Country-level Income Research Articles

Trust and its relations to vaccine beliefs: a latent class analysis on 140,000 individuals worldwide

Abstract Background Research shows that vaccine-related beliefs (i.e., about efficacy, safety, purpose) may reflect a host of within-person and contextual factors yielding homogeneous subgroups of individuals. This study aims to characterize distinct subgroups of people and identify ideal targets for tailored public health interventions to increase vaccine adherence. Methods Latent class analysis was used to derive subgroups based on unique response profiles using the 2019 Gallup survey of 140 countries (>140,000 individuals). We modeled a composite of vaccine beliefs as a distal outcome examining differences for the obtained classes, with and without covariates in the model. Results A 5-class model fit best with classes distinguished primarily on whether individuals possessed or sought personal knowledge about science, medicine, and health, whether they trusted science, scientists and have confidence in the healthcare system. The lowest levels of vaccine beliefs were reported by a class not endorsing any of these indicators and the highest levels by a class endorsing all the indicators (p < 0.001). Age class showed a U-shaped relation with vaccine beliefs, while higher educational level (p = 0.025), higher subjective income (p = 0.006) and employment (p < 0.001) were related to higher vaccine beliefs. Country-level income was moderately related to class membership and vaccine beliefs were higher in lower-income countries (p < 0.001). Conclusions Our findings suggest that more work is needed to improve trust in science and medical providers. Tailored interventions grounded in a community-based and empowering approach with the collaboration of multiple stakeholders seems to be needed to improve vaccination rates. This can only be achieved when individuals trust science, scientists and healthcare providers and accrue the necessary wisdom to make good healthcare decisions that affect not only themselves but their fellow citizens. Key messages • Efforts to alter vaccine beliefs should touch on where people access information on science and health, the processes that build trust, and their belief whether science improves well-being. • Public health interventions should focus on reassuring individuals that science and health workers are benevolent. An essential first step in the health worker-patient relations is building trust.

Barriers to up-titrated antihypertensive strategies in 12 sub-Saharan African countries: the Multination Evaluation of hypertension in Sub-Saharan Africa Study.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) faces the highest rate of hypertension worldwide. The high burden of elevated blood pressure (BP) in black people has been emphasized. Guidelines recommend two or more antihypertensive medications to achieve a BP control. We aimed to identify factors associated with prescription of up-titrated antihypertensive strategies in Africa. We conducted a cross-sectional study on outpatient consultations for hypertension across 12 SSA countries. Collected data included socioeconomic status, antihypertensive drugs classes, BP measures, cardiovascular risk factors and complication of hypertension. We used ordinal logistic regression to assess factors associated with prescription of up-titrated strategies. The study involved 2123 treated patients with hypertension. Patients received monotherapy in 36.3 vs. 25.9%, two-drug in 42.2 vs. 45% and three and more drugs strategies in 21.5 vs. 29.1% in low (LIC) and middle (MIC) income countries, respectively. Patients with sedentary lifestyle [OR 1.4 (1.11-1.77)], complication of hypertension [OR 2.4 (1.89-3.03)], former hypertension [OR 3.12 (2.3-4.26)], good adherence [OR 1.98 (1.47-2.66)], from MIC [OR 1.38 (1.10-1.74)] and living in urban areas [OR 1.52 (1.16-1.99)] were more likely to be treated with up-titrated strategies. Stratified analysis shows that in LIC, up-titrated strategies were less frequent in rural than in urban patients (P for trend <0.01) whereas such difference was not observed in MIC. In this African setting, in addition to expected factors, up-titrated drug strategies were associated with country-level income, patient location and finally, the interplay between both in LIC. These results highlight the importance of developing policies that seek to make multiple drug classes accessible particularly in rural and LIC.

