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Social determinants of health analysis makes causal inference and requires analytic epidemiology methods Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-12 Qiang Xia, Yingjie Zheng, Mei-Chia Fong, Ellen W. Wiewel, Cristina Rodriguez-hart, Lucia V. Torian
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The transmission of social inequalities through economic difficulties and lifestyle factors on body mass index: An intersectional mediation analysis in the Swedish population Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-12 Antonio Moreno-Llamas, Miguel San Sebastián, Per E. Gustafsson
Body mass index (BMI) has increased in Sweden, disproportionally for socially disadvantaged groups, including women, low-educated, and immigrants, who may also face economic constraints, physical inactivity, and poor-quality diets. Intersectional public health research aims to unravel such complex social inequalities, but the intersectional transmission of inequalities to BMI remains unexplored. We
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Bridging social capital among Facebook users and COVID-19 cases growth in Arizona Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-12 Maria Boby, Hyunsung Oh, Flavio Marsiglia, Li Liu
Social capital is an important social determinant of health, more specifically bridging social capital, which connects individuals and communities across societal divides. This article reports on the findings of a study about the relationship between bridging social capital and COVID-19 infection trends within the state of Arizona from October 2020 to November 2021. Economic connectedness (EC), derived
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Understanding the motivations behind deliberate lightening of skin among burkinabe women through a socio-anthropological analysis Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Abdramane Berthé
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Adolescent depressive symptoms and memory performance in young adulthood: Testing critical period, accumulation, and pathway models using a sibling comparison design Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-11 Jinho Kim, Gum-Ryeong Park, Hayun Jang
Despite the existing literature connecting depressive symptoms with cognitive function in adulthood, there is limited knowledge about the longitudinal association between depressive symptoms in adolescence and memory function in adulthood, as well as the mechanisms underlying this relationship. This study aims to determine whether depressive symptoms in adolescence are associated with memory function
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Financial struggles and coping with the aftermath of breast cancer care: An ethnographic study in Vietnam Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-10 Trang T. Do, Andrea Whittaker, Mark DM. Davis
Breast cancer, the most common cancer diagnosed among women, disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Based on an ethnographic study conducted in Central Vietnam in 2019, including observation and interviews with 33 women patients, we investigate how women and their families managed the financial burden of breast cancer care. Our findings suggest that in a context where
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Time preference shifts in medical decision-making after serious illness Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-10 Biao Xu, Yi-Fan Shao, Hai-Ling Xi, Shi-Yun Chang, Zhi-Qiang Ge
This study explores the impact of serious illnesses, such as cancer, on patients' time preferences in medical decision-making. Specifically, we assess how patients value extending their lifespan by one year under varying survival prognoses through three experimental studies. The findings reveal that patients exhibit a higher Subjective Discount Rates (SDR) in their medical decisions after a serious
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The development of a capability wellbeing measure in economic evaluation for children and young people aged 11-15 Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-08 Samantha Husbands, Paul Mark Mitchell, Philip Kinghorn, Sarah Byford, Katie Breheny, Cara Bailey, Paul Anand, Tim J. Peters, Isabella Floredin, Joanna Coast
The capability approach provides a broad evaluative space for making funding decisions for health and care interventions, with capability wellbeing as the outcome of value. A range of capability measures have been developed for the economic evaluation of health and care interventions for adults. However, such measures have not been previously developed for children and young people for this purpose
