Journal of Public Health Policy最新文献

This study explores Taiwanese' perspectives on the potential legalization of surrogacy, an issue with diverse legal stances globally. Conducted between 17 December 2023 and 1 January 2024, this mixed-methods cross-sectional study employed Knowledge and Attitudes of Legalizing Surrogacy (KALS) questionnaire. This instrument assessed opinions and ethical considerations on various aspects including ethics and children's rights, surrogate health, offspring welfare, and social justice. Responses were quantitatively measured on a 5-point scale (with higher scores indicating more accurate knowledge or stronger perceived impact of surrogacy on society) supplemented by qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses. Out of 7780 predominantly female participants (82.8%), all scores were higher for those did not support the legalization of surrogacy (82.1% of respondents). Noteworthy concerns were raised about potential repercussions of legalizing surrogacy, underscoring the need for broader public education before any legal reforms are implemented. There is significant apprehension about surrogacy legalization in Taiwan, especially regarding its impact on women's health and children's welfare.

In Ghana and many other sub-Saharan African countries gambling advertising has become pervasive due to weak regulations that allow gambling operators to zealously promote their products as a risk-free way to make money. In this commentary, we provide a public health perspective based on document analysis of the Ghana Gaming Commission's guidelines on advertisements, and recommendations for strengthening Ghana's gambling regulatory environment. With the industry intensifying its focus on new markets to grow and sustain profits, and new global players entering Ghana's market, the competition for market share will most likely intensify with an associated and aggressive increase in gambling advertising. Accordingly, a strengthened gambling advertising regulation underpinned by public health principles is required to restrict advertising across all forms of media and regulate advertising content. The next step for public health action should focus on advocating for new gambling advertising regulations and a review of the Gaming (gambling) Act.

This review evaluates the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing loneliness across all age groups. Studies were eligible if alleviation of loneliness was one of ≤ 3 aims, and loneliness was assessed pre- and post-intervention using a validated quantitative measure. Random-effects meta-analyses of standardised mean differences (SMD) assessed pre-post-intervention differences in loneliness, including comparing control and intervention groups. A comprehensive search of peer-reviewed and grey literature sources identified 95 studies covering 101 interventions. Psychological interventions had the largest SMD effect size (n = 23: - 0.79 [95%CI: - 1.19, - 0.38]), followed by social interaction-based interventions (n = 23; - 0.50 [- 0.78, - 0.17]), social support-based interventions (n = 46; - 0.34 [- 0.45, - 0.22]), and finally interventions involving multiple themes (n = 9). Findings highlight the effectiveness of psychological and social interaction strategies in reducing loneliness. Future research should address gaps related to intervention types and populations, emphasising randomised controlled designs. Policymakers and practitioners can use these insights to prioritise interventions fostering social connections and psychological support across diverse settings.

To implement evidence-based health policy, public health researchers need to be equipped with the necessary skills or knowledge to engage with policymakers effectively. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration (TX RPC) training on public health professionals and to compare the effectiveness of different training delivery modes (in-person or web-based). In the study, 59 researchers received training to increase their capacity for interacting with legislators and completed pre- and post-training surveys assessing three scales: self-efficacy, knowledge, and training needs. To determine researchers' pre- and post-training changes, we applied paired t tests. Two-sample t tests were used to compare the differences in outcomes between the two training modes. Researchers showed significant improvement in reported policy and knowledge of the legislative process and reported reduced perceived training needs for both delivery modes. The TX RPC training prepared researchers for interacting with legislators by increasing their policy-related self-efficacy and knowledge.

Despite legislative efforts, tobacco smoking prevalence among European adolescents remains high and heterogeneous between countries. While tobacco control policies, often assessed using Tobacco Control Scale (TCS), have been studied in adults, their influence on preventing adolescent smoking initiation remains unknown. This ecological study investigates the correlation between tobacco control policies implementation and adolescents smoking behavior across 25 European countries. Correlation analyses were conducted using TCS scores from 2005 to 2016, and 2007 to 2019 data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs. Total TCS scores inversely correlated with adolescents' smoking prevalence, as did the prohibition of tobacco advertising. The effect of prices increases have progressively faded, as bans on smoking in public spaces. Information campaigns are poorly implemented, and treatments for addiction do not show effect on adolescents. Besides further raises in cigarette prices, policies should target the smoking social perception to curb adolescent tobacco use.

