Policy Community Research Articles

Desired support system to eradicate urban homelessness: an exploratory descriptive study.

Background - The new increasing homeless lately consist of women, children, youth, the elderly and marginalized ethnic or migrant groups. Some of them are working and earn salaries, however, the income is not sufficient to live modestly. Purpose - The purpose of this research is to establish a desired support system to eradicate urban homelessness in the country. Design/methodology/approach - This is an exploratory descriptive method study which employed quantitative techniques. The study employed a social ecological model to investigate behavior of homeless via multiple levels of influences including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy. Surveys have been conducted on sixty-five homeless individuals. Findings - It was found that support systems and structures should be derived from the whole streams from families, communities, organizations and government. Employment opportunities, long-term shelters within the community places and highly demanded skills are needed to improve their living condition. Research limitations - This study is only focused on the socio-economic structures of the homeless in a capital city. Originality/value - This is an empirical research using a social ecological model for the homeless in the Kuala Lumpur area. Research on homeless study has received little attention and has yet to be fully explored.

Mapping the genetic landscape of treatable inherited metabolic disorders in a large Middle Eastern biobank

PurposeTo date, approximately 1400 inherited metabolic disorders (IMDs) have been described, some of which are treatable. It is estimated that 2% to 3% of live births worldwide are affected by treatable IMDs. Roughly 80% of IMDs are autosomal recessive, leading to a potentially higher incidence in regions with high consanguinity. MethodologyThe study utilized genome sequencing data from 14,060 adult Qatari participants who were recruited by the Qatar Biobank and sequenced by the Qatar Genome Program. The genome sequencing data were analyzed for 125 nuclear genes known to be associated with 115 treatable IMDs. ResultsOur study identified 253 pathogenic/likely pathogenic single-nucleotide variations associated with 69 treatable IMDs, including 211 known and 42 novel predicted loss-of-function variants. We estimated that approximately 1 in 13 unrelated individuals (8%) carry a heterozygous pathogenic variant for at least 1 of 46 treatable IMDs. Notably, phenylketonuria/hyperphenylalaninemia and homocystinuria had among the highest carrier frequencies (1 in 68 and 1 in 85, respectively). ConclusionPopulation-based studies of treatable IMDs, particularly in globally under-studied populations, can identify high-frequency alleles segregating in the community and inform public health policies, including carrier and newborn screening.

Monetary policy communication shocks and the macroeconomy

AbstractUsing high‐frequency identification, we provide evidence that Fed communication surprises have larger macroeconomic effects than surprise actions. Three ingredients are central to show this: structurally distinguishing between Fed actions and communication, controlling for the Fed information effect, and including the surprise measures directly in a vector autoregression (VAR) system instead of using them as instruments. We also compare the macroeconomic effects of Fed communication surprises relating to varying horizons into the future. Fed communication with a two‐year horizon appears most powerful during the effective lower‐bound period, consistent with theoretical predictions regarding Fed forward guidance.

Including a wider range of values in healthcare policy: how can public value evaluation help?

To meet future healthcare challenges a broader range of values need to be included in analysis, debate and policy. Different modes of governance foreground and facilitate different values. Collaboration, the governing principle of the newly formed integrated care systems, values the contribution of diverse stakeholders in discussions and decisions, to foster creativity and produce durable solutions to complex problems. Approaches to evaluation reinforce particular values, as captured in the adage 'what's measured is what matters'. New approaches are needed to support the collaborative aims of integrated care systems. Public value evaluation proceeds through values inquiry, establishing what is important to different stakeholders (including policy makers, healthcare staff, patients and communities) as a backdrop to understanding the effects of policies and programmes.

