Social Science & Medicine最新文献

{"title":"The commodification of human milk: Analysing corporate practices and policy implications using the UCSF Industry Documents Library","authors":"Sarah L. Steele ,&nbsp;Noah C.A. Cooke ,&nbsp;David Stuckler ,&nbsp;Adam Kamradt-Scott","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118875","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118875","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Commercialising human milk-based products (HMBPs) poses complex public health, ethical, and regulatory challenges for governments around the world. This study investigates the corporate strategies of the HMBP industry through a qualitative analysis of industry documents obtained from the University of California, San Francisco's Industry Documents Library. The analysis identifies how HMBP companies construct markets by positioning their products as essential to neonatal care and leveraging scientific narratives and professional networks to expand market dominance. These practices include embedding corporate interests in public health messaging and knowingly competing with non-profit milk donation systems. The findings reveal tensions between profit-driven innovation and equitable access to healthcare. The study highlights parallels with other health-related industries, where intellectual property (IP) and market control can deepen inequity. To address these issues, the study emphasises the need for stronger regulatory oversight, enhanced transparency in corporate practices, and support for public milk banking systems. By situating HMBPs within the Commercial Determinants of Health framework, this research provides policymakers and public health advocates with critical insights to safeguard equity in maternal-infant healthcare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 118875"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193047","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Living through the collapse: Post-traumatic adaptation after a mining disaster in Turkey","authors":"Emel Genç,&nbsp;Kübra Baldan,&nbsp;Nalan Göktekin","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mining accidents are traumatic events that can lead to profound physical, psychological, and relational consequences for workers. In Turkey, frequent mining disasters occur due to high-risk working conditions and inadequate safety measures. While existing literature has explored the traumatic impact of such accidents, there is limited research focusing on the post-traumatic recovery processes of miners who survive these events. This study examines miners' challenges following a disaster, their coping strategies, and potential psychological recovery and growth indicators. Using a phenomenological approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted during the Spring 2025 semester with 11 miners who survived the explosion at the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise in Amasra, Bartın, on October 14, 2022. Thematic analysis, supported by MAXQDA software, revealed three main themes: (1) Multidimensional Impact of the Explosion (including physical injuries, emotional and cognitive reactions, and interpersonal effects), (2) Navigating Life in the Aftermath (including workplace safety perceptions, grief and loss, changes in responsibilities, and emotional adjustment), and (3) Pathways to Posttraumatic Growth (including strengthened family bonds, increased spirituality, existential insight, and observable behavioral changes). Findings suggest that while miners experienced severe psychological distress, many were also able to develop resilience and find meaning in their experiences, indicating the coexistence of both suffering and growth. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to the development of post-trauma support services for miners and offer insights into resilience and recovery in high-risk occupational contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 119066"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mass incarceration and its spillover effects: a scoping review of incarceration rates and health","authors":"Louisa W. Holaday ,&nbsp;Karenna K. Thomas ,&nbsp;Jaelen I. King ,&nbsp;Alyssa A. Grimshaw ,&nbsp;Jessica T. Simes ,&nbsp;Emily A. Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Evidence suggests that mass incarceration has had negative population health effects not only through those directly impacted, but through “spillover” onto families and more broadly. We scope the literature to synthesize findings across disciplines and health outcomes.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We searched 10 medical databases for quantitative studies published from January 01, 1990 to 04/24/2024 examining the association between incarceration rates and outcomes of physical health, mental health, or social determinants of health. We grouped findings by health outcome and differentiated by geographic level, demographic subgroups, and type of carceral exposure (jail versus prison).</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We identified 70 studies at geographic levels ranging from census block to country. Sixty found a positive independent association between incarceration rates and poor health outcomes. Evidence was strongest for premature mortality, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and adverse birth outcomes. Few studies investigated chronic conditions or mechanisms underlying the association between incarceration rates and health. Effect sizes were largest at the neighborhood level. Almost two-thirds of studies were high quality, and quality was primarily limited by data availability.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>There is substantial evidence that as incarceration rates increase, population health worsens. Strong evidence of spillover to never-incarcerated individuals is demonstrated by significant associations in multilevel models accounting for personal and household incarceration, negative outcomes in babies and children too young to be incarcerated, and stronger effects observed among women, who are far less likely to be incarcerated than men. Reducing incarceration rates may reduce STIs even among those never incarcerated. Further research is needed into chronic conditions and the mechanisms underlying identified associations, which would be facilitated by improved data access.