This study examines the relationship between vaccine mandates and public sentiment toward vaccines and health officials on Twitter. I analyzed 6.6 million vaccine-related tweets from July 2021 to February 2022 in the United States. Leveraging a large language model, BERT, I identified tweets discussing vaccine mandates even when lacking explicit keywords. Compared to non-mandate tweets, those mentioning mandates exhibit greater negativity, anger, and freedom-related language. Furthermore, increased state-level discussion of mandates correlates with rising levels of negativity and anger toward both vaccines and public health officials. Finally, greater disparity in vaccination progress across counties within a state is associated with increased anger in tweets directed toward both.

Collaborative initiatives of the drone industry and healthcare sector are becoming a pivotal step in restructuring healthcare service delivery in India. This paper documents knowledge and perceptions of healthcare workers from various districts of Manipur and Nagaland towards the use of drones for medical supply in the region. The study utilized 27 in-depth interviews with healthcare workers to collect qualitative data, which was then analyzed using NVivo 14 for thematic and content analysis. The findings indicated that 57% of respondents are unaware of drones' applications, citing security and privacy concerns and a lack of understanding about their role in the program. This study demonstrates the optimistic perception among healthcare professionals regarding drone delivery of medical supplies to remote areas, highlighting its potential to enhance accessibility and overcome logistical challenges. It emphasizes the need for training, community engagement, and safety measures to ensure effective implementation of drone technology in healthcare delivery.

Several jurisdictions have implemented legalization policies for non-medical cannabis, mainly towards improving public health and reducing illegal cannabis markets and crime. As some legalization initiatives are approaching maturity, conducting policy impact assessments has become timely. Emerging data, however, suggest rather mixed pictures for key outcomes and indicators. While many key health-related indicators show increases in adverse outcomes, improvements are shown for main crime-related outcomes associated with legalization. However, legalization policies are evaluated predominantly by utilizing separate approaches for the health outcomes and crime-related indicators, while comprehensive policy assessments require meaningful integration of all related indicators. We provide suggestions for an integrated approach to assessing cannabis legalization policies concerning health and crime-related outcomes. This approach is also valuable for policymakers and other stakeholders to create an empirical basis for relative valuations and choices regarding cannabis legalization's main policy outcomes.

The objective of this study was to understand factors that influence the attitude, knowledge, use, and access to e-health services in Spain. We examined the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of participants and their attitudes toward, knowledge of and use of video-consultation, digital medical records, and experiences with digital devices. We conducted secondary data analysis using information collected by the Health Barometer # 8822 carried out by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. People with a lower level of education and social class, less digital experience, older, and foreign nationality have a low use of digital medical records. Similarly, the attitude and willingness to receive medical care via video-consultation were related to these socio-demographic factors. Thus, the use of e-health services might exacerbate inequity of the health system in Spain. To improve equity related to the e-health services, we recommend implementing a tailored approach supported by educational programs.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common, and almost half of all IPV takes place in relationships with children in the home. We inventoried laws in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in the United States of America (USA) focused on addressing IPV committed in the presence of children, as these laws could help prevent or remediate this critical health and social issue. Using WestLaw, a web-based legal research service, we identified over 1,200 statutes and 500 regulations. We documented the laws' key attributes and heterogeneities and coded 557 laws from 31 states. We determined that the most commonly prescribed penalty was stricter sentencing, followed by mandates to pay for counseling for any child witnesses, separate additional criminal charges, mandated receipt of counseling or intervention services, and a period of supervised parenting. Future research could assess the possible impacts of these laws on children's short- and long-term wellbeing.