Developing Compassionate Community: Insights from the International Standards for Community Development

Aging populations have increased demand for hospice palliative care and support for dying persons. More broadly, community support is also becoming an increasingly important aspect of public health intervention. Compassionate communities advocate active bottom-up community participation to strengthen communities’ assets around death and dying. However, these rapidly growing initiatives face a challenge in putting values such as cultural diversity, relationship, and love into practice and in making a social impact through “meaningful participation” at the community level. Reflecting on our experiences in a recent study of dying at home in Canada, we consider potential challenges for compassionate communities more broadly. We argue that risks related to gendered inequity, neo-liberal discourses around caring work, and an over-emphasis of community resilience need to be deliberated in compassionate community policy and service development. To mitigate these risks, we argue that the eight components of the International Standards for Community Development Practice or ISCDP (from the International Association for Community Development or IACD) provide important direction about putting values into practice, for instance by advocating for service and policy improvement while engaging in practice and research on compassionate communities. We discuss how the international standards can inform compassionate community development in Canada.

Impact of awareness of sports policies, school, family, and community environmental on physical activity and fitness among children and adolescents: a structural equation modeling study

BackgroundUnderstanding the impact of environmental factors on physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) is crucial for promoting a healthy lifestyle among children and adolescents. This study examines how awareness of sports policies, school, family, and community environments influence PA and PF in Chinese youth.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 2747 children and adolescents (mean age 12.90 ± 2.49; 48.2% male) from 17 schools across five Chinese cities. Environmental factors were assessed via questionnaires, and PA levels were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). PF metrics, including BMI, waist-to-height ratio, grip strength, vertical jump, and 20-m shuttle run test (20-mSRT), were measured onsite. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to explore relationships between environmental factors and PA/PF outcomes.ResultsThe school environment scored highest (78.0 ± 9.5), while the community environment scored lowest (38.7 ± 18.0). Family environment positively influenced low-intensity PA (LPA) (β = 0.102, P < 0.001) but negatively affected moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (β = -0.055, P = 0.035). Community environment and awareness of sports policies positively impacted MVPA (β = 0.216, P < 0.001; β = 0.072, P = 0.009, respectively). Family environment positively influenced BMI reduction (β = -0.103, P < 0.001) but negatively affected grip strength (β = -0.063, P = 0.018). Community environment improved grip strength and 20-mSRT performance (β = 0.088, P = 0.002; β = 0.065, P = 0.027).ConclusionsSchool environments, despite high scores, do not significantly impact PA and PF. Community environments, though scoring lower, positively affect MVPA, grip strength, and 20-mSRT. Awareness of sports policies boosts MVPA, while family environments support LPA and BMI but are inversely related to MVPA and grip strength. Integrated strategies involving community infrastructure, family support, and policy awareness are essential for promoting active lifestyles among children and adolescents.

Can Research on Family Factors in Youth Psychiatric Residential Treatment Programs Inform Efforts to Implement Family-Centered Care?

Every year, numerous youths seeking mental health services are placed in psychiatric residential treatment programs, often leaving their families for extended periods of time. The clinical and policy community has become increasingly interested in incorporating families into the treatment process, which may have a positive impact on care. Despite this interest, limited work has reviewed the impact of family factors across the entire treatment process (before admission, during treatment, and after discharge), or on barriers to implementing family-centered care practices to improve family engagement. To better understand the research in this domain, we conducted a narrative review on family involvement in residential care throughout the treatment process, with special attention paid to barriers and possible solutions. In general, family involvement in residential care remains underdeveloped and understudied. Given the youth mental health crisis, and the higher acuity of youth patients in residential treatment, greater exploration into how families can potentiate outcomes is warranted.

Using Psychological Reactance and Bandwagon Cues to Explain High School Sports Coaches’ Resistance to Concussion Communication Policies

Sport-related concussions (SRC) are a significant health risk for athletes amalgamated by issues with underreporting. Coaches play a pivotal role in promoting safety and health, but coach-player SRC communication efforts have been insufficient at improving players’ reporting behaviors. This study considers coaches’ responses to a proposed mandate to engage in SRC communication with athletes via psychological reactance theory (PRT), with bandwagoning cues positioned as a form of social proof that heightens or mitigates persuasion. Two hundred five coaches from 20 distinct sports were exposed to one of four messages addressing a proposed SRC management policy mandating biweekly coach-player communication about SRCs. The message variations incorporated different bandwagon cues (positive, negative, absent, mixed), manipulated through user comments and emoji reactions on a simulated social media environment. Results demonstrate direct and mediated relationships between exposure to negative bandwagon cues, bandwagon perceptions, freedom threat, reactance, and opposition intentions. Our findings provide valuable insights into the dynamics of coaches’ attitudes towards SRC communication in a social media context, bridging gaps in the literature and introducing PRT to the SRC domain.

