Negotiating the meaning of film for intercultural pastoral work: Tsotsi and the cry for humanity

Acknowledging the fact that stories play a very important role in Africa, it is a given that, with the emphasis on the narrative accent, the medium of film is regarded as an important expression of meaning giving. The award wining movie ''Tsotsi'', by the director Gavin Wood and based on the novel with the same title by Athol Fugard, portrays contemporary South Africa revealing heartbreaking realities of poverty, HIV and / or AIDS and crime. In exploring the fact that films from other countries could be considered as prime vehicles for cultural and religious exploration, not only in content and form, but also in audience reception, the proposed ABDCE-research paradigm for intercultural pastoral work is followed. Accordingly to this paradigm, and concurrent to the narratives portrayed in film, the movements of Action, Background, Development, Climax and Ending could constitute a narrative research paradigm and epistemology. In following this methodology the focus in the paper will be on exploring and describing the background that informed the development of the movie ''Tsotsi'' within the South African context. In the practice of the development of a form of practical wisdom which values the stories of people and communities, it is described how the pastoral paradigm portrayed by film could assist people to give meaning to their humanity

Dietary beliefs in the Baltic republics.

OBJECTIVES: As beliefs and knowledge about the possible effects of foods on health can influence food behaviours, this study examined selected dietary beliefs in the Baltic countries and the association of beliefs related to salt intake and to types of fat with food behaviours. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Data from three surveys conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the summer of 1997 were used to describe the prevalence of dietary beliefs in these countries and to investigate the association between beliefs and behaviours (using logistic regression). SUBJECTS: Representative national samples of adults were selected in each country (Estonia, n = 2018; Latvia, n = 2308; Lithuania, n = 2153). RESULTS: Misunderstood concepts (myths) related to dietary salt, types of fat, meat consumption and bread and potatoes were observed in high proportions of the population. Education level was an important correlate of beliefs related to salt intake and types of fat, people with a higher education level being more likely to be familiar with these issues. Correct beliefs were not consistently associated with healthier behaviours (e.g. less frequent use of salt at the table and use of non-animal fats for cooking), except for salt intake in Estonia. CONCLUSIONS: Several misunderstood dietary concepts (myths) are still prevalent in the Baltic countries. Correct beliefs related to salt intake and types of fat were not consistent predictors of healthier food behaviours. In-depth qualitative investigations are needed to better describe and understand dietary beliefs and attitudes in the Baltic countries, and to identify barriers to the adoption of healthy food habits

WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: body mass index and level of overweight among 6-9-year-old children from school year 2007/2008 to school year 2009/2010.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe has established the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) to monitor changes in overweight in primary-school children. The aims of this paper are to present the anthropometric results of COSI Round 2 (2009/2010) and to explore changes in body mass index (BMI) and overweight among children within and across nine countries from school years 2007/2008 to 2009/2010. METHODS: Using cross-sectional nationally representative samples of 6-9-year-olds, BMI, anthropometric Z-scores and overweight prevalence were derived from measured weight and height. Significant changes between rounds were assessed using variance and t-tests analyses. RESULTS: At Round 2, the prevalence of overweight (including obesity; WHO definitions) ranged from 18% to 57% among boys and from 18% to 50% among girls; 6 - 31% of boys and 5 - 21% of girls were obese. Southern European countries had the highest overweight prevalence. Between rounds, the absolute change in mean BMI (range: from -0.4 to +0.3) and BMI-for-age Z-scores (range: from -0.21 to +0.14) varied statistically significantly across countries. The highest significant decrease in BMI-for-age Z-scores was found in countries with higher absolute BMI values and the highest significant increase in countries with lower BMI values. The highest significant decrease in overweight prevalence was observed in Italy, Portugal and Slovenia and the highest significant increase in Latvia and Norway. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in BMI and prevalence of overweight over a two-year period varied significantly among European countries. It may be that countries with higher prevalence of overweight in COSI Round 1 have implemented interventions to try to remedy this situation

Augsta riska uzvedības psihoemocionālās determinantes 15 gadu veciem pusaudžiem Latvijā.

