of individuals, or alternatively, balancing the two conflicting demands. There is a massive body of literature on the security and privacy of such mobile applications, but none has adequately explored and discussed public interest justifications under Saudi Arabian laws for alleged privacy breaches. We examined the health surveillance mobile app technologies currently in use in Saudi Arabia with the aim of determining the potential risks of data breaches under extant data protection laws. The paper recommends, among others, that any potential risk of breach to right to privacy of personal information under the law must be (justified by) the public health needs to protect society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The competencies of public health professionals serve as the cornerstone for curriculum development ensuring that educational programs are pertinent efficient and attuned to the requirements of both the public health workforce and the communities they serve. This study endeavors to investigate the knowledge competency of public health professionals in Thailand with the intention of refining the suitability of knowledge competency for curriculum development tailored to the needs of public health professionals in Thailand. Employing a qualitative study, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 17 university lecturers in public health programs in Northeastern Thailand. The data collected were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. The findings elucidate that the lecturers articulated a core knowledge content pertinent to public health professionals in Thailand delineated across five principal themes and thirteen subjects within the public health curriculum. These themes encompassed: 1) Epidemiology and disease prevention (comprising two subjects), 2) Health promotion and community health (comprising four subjects), 3) Research methods in public health and biostatistics (comprising two subjects), 4) Public health administration, health system, and laws (comprising three subjects), and 5) Environmental health and occupational health and safety (comprising two subjects). Subsequently, this study scrutinized five core courses to formulate a model curriculum for public health. The proposed model curriculum is intended for application in both planning and the development of the public health workforce, fostering interdisciplinary learning and nurturing public health professionals rooted in the authentic context of Thailand.