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Contested quantification for planetary health – A sociotechnical analysis of Bangladesh's water salinity monitoring infrastructure Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-07 Paula Hepp, Mohammed Nadiruzzaman, Anja Krumeich
In climate change and planetary health, the datafication of natural processes and their effects on human health is gaining importance, not least due to data's role in international funding mechanisms. In Bangladesh, water salinity has become the focus of much research and could emerge as an asset to access climate funding. Taking Bangladesh's water salinity monitoring infrastructure as a case study
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Trust in government, social media and willingness to vaccinate Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-07 Nicky Nicholls, Michelle Pleace, Eleni Yitbarek
Vaccine hesitancy is considered one of the biggest global health threats. The prevalence of false information about vaccines on social media amplifies this challenge, making it more urgent. This study examines the relationship between social media use, trust in information sources, beliefs about vaccination rates, and willingness to adopt vaccines using data gathered in late 2023 from 975 respondents
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Renegotiation, uncertainty, imagination: Assemblage perspectives on reproductive and family planning with an Inborn Error of immunity Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-06 Hannah R. Davidson, Leila Jamal, Rebecca Mueller, Morgan Similuk, Jill Owczarzak
Advances within the new genetics expand our understanding of the scope and presentation of inherited conditions, particularly to include incompletely penetrant and variably expressive conditions. These features can complicate patients’ reproductive and family planning processes, in part because they expand the possibilities of life with an inherited condition. Despite many inquiries into reproductive
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Reconfiguration of uncertainty: Introducing AI for prediction of mortality at the emergency department Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-06 Daniel Tyskbo, Jens Nygren
The promise behind many advanced digital technologies in healthcare is to provide novel and accurate information, aiding medical experts to navigate and, ultimately, decrease uncertainty in their clinical work. However, sociological studies have started to show that these technologies are not producing straightforward objective knowledge, but instead often become associated with new uncertainties arising
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Prevalence, incidence, and recovery of metabolic syndrome after the fukushima nuclear power plant disaster: A 10-year longitudinal study Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-03 Maiko Fukasawa, Atsushi Shirafuji, Enbo Ma, Kenta Matsuzaki, Tetsuya Ohira
After the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome sharply increased in municipalities near the nuclear power plant, where a massive evacuation of community residents occurred (the evacuation area). However, after the initial increase, the rate of increase in metabolic syndrome in the evacuation area was slower than that in the surrounding area (non-evacuation
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Improving the equity of U.S. health care financing: A commentary on Jacobs and Hill Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-03 Thomas Rice
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Corrigendum to “Experiences of loneliness in lower- and middle-income countries: A systematic review of qualitative studies”[Soc. Sci. Med. Volume 340, January 2024, 116438] Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-09-02 Samia C. Akhter-Khan, Willemijn van Es, Matthew Prina, Vanessa Lawrence, Ilayda Piri, Ami Rokach, Luzia C. Heu, Rosie Mayston
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Socioeconomic position during pregnancy and pre-school exposome in children from eight European birth cohort studies Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-31 Costanza Pizzi, Giovenale Moirano, Chiara Moccia, Milena Maule, Antonio D'Errico, Martine Vrijheid, Timothy J. Cadman, Serena Fossati, Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Andrea Beneito, Lucinda Calas, Liesbeth Duijts, Ahmed Elhakeem, Jennifer R. Harris, Barbara Heude, Vincent Jaddoe, Deborah A. Lawlor, Sandrine Lioret, Rosemary RC. McEachan, Johanna L. Nader, Marie Pedersen, Angela Pinot de Moira, Katrine Strandberg-Larsen
Distribution of environmental hazards and vulnerability to their effects vary across socioeconomic groups. Our objective was to analyse the relationship between child socioeconomic position (SEP) at birth and the external exposome at pre-school age (0–4 years).
