To understand healthcare staff perspectives of their hospital food environment and the impact of these perceptions on their food choice, health and well-being.

A narrative systematic review.

Publications were eligible for inclusion if participants were hospital-based staff, and all job roles were eligible, including both clinical and non-clinical staff. Both public and private hospitals in the UK, the USA or Australia were included.

Clinical and non-clinical staff employed in hospitals.

A systematic search was carried out across four databases: OVID Medline, CINAHL, PsycInfo and Scopus. Grey literature screening was completed via Google and Google Scholar. Eleven studies were included and were predominantly from the UK. Setting sizes varied or were unknown, and participant numbers varied (n 16 to n 1158) or were unknown. Most participants were nurses. Methods included reports, surveys, focus groups and interviews. The main themes identified were accessibility to food, diversity of food choices, free foods used to boost staff morale and job role influencing engagement with the food environment. Staff reported issues around canteen opening hours, limited healthy food options and free food on wards, causing extra calories to be consumed. Irregular breaks and staffing shortages affected hospital staff’s ability to engage with the wider food environment, resulting in reliance on convenience foods and snacks.

The current hospital food environment does not facilitate healthy dietary practices and is perceived by staff as a barrier to healthy eating. The hospital food environment requires adaptation to reflect a 24-hour workplace.

This review aimed to chart existing literature and identify gaps in the evidence base concerning palliative and end-of-life care perspectives and experiences among different generations of African migrants residing outside the continent.

This review adhered to a predefined protocol, utilizing the Arksey and O’Malley 5-stage framework, as refined by Danielle Levac and colleagues. A systematic search of 5 bibliographic databases (from inception to December 2022) yielded 79 published studies. After title, abstract, and full-text screening using Covidence®, 7 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data extraction was guided by a conceptual framework tailored to the research topic and questions, with results presented in the narrative form.

Cultural and religious beliefs and practices significantly shaped African migrants’ perspectives on end-of-life care. A nuanced boundary between palliative and curative care emerged, with the former often stigmatized and stereotypically associated with death and dying. Common barriers to accessing end-of-life care included limited awareness, low literacy, and perceived inadequacy of culturally sensitive care, resulting in disparities in both access and outcomes. Additionally, reluctance to discuss death and dying, along with mistrust of Western healthcare systems, constituted significant obstacles. The studies underscored the necessity of enhancing provider–patient communication by engaging with migrants to raise awareness of services and fostering inclusive healthcare environments for improved care outcomes.

Existing research on racial and ethnic disparities underscores the unequal quality and outcomes of end-of-life care across various racial groups. However, there is still insufficient understanding of these diverse end-of-life care needs, particularly in host countries. Bridging this knowledge gap is crucial for reducing health disparities and enhancing the delivery of culturally sensitive care within Western healthcare systems.

To investigate healthcare workers’ perceptions of the integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) strategy.

A cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers (HCWs) was conducted from December 2021 to June 2022 to assess their perceptions of the IDSR system attributes.

Of the 409 respondents, 12 (2.9%) reported no prior training on disease surveillance. The IDSR was deemed simple, acceptable, useful, and timely by most participants. There were sharp differences in perceptions of flexibility and simplicity between doctors and the other healthcare professionals. However, acceptability, timeliness, and usefulness were uniformly perceived. Healthcare workers with at least 11 years of experience perceived the usefulness of the IDSR system significantly higher than those with lesser years of experience. However, work experience did not have an impact on HCWs perceptions of the simplicity, timeliness, and flexibility of the IDSR system.

Most healthcare workers have positive perceptions of the IDSR approach. However, there are reservations about how well the system can adapt to changing conditions and demands (flexibility) and how well it simplifies the implementation processes. These findings demonstrate the necessity of adopting cutting-edge strategies for capacity building as well as ongoing professional development of healthcare professionals responsible for the implementation of the IDSR strategy.

To synthesise current evidence on knowledge, perceptions and practices towards type 2 diabetes risk in sub-Saharan Africa

Mixed-methods scoping review, which included 101 studies (seventy-three quantitative, twenty qualitative and eight mixed methods) from seven electronic databases.

Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2023.

Men and women without diabetes with mean ages ranging from 20 to 63 years.

The majority of participants in most studies knew the three main diabetes modifiable risk factors – excess weight, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity. However, most people with excess weight in almost all studies underestimated their weight. Further, the self-described ideal body weight was between midpoint of normal weight and the upper limits of overweight in most quantitative studies and was described as not too skinny but not too fat in qualitative studies. In the majority of studies, participants reported low engagement in weight control, high regular sugar intake, and low regular fruit and vegetable intake but moderate to high engagement in physical activity. Barriers to reducing diabetes risk were social (e.g. societal perceptions promoting weight gain) and environmental (e.g. limited affordability of healthy foods, high accessibility of Western diets and lack of physical activity facilities).

There is a need for multicomponent type 2 diabetes prevention interventions that increase knowledge of identifying diabetes risk (e.g. what constitutes excess weight) and create social and physical environments that support healthy lifestyles (e.g. societal perceptions that promote healthy living, increased availability and affordability of healthy foods and physical activity facilities).

To explore the perspectives, barriers and enablers on salt reduction in out-of-home sectors in Malaysia among street food vendors, caterers and consumers.

A qualitative study involving twenty-two focus group discussions and six in-depth interviews was conducted, recorded and transcribed verbatim. An inductive thematic analysis approach was employed to analyse the data.

Two in-depth interviews and twenty-two focus group discussions were conducted face-to-face. Four in-depth interviews were conducted online.

Focus group discussions were conducted among twenty-three street food vendors, twenty-one caterers and seventy-six consumers of various eateries. In-depth interviews were conducted among two street food vendors and four caterers, individually.

Consumers and food operators perceived a high-salt intake within Malaysia’s out-of-home food sectors. Food operators emphasised the necessity for a comprehensive salt reduction policy in the out-of-home sector involving all stakeholders. Consumers faced limited awareness and knowledge, counterproductive practices among food operators and challenges in accessing affordable low-Na food products, whereas food operators faced the lack of standardised guidelines and effective enforcement mechanisms and uncooperative consumer practices. Both groups expressed that food quality and price of salt were also the barriers, and they advocated for awareness promotion, enhanced regulation of manufactured food products and stricter enforcement targeting vendors. Consumers also suggested promoting and recognising health-conscious food premises, whereas food operators suggested on knowledge enhancement tailored to them, strategies for gaining consumers acceptance and maintaining food quality.

These findings provide valuable insights that serve as foundational evidence for developing and implementing salt reduction policies within Malaysia’s out-of-home sectors.

Primary health care (PHC) physicians’ perceptions are vital to understand as they are the first-line health care providers in cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk assessment and management. This study aims to explore PHC physicians’ perceptions on their roles and their perceptions on management and risk reduction approaches on CVD risk reduction and management in Fiji.

This is a qualitative study conducted in the Suva Medical area among 7 health centers from 1 August to 31 September, 2021. Purposive sampling was used to recruit physicians who worked in the Suva medical area as PHC physicians with at least 6 months’ experience in the Special Outpatients Department clinics. In-depth interview were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire over the telephone and recorded on a tablet device application. The interview content was then transcribed, and thematic analysis was done.

This study included 25 PHC physicians. From the thematic analysis, 2 major themes emerged with 6 subthemes. Theme 1 was CVD management skills with 3 subthemes including education, experience and trainings, beliefs and attitudes of physicians, self-confidence and effectiveness in CVD risk reduction and management. Theme 2 was roles and expectations with 3 subthemes including perceptions of effective treatment, perceptions of physicians’ roles and perceptions of patients’ expectations. Physicians generally see their role as central and imperative. They perceive to be important and leading toward combating CVDs.

Physicians’ perceptions on their commitment to prevention and management of CVDs through their skills and knowledge, beliefs and motivation should be acknowledged. It is recommended that the physicians are updated on the current evidence-based medicine. Limitations include results that may not be the reflection of the entire physician and multidisciplinary community and the difficulties in face-to-face interviews due to the coronavirus diseases of 2019 pandemic.