scholarly journals Overt acts of perceived discrimination reported by British working-age adults with and without disability

Author(s):  
Eric Emerson ◽  
Allison Milner ◽  
Zoe Aitken ◽  
Lauren Krnjacki ◽  
Cathy Vaughan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Exposure to discrimination can have a negative impact on health. There is little robust evidence on the prevalence of exposure of people with disabilities to discrimination, the sources and nature of discrimination they face, and the personal and contextual factors associated with increased risk of exposure. Methods Secondary analysis of de-identified cross-sectional data from the three waves of the UK’s ‘Life Opportunities Survey’. Results In the UK (i) adults with disabilities were over three times more likely than their peers to be exposed to discrimination, (ii) the two most common sources of discrimination were strangers in the street and health staff and (iii) discrimination was more likely to be reported by participants who were younger, more highly educated, who were unemployed or economically inactive, who reported financial stress or material hardship and who had impairments associated with hearing, memory/speaking, dexterity, behavioural/mental health, intellectual/learning difficulties and breathing. Conclusions Discrimination faced by people with disabilities is an under-recognised public health problem that is likely to contribute to disability-based health inequities. Public health policy, research and practice needs to concentrate efforts on developing programs that reduce discrimination experienced by people with disabilities.

F1000Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 2931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Animesh Biswas ◽  
Koustuv Dalal ◽  
Jahangir Hossain ◽  
Kamran Ul Baset ◽  
Fazlur Rahman ◽  
...  

Background: Lightning injury is a global public health issue. Low and middle-income countries in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world are most affected by lightning. Bangladesh is one of the countries at particular risk, with a high number of devastating lightning injuries in the past years, causing high mortality and morbidity. The exact magnitude of the problem is still unknown and therefore this study investigates the epidemiology of lightning injuries in Bangladesh, using a national representative sample. Methods: A mixed method was used. The study is based on results from a nationwide cross-sectional survey performed in 2003 in twelve randomly selected districts. In the survey, a total of 819,429 respondents from 171,336 households were interviewed using face-to-face interviews. In addition, qualitative information was obtained by reviewing national and international newspaper reports of lightning injuries sustained in Bangladesh between 13 and 15 May 2016. Results: The annual mortality rate was 3.661 (95% CI 0.9313–9.964) per 1,000,000 people. The overall incidence of lightning injury was 19.89/100,000 people. Among the victims, 60.12% (n=98) were males and 39.87% (n=65) were females. Males were particularly vulnerable, with a 1.46 times increased risk compared with females (RR 1.46, 95% CI 1.06–1.99). Rural populations were more vulnerable, with a 8.73 times higher risk, than urban populations (RR 8.73, 95% CI 5.13–14.86). About 43% of injuries occurred between 12 noon and 6 pm. The newspapers reported 81 deaths during 2 days of electric storms in 2016. Lightning has been declared a natural disaster in Bangladesh. Conclusions: The current study indicates that lightning injuries are a public health problem in Bangladesh. The study recommends further investigations to develop interventions to reduce lightning injuries, mortality and related burden in Bangladesh.


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30
Author(s):  
Tanja Milićević ◽  
Ana Marinković ◽  
Snežana Radovanović ◽  
Danijela Gračić ◽  
Sanja Krulj ◽  
...  

