social exclusion

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, people smoke cigarettes outdoors and avoid exposing bystanders to harm. People may not have the same motivation to vape outdoors since e-cigarettes, unlike cigarettes, do not create side stream emissions and exhaled aerosol contains fewer toxicants than secondhand smoke. This study aims to estimate the prevalence and correlates of vaping and smoking indoors among adults in England. METHODS: Data came from the Health Survey for England 2019, a cross-sectional household survey...

A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze the social representations of four ethnic minorities in southern Spain. Following a between-subjects design, Spanish participants ( n  = 532) were assigned to evaluate either Romanian Roma, Spanish Roma, Moroccan, or Romanian non-Roma people, with a free-association task and scales of stereotypes, emotions, and behavioral tendencies. Results showed that Romanian Roma was the most devalued target, eliciting the worst representation and attitudes. The content analysis revealed that participants described minorities mainly in terms of social exclusion, culture, appearance, personality, opportunity seeking, stigmatization, and personalization/equality, with social exclusion being a key category associated with worst attitudes...

BACKGROUND: Tobacco smoking affects women's fertility and is associated with substantial risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study explored trends by socioeconomic position in patterns of smoking, use of non-combustible nicotine products, and quitting activity among women of reproductive age in England. METHODS: Data come from a nationally representative monthly cross-sectional survey. Between October 2013 and October 2023, 197,266 adults (≥ 18 years) were surveyed, of whom 44,052 were women of reproductive age (18-45 years)...

PURPOSE: The importance of health literacy (HL) and digital health literacy (e-HL) in promoting healthy behavior and informed decision making is becoming increasingly apparent. This study aimed to assess the effects of HL and e-HL on the quality of life (QoL) of men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) for localized prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective observational study included 104 patients who underwent RP for localized prostate cancer...

There are many benefits of peer interactions for children's social, emotional, and cognitive development, and isolation from peers may have negative consequences for children. Although biological processes may underlie social withdrawal broadly, distinct patterns may be associated with withdrawal behaviors depending on their underlying motivation (e.g., shy versus disinterested). This study investigated the role of autonomic nervous system activity, as assessed via skin conductance level (SCL) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in predicting changes in unsociability (e...

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the factors associated with loneliness in individuals aged 80 years and older in Germany (also stratified by sex). METHODS: Data from the nationally representative "Old Age in Germany (D80+)" were employed. The analytic sample equaled 10,031 individuals. The D80+ study included community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals ≥ 80 years in Germany. Multiple linear regressions were used (with sociodemographic and health-related explanatory factors)...

BACKGROUND: Digital inequity refers to the inequality and exclusion experienced by those who lack the same opportunities or circumstances to support the development of digital skills as the rest of modern society. One rapidly growing and highly vulnerable group to digital inequity is older people attempting to reintegrate into society after release from prison, where technology access is limited. Inadequate support for digital skills in this population entails widespread consequences for public health, human rights, social welfare and recidivism...

The COVID-19 pandemic was a socionatural disaster that unprecedentedly disrupted the daily lives of individuals, families, and communities. Prior research indicates that Black American men living in rural contexts, particularly in Southern parts of the United States of America, were disproportionately affected by the psychological and economic effects of the pandemic. Despite these disparities, few studies have examined the pandemic's impact on rural Black American men's social networks. This study aimed to explore the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on rural Black American men's interpersonal relationships...

Persons with mental illnesses may experience stigma from their immediate family members in addition to other forms of stigma. Using semi-structured interviews, we investigated experiences of familial mental illness stigma among 15 people diagnosed with mental illnesses in a mid-sized city in Canada. We identified five themes that speak to participants' experiences of familial mental illness stigma and ways to reduce it. The themes include the following: diagnosis as a 'double-edged sword,' potential familial isolation, familial stigma as societal stigma localized, stories of acceptance, and confronting potential familial mental illness stigma...

Philopatric kin-based societies encourage a narrow breadth of conservative behaviours owing to individuals primarily learning from close kin, promoting behavioural homogeneity. However, weaker social ties beyond kin, and across a behaviourally diverse social landscape, could be sufficient to induce variation and a greater ecological niche breadth. We investigated a network of 457 photo-identified killer whales from Norway (548 encounters in 2008-2021) with diet data available (46 mixed-diet individuals feeding on both fish and mammals, and 411 exclusive fish-eaters) to quantify patterns of association within and between diet groups, and to identify underlying correlates...