</div></div><div><h3>Policy implications</h3><div>Federal, state, and county actors should make neighborhood-level incarceration and crime data available, carceral facilities should institute opt-out STI testing, and cities should make STI testing easily available in high incarceration neighborhoods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 118964"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146158660","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring gender disparities in cognitive performance in later life: The role of social participation across European welfare regimes","authors":"Alina Schmitz ,&nbsp;Martina Brandt ,&nbsp;Michal Levinsky ,&nbsp;Melanie Wagner ,&nbsp;Ella Cohn-Schwartz","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119070","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study advances cross-national research on gender and cognitive aging by introducing an index to identify individuals at risk of low cognitive performance, based on standardized tests of recall and verbal fluency. It examines gender disparities across welfare regimes, highlighting social integration, measured by a comprehensive index of close and extended social ties and activities, as a key modifiable factor. Using Wave 9 of the <em>Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe</em> (SHARE), we analyzed data from adults aged 50+ across 27 countries (n = 62,760), grouped into four welfare regimes. Bivariate statistics show that women had a significantly lower prevalence of below-average cognitive performance than men in the social-democratic and post-socialist regimes. No gender disparities were observed in the conservative and familialistic regimes. With respect to social integration, gender differences were relatively low in social-democratic and conservative regimes. By contrast, gender gaps emerged in familialistic and post-socialist regimes, where women were overrepresented at the lowest level of integration and more men reached higher levels. Multivariable logistic regression models show that after adjusting for social integration, women also had a cognitive advantage in the conservative and familialistic regimes, suggesting that social integration partially explains gender disparities in cognition, particularly in contexts characterized by traditional gender roles. These findings underscore the importance of the societal context and social integration in shaping cognitive aging for both women and men, and indicate potential for promoting cognition through social integration in several countries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 119070"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146158961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Early-life adversity and problem drinking in adulthood: Improving on the measurement of adverse childhood experiences","authors":"Shenyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Adam M. Lippert","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119056","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119056","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Excessive alcohol consumption poses significant public health concerns, contributing to adverse health, social, and economic outcomes. Prior research has established a strong link between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and problem drinking in adulthood, yet limitations in measurement approaches and an incomplete understanding of moderating factors persist. This study refines the measurement of ACEs using a two-parameter Item Response Theory (IRT) model and multiple plausible values to capture item-level differences in adversity severity and propagate measurement uncertainty, and investigates the moderating role of perceived social support in the association between childhood adversity (CA) scores and problem drinking among U.S. adults. Drawing on cross-sectional data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), survey-weighted quasibinomial logistic regression models show that higher CA scores are associated with greater likelihood of problem drinking, and that adults reporting both higher CA scores and low perceived social support have the highest predicted probabilities of problem drinking. These findings highlight how past adversity and current perceived support are jointly patterned with problem drinking and illustrate how psychometric approaches can strengthen ACE measurement in population health research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 119056"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sauna culture improves physical and mental wellbeing in the UK through social connection and ritual","authors":"M. Newson ,&nbsp;R. McGrath ,&nbsp;I. Mosina ,&nbsp;G. Reason ,&nbsp;L. Peitz","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119061","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119061","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sauna culture is experiencing rapid global growth, yet beyond physical health benefits, remains largely understudied within academic research. We investigate both its physical and mental health benefits in the UK using the Social Cure model in conjunction with a ritual lens to understand how feelings of connection grow via sauna. Across three studies (<em>N</em> = 1,907), we explored the role of social identities in shaping wellbeing outcomes among sauna users. Studies 1 and 3 employed longitudinal designs, revealing increases in emotional wellbeing over time, while Study 2 used a cross-sectional approach and showed that stronger sauna identities were associated with self-reported improvements in both physical and emotional wellbeing. Study 3 further demonstrated that perceiving sauna use as a ritual, alongside experiencing emotional synchrony during sauna sessions, was positively linked to stronger sauna identities. Together, these findings suggest that the social and ritual aspects of sauna use may contribute to its wellbeing effects, with potential implications for sauna operators in the UK and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"394 ","pages":"Article 119061"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146182845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Disrupting the information order in health care: Institutions, policy regimes, and the value of data","authors":"Denise Anthony ,&nbsp;Amanda Stanhaus","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyzes how U.S. healthcare organizations view regulatory changes to the accessibility of patient health information as part of the <em>21</em>st <em>Century Cures Act</em>. Rulemaking for the <em>Cures Act</em> recommended a technical change that would enable vendors in the consumer marketplace outside the institutional context and special data protections of health care to gain access to private patient data. We examine organizational stakeholders’ comments during the Notice of Public Rulemaking to show how organizational actors both inside and outside of health care use the institutional values and relationships of health care versus the market to evaluate the impact of the technical change. Healthcare insiders use professional ethics and doctor-patient relationships to defend the <em>status quo</em> of data protections in health care. Outsiders, such as consumer health apps, use the logic and relationships of the marketplace to challenge clinical control of patient information as well as data protections and property rights over patient health data. Technical change alone does not alter the information order of health care, but it creates an opening to challenge the existing meaning and management of information and thereby potentially disrupt established institutions in health care in the United States.