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Mobility ideation due to water problems during historic 2022 drought associated with livestock wealth, water and food insecurity, and fingernail cortisol concentration in northern Kenya Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-31 Asher Y. Rosinger, Justin Stoler, Leslie B. Ford, Amanda McGrosky, Srishti Sadhir, Matthew Ulrich, Madeleine Todd, Nicole Bobbie, Rosemary Nzunza, David R. Braun, Emmanuel K. Ndiema, Matthew J. Douglass, Herman Pontzer
Climate change is triggering environmental mobility through chronic water problems and punctuated events. Thinking about moving locations, or “mobility ideation”, is the precursor to migration intentionality and actual migration. Drawing on the embodiment construct, this study examines how the worst drought in recent history in the Horn of Africa affected water-related mobility ideation and, in turn
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Persistent low job control and subsequent major depression: A prospective cohort study of Australian working males Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-31 Yamna Taouk, Zoe Aitken, Anthony D. LaMontagne, Tania King
Workers' perception of control over work is a key construct in the relationship between the psychosocial work environment and health. While exposure to low job control has been prospectively linked to poor mental health including depression and anxiety, there is less research examining the impact of prolonged exposure to low job control on mental health. Data from 5054 employed men from 2013 to 2021
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The Googling Effect on patient co-creation in physiotherapy service exchange Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-30 Waheed Akbar Bhatti, Agnieszka Chwialkowska, Nazim Hussain, Mario Glowik
We study the process of value co-creation in physiotherapist-patient relationships and the underlying mechanisms of this process. We present the outlining the relationship between patients' pre-encounter online information search and their commitment to compliance in physiotherapy service exchange. We tested the model on a sample of physiotherapy service patients (n = 446) in the United States. We
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Decomposition of the wealth gradient in maternal healthcare quality in low- and middle-income countries Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-29 Gil Shapira, Sven Neelsen, Patrick Hoang-Vu Eozenou
Although access to health services by poor populations has improved in most low- and middle-income countries, wealth remains associated with better quality of care that in turn leads to better health outcomes. Understanding the patterns of such inequities can inform the design of policies to improve services received by poor populations. We employ regression and inequality decomposition analyses using
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Impacts of women's work and childcare on child illness among Bangladeshi Shodagor communities Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-29 Kathrine Starkweather, Monica Keith, Fatema tuz Zohora, Nurul Alam
For decades, women's employment has been seen as crucial for achieving greater autonomy and empowerment for women, and for promoting better health and nutrition outcomes for children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, numerous empirical studies of the relationship between women's work and child outcomes have shown mixed results. Our study tests the assumptions of a model
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Introduction to: Unequal care: Trans medicine and health in dangerous times Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-29 Stef M. Shuster, Carla A. Pfeffer, Anna Kirkland
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Convalescing from SAM: The pitfalls and possibilities of caring for vulnerable children in Harare's high-density neighbourhoods Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-28 Tim Brown, Kavita Datta, Shamiso Fernando, Jacqueline Kabongo, Andrew J. Prendergast, Mutsa Bwakura-Dangarembizi
It is widely recognised that children recovering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), remain vulnerable to risk of death following hospital discharge due to a wide range of biological and social factors. In light of this heightened risk, we report here on a qualitative study which aimed to better understand the caring contexts that children recovering from SAM were recuperating in within the high
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Feasibility of big data analytics in disaster psychiatry: Impact of Seoul Itaewon tragedy on sentiment distribution on Twitter Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-27 Junhyung Kim, Myung Ki, Jihooon Yang, Cheolwoong Na, Jinseop Kim, Changsu Han
Numerous studies have highlighted the significant impact of disasters on mental health, often leading to psychiatric disorders among affected individuals. Timely identification of disaster-related mental health problems is crucial to prevent long-term negative consequences and improve individual and community resilience. To address the limitations of prior research that has focused solely on isolated
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“The chaos of not knowing”: Embodied experiences of waiting for public housing redevelopment and relocation Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-27 Marisa Westbrook, Solange Muñoz, Jeremy Auerbach
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has instituted several successive programs to redevelop aging and distressed US public housing. The current program, the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, aims not only to redevelop housing but also to improve the health of public housing residents through a whole neighborhood transformation, at the cost of privatizing components of housing. In the
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Artificial intelligence and the politics of avoidance in global health Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-26 Leah Shipton, Lucia Vitale
For decades, global health actors have centered technology in their interventions. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as the latest technology-based solution in global health. Yet, AI, like other technological interventions, is not a comprehensive solution to the fundamental determinants of global health inequities. This article gathers and critically appraises grey and peer-reviewed literature
