Frontiers in Public Health最新文献

Background: Vaping's popularity has particularly increased among young people, with its prevalence varying across different regions, including the Middle East. The health impacts of vaping, especially when initiated early, are a growing concern.

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the correlates of early vaping initiation (EVI) and explored the sociodemographic characteristics and vaping motives influencing EVI among vapers from Arab countries.

Methods: An online cross-sectional survey recruited 428regular vapers, aged 18-60 who resided in Arab countries at the time of the study. Sociodemographic and vaping motives data were collected. Stepwise logistic regression was used to examine the factors associated with EVI.

Results: The study findings revealed that older participants and expats have lower odds of EVI. Males and vapers from Qatar had around 4-5 times the odds of EVI as compared to females and those from Egypt, respectively.

Conclusion: Targeted social marketing and education campaigns may benefit groups at risk of EVI, including residents of Qatar, males, and those who are strongly influenced by social media or who have friends or family members who vape. Reducing EVI is particularly important, as vaping often begins at an early age, and early intervention is vital to prevent early initiation and subsequent addiction.

Introduction: The community environment is a significant social determinant affecting individual mental health.

Purpose: This study explores the impact mechanisms and urban-rural heterogeneity in the relationship between socioeconomic status and individual mental health, focusing on community environmental perceptions and neighborhood interactions.

Methods: This study used data from the 2021 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), selecting a sample of 1,974 respondents. First, a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was employed for path analysis. Second, a bias-corrected nonparametric percentile bootstrap method was used to test for mediation effects and estimate confidence intervals. Finally, the heterogeneity of the mediation model across urban and rural communities was examined based on community type.

Results: The results indicate that socioeconomic status is the primary determinant of mental health disparities. The mechanisms of environmental perception and social interaction play significant roles in bridging health disparities between social classes. Moreover, these mediating effects show considerable urban-rural heterogeneity. Specifically, the environmental perception mechanism has a stronger impact on rural residents, while social interaction mechanisms are more pronounced in urban communities.

Discussion: The study emphasizes the importance of addressing environmental pollution and enhancing community social interactions as key strategies to reduce health disparities. Improving ecological governance and fostering community engagement, are essential for narrowing the health gap across socioeconomic groups.

Background: National survey data show that age- and sex-standardized weight and length measurements decline early in Indian children. In population-level longitudinal data, early detection of growth trajectories is important for the implementation of interventions. We aimed to identify and characterize distinct growth trajectories of Indian children from birth to 12 months of age residing in urban and rural areas.

Methods: Pooled data from four interventional and non-interventional longitudinal studies across India were used for the analysis. Latent class mixed modeling (LCMM) was employed to identify groups of children with similar trajectories over age. The trajectories named Classes of Children were created for length-for-age Z scores (LAZ) and weight-for-age Z scores (WAZ) based on place of birth, residential area, and maternal education.

Results: We identified two latent classes for LAZ in boys and three latent classes for LAZ in girls, and four classes for WAZ were identified in both boys and girls. The first class for LAZ, with the highest proportion of children (>80% of children), did not decline or increase with age; In boys, Class 1 was close to the WHO median, whereas in girls, Class 1 was lower than the WHO median from birth. The LAZ classes of remaining boys and girls declined with age (slope, ${\mu }_{\mathrm{dg}}$ = - 1.04; 95% CI: -1.09, -0.99 for boys and ${\mu }_{\mathrm{dg}}$ = - 0.69; 95% CI: -0.76, -0.63 for girls). The first trajectory of WAZ (approximately 50% of children) for boys ( ${\mu }_{\mathrm{dg}}$ =0.13; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.16) and the second trajectory of WAZ for girls ( ${\mu }_{\mathrm{dg}}$ =0.24; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.30) increased with age, while the remaining trajectories of WAZ declined with age.

Conclusion: There is heterogeneity in the growth of Indian children in the first year of life, which was identified by distinct types of growth trajectories. The predominant trajectories of both LAZ and WAZ did not decline with age, while most other trajectories demonstrated an initial decline.

Background: The prevention and control of public infectious diseases is a significant issue in the global health sector. Controlling infectious diseases is crucial for maintaining public health. As the most populous country in the world, China still faces a series of new challenges in the control of public infectious diseases. Therefore, it is of great significance to conduct an in-depth analysis of the trends in the control of public infectious diseases.

Methodology: This study selects the death rate, incidence rate, proportion of prevention and control funds input, and the proportion of professional technical personnel in China from 2018 to 2023 as research samples and conducts statistical analysis through multiple linear regression. Overall, factors such as the incidence rate, proportion of prevention and control funds input, and proportion of professional technical personnel can explain 98.7% of the trend changes in the infectious disease death rate.