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Association between road safety habits and risky health behaviours in Latvian adult population

The study examined the road safety habits of the adult population of Latvia in relation to risky health behaviours (smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, no regular health check-ups at the family doctor). Data of Health Behaviour among the Latvian Adult Population for five consecutive surveys for the years 2010–2018 were analysed. Results: The use of seat belts has increased slightly – from 93.5% to 95.6% in the front seat of the vehicle, from 52.4% to 56.3% in the rear seat of the vehicle (p < 0,001). Of the 10,731 respondents, 30.8% (N = 3309; 95% CI 30.0–31.7) were daily smokers, 14.8% (N = 1593; 95% CI 14.2–15.5) had excessive alcohol consumption habits, 25.9% (N = 2779; 95% CI 25.1–26.7) had not visited their family doctor during the last year. Higher odds for seat belt use were observed among respondents without excessive alcohol consumption (OR = 2.1), non-smokers (OR = 1.5–1.8), and those, who had visited their family doctor last year (OR = 1.2–1.3). Multivariate regression analysis showed risky behaviour is an independent factor associated with road safety habits.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Association of self-rated health, life satisfaction and mental health difficulties in Latvian adolescents

Mental health difficulties are highly prevalent in adolescent populations, but often unrecognised and untreated. The aim of the study was to investigate self-rated health and life-satisfaction as a possible proxy indicator of mental health difficulties in Latvian adolescents. The study was conducted using data from the international Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study year 2017/2018 database. HBSC in 2017/2018 included a mental health-screening instrument - The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which is a brief behavioural screening questionnaire for 3-16 year olds. SDQ results were classified as abnormal, and indicative of significant mental health difficulties, if 22 points and higher were reached on the SDQ total difficulties score (results above the 90th centile). A binomial logistic regression model was used to explore the link between self-rated health, life-satisfaction and mental health difficulties, adjusting for sociodemographic factors (sex, age, ethnicity and socioeconomic status). The sample consisted of 4412 adolescents age 11, 13 and 15. 2224 (50,4%) were girls. Girls in the sample had 1,33 times higher odds (CI 1,07-1,66) [Office1] of reporting significant mental health difficulties. Adolescents who evaluated their socioeconomic status as low had 2,44 times higher odds (CI 1,62-3,69) of reporting significant mental health difficulties. The results of the regression model indicated that even after controlling for sociodemographic factors, adolescents that did not rate their health as good or excellent had 2,56 times higher odds (CI 2,00-3,29), and adolescents with low life satisfaction (0-6 on a 10 point scale) had 3,06 times higher odds (CI 2,39-3,93) of reporting significant mental health difficulties. Poor self-rated health and life satisfaction are important predictors of significant mental health difficulties in the adolescent population. It is recommended to screen adolescents reporting poor self-rated health and life satisfaction in general medical practice for previously undiagnosed mental health difficulties.publishersversionPeer reviewe

WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative: Impact of Type of Clothing Worn during Anthropometric Measurements and Timing of the Survey on Weight and Body Mass Index Outcome Measures in 6–9-Year-Old Children

Background. The World Health Organization European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI) conducted examinations in 6–9-year-old children from 16 countries in the first two rounds of data collection. Allowing participating countries to adhere to their local legal requirements or adapt to other circumstances required developing a flexible protocol for anthropometric procedures. Objectives. (1) Review intercountry variation in types of clothing worn by children during weight and height measurements, clothes weight adjustments applied, timing of the survey, and duration of data collection; (2) assess the impact of the observed variation in these practices on the children’s weight or body mass index (BMI) outcome measures. Results. The relative difference between countries’ unadjusted and clothes-adjusted prevalence estimates for overweight was 0.3–11.5%; this figure was 1.4–33.3% for BMI-for-age Z-score values. Monthly fluctuations in mean BMI-for-age Z-score values did not show a systematic seasonal effect. The majority of the monthly BMI-for-age Z-score values did not differ statistically within a country; only 1–3 monthly values were statistically different within some countries. Conclusions. The findings of the present study suggest that the built-in flexibility in the COSI protocol concerning the data collection practices addressed in the paper can be kept and thus do not necessitate a revision of the COSI protocol.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Self-reported suicidal behaviours and associated factors in the general population of Latvia (2010-2018)

Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the CDPC of Latvia and Ministry of Health of Republic of Latvia for funding and implementing the original study. We would like to thank Editage ( www.editage.com ) for English language editing. Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the publication of this article: this work was supported by The European Social Fund and Latvian state budget within the project ‘Support for involving doctoral students in scientific research and studies’ [grant number 8.2.2.0/20/I/004] at Riga Stradins University. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2023.BACKGROUND: Latvia has the second highest suicide rate in the European Union - with a total population age-standardized suicide rate of 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants. AIMS: We aimed to assess the prevalence of different types of self-reported suicidal behaviours in Latvia and determine the associated sociodemographic and health-related factors. METHODS: This study was based on secondary data obtained from the Health Behaviour Among Latvian Adult Population survey. A representative sample of the general population was used, aged 15 to 64 years in 2010, 2012, 2014; and 15 to 74 years in 2016 and 2018 ( n  = 16,084). Respondents were asked to report the occurrence of life weariness, death wishes, suicidal ideation, suicidal plans and suicide attempts during the previous year. We assessed socio-demographics and health-related factors associated with suicidality. We performed univariate analysis and constructed stepwise multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: In 2010 to 2018, 15.6% of responders reported some type of suicidal behaviour (95% CI [15.1, 16.2]). Sociodemographic factors - including non-cohabitation status and Latvian nationality - were associated with mild (life-weariness and death wishes) and serious (suicidal ideation, plans to commit suicide, suicide attempts) types of behaviour. Older age was associated with mild suicidal behaviours, whereas lower educational levels were associated with serious suicidal behaviours. Diagnosed depression, self-reported depression, self-reported anxiety, stress, low mood, alcohol intake habits with heavy drinking episodes (less than monthly, monthly and weekly), perceived health as average or below average, disuse of primary health services were associated with mild and serious types of suicidal behaviour. Current smoking status and absenteeism were associated with mild suicidal behaviour types. Self-reported insomnia, having at least two somatic diagnoses, occasional smoking status, absenteeism with 11 or more days in the last year, receiving disability pension were associated with serious suicidal behaviour types. Musculoskeletal diseases exhibited preventive effects. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that certain groups of individuals might exhibit greater vulnerability to suicidality.Peer reviewe

Iron Status in Pregnant Women in Latvia : An Epidemiological, Cross-Sectional, Multicenter Study According to WHO and UK Criteria

Funding Information: The study was initiated by a WHO/Europe grant. Further investigations were funded by the Latvian Council of Science project “Excess weight, dietary habits and vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acid status in pregnancy, project No. lzp-2019/1-0335”. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.Background and Objectives: During pregnancy, iron deficiency anaemia is a common problem associated with health risks for both the mother and her foetus/infant. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of iron deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia, and related dietary patterns in pregnant women in Latvia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, multicentre study included pregnancy data from 974 women. The sample selection was based on the stratification principle (population of women of childbearing age in regions of Latvia). Maternal demographic details, anthropometric measurements, iron status, dietary patterns, and supplementation information were obtained from maternal files and during interviews held in eight outpatient departments of medical institutions and maternity departments. The prevalence was assessed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to identify associations between iron deficiency and sociodemographic characteristics, dietary patterns, and iron supplement intake during pregnancy. The criterion used for the diagnosis of iron deficiency anaemia is a Hb level < 110 g/L in the 1st and 3rd trimesters and <105 g/L during the 2nd trimester as recommended by the WHO. However, the UK guideline was used for borderline iron deficiency, which is an SF level < 30 μg/L in all trimesters. Results: The observed prevalence of anaemia was 2.8% in the first trimester, 7.9% in the second trimester, and 27.0% in the third trimester. The prevalence of iron deficiency was 46.7% in the first trimester, 78.1% in the second trimester, and 91.7% in the third trimester. No associations with dietary patterns were found. Single women had 1.85 times the odds (95% CI 1.07 to 3.18) of being anaemic than married women. Conclusions: Iron deficiency affects a large proportion of pregnant women in Latvia in all trimesters, with iron deficiency anaemia affecting pregnant women in the third trimester. Monitoring and intervention should be performed in a timely and more targeted manner.publishersversionPeer reviewe