Introduction/Aim: The abuse of psychoactive substances among young people is a significant global public health problem. The aim of the study was to examine the prevalence of psychoactive substances use among adolescents in Republic of Serbia. Methods: In this secondary analysis of data, we used data from the Serbian national survey of population health from 2013, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia and Institute of Public Health of Serbia. This cross-sectional study, which was conducted on a representative sample of the population of Serbia, included 1722 respondents aged 15 to 24 years (49% of women and 51% of men). Results: Out of the total number of young people aged 15-24, ⅓ of them declared themselves on the issue of cigarette consumption in the following way: 52.1% consumed cigarettes daily and 20.8% occasionally. Among the respondents, 41.3% were exposed to the indoor tobacco smoke for 1 hour or more daily, while 49.4% were concerned about the harmful effects of smoking on their health. Only a third said that they had never consumed alcohol or had only taken a few sips of alcohol in their lifetime. Men smoked slightly more often (52.2%) and consumed alcohol more often (every day or almost every day 0.7%, 5-6 days a week 0.7%, 3-4 days a week 4.5%, 1-2 days a week 15.7%, as well as 2-3 days a month 16.8%) than women (0.3%; 0.2%; 1.7%; 7.8%; 12%). About ¼ adolescents used 6 or more alcoholic beverages 1-3 days a month for the last 12 months. During the last 12 months, the respondents most often consumed painkillers (20.2%), sedatives (1.7%) and sleeping AIDS (2.3%) on their own initiative. There were 0.7% of users of illicit psychoactive substances (cannabis, cocaine, and glue). Conclusion: The results of the study of psychoactive substances abuse among young people in Serbia point to the necessity to work on the prevention of risky behavior.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1842-1847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnon D. Cohen ◽  
R. Gurfinkel ◽  
R. Glezinger ◽  
Y. Kriger ◽  
N. Yancolevich ◽  
...  

Burn trauma is an important public health concern, with increased risk for burns in children. A cross-sectional study was performed to describe the epidemiological characteristics and risk factors for burns in hospitalized Bedouin children in Soroka University Medical Center during the years 2001–2002. In a population of 558 hospitalized burn-injured patients, 282 Bedouin children were identified. Two hundred and sixty five patients (94.0%) had burns involving less than 20% of the body surface area. Cause of the burns was scald in 190 patients (67.4%), fire in 80 patients (28.4%), chemical in 8 patients (2.8%), and explosion in 2 patients (0.7%). Two female patients (0.7%) aged 11 and 17 years died of their burns that were caused by fire. The mean length of hospitalization was 9.8 days. Pediatric burn injury has become a significant public health problem in the Bedouin population of the Negev. To reduce the burden of burn injury, it is necessary to increase current efforts in prevention of burns.


BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. e016614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dikaios Sakellariou ◽  
Elena S Rotarou

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate differences in access to healthcare between people with and without disabilities in the UK. The hypotheses were that: (1) people with disabilities would be more likely to have unmet healthcare needs and (2) there would be gender differences, with women more likely to report unmet needs.Setting and participantsWe performed secondary analysis, using logistic regressions, of deidentified cross-sectional data from the European Health Interview Survey, Wave 2. The sample included 12 840 community-dwelling people over the age of 16 from across the UK, 5 236 of whom had a disability. The survey method involved face-to-face and telephone interviews.Outcome measuresUnmet need for healthcare due to long waiting lists or distance or transportation problems; not being able to afford medical examination, treatment, mental healthcare or prescribed medicines. All measures were self-reported.ResultsAdjusting for age, sex and other factors, people with a severe disability had higher odds of facing unmet needs. The largest gap was in ‘unmet need for mental healthcare due to cost’, where people with a severe disability were 4.5 times (CI 95% 2.2 to 9.2) more likely to face a problem, as well as in ‘unmet need due to cost of prescribed medicine’, where people with a mild disability had 3.6 (CI 95% 2.2 to 5.9) higher odds of facing a difficulty. Women with a disability were 7.2 times (CI 95% 2.7 to 19.4) more likely to have unmet needs due to cost of care or medication, compared with men with no disability.ConclusionsPeople with disabilities reported worse access to healthcare, with transportation, cost and long waiting lists being the main barriers. These findings are worrying as they illustrate that a section of the population, who may have higher healthcare needs, faces increased barriers in accessing services.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Batholomew Chireh ◽  
Samuel Kwaku Essien ◽  
Kidest Getu Melese