National attribution of historical climate damages

Quantifying which nations are culpable for the economic impacts of anthropogenic warming is central to informing climate litigation and restitution claims for climate damages. However, for countries seeking legal redress, the magnitude of economic losses from warming attributable to individual emitters is not known, undermining their standing for climate liability claims. Uncertainties compound at each step from emissions to global greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, GHG concentrations to global temperature changes, global temperature changes to country-level temperature changes, and country-level temperature changes to economic losses, providing emitters with plausible deniability for damage claims. Here we lift that veil of deniability, combining historical data with climate models of varying complexity in an integrated framework to quantify each nation’s culpability for historical temperature-driven income changes in every other country. We find that the top five emitters (the United States, China, Russia, Brazil, and India) have collectively caused US$6 trillion in income losses from warming since 1990, comparable to 14% of annual global gross domestic product; many other countries are responsible for billions in losses. Yet the distribution of warming impacts from emitters is highly unequal: high-income, high-emitting countries have benefited themselves while harming low-income, low-emitting countries, emphasizing the inequities embedded in the causes and consequences of historical warming. By linking individual emitters to country-level income losses from warming, our results provide critical insight into climate liability and national accountability for climate policy.

Fear of Economic Cybercrime Across Europe: A Multilevel Application of Routine Activity Theory

AbstractDespite the increasing prevalence of cybercrime and its study by criminologists, very little research has examined the extent, nature, and impact of fear of cybercrime. In this study, we conducted a multilevel analysis of the 2018 Eurobarometer Cybersecurity Survey to test the applicability of routine activities theory on fear of economic cybercrime. We contribute to the literature by demonstrating that: (1) fear of economic cybercrime varies across EU member states; (2) country-level infrastructure development and income inequality are predictive of individual-level fear; (3) individual-level routine activities and sociodemographic variables are associated with fear; (4) country-level infrastructure development moderates the effects of individual-level guardianship. This paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of including country-level and individual-level determinants in fear of cybercrime research.

21st Century water withdrawal decoupling: A pathway to a more water-wise world?

Human demand for adequate water resources and supplies has been and will continue to be a fundamental issue in the 21st century due to rapid population growth, growing economies and globalization, and increasing water pollution, among others. Water withdrawals in regions which are already encountering scarcity will impose intensifying pressure on water resources locally and globally, threatening the achievement of long-term sustainable development targets. Decoupling has increasingly been recognized and incorporated in policy making as a way to reconcile limitless economic growth with environmental pressures. Filling evident literature gaps, the current state and projected future decoupling factors of water withdrawals in relation to GDP are assessed through decoupling and regression analyzes for 155 countries and 12 potential socioeconomic development pathway scenarios. Findings suggest that average levels of water withdrawal decoupling are moderate in 2025 but will increase throughout the century in all countries. By 2075, average water withdrawal decoupling becomes common and widespread, with high decoupling factors across the world. Yet, some countries and regions will continue to lag behind in this development. GDP growth is the most significant driver of water withdrawals. Climate and regional differences among countries are major influential factors on decoupling outcomes, more so than current country-level income group classification. Altogether, these results are of high significance to water resource managers and policy actors, offering a chance to act proactively to change the course on global water resource and country-specific development. In this way, decoupling provides a pathway to a more water-wise world. • Water withdrawal decoupling can help avoid impending water crises. • Developed countries are not necessarily decoupling more than developing ones. • Climate and regional differences are main factors driving water decoupling outcomes. • In some cases, higher water withdrawal decoupling implies high water stress. • Now is the time to improve the future world water situation and development.

The paradox of local inequality: Meritocratic beliefs in unequal localities.