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Access to natural green spaces and their associations with psychological wellbeing for South Asian people in the UK: A systematic literature review Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-26 Mohammed Hamza, Rachael C. Edwards, Jordan D. Beaumont, Laura De Pretto, Alison Torn
Use of natural green spaces (NGS) is associated with improved psychological well-being (PWB). Ethnic minorities, particularly South Asian (SA) communities in the UK, face unequal access to NGS and experience a greater prevalence of health challenges than the general population. Improving access to green space can contribute to addressing current health inequalities. Following PRISMA guidelines, this
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“Working within broken systems”: Social workers bridge the fractures of U.S. healthcare: A qualitative inquiry on moral injury Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-26 Pari Thibodeau, Aprille Arena, Hannah Wolfson, Michael Talamantes, Karen Albright
Healthcare social workers (HSWs) in the United States are integral to interdisciplinary teams and health services. HSWs have a unique role in healthcare, as they care for their patients' psychosocial needs, through case management and clinical services. There is a gap in understanding how HSWs are impacted by their healthcare work. This study aims to understand the experience of moral injury, a marker
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The role of primary healthcare amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the Family Health Strategy in Brazil Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-24 Adriano Dutra Teixeira, Fernando Antonio Slaibe Postali, Natalia Nunes Ferreira-Batista, Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz, Rodrigo Moreno-Serra
This paper investigates the role of primary healthcare in mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the Brazilian Family Health Strategy (ESF) as a case study. ESF is Brazil’s major primary care initiative, with prior evidence indicating its effectiveness in improving various health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic submitted the Brazilian healthcare system to a rigorous and unprecedented
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Examining the perception, frequency, and intensity of domestic violence inflicted by Palestinian wives against their husbands Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-24 Oqab Jabali
This study examines domestic violence perpetrated by wives against husbands in Palestine, utilizing structured interviews with 53 married participants. Findings reveal prevalent female-perpetrated domestic violence, often involving mutual conflict initiation. External stressors and power dynamics significantly influence behaviors, reflecting situational pressures and control issues. Verbal abuse and
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Spatial solidarity among older adults in age-related housing Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-24 Virve Repo
Ageing-in-place policies encourage older adults to live at home as long as possible; however, this challenges the abilities of both formal care and informal help. Utilizing the results of my research, I introduce the term spatial solidarity to describe the help that older individuals give each other in age-related housing. One starting point for solidarity is the ability to relate to others. In age-related
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Anticipated prehospital decision delay in response to different symptom clusters in acute coronary syndrome: Results from the Spanish Cardiobarometer study Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-23 Dafina Petrova, Dunia Garrido, Andrés Catena, José Antonio Ramírez-Hernández, Mitti Blakoe, Nicolás Francisco Fernández-Martínez, Beatriz Pérez-Gómez, María José Sánchez, Rocio Garcia-Retamero
Reducing patient decision delay – the time elapsed between symptom onset and the moment the patient decides to seek medical attention – can help improve acute coronary syndrome survival. Patient decision delay is typically investigated in retrospective studies of acute coronary syndrome survivors that are prone to several biases. To offer an alternative approach, the goal of this research was to investigate
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Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of models of maternity care for women from migrant and refugee backgrounds in high-income countries: A systematic review Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-23 Yordanos Gizachew Yeshitila, Lisa Gold, Julie Abimanyi-Ochom, Elisha Riggs, Tadesse Tolossa, Ha N.D. Le
Different models of care may be appropriate for various groups of women during their perinatal period, depending on their risk level, location, and accessibility of healthcare practitioners and facilities. Evaluating these models' effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is critical to allocating resources and offering sustained care to women from refugee backgrounds. This systematic review aimed to synthesize
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Social media delivered mental health campaigns and public service announcements: A systematic literature review of public engagement and help-seeking behaviours Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-22 Adriana Draganidis, Anne Nileshni Fernando, Madeline L. West, Gemma Sharp
Social media (SM) is increasingly utilised to disseminate mental health (MH) public service announcements (PSAs) and campaigns, connecting the public with support or resources. However, the effectiveness of MH campaigns/PSAs is often overlooked, and actions following exposure are rarely measured. We aimed to i) systematically review research on MH campaigns/PSAs disseminated via SM to determine their
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Identifying vulnerabilities in essential health services: Analysing the effects of system shocks on childhood vaccination delivery in Lebanon Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-19 Sharif A. Ismail, Andrada Tomoaia-Cotisel, Aya Noubani, Fouad M. Fouad, Robert Šakić Trogrlić, Sadie Bell, Karl Blanchet, Josephine Borghi