Abstract Background: Recurrent miscarriage is a spontaneous loss of two or more pregnancies. It is a major global reproductive public health problem and the least researched in Ghana. There is an urgent need to move from more individualized and genetic risk factors that may be culturally inappropriate to assess and explore the influence of socio-ecological or contextual factors on recurrent miscarriage in Ghana. This study explored the between and within-group variance of zonal, regional, cluster, and household as well as the influence of selected socio-demographic characteristics on recurrent miscarriage.Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of the 2017 cross-sectional demographic health survey data (25,062 women) in their reproductive ages (15-49 years) in Ghana. Data were collected from zones (3), regions (10), clusters (900), and households (27000). A logistic regression: Mixed effect model was used. Random effects were used to estimate the between and within groups differences in recurrent miscarriage. The fixed effects of selected socio-demographic variables were also assessed.Results: We found that cluster differences in recurrent miscarriage risk were more prominent compared to zonal, regional, and household. There was higher variability in recurrent miscarriage among women in the same household, cluster, and region compared to those from different households in the same cluster or those from different clusters in the same region and household. In the fixed-effects model, the odds of recurrent miscarriage were 1.54 times (95% CI=1.16-2.03) higher among urban dwellers than rural dwellers. Increasing maternal age was significantly associated with recurrent miscarriage (p=0.0001). There was a direction association between educational level and recurrent miscarriage. Insignificant protective factors of partner support and access to first-trimester antenatal care visits were also found.Conclusion: Differences in recurrent miscarriage risk exist at the contextual level and should be the focus of public health prevention efforts. Our key finding highlights the need to contextualize and localize recurrent miscarriage risk reduction efforts if interventions to reduce recurrent miscarriage in women with a history of unexplained pregnancy loss are to be successful in Ghana.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-58
Author(s):  
AKM Farhad Hossain ◽  
Md Mahmudur Rahman Siddiqui ◽  
Sayada Fatema Khatun

Background: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignant disease in endocrine system. It is an emerging public health issue associated with burden on the family, community and the nation. The aim of this study is to determine the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patient with thyroid cancer attending in tertiary hospital. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted among 246 thyroid cancer patients in two tertiary hospitals of Dhaka city from 01 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. The subjects were selected purposively following specific selection criteria and maintaining ethical issues. Data were collected by face to face interview using a semi-structured questionnaire and checklist. Data were analyzed by the statistical package for the social science (SPSS) version 23. Results: This study revealed that majority (74.4%) of respondents was female, married (72%), housewife (61.4%), rural respondent (41.1%) and had primary education (69%). Mean (± SD) age of the respondent was 37.85(±12.20) years (Range 14-70 years) and mean (± SD) monthly family income was Tk. 17681(±10602). Out of 246 cases, 204 (82.9%) was papillary and 42 (17.1%) was follicular carcinoma. Various clinical presentations included visible neck swelling in 225 (91.5%), swollen lymph node in 103 (41.9%), pain 90 (36.6%), Difficulties in swallowing 87 (35.4%), Hoarseness of voice in 141 (57.3%), cough along with swelling 47(19.1%), Difficulties in breathing due to swelling in 13(5.3%) of the patients. Conclusion: Incidence of thyroid cancer has increased worldwide specially in female patients in 3rd and 4th decades of life. As thyroid cancer is a growing public health problem in Bangladesh, proper screening and early diagnostic facilities at all level should be available to measure its actual burden in the country. Anwer Khan Modern Medical College Journal Vol. 11, No. 1: Jan 2020, P 54-58


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Schoultz Mariyana ◽  
Leung Janni ◽  
Bonsaksen Tore ◽  
Ruffolo Mary ◽  
Thygesen Hilde ◽  
...  

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the strict national policies regarding social distancing behavior in Europe, America and Australia, people became reliant on social media as a means for gathering information and as a tool for staying connected to family, friends and work. This is the first trans-national study exploring the qualitative experiences and challenges of using social media while in lockdown or shelter-in-place during the current pandemic. Methods: This study was part of a wider cross-sectional online survey conducted in Norway, the UK, USA and Australia during April/May 2020. The manuscript reports on the qualitative free-text component of the study asking about the challenges of social media users during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, USA and Australia. A total of 1991 responses were included in the analysis. Thematic analysis was conducted independently by two researchers. Results: Three overarching themes identified were: Emotional/Mental Health, Information and Being Connected. Participants experienced that using social media during the pandemic amplified anxiety, depression, fear, panic, anger, frustration and loneliness. They felt that there was information overload and social media was full of misleading or polarized opinions which were difficult to switch off. Nonetheless, participants also thought that there was an urge for connection and learning, which was positive and stressful at the same time. Conclusion: Using social media while in a shelter-in-place or lockdown could have a negative impact on the emotional and mental health of some of the population. To support policy and practice in strengthening mental health care in the community, social media could be used to deliver practical advice on coping and stress management. Communication with the public should be strengthened by unambiguous and clear messages and clear communication pathways. We should be looking at alternative ways of staying connected.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 629
Author(s):  
António Teixeira Rodrigues ◽  
João C. F. Nunes ◽  
Marta Estrela ◽  
Adolfo Figueiras ◽  
Fátima Roque ◽  
...  