A puzzle has emerged amidst rising inequality: why do people profess high levels of belief in meritocracy even as income gains are increasingly concentrated at the top? In light of contradictory theories and evidence, we undertake the first assessment of the relationship between local income inequality and meritocratic beliefs outside the United States, using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. We find that the positive relationship between country‐level income inequality and meritocratic beliefs identified in the recent literature does not translate straightforwardly below country level: there is no robust relationship between local income inequality and meritocratic beliefs in England. However, there is a robust—and somewhat paradoxical—positive association between high local income inequality and meritocratic beliefs among those with the lowest incomes. On average, respondents with annual household incomes of £10,000 are five points more likely (on a 100‐point scale) to believe their hard work will pay off if they live in the most rather than the least unequal places in England. We also show that this applies beyond the specific case of meritocratic beliefs: low‐income respondents in unequal places are also notably more satisfied with their own (low) income than similar respondents in more equal localities. In line with system justification theory, we argue that belief in meritocracy serves as an important tool of psychological resilience for low‐income individuals who regularly come into contact with others more economically fortunate than themselves: though it legitimates their current position at the bottom of the status hierarchy, this belief also offers the promise of future advancement. While this reduces concern about the psychological effects of growing local income inequality on the most economically vulnerable, it also suggests that there is little prospect of demand for systemic economic change emerging from what might have been considered the most likely places.

Levels and Correlates of Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior in Young Children: SUNRISE Study Results from 19 Countries.

ABSTRACTPurposeThere is a paucity of global data on sedentary behavior during early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine how device-measured sedentary behavior in young children differed across geographically, economically, and sociodemographically diverse populations, in an international sample.MethodsThis multinational, cross-sectional study included data from 1071 children 3–5 yr old from 19 countries, collected between 2018 and 2020 (pre-COVID). Sedentary behavior was measured for three consecutive days using activPAL accelerometers. Sedentary time, sedentary fragmentation, and seated transport duration were calculated. Linear mixed models were used to examine the differences in sedentary behavior variables between sex, country-level income groups, urban/rural settings, and population density.ResultsChildren spent 56% (7.4 h) of their waking time sedentary. The longest average bout duration was 81.1 ± 45.4 min, and an average of 61.1 ± 50.1 min·d−1 was spent in seated transport. Children from upper-middle–income and high-income countries spent a greater proportion of the day sedentary, accrued more sedentary bouts, had shorter breaks between sedentary bouts, and spent significantly more time in seated transport, compared with children from low-income and lower-middle–income countries. Sex and urban/rural residential setting were not associated with any outcomes. Higher population density was associated with several higher sedentary behavior measures.ConclusionsThese data advance our understanding of young children’s sedentary behavior patterns globally. Country income levels and population density appear to be stronger drivers of the observed differences, than sex or rural/urban residential setting.

Differences by Country-Level Income in COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, Case-Fatality Rates, and Rates Per Million Population in the First Five Months of the Pandemic

Differences by Country-Level Income in COVID-19 Cases, Deaths, Case-Fatality Rates, and Rates Per Million Population in the First Five Months of the Pandemic

Child Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

The United Nations (UN) created the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) to monitor progress toward achieving goals of the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection, and Development of Children and its plan of action. The MICS is nationally representative and internationally comparable. In this study, we use MICS data from 51 low- and middle-income countries on 159 959 children between 36 and 59 months of age. To index national development, we used the 2013 UN Human Development Index (HDI), which provides data on country-level life expectancy, education, and income. To index child development, we used the Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI), which assesses literacy and numeracy, socioemotional development, physical health, and approaches to learning. Children's literacy and numeracy, socioemotional development, and approaches to learning all increase linearly as national development on the HDI (especially education) increases. Overall, the HDI revealed a positive association (r = 0.40) with the ECDI: the HDI explained 16% of variance in children's ECDI scores and was the most influential predictor of ECDI scores examined. HDI-ECDI relations are robust, even when we control for multiple demographic aspects of children (age, sex), mothers (age, education), and households (size variables) as covariates. No family demographic variable was a stronger predictor of child development than national development. To promote child development, low- and middle-income countries need to develop and implement policies that ensure national health and wealth and, particularly, the educational achievements of children's caregivers. These findings are faithful to the World Summit for Children and inform the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which drive the international development agenda through 2030.

The Relationship Between Income Inequality and the Palliative Function of Meritocracy Belief: The Micro- and the Macro-Levels Both Count.