AIM/BACKGROUND: Both mental maternal health and breastfeeding difficulties impact maternal and infant health. The present study analyses the association between psychosocial and breastfeeding variables and maternal mental health. DESIGN/METHODS: The participants were 107 first-time mothers from Chile. Sociodemographic variables and breastfeeding difficulties were assessed at 6 weeks postpartum. Depression and anxiety symptoms, parental self-efficacy, and perceived social support were measured using validated, self-report questionnaires at 6 weeks and 5 months postpartum...

Background : Prior research has discovered an association between vaping activities and increased delinquent behaviors. However, this relationship has been exclusively studied among adolescents and has not been examined among an adult sample. Methods : The current study uses a nationally representative sample of approximately 45,000 adults from the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression and negative binomial regression are employed to assess the association between three types of vaping (marijuana, nicotine, flavor) and five crime measures (arrest, sold drugs, stole >$50, attack, crime index), net of covariates...

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to: 1) explore how alcohol and alcohol harm are framed in New Zealand national policy, strategy, and action plan documents; and 2) examine how these documents align with the WHO SAFER framework. METHODS: Keyword searches across government websites and Google were conducted in January 2021. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to all identified documents, resulting in 22 being included for analysis in this study. An inductive and deductive thematic analysis of those documents was performed...

INTRODUCTION: Breastfeeding has many benefits for both mothers and children. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. However, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, slightly under half of children under six months are exclusively breastfed. This study aimed to describe breastfeeding practices and to explore perceived social norms regarding breastfeeding among mothers in Kinshasa. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted in Kinshasa from June to July 2013...

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is characterized by potentially disfiguring skin ulcers carrying significant social stigma. To mitigate systemic drug exposure and reduce the toxicity from available treatments, studies addressing new local therapeutic strategies using available medications are coming up. This review systematically compiles preclinical and clinical data on the efficacy of amphotericin B (AmB) administered locally for cutaneous leishmaniasis. METHODOLOGY: Structured searches were conducted in major databases...

BACKGROUND: The incidence of stroke in children is low, and pediatric stroke rehabilitation services are less developed than adult ones. Survivors of pediatric stroke have a long poststroke life expectancy and therefore have the potential to experience impairments from their stroke for many years. However, there are relatively few studies characterizing these impairments and what factors facilitate or counteract recovery. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize the main barriers to and facilitators of recovery from pediatric stroke...

BACKGROUND: Globally, it is estimated that one in three adults live with two or more long-term conditions (multiple long-term conditions, MLTCs), that require self-management. People who experience socioeconomic deprivation face significant health inequalities due to a range of interrelated characteristics that lead to a lack of resources and opportunities. Previous research with underserved populations indicate low levels of trust towards primary care providers and potential barriers for developing patient-healthcare professional relationships...

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding provides several positive health benefits for the newborn child, yet breastfeeding rates remain low in the United States (US). Theory-based approaches have the potential to improve breastfeeding promotion interventions. Hence, the study examined the correlates of intention to breastfeed among US pregnant women based on the multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change. METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a 36-item online survey was administered to a nationally representative sample of 315 pregnant women in the US...

PURPOSE: Visitor restriction policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among patients and clinicians were widespread during the pandemic, resulting in the exclusion of caregivers at key points of cancer care and treatment decision-making. The aim of this study was to explore how visitor restrictions impacted cancer treatment decision-making and care from patient and physician perspectives. METHODS: Sixty-seven interviews, including 48 cancer patients and 19 cancer and palliative care physicians from four academic cancer centers in the USA between August 2020 and July 2021...

BACKGROUND: Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) can bolster viral genomic surveillance efforts; however, approaches to maximise and standardise pathogen genome recovery from RDTs remain underdeveloped. We aimed to systematically optimise the elution of genetic material from RDT components and to evaluate the efficacy of RDT sequencing for outbreak investigation. METHODS: In this laboratory and cohort-based study we seeded RDTs with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 to optimise the elution of genomic material from RDT lateral flow strips...