The Effect of the L'Aquila Earthquake on Labour Market Outcomes

In this paper we analyse the effects of the L'Aquila earthquake on labour market outcomes for a period of fifteen months after its occurrence. Our estimates are based on a difference-in-differences strategy that compares residents of L'Aquila with residents of a control area before and after the earthquake. Three main results emerge from our empirical analysis: (1) the earthquake led to a modest, but significant, reduction in the probability of participating in the labour force for a period of nine months after the event; (2) while the employment likelihood decreased in the quarter immediately after the earthquake, it increased in the next four quarters; and (3) there is evidence of significant heterogeneous effects by gender and level of education

Foodways in transition: food plants, diet and local perceptions of change in a Costa Rican Ngäbe community

Background Indigenous populations are undergoing rapid ethnobiological, nutritional and socioeconomic transitions while being increasingly integrated into modernizing societies. To better understand the dynamics of these transitions, this article aims to characterize the cultural domain of food plants and analyze its relation with current day diets, and the local perceptions of changes given amongst the Ngäbe people of Southern Conte-Burica, Costa Rica, as production of food plants by its residents is hypothesized to be drastically in recession with an decreased local production in the area and new conservation and development paradigms being implemented. Methods Extensive freelisting, interviews and workshops were used to collect the data from 72 participants on their knowledge of food plants, their current dietary practices and their perceptions of change in local foodways, while cultural domain analysis, descriptive statistical analyses and development of fundamental explanatory themes were employed to analyze the data. Results Results show a food plants domain composed of 140 species, of which 85 % grow in the area, with a medium level of cultural consensus, and some age-based variation. Although many plants still grow in the area, in many key species a decrease on local production–even abandonment–was found, with much reduced cultivation areas. Yet, the domain appears to be largely theoretical, with little evidence of use; and the diet today is predominantly dependent on foods bought from the store (more than 50 % of basic ingredients), many of which were not salient or not even recognized as ‘food plants’ in freelists exercises. While changes in the importance of food plants were largely deemed a result of changes in cultural preferences for store bought processed food stuffs and changing values associated with farming and being food self-sufficient, Ngäbe were also aware of how changing household livelihood activities, and the subsequent loss of knowledge and use of food plants, were in fact being driven by changes in social and political policies, despite increases in forest cover and biodiversity. Conclusions Ngäbe foodways are changing in different and somewhat disconnected ways: knowledge of food plants is varied, reflecting most relevant changes in dietary practices such as lower cultivation areas and greater dependence on food from stores by all families. We attribute dietary shifts to socioeconomic and political changes in recent decades, in particular to a reduction of local production of food, new economic structures and agents related to the State and globalization

The epidemiological transition in Antananarivo, Madagascar: an assessment based on death registers (1900–2012)

Background: Madagascar today has one of the highest life expectancies in sub-Saharan Africa, despite being among the poorest countries in the continent. There are relatively few detailed accounts of the epidemiological transition in this country due to the lack of a comprehensive death registration system at the national level. However, in Madagascar's capital city, death registration was established around the start of the 20th century and is now considered virtually complete. Objective: We provide an overview of trends in all-cause and cause-specific mortality in Antananarivo to document the timing and pace of the mortality decline and the changes in the cause-of-death structure. Design: Death registers covering the period 1976–2012 were digitized and the population at risk of dying was estimated from available censuses and surveys. Trends for the period 1900–1976 were partly reconstructed from published sources. Results: The crude death rate stagnated around 30‰ until the 1940s in Antananarivo. Mortality declined rapidly after the World War II and then resurged again in the 1980s as a result of the re-emergence of malaria and the collapse of Madagascar's economy. Over the past 30 years, impressive gains in life expectancy have been registered thanks to the unabated decline in child mortality, despite political instability, a lasting economic crisis and the persistence of high rates of chronic malnutrition. Progress in adult survival has been more modest because reductions in infectious diseases and diseases of the respiratory system have been partly offset by increases in cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, and other diseases, particularly at age 50 years and over. Conclusions: The transition in Antananarivo has been protracted and largely dependent on anti-microbial and anti-parasitic medicine. The capital city now faces a double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The ongoing registration of deaths in the capital generates a unique database to evaluate the performance of the health system and measure intervention impacts