Background: Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide public health problem, leading to longer hospital stays, raising medical costs and mortality levels. As physicians’ attitudes are key factors to antibiotic prescribing, this study sought to explore their differences between primary care and hospital settings. Methods: A survey was conducted between September 2011 and February 2012 in the center region of Portugal in the form of a questionnaire to compare hospital (n = 154) and primary care (n = 421) physicians’ attitudes and knowledge regarding antibiotic prescribing. Results: More than 70% of the attitudes were statistically different (p < 0.05) between hospital physicians (HPs) and primary care physicians (PCPs). When compared to PCPs, HPs showed higher agreement with antibiotic resistances being a public health problem and ascribed more importance to microbiological tests and to the influence of prescription on the development of resistances. On the other hand, PCPs tended to agree more regarding the negative impact of self-medication with antibiotics dispensed without medical prescription and the need for rapid diagnostic tests. Seven out of nine sources of knowledge’s usefulness were statistically different between both settings, with HPs considering most of the knowledge sources to be more useful than PCPs. Conclusions: Besides the efforts made to improve both antibiotic prescribing and use, there are differences in the opinions between physicians working in different settings that might impact the quality of antibiotic prescribing. In the future, these differences must be considered to develop more appropriate interventions.


Author(s):  
Desirée Mena-Tudela ◽  
Susana Iglesias-Casás ◽  
Víctor Manuel González-Chordá ◽  
María Jesús Valero-Chillerón ◽  
Laura Andreu-Pejó ◽  
...  

Background: Obstetric violence is a worldwide public health problem, which seems greater in Spain. As no studies were found that identify the most representative healthcare professionals, times, and areas involved in obstetric violence, the objective of this work was to study at what time of maternity, with which professionals, and in what areas women identified obstetric violence. Methods: This descriptive, retrospective, and cross-sectional study was performed from January 2018 to June 2019. The main variables were the area (hospital, primary care, both), the time (pregnancy, birth, puerperium), and the professionals attending to women. Results: Our sample comprised 17,541 participants. The area identified with the most obstetric violence for the different studied variables was hospitals. Women identified more obstetric violence at time of birth. Findings such as lack of information and informed consent (74.2%), and criticism of infantile behavior and treatment (87.6%), stood out. The main identified healthcare professionals were midwives and gynecologists, and “other” professionals repeatedly appeared. Conclusions: Having identified the professionals, times, and areas of most obstetric violence in Spain, it seems necessary to reflect on not only the Spanish National Health System’s structure and management but also on healthcare professionals’ training.


Author(s):  
Chutima Rattanawan ◽  
Suraiya Cheloh ◽  
Asma Maimahad ◽  
Malatee Tayeh

Anemia is a global public health problem. The prevalence of anemia among different ages, genders or ethnic groups must be clarified in order to solve problems. This study proposed to determine the prevalence and factors related to anemia among the Muslim school-age population in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Socio-demographic and anthropometric data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from 200 school-age subjects. The thalassemia screening was performed with KKU-OF and KKU-DCIP reagents. The prevalence of anemia in this study was 36.5%, divided into males and females, 33.3% and 39.1%, respectively. The means of Hb, Hct, MCV, MCH, and MCHC in the anemic group were significantly lower. The positive results for KKU-OF or KKU-DCIP or both were 15.0%, 2.5%, and 1.0%, respectively. The result of positive OF test was a significantly independent factor for anemia. The number of family members was 5 to 7 and more than 7 persons are related factors for anemia in this study. In summary, the contribution of thalassemia and socio-economic factor are associated factors to anemia in this population. These findings should be addressed in public health strategies for the control of anemia of school-aged Muslims in the region.


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