Perceptions, Tensions, and Contradictions in Timber Construction: Insights from End-Users in a Chilean Forest City

The study addresses the underutilisation of wood in construction in Chile, particularly given the country’s robust forestry sector. The research investigates perceptions, tensions, and contradictions among end-users regarding timber construction in Valdivia, a city with a mixed forestry industry. Methods included a comprehensive survey of 96 households across various socioeconomic clusters, utilising descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses. Key findings reveal persistent negative perceptions about wood’s durability, fire resistance, and maintenance costs. However, positive aspects, such as lower construction costs and adequate thermal comfort, were also noted. Surprisingly, concerns were raised about wood’s environmental impact, including deforestation and its role in combating climate change, contrasting with the material’s known ecological benefits. The study concludes that these perceptions are deeply influenced by ideological and sociopolitical factors, suggesting that mere marketing strategies may not suffice to alter public opinion. Instead, a collaborative effort involving public policy, industry advancements, and transparent scientific communication is essential to promote the benefits of timber construction and address the entrenched biases.

Strategies for coping with postmenopausal health problems among women in Egbu Community Owerri North Imo State

This study explores the strategies used by postmenopausal women in Egbu Community, Owerri North, Imo State, Nigeria, to cope with health problems associated with menopause. Menopause, a significant life stage, is often accompanied by various physical, emotional, and mental health challenges, such as hot flashes, painful sexual intercourse, depression, and memory loss. These challenges are exacerbated by socio-cultural factors, limited healthcare infrastructure, and a lack of awareness and education about menopause, particularly in rural communities like Egbu. The study adopts a descriptive cross-sectional design and utilizes a self-structured questionnaire to collect data from 150 postmenopausal women. The findings reveal that the most common physical problem is painful sexual intercourse, while mental depression is the predominant emotional and mental issue. Coping strategies employed by these women include engaging in moderate exercise, seeking medical advice, and maintaining adequate rest and sleep. However, poor education, lifestyle factors, and religious beliefs significantly influence the effectiveness of these coping strategies.The study concludes that while some coping strategies are effective, there is a need for targeted interventions to improve awareness, education, and access to healthcare services. These interventions should be culturally sensitive and designed to empower women, enhance their quality of life, and reduce the stigma surrounding menopause. The study's findings are crucial for informing community health planning and policy development to better support postmenopausal women in rural areas.

The influence of follower reactions on political leaders’ environmental policy communication: toward a social-mediated dynamic influence framework

ABSTRACT This study proposes that social-mediated leadership communication is a dynamic influence process, involving visible leader communications, follower emotional responses, and subsequent leader actions. These interactions form a feedback loop, where follower reactions influence leaders' strategic communication. We tested this framework by analyzing U.S. political leaders' engagement with the Green New Deal during the 2020 Presidential campaign. Using Facebook posts from congressional politicians and data on follower reactions, we applied longitudinal network models, natural language processing, and multilevel event history models to examine factors behind leaders' decisions to co-share content and discuss specific policy topics. Our findings support the dynamic influence framework, showing that follower reactions, especially those indicating support and boosting message virality, are most likely to prompt shifts in leaders’ communication strategies.

Financial Conditions and Risks to the Economic Outlook

Financial conditions have swung considerably over the past two and half years. They moved from very accommodative levels in late 2021 to providing a significant drag on economic activity in 2022 and 2023. Since early this year, they eased moderately amid monetary policy communications signaling that the federal funds rate had likely reached its peak for this monetary policy tightening cycle.

