“I’m Not Gonna Put That On My Kids”: Gendered Opposition to New Public Health Initiatives

Our individualistic, consumeristic medical system pushes women to act as family health managers. As a result, women are generally more likely than men to follow expert medical recommendations for avoiding health risks. In the context of rampant misinformation, however, the pressure women face to control risks may lead them to disproportionately oppose some new efforts to promote public health. We investigate this possibility using a novel mixed-methods study examining gendered opposition to two school-based public health initiatives related to COVID-19. Nationally representative surveys of 1,946 parents reveal that mothers are significantly more likely than other parents to oppose school-required immunizations against COVID-19 and significantly more likely to report planning not to vaccinate their children. This opposition is particularly pronounced among white Republican/Republican-leaning mothers (54% opposed). Simultaneously, however, mothers are significantly less likely than other parents to oppose school mask mandates, with white Democrat/Democrat-leaning fathers being most opposed (45%). In-depth interviews with a socioeconomically, politically, and racially/ethnically diverse group of mothers (N=64) link these patterns to mothers’ beliefs that they can control the risks of COVID-19 (including through use of masks) but not the risks of COVID-19 vaccines. Thus, we conclude that, in the context of rampant misinformation, gendered pressures lead mothers to disproportionately support initiatives they perceive as useful for controlling health risks and disproportionately oppose initiatives they perceive as introducing uncontrollable risks. Given high rates of parental opposition to COVID-related public health initiatives, we suggest that a consumeristic model of medicine, coupled with widespread misinformation, may lead to a crisis of confidence that undermines public health.

PARALLEL DILEMMAS: POLIO TRANSMISSION AND POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

ABSTRACTNigeria is one of three countries where polio continues to be endemic. In northern Nigeria, areas with low levels of polio immunization due to persistent parental opposition as well as implementation and infrastructural problems have contributed to wild poliovirus transmission. Furthermore, political violence associated with Islamic groups opposed to the federal government has also hampered the conclusion of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) efforts. This violence, which began in Borno State and has spread to other parts of northern Nigeria, occurs precisely where poliovirus transmission continues. These two related aspects – parallel dilemmas of low immunization and political violence – confound the conclusion of GPEI efforts in Nigeria. This situation also raises ethical questions both about the final stages of eradication efforts and about military actions to contain ongoing violence. The Nigerian government's attempts to suppress opposition to the polio eradication campaign by threatening non-compliant parents with arrest and by closing down media outlets may frighten some parents into compliance but can also breed resentment and resistance, just as military and police activities, such as house-to-house sweeps and widespread arrests, may encourage sympathy for Islamic insurgents. This situation suggests that the possible solution of one problem – the ending of wild poliovirus transmission – depends upon a solution of the other, i.e. the cessation of violent anti-government activities.

Trapianti da donatore a cuore fermo: il caso del paziente pediatrico

In presenza di grave insufficienza d’organo, il trapianto è la sola e unica soluzione per salvare la vita del paziente. Si stima che, attualmente, in Italia oltre 9.000 persone siano in lista d’attesa per un trapianto di organo: anche se vi è stato un incremento del numero di donazioni negli ultimi decenni, il gap tra donatori e pazienti in attesa è in continua crescita. Secondo la maggior parte delle società di trapiantologia, i donatori a cuore non battente (NHBD) possono essere una fonte di reperimento degli organi. Quanto la donazione da NHBD può ampliare il pool dei donatori? Quali sono i rischi legati al prelievo di organi da NHBD non solo per il donatore ma anche per il ricevente? Nel tentativo di chiarire almeno alcuni di tali interrogativi abbiamo condotto un’analisi della letteratura scientifica internazionale. Per valutare, poi, la possibilità di ampliamento del pool di donatori con l’introduzione di un protocollo da NHBD nella popolazione pediatrica del Policlinico “A. Gemelli” in Roma, abbiamo condotto uno studio retrospettivo sui pazienti pediatrici deceduti nel corso del triennio 2004-2007. I risultati sembrano indicare la possibilità di raddoppiare il potenziale pool di donatori; questi dati richiedono poi una valutazione attenta, innanzitutto alla luce delle percentuali di opposizione alla donazione che nell’età pediatrica sono ancora più significative che nell’adulto. I risultati ottenuti sono solo il punto di partenza per un’analisi più approfondita sui problemi relativi ai trapianti e alla donazione di organi. ---------- In case of end stage organ failure, organ transplantation is the one and only solution to save patient’s life. Currently, in Italy, more than 9.000 people are awaiting for an organ transplantation; even though the number of organ donation has been increasing during last decades, gap between organ demand and transplantation is still wide. According to ideas of most society of transplantation, non heart beating donors (NHBD) could be a solution to the shortage of organs. How much NHBD could widen donors pool? Which ones and how many risks involve NHBD, even for donors or transplantation recipients? Trying to answer these questions, we led an analysis on NHBD data in international literature. To evaluate the potential of NHBD to expand the pool of donors in pediatric population of “Policlinico Gemelli” in Rome, we studied all deceased pediatric patients in the years 2004-2007. Results showed that the potential pool of donors could be twice as much, but these data should esteem about parental opposition, in particular in pediatric age. These data represent only a starting point for a deeper analysis of transplantation and donation related problems.