Shocks effects are under-theorised in the growing literature on health system resilience. Existing work has focused on the effects of single shocks on discrete elements within the health system, typically at national level. Using qualitative system dynamics, we explored how effects of multiple shocks interacted across system levels and combined with existing vulnerabilities to produce effects on essential
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A discourse of african traditional healing tendencies with medicinal plants: An ethnobotanical study of the sukuma of Tanzania, 1922–1960s Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-18 Hamisi Yunus Nchimbi, Mikidadi Hamisi Alawi
The use of medicinal plants in traditional healing practices is essential to Tanzanian and African health care. This paper examined the African traditional healing tendencies, particularly the Sukuma tribe of Tanzania, from 1922 to the 1960s. Several types of research challenged traditional healing tendencies' role in the health sector. They claimed that traditional healing has no scientific evidence
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Emotion regulation strategies and coping self-efficacy as moderators of daily associations between transgender and gender diverse (TGD) enacted stigma and affect among TGD young adults assigned female at birth Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-18 Christina Dyar, Emily Herry, Sophia Pirog
Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies have begun to establish links between sexual minority enacted stigma and anxious/depressed affect at the daily level. However, few of these studies have examined the effects of the unique stigma experienced by transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people. Further, the potential moderating roles of emotion regulation strategies (i.e., strategies used to up-
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Carjacking and homicide in Minneapolis after the police killing of George Floyd: Evidence from an interrupted time series analysis Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-18 Allison Lind, Ryan P. Larson, Susan M. Mason, Christopher Uggen
There is abundant research showing the disproportionate impacts of violence on health in disadvantaged neighborhoods, making an understanding of recent violent crime trends essential for promoting health equity. Carjackings have been of particular interest in the media, although little research has been undertaken on this violent crime. We use interrupted time series models to examine the impact of
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Balancing the scales? Evaluating the impact of results-based financing on maternal health outcomes and related inequality of opportunity in Zimbabwe Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Marshall Makate
This study evaluates the impact of results-based financing (RBF) on maternal health outcomes and the inequality of opportunity (IOP) in these outcomes in Zimbabwe. We employ a difference-in-differences approach that leverages the staggered implementation of the programme across 60 districts, exploiting temporal variation in the introduction of RBF and individual-level variation in birth timing. Our
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“Successful” ageing in later older age: A sociology of class and ageing in place Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Kate Gibson, Andrew Kingston, Emma McLellan, Louise Robinson, Katie Brittain
Supporting people to ‘age in place’ – to live independently at home and remain connected to the community – is an international policy priority. But the process of ageing in place is mediated in a socio-cultural context where neoliberal tropes of successful ageing reproduce a pervasive model about ‘ageing well’ by elevating ideals of individualised choice and self-governance.
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What can PrEP do for female sex workers? Unpacking the “effectosphere” of biomedical HIV prevention in Dar es Salaam Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Hanne Ochieng Lichtwarck, Emmanuel Peter Massawe, Elia John Mmbaga, Kåre Moen
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a drug with the power to prevent HIV transmission. This study delved into the broader implications of PrEP use among female sex workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, a group disproportionately affected by HIV and socio-structural challenges. Through 46 in-depth interviews with 40 women who were either former or current PrEP users or intended to start PrEP between January
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Impact of the South African Child Support Grant on memory decline and dementia probability in rural and low-income mothers, 2014–2021 Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Erika T. Beidelman, Rishika Chakraborty, Janet Jock, Chodziwadziwa Whiteson Kabudula, Meredith L. Phillips, Kathleen Kahn, Katherine Eyal, Darina T. Bassil, Lisa Berkman, Lindsay C. Kobayashi, Molly Rosenberg
Aging populations across sub-Saharan Africa are rapidly expanding, leading to an increase in the burden of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Cash transfer interventions are one plausible mechanism to combat ADRD at a population-level in low-income settings. We exploited exogenous variation in eligibility for South Africa's Child Support Grant (CSG) to estimate the longitudinal association
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Precision medicine in primary care: How GPs envision “old” and “new” forms of personalization Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Mirjam Pot, Olivia Spalletta, Sara Green
Visions of precision or personalized medicine (PM) are gaining currency around the globe. While the potential of PM in specialist medicine has been in focus, primary care is also considered to be a fruitful area for the application of PM. “Low-tech” forms of personalization and attention to individual patients are already central features of primary care practice, and primary care thus constitutes
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More doctors, better health? A generalised synthetic control approach to estimating impacts of increasing doctors under Brazil's Mais Medicos programme Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-17 Rhys Llewellyn Thomas, Christopher Millett, Ricardo de Sousa Soares, Thomas Hone
Worldwide, there are an insufficient number of primary care physicians to provide accessible, high-quality primary care services. Better knowledge on the health impacts of policies aimed at improving access to primary care physicians is important for informing future policies.