Community Policing Philosophy

A sociological understanding of crime can adequately respond to criminal challenges through practical engagement with society. Community policing is a proactive strategy that uses problem-solving methods and strategic partnerships to solve problems related to public safety, including crime and social disturbance. The core of this policing system is a flexible organizational structure and decentralized power, in which the officer decides how best to preserve security and order in line with local needs. Decentralized administration at both the command and decision-making levels has been used as an approach to promote the effectiveness of community policy. Consequently, police officers could independently interact with communities, identifying problems and developing feasible solutions. However, this idea has variations, particularly in the debate on how community policy can construct a social system to create better strategies against criminal acts. It is essential to analyze the sociological perspective to understand the main objective of the community-oriented policing strategy. Mainly, a theory that focuses on reducing crime and crime fear enhances the conditions of life for law enforcement personnel and members of society. Hence, this article analyses each strategy component using pertinent and specific sociological theories and criminological concepts, highlighting the significant contribution of sociologists in shaping the community policing strategy. Therefore, based on sociological perspectives, this article argues that community policy can create an inclusive social system within social actors’ collaboration. Keywords: community-oriented, crime, neighborhood, sociological perspective, partnerships

Neighborhood environments underpin screen time intervention success in children: Evidence from a study of greenspace and community programming across 130 US communities

The goal of this study was to understand how neighborhood greenspace access may support or hinder the effectiveness of community programs and policies (CPPs) aimed at reducing racial and ethnic inequities in screen time among 4598 US children. We found higher CPP intensity was significantly associated with fewer screen time behaviors in high greenspace neighborhoods, but not neighborhoods with low or moderate greenspace. Moreover, there were significant differences in greenspace access by neighborhood-level race and ethnicity. Implementing CPPs without regard for racial and ethnic greenspace inequities may be an underlying cause in the perpetuation of inequities in childhood screen time.

Land surface processes response to warming and wetting trend in Northwest China

Abstract The climate in Northwest China (NWC) has undergone a warming and wetting trend (WWT) since the 1980s, which has attracted considerable attention from the scientific and policy communities. However, the majority of previous studies have focused on overall effects of WWT, and very few have examined how land surface system responds to climate warming or wetting trend, respectively. For this purpose, this study uses the Community Land Model (CLM5) driven by the Chinese Meteorological Forcing Dataset (CMFD) to conduct four modelling experiments: a control experiment (CTRL) and three sensitivity experiments, in which the annual trend of air temperature (NonWarm), precipitation (NonWet), and both (NonWWT) are removed from the CMFD from 1979 to 2018. Compared to CTRL, the land hydrological variables (i.e., soil moisture, runoff and evapotranspiration) show a visible reduction in magnitude, interannual variability, as well as annual trend in NonWet, while they are enhanced in NonWarm. In both NonWarm and NonWet, the magnitude and trend of both net radiation and sensible heat fluxes increase, with a more pronounced change in NonWWT. Further analysis indicates that the land surface processes are more sensitive to wetting trend than to warming trend. Among all land surface hydrological variables and energy variables, runoff and snow cover fraction are the most susceptible to climate change. Overall, the effects of climate change in Ta and Pr on surface hydrological variables are non-linearly offsetting, while the effects on surface energy budgets are non-linearly superimposed. Compared to warming trend, wetting trend plays a larger impact in the variability of land surface processes in NWC.

Redefining TVET Leadership in Kenya

The alignment of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) with industry needs is pivotal for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Kenya. Yet, reliance on global commitment mechanisms, primarily voluntary national reviews (VNRs), has proven insufficient. This forum piece argues for a strategic transition towards voluntary local reviews (VLRs) and incorporating indigenous philosophies, such as Harambee, to better align TVET with SDG objectives. This transition is essential for fostering inclusive, equitable learning environments, enhancing workforce preparedness, and facilitating a community-centric educational model that effectively addresses local needs while contributing to global sustainability goals. Additionally, this forum piece underscores the need for institutional social change to resolve contradictions in current policies that hinder educational systems from reaching their goals. Drawing from a comparative study of TVET governance models in Nairobi, Kenya, and Pittsburgh, USA, this forum piece illustrates how different approaches can align TVET systems with localized educational demands and SDG frameworks, highlighting policy innovation, leadership development, and community engagement as key strategies for redefining TVET leadership.