Vaccine Beliefs of Parents Who Oppose Compulsory Vaccination

Objectives. Our objectives were the following: ( 1) to describe the sociodemographic factors, vaccine beliefs, and behaviors that are associated with parental opposition to compulsory vaccination, and ( 2) to determine if the availability of a philosophical exemption in a parent's state of residence is associated with parental opposition to compulsory vaccination. Methods. Data from the 2002 HealthStyles survey were analyzed. Chi-square analysis was used to identify significant associations between belief and behavior questions and opposition to compulsory vaccination for school entry. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted using significant variables from the bivariate analysis to identify independent predictors of opposition to compulsory vaccination among surveyed parents. Results. Of respondents with at least one child aged ⩽18 years living in the household ( n = 1,527), 12% were opposed to compulsory vaccination. Survey results indicate that a parent's belief regarding compulsory vaccination for school entry is significantly associated with beliefs in the safety and utility of vaccines, as well as intention to have the youngest child fully vaccinated. Residence in a state that permits philosophical exemption to vaccination also was significantly associated with a parent's opposition to compulsory vaccination for school entry. Conclusions. Providing basic information to parents regarding vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases may help reduce opposition to compulsory vaccination by reinforcing the safety and importance of routine childhood vaccinations.

“The purity of my blood cannot put food on my table”: Changing Attitudes Towards Interracial Marriage in Nineteenth-Century Buenos Aires

Lorenzo Barbosa had a big problem with his daughter Josefa. In June 1821, in Buenos Aires, young Josefa Barbosa was in love with Pascual Cruz. What bothered Lorenzo was that Pascual was a mulatto, while the Barbosa family was white. When the couple asked his permission to marry, Lorenzo vehemently opposed the union and withheld his consent. He was acting within his rights, since minor children (men and women younger than 25 and 23 respectively) were required by law to obtain parental permission to marry. To bolster his case, Lorenzo invoked the power of a colonial law issued in 1778, known as the Royal Pragmatic on marriage, which gave parents the right to block their children's marriages to “unequal partners.” Even though Buenos Aires had broken away from Spain in 1810, most colonial laws regarding family life, including the pragmatic, continued in force into the national period. But just as in colonial times, children retained the right to challenge parental opposition in court. If they chose to do so, the resulting case was known as a disenso.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF T & A

In 1908 Dr. Cronin reportedly cured delinquent New York public school students by removing their adenoids . . . [In 1915] a Brooklyn judge, overriding parental opposition, ordered a 9-year-old's tonsils removed as a cure for truancy.

Fragmented Autobiography

Malcolm Morley was born at Aldershot, England, on 20 May 1890. Intensely interested in the theatre from an early age, he took part in amateur and semi-professional productions. Due to some parental opposition to a theatrical career, he left England in 1912, to make his way as an actor on the American Stage. His early efforts are described in the following pages.Returning to England in 1920, he led an active theatrical life as actor, producer and manager. He was associated with the management of the Everyman Theatre, Hampstead, during its most influential years, when its successes included the first English productions of Strindberg's The Father and Ostrovsky's The Storm.