In the current paper, we report the analysis of the relationship between meritocracy belief and subjective well-being using two large international databases, the European Social Survey Program (N = 44,387) and the European Values Study Program (N = 51,752), involving data gathered from 36 countries in total. We investigated whether low status individuals are more likely to psychologically benefit from endorsing meritocratic beliefs, and the same benefits are more pronounced in more unequal societies. Since meritocracy belief can function as a justification for income differences, we assumed that the harsher the objective reality is, the higher level of subjective well-being can be maintained by justifying this harsh reality. Therefore, we hypothesized that the palliative function of meritocracy belief is stronger for both low social status (low income) individuals, and for those living in an unequal social environment (in countries with larger income differences). Our multilevel models showed a positive relationship between meritocracy belief and subjective well-being, which relationship was moderated by both individual-level income status and country-level income differences in both studies. Based on these results, we concluded that the emotional payoff of justifying income inequalities is larger if one is more strongly affected by these inequalities.

Income inequality and COVID-19 mortality: Age-stratified analysis of 22 OECD countries.

Our study builds on a growing body of research that demonstrates an association between income inequality and COVID-19 mortality. Using Poisson multivariate regression, we age-stratify our analysis by separately examining each of four age groups over a nine-month study period in 22 OECD countries. Our full regression model controls for national median income and relative poverty, and a set of pandemic-specific variables to capture exposure, susceptibility and treatment. We found that country-level income inequality, as measured by the disposable income Gini coefficient, is significantly and positively associated with COVID-19 mortality for all four age groups. Consistent with previous studies that analyzed all-cause mortality by age, our regression results found that the point estimate of the Gini coefficient generally declines with age. Our results suggest that inequality is possibly acting through generic and pandemic-specific processes to increase mortality via a more pronounced negative COVID-19 socio-economic status gradient in higher inequality countries.

Developing robust indicators of age-friendly neighborhood environments across urban-rural and socioeconomic gradients in 20 countries from five continents

BACKGROUND AND AIM: By 2050, the older-adult population (60+) will reach 2.1 billion, surging fastest in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a framework and indicators of age-friendly urban environments, but these criteria have been challenging to apply in rural areas and LMIC. This study fills this gap by adapting these indicators to such settings and assessing variation by country-level income and community-level urban-rural status. METHODS: First, a narrative review identified and described existing healthy-aging audit tools. Next, data were drawn from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study’s environmental-exposure assessment tools, which relied on systematic social observation and ecometrics to develop objective and subjective indicators relevant to cardiovascular disease. Following a multitrait, multimethod (MTMM) approach to assess convergent and discriminant validity, we specified a set of 23 indicators aligned with WHO’s framework and calculated their values across 496 communities in 20 countries, including 382 communities (77%) located in LMIC. RESULTS:Among the WHO’s eight environmental domains, six were represented in PURE’s environmental data. Overall, 91% of communities had access to parks/recreation and street lighting, while 45% had traffic lights. In addition, 85% of communities offered a public medical clinic, but only 15% a public hospital. Communities in high-income countries rated highest overall, although bus-transit connections were most common in low-income countries (95%). The greatest amount of variation by urbanness was seen in the number of streetscape-greenery elements (55.2 in rural areas vs. 32.5 in urban); traffic lights (17.8% vs. 67.1%); access to universities (32.9% vs. 90.3%); and home-internet availability (24.7% vs. 53.8%). CONCLUSIONS:This study indicates the extent to which environmental supports for healthy aging may be less readily available to older adults residing in rural areas and LMIC, highlighting a critical aspect of equity that is increasingly important to address in an aging world. KEYWORDS: Green space, Walkability, Healthy aging, Methodological study design, International collaboration

A multilevel analysis of the impact of transitioning to grandparenthood on individuals’ depression in England, Europe and China