Different perspectives of prison guards and mental health workers in forensic care.

This study investigates the differences in treatment perspectives of prison guards and mental health practitioners within a Psychiatric Prison Unit (PPU). This qualitative study uses questionnaires and focus groups to explore the relationships between prison guards (N = 4) and mental health professionals (N = 6) working at the Psychiatric Prison Unit in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Two questionnaires (the Recovery Attitude Questionnaire and the Recovery Knowledge Inventory) were completed by the participants. A selected subsample based on diverging beliefs concerning treatment perspectives was recruited for additional focus groups. The dialogues were transcribed and coded into a comprehensive scheme. Responses were analyzed to describe perceptions and attitudes of respondents towards forensic care. This study identified three main themes: policy, communication, and person-dependent factors. Understaffing and high turnover rates in the correctional facility led to prioritization of safety concerns over treatment objectives. Guards and mental health professionals had different communication styles which hindered the alignment of treatment goals. Person-dependent factors, including personality traits and individual attributes, were significant in shaping collaborative interactions. This study reveals agreement in the viewpoints between prison guards and mental health professionals but highlights the complex challenges in providing effective treatment within the confines of a correctional facility. These challenges are influenced by policy dynamics, communication limitations, and individual-specific factors.

Central bank communication and stabilization policies under firms’ motivated beliefs

Central bank communication and stabilization policies under firms’ motivated beliefs

The unsung heroes in the fight to end HIV: The role of nurses in Indonesia

HIV new cases are continuing to be reported in Indonesia. Although progress in HIV prevention and control has been made, Indonesia continues to face significant challenges in its fight against HIV. Continued efforts to expand treatment, reduce stigma, and strengthen prevention initiatives by involving health care workers and all stakeholders are essential to controlling the epidemic and improving the lives of those affected by HIV in the country. As a healthcare worker, nurses are central to the country's efforts to control and eventually end the HIV epidemic. Their roles are diverse and impactful, ranging from direct patient care to community outreach, education, and policy advocacy. As Indonesia continues to face challenges in its HIV response, the contributions of nurses will remain essential in overcoming these barriers and improving the lives of those affected by HIV.

The history and future of IPCC special reports: A dual role of politicisation and normalisation

The special reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have a unique character in IPCC scientific assessment. Their main purpose is to address specific timely issues of policy relevance. This article explores the nature and role of IPCC special reports along the lines of three questions: (1) the history (‘where they come from’); (2) the function (‘what they are doing’); and (3) the future (‘where they are going’). In earlier assessment cycles, special reports were characterised mostly as a direct channel for quickly responding to the request from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conduct of special reports has been gradually institutionalised to embed its planning in the overall scoping of the entire assessment cycle. More recently, they have become a vehicle to consolidate cross-cutting scientific perspectives and serve the diverse needs of the international policy community, not only the UNFCCC. This historical evolution is, in a sense, the result of striving for greater policy relevance. Special reports have a dual political function—namely, turning into the site or object of politicised debates on science (politicisation) and serving as ‘de facto governance’ with the effect of normalising politically contested ideas (normalisation). This dual function is two different faces emerging from the process into which the IPCC is brought to deal with political controversy. The duality of the two functions also manifests inherent tensions that lie behind the IPCC’s ‘policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive’ principle. For the future of special reports, the IPCC could reconsider the role of special reports in light of the priority over comprehensive assessment reports, the responsiveness to the UNFCCC request and the selection and scope definition of timely topics. However, there will remain a trade-off between provisional science and lasting political impact caused by the future undertaking of IPCC special reports on any topic.