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 119023"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193048","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy poverty consequences of aggressive tobacco tax policies","authors":"MohammadHossein Hadi ,&nbsp;Dennis Petrie ,&nbsp;Umair Khalil","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper presents the first empirical evidence linking tobacco tax policies to unintended social consequences in the form of increased energy poverty. We focus on Australia, where smokers face some of the world's highest cigarette prices. We analyse an unanticipated aggressive tax regime implemented in 2010 using a difference-in-differences approach with a nationally representative panel dataset covering 14 years. Our findings indicate significant increases in the incidence of energy poverty among smoking households. Relative to the smoking cohort's pre-policy mean, subjective reports of heating difficulties rose by 24 %, while objective measures increased by 38 % (10 % energy-burden threshold), 15 % (twice-median burden), and 26 % under the Low-Income High Costs (LIHC) measure. Mechanism analyses indicate that reduced energy expenditures and compromised financial stability exacerbate the observed energy poverty. The impacts were particularly pronounced among lower-income families, heavy smokers, and individuals who find quitting hard. This research highlights the complex trade-offs involved in aggressive tobacco taxation and emphasises the need for targeted measures to mitigate the negative consequences on the energy well-being of vulnerable smokers and their families.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 119002"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does aggressive policing worsen infant health disparities? Evidence from ‘Stop and Frisk’ in New York City","authors":"Nicole S. Ngo ,&nbsp;James Rising","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118943","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.118943","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Racism in the U.S. is considered a major public health threat, yet the impact of racial profiling and aggressive policing on health disparities has received less attention in the public policy literature. The Stop, Question, and Frisk program (SQF) in New York City was ruled unconstitutional in 2013 due to racial biases in policing, specifically toward Black and Hispanic communities. While the original intent was to enhance public safety, there are concerns SQF did the opposite by generating distrust and anxiety in communities where it was viewed as racial profiling. Consequently, we investigate the impacts of police stops on a key indicator of public safety and social welfare: infant health. We use restricted infant health data from September 2006 to the end of 2013 and merge this information with detailed data on a mother's community exposure to police stops at the zip code-birth month-year level in New York City. Results show an increase in community exposure to police stops of 10% is associated with a modest, but robust reduction in birth weight of 1.9 g for non-Hispanic Black mothers. We also find small, negative effects on Apgar 5 scores for all mothers. These results are robust to several checks for selection and omitted variable bias, as well as to alternative specifications and falsification tests. Our findings have important implications for both public safety and reducing the gap in racial health disparities, suggesting that even mothers who do not have direct interactions with police could still be modestly impacted by SQF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"395 ","pages":"Article 118943"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146193274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimating the harms from smoking and second-hand smoke exposure in social housing: a modelling study.","authors":"Samantha Howe, Tim Wilson, Kylie Morphett, Kate Mason, Germaine Lai, Vaughan W Rees, Driss Ait Ouakrim","doi":"10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2026.119197","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>People living in social housing in Australia have higher prevalence of daily smoking and greater exposure to second-hand smoke (SHS), particularly in multi-unit housing where smoke can drift between dwellings. The health impact of this exposure has not been quantified for this population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We developed a Monte-Carlo matrix model of household SHS exposure, including smoke drift between dwellings in multi-unit housing, and linked it to the SHINE Tobacco simulation platform. The model projected health outcomes for the population living in social housing in the state of Victoria, Australia, over 20 years as an open cohort, and over the lifetime of a closed cohort, comparing scenarios that eradicated SHS exposure and/or smoking with a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario of constant smoking rates. Outcomes were health-adjusted life years (HALYs) gained, and premature deaths averted across 31 smoking-attributable and eight SHS-attributable diseases.</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Eradicating SHS exposure within the social housing population of Victoria in 2025 could result in 5350 HALYs (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 4670-6120) gained, and 600 premature deaths (95% UI 500-700) averted from 2025 to 2044 in the open cohort. In multi-unit housing, about half of the SHS-related health gain was attributable to eliminating smoke drift between units. Overall, SHS eradication accounted for approximately 27% of the total health gain achievable if tobacco smoking were fully eradicated in this setting.</p><p><strong>Interpretation: </strong>Reducing SHS exposure in social housing would deliver substantial health benefits, with a large share resulting from preventing smoke drift in multi-unit housing. Better data on population dynamics and smoke infiltration would strengthen estimates and support policy design.</p>","PeriodicalId":49122,"journal":{"name":"Social Science & Medicine","volume":"398 ","pages":"119197"},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147494350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}