Results: Through multiple regression analysis, the regression coefficient value of 0.001 for the incidence rate indicates a significant positive impact on the mortality rate, meaning that an increase in the incidence of infectious diseases leads to a rise in mortality. The regression coefficient value of -0.012 for the proportion of funding input suggests a significant negative impact on the mortality rate, implying that increased investment in prevention and control funds will correspondingly reduce the mortality rate of infectious diseases. On the other hand, merely increasing the number of professional and technical personnel is not sufficient to control the spread of infectious diseases; comprehensive use of various prevention and control measures is required for effective public infectious disease control.

Conclusion: Public infectious disease prevention and control is a complex process that requires the consideration of multiple factors, rather than merely changing a single factor, particularly in controlling incidence rates and reasonably allocating funds. By refining the analysis of infectious disease control strategies and integrating diverse preventive and intervention measures, it is possible to better control the spread and mortality of infectious diseases, thereby protecting public health and safety.

Introduction: Physical therapy encompasses a broad range of treatment options, often utilized in clinical settings where pharmaceutical interventions are standard. The potential for physical therapy to contribute to sustainable healthcare by reducing environmental impact, while maintaining the quality of care, remains underexplored. This study aimed to map existing research comparing physical therapy to pharmaceuticals, with a specific focus on whether these studies address aspects of sustainable development.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted, systematically searching the PubMed, Cinahl, and Pedro databases using keywords related to physical therapy, pharmaceuticals, and comparative studies. Two assessors independently reviewed and selected relevant studies, followed by data extraction and summarization of results.

Results: A total of 27 studies were included, varying in design, population, and healthcare context. The most commonly addressed conditions were osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal pain, with analgesics being the most frequently studied pharmaceutical interventions. While several studies touched upon economic and social dimensions of sustainable development, none examined environmental sustainability. This highlights a critical gap in current research.

Discussion: Future studies are needed to assess how physical therapy, when compared to pharmaceutical treatments, can contribute to sustainable healthcare by offering a low-carbon, resource-efficient alternative without compromising social sustainability through adverse effects. This knowledge could be instrumental in guiding healthcare systems toward more sustainable practices.

Systematic review registration: A study protocol was registered in Open Science Framework 2023-03-31 (Available from: https://osf.io/we58g).

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1437485.].

Background: Previous studies documented the existence of substantial inequalities in the utilization of maternal health services across different population subgroups in Ethiopia. Regularly monitoring the state of inequality could enhance efforts to address health inequality in the utilization of maternal health services. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the level of inequalities in the utilization of maternal health services in Ethiopia.

Method: The study used data from the Performance Monitoring for Action Ethiopia (PMA Ethiopia) dataset. Longitudinal data was collected from a weighted sample of 1966 postpartum women using multistage stratified cluster sampling techniques between November 2021 to October 2022. We assessed inequality in maternal health services using three indicators: antenatal care four (ANC), skilled birth attendants (SBA), and postnatal care (PNC). Age, economic status, education level, place of residence, and subnational regions were used as dimensions for measuring inequality. The analysis was conducted using Health Equity Assessment Toolkit Plus (HEAT Plus) software. We computed the summary measure of health inequality: Difference (D), Ratio (R), Population Attributable Risk (PAR), and Population Attributable Fraction (PAF).

Result: The simple summary measures of inequality difference (D) reported a high level of inequality in the utilization of maternal health services in ANC four, SBA, and PNC across economic, education, residence, and subnational regions. The difference (D) in maternal health service utilization between advantaged and disadvantaged population groups exceeded 20 percentage points in all four dimensions of inequality for the three maternal health indicators. Similarly, the complex summary measures of inequality (PAR and PAF) also showed high levels of inequality in the utilization of ANC four, SBA, and PNC across all four dimensions of inequality. However, there was no age-related inequality in the use of maternal health services.

Conclusion: A high level of socioeconomic and geographic area related inequality was observed in the utilization of ANC four, SBA, and PNC services in Ethiopia. Women from socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroups and women from disadvantaged geographic areas significantly lagged behind in the utilization of maternal health services. Therefore, implementing targeted interventions for the most disadvantaged groups can help to reduce inequality in accessing maternal health services.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol for the evaluation of programs offered by the Satellite Foundation, designed for, and with, children and young people aged between 8 and 25 years who have family members experiencing mental health challenges. To achieve this, the Social Return on Investment (SROI) method was chosen. SROI is an economic measurement tool used to apply a monetary value to socially situated outcomes. In this study, SROI will be used to provide a means of quantifying the social impact generated by various programs offered by the Satellite Foundation, a community-based mental health organisation. These programs are designed for children and young people who have a family member who experiences mental health challenges, with the aim to promote resilience, hope and connectedness. Given that traditional financial metrics often fail to capture societal benefits, SROI offers a systematic approach to measuring the economic and often intangible social outcomes of any given endeavour. This protocol will describe the SROI method, who the stakeholders are, and how they are engaged. The rationale for the monetisation of outcomes is shown. Other SROI steps are presented, including how impact was established, and the proposed method of calculating the SROI. The limitations and potential benefits of this economic measurement approach are also discussed.