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‘Managing values’ in health economics modelling: Philosophical and practical considerations Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Stephanie Harvard, Eric B. Winsberg
Stakeholder involvement has been proposed as a key strategy for appropriately managing value-laden decisions or ‘value judgments’ in health economics modelling. Philosophers of science, however, conceive of stakeholder involvement in research in conflicting ways, and also propose alternative strategies for ‘managing values’ in science. Furthermore, all proposed strategies for managing values in science
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The relationship between union membership and self-rated health among racially diverse U.S. healthcare workers: The role of control over work schedules and locations Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Alein Y. Haro-Ramos, Ray Block Jr., Gabriel Sanchez
Labor unions are associated with better wages, improved working conditions, and greater worker empowerment, which may result in better health. However, less is known about the relationship between unionization and health among U.S. healthcare workers, whether the relationship differs among racially diverse workers, and how much control over workplace schedules and location mediates the relationship
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Inter-relationships among individual views of COVID-19 control measures across multi-cultural contexts Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-16 Jianwei Huang, Mei-Po Kwan, Zihan Kan, Minh Kieu, Jiyeong Lee, Tim Schwanen, Ikuho Yamada
Individual-level georeferenced data have been widely used in COVID-19 control measures around the world. Recent research observed that there is a trade-off relationship between people's privacy concerns and their acceptance of these control measures. However, whether this trade-off relationship exists across different cultural contexts is still unaddressed. Using data we collected via an international
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Racial capitalism and firearm violence: Developing a theoretical framework for firearm violence research examining structural racism Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-15 Mudia Uzzi, Shannon Whittaker, Michael H. Esposito, Lorraine T. Dean, Shani A. Buggs, Keshia M. Pollack Porter
Despite the early promise of centering structural racism in explanatory models of firearm violence, there are noticeable gaps in what's been produced thus far; in particular, a deeper and more serious engagement with long-standing theories of racism is needed to further enrich our understanding of how structural inequalities produce unequal burdens of firearm-related harms. Thus, building on theories
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Epidemic in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic: News media framing of the MMR vaccination controversy in Serbia Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-15 Marija Brujić
Rising vaccine hesitancy is often related to negative vaccination media coverage. It is generally accepted that the media played a great role in spreading the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) childhood vaccination scare first in the UK and then worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the MMR vaccination rate dropped further in some countries. This paper examines the Serbian news media framing of
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“It's very much part of this movement to undermine democracy”: A qualitative study of European Union level opposition strategies against reproductive health and rights Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-14 Lynda Gilby, Meri Koivusalo
Despite increasing contestations of agreed global commitments on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), our understanding of strategies of opposition in global health policymaking remains limited. This article explores the opposition to SRHR at the European level focusing on the decision-making institutions of the European Union (EU). The central research questions ask i) how SRHR opposition
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Parental perceptions of neighborhood safety and preschool children's outdoor play: An exploration of sex and safety type differences Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-14 Hyewon Son, Jinho Kim
Despite the growing evidence on the influence of neighborhood safety on physical activity, few studies have specifically focused on preschool-aged children and differentiated the various domains of neighborhood safety. This study investigates the relationship between parental perceptions of neighborhood safety and preschool children's time spent outdoors and explores potential sex differences in this
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Infrastructures of epidemic response: Mpox and everyday repair work in southwestern Nigeria Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Megan Schmidt-Sane, Olufunke Adegoke, Syed Abbas, Akanni O. Lawanson, Michael Kunnuji, Ayodele Jegede, Hayley MacGregor
Mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization on 23rd July 2022, however cases of the disease have been detected in Nigeria since the 1970s and more recently since it began spreading in more urban areas of the country from 2017 onward. Nigeria has a strong track record of epidemic preparedness and response