Social Network Types and Acute Stroke Preparedness Behavior

Objectives: Presence of informal social networks has been associated with favorable health and behaviors, but whether different types of social networks impact on different health outcomes remains largely unknown. We examined the associations of different social network types (marital dyad, household, friendship, and informal community networks) with acute stroke preparedness behavior. We hypothesized that marital dyad best matched the required tasks and is the most effective network type for this behavior. Methods: We collected in-person interview and medical record data for 1,077 adults diagnosed with stroke and transient ischemic attack. We used logistic regression analyses to examine the association of each social network with arrival at the emergency department (ED) within 3 h of stroke symptoms. Results: Adjusting for age, race-ethnicity, education, gender, transportation type to ED and vascular diagnosis, being married or living with a partner was significantly associated with early arrival at the ED (odds ratio = 2.0, 95% confidence interval: 1.2–3.1), but no significant univariate or multivariate associations were observed for household, friendship, and community networks. Conclusions: The marital/partnership dyad is the most influential type of social network for stroke preparedness behavior

Ethnic and gender specific life expectancies of the Singapore population, 1965 to 2009 - Converging, or diverging?

10.1186/1471-2458-13-1012BMC Public Health131

Having a lot of a good thing: multiple important group memberships as a source of self-esteem.

Copyright: © 2015 Jetten et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedMembership in important social groups can promote a positive identity. We propose and test an identity resource model in which personal self-esteem is boosted by membership in additional important social groups. Belonging to multiple important group memberships predicts personal self-esteem in children (Study 1a), older adults (Study 1b), and former residents of a homeless shelter (Study 1c). Study 2 shows that the effects of multiple important group memberships on personal self-esteem are not reducible to number of interpersonal ties. Studies 3a and 3b provide longitudinal evidence that multiple important group memberships predict personal self-esteem over time. Studies 4 and 5 show that collective self-esteem mediates this effect, suggesting that membership in multiple important groups boosts personal self-esteem because people take pride in, and derive meaning from, important group memberships. Discussion focuses on when and why important group memberships act as a social resource that fuels personal self-esteem.This study was supported by 1. Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT110100238) awarded to Jolanda Jetten (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 2. Australian Research Council Linkage Grant (LP110200437) to Jolanda Jetten and Genevieve Dingle (see http://www.arc.gov.au) 3. support from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Social Interactions, Identity and Well-Being Program to Nyla Branscombe, S. Alexander Haslam, and Catherine Haslam (see http://www.cifar.ca)

Applying market shaping approaches to increase access to assistive technology in low- and middle-income countries

Development outcomes are inextricably linked to the health of the marketplace that delivers products and services to people in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Shortcomings in the market for assistive technology (AT) contribute to low access in LMIC. Market shaping is aimed at improving a market's specific outcomes, such as access to high quality, affordable AT, by targeting the root causes of these shortcomings. The paper summarizes the findings of market analyses conducted under the UK aid funded AT2030 programme in support of ATscale and aims to discuss how market shaping can help more people gain access to the AT that they need and what are the best mechanisms to unlock markets and commercial opportunity in LMICs. The paper also explores how market shaping for AT markets could be part of a mission-oriented approach AT policy. A mission-oriented approach can help accelerate progress toward a common objective among stakeholders, at country or global level. While market-shaping activities direct the outcomes of the market toward a specific end goal, such as access to quality, affordable products and services, missions are more comprehensive and include other policy interventions and stakeholder collaborations in order to create a robust and sustainable structure

Impact of interventions to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake in children and adults: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been stressed as relevant targets of public health interventions considering the negative outcomes derived from their excessive intake. Though the evidence from published literature grows to support a cause-and-effect association of SSBs with obesity and other diseases, little is known on the effectiveness that strategies alone or as part of multi-component programmes have had to influence this particular dietary behaviour across all ages. Therefore, this review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the effect that interventions have had to decrease their consumption or increase water intake in children and adults so as to guide the design of future programmes and inform policy making. Methods: Included studies in this review will be randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental interventions (with a control group) that have reported baseline and post-intervention intakes of SSBs or water and that have been published from 1990 in any language. A thorough search will be performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane's central register of controlled trials, and the Global Health Library. Two independent reviewers will conduct initial screening of potentially included articles and will later extract data to analyse domains of intervention design and delivery (with emphasis on behaviour change techniques used as rationale), as well as results in changes on consumption patterns and behavioural determinants. Internal and external validity of each study will also be appraised. A meta-analysis will be performed if a sufficient number of studies are available, and if not, a narrative review will be conducted instead. Discussion: The results from this review aim to strengthen public health initiatives tackling obesity through improvements in non-alcoholic drinking patterns. As a subject of growing attention globally, this review will help determine which strategies available are the most effective in different contexts. Knowledge gained from this work will also aid resource allocation in future research and government agendas