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Transgender lives at the population level: Evidence from Danish administrative data Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Morten Kjær Thomsen, Matvei Andersen, Jane Greve
This paper provides the first rigorous account of the diverse characteristics of transgender individuals at the population level, using data from Danish population registers. We observe three transgender subpopulations within the same national setting: all who changed thier legal sex (T-Legal, = 1,995), all who have been assigned trans-related diagnostic codes (T-ICD, = 1,594), and those who self-identified
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A longitudinal analysis of the effects of COVID-19 on tourists’ health risk perceptions Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Rita R. Carballo, Carmelo J. León, María M. Carballo
The COVID-19 pandemic provoked a large impact on tourism because of the enforcement of harsh travel restrictions and the increased global health risks caused by international mobility. This paper utilizes a longitudinal analysis to tests the impact of COVID-19 on tourists’ health risk perceptions, and their relationships with destination image perception and visiting intentions. Tourists are surveyed
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Equity in national healthcare economic evaluation guidelines: Essential or extraneous? Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-13 Tuba Saygın Avşar, Xiaozhe Yang, Paula Lorgelly
The focus on health maximisation in a healthcare economic evaluation (HEE) – that is health gains are of equal value regardless of the recipient– has significant implications as health systems attempt to address persistent and growing health inequities. This study aimed to systematically compare and contrast the equity principles of different health technology assessment (HTA) agencies and how equity
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Association of low-quality employment with the development of suicidal thought and suicide planning in workers: A longitudinal study in Korea Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Seong-Uk Baek, Jin-Ha Yoon, Yu-Min Lee, Jong-Uk Won
Employment quality stands as a crucial social determinant impacting workers’ health. In this study, we investigate the association between low-quality employment and the emergence of suicidal thoughts and planning. We analyzed data from 7,797 Korean workers, amounting to 30,945 observations. Low-quality employment was characterized by three primary dimensions: employment insecurity, income inadequacy
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The interdependence of caring, safety, and health in correctional settings: Analysis of a survey of security staff in a large county jail system Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Jody Sundt, Keramet Reiter, Brie Williams
The health of incarcerated populations is intertwined with the health of security staff, but the social mechanisms, and especially the specific interventions, that might mitigate these health harms are underexplored. We examine one possible mechanism of interrelated health harms: whether and how jail security staff are willing and able to care for mentally ill detainees. We hypothesize that the attitudes
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The role of Contact-Tracing Mobile Apps in pandemic prevention: A multidisciplinary perspective on health beliefs, social, and technological factors Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Imed Ben Nasr, Galina Kondrateva, Tatiana Khvatova, Wissal Ben Arfi
During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented mobile applications for contact tracing as a rapid and effective solution to mitigate the spread of the virus. However, these seemingly straightforward solutions did not achieve their intended objectives. In line with previous research, this paper aims to investigate the factors that influence the acceptance and usage of contact-tracing mobile
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Polio, public health memories and temporal dissonance of re-emerging infectious diseases in the global north Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Ben Kasstan-Dabush, Stephen A. Flores, Delia Easton, Achal Bhatt, Vanessa Saliba, Tracey Chantler
Social science research on polio has been centred in the global south, where countries that remain endemic or vulnerable to outbreaks are located. However, closely-related strains of poliovirus were detected in the sewage systems of several New York State counties and London boroughs in 2022. These detections constituted the first encounters with polio in the United States and United Kingdom for a
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Examining liminality in professional practice, relational identities, and career prospects in resource-constrained health systems: Findings from an empirical study of medical and nurse interns in Kenya Social Science & Medicine (IF 4.9) Pub Date : 2024-08-10 Yingxi Zhao, Stephanie Nzekwu, Mwanamvua Boga, Daniel Mbuthia, Jacinta Nzinga, Mike English, Sassy Molyneux, Gerry McGivern
We examine new doctors' and nurses' experiences of transitioning from training to practising as health professionals, drawing on the concept of . Liminality is a stage of ‘in-betweenness’, involving uncertainty and ambiguity as people leave one social context and reintegrate into a new one. Surprisingly little research has explored new health professionals' experiences of liminality during role and