Objectives The impact of grandparenting on depression is mediated by both macro- and micro-level factors, however, their combined examination between different country contexts is relatively rare. This study examined whether country level income and grandparents’ gender influenced the relationship between the transition to grandparenthood and individuals’ depression across England, Europe and China. Methods Multi-level linear regression analyses with restricted maximum likelihood estimation were performed covering 15 countries from the ELSA, the SHARE and the CHARLS 2010-15 in order to understand cross-country differences in this area. Results This study found significant cross-national variations in the effects of transitioning to grandparenthood on individuals’ depression. Transitioning to grandparenthood reduced the depression score among both men and women in lower income countries, but increased it in higher income countries. Moreover, the gender gap in the effects of becoming a grandparent on one’s depression was wider in lower income countries than higher income countries. Conclusions Policymakers should pay attention to the support grandparents need, and systematically integrate childcare provided by grandparents into family policies. Policies supporting older people should take into account the way in which macro-level and micro-level factors combine to affect grandparents’ well-being.

Are NCCN Resource-Stratified Guidelines for Breast Cancer Systemic Therapy Achievable? A Population-Based Study of Global Need and Economic Impact.

PURPOSEResource-stratified guidelines (RSG) for cancer provide a hierarchy of interventions, based on resource availability. We quantify treatment need and cost if National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) RSGs for breast cancer (BC) are adopted globally.METHODSWe developed decision trees for first-course systemic therapy, merged with SEER and Global Cancer Observatory 2018 incidence data to estimate treatment need and cost if NCCN RSG are implemented globally based on country-level income. Simulations were used to quantify need and cost of globally scaling up services to Maximal.RESULTSBased on NCCN RSG, first-course chemotherapy is indicated in 0% (Basic), 87% (Core), and 86% (Enhanced) but declined to 50% (Maximal) because of incorporation of genomic profiling. First-course endocrine therapy (ET) is indicated in 80% in all settings. In 2018, treatment need was 1.4 million people for chemotherapy, 183,943 for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) therapies and 1.6 million for ET. The cost per person for chemotherapy or HER2 or immunotherapy increased by 17-fold from Core to Maximal ($1,278-$22,313 Australian dollars [AUD]). The cost of ET per person rose eight-fold from Basic to Maximal ($1,236-$9,809 AUD). If all patients with BC globally were treated with Maximal resources, the need for chemotherapy would decline by 28%, whereas cost of first-course treatment would rise by 1.8-fold ($21-$37 billion AUD) because of more costly therapies.CONCLUSIONNCCN RSGs for BC could result in chemotherapy overtreatment in Core and Enhanced settings. The absence of chemotherapy in Basic settings should be reconsidered, and future iterations of RSG should perform cross-tumor comparisons to ensure equitable resource distribution and maximize population-level outcomes. Our model is flexible and can be tailored to the costs, population attributes, and resource availability of any institution or country for health-services planning.

A Systematic Review of the Recent Consumption Levels of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Children and Adolescents From the World Health Organization Regions With High Dietary-Related Burden of Disease.

This review aimed to investigate national estimates of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption in children and adolescents aged two to 18 years, from countries in regions particularly burdened by dietary-related chronic illnesses. The most recent studies or reports from included countries (n = 73) with national-level consumption data of SSBs in children and adolescents, collected between January 2010 and October 2019, were considered for inclusion. A random effects meta-analysis was used to calculate pooled estimates of the mean consumption of SSB in millimeters per day. Heterogeneity between national estimates was assessed using the I2 statistic and explored via subgroup analyses by the World Health Organization region, age groups, and country-level income. Forty-eight studies were included in the review reporting national estimates of consumption for 51 countries. The highest estimate of daily consumption was in China at 710.0 mL (95% confidence interval (CI) [698.8, 721.2], while the lowest was in Australia at 115.1 mL (95% CI [111.2, 119.1]). Pooled synthesis of daily SSB consumption of the 51 countries was 326.0 mL (95% CI [288.3, 363.8]), although heterogeneity was high, and was not explained by subgroup analyses. While there is considerable variability between countries, intake of SSB remains high among children and adolescents internationally underscoring the need for public health efforts to reduce SSBs consumption.

Is the country-level income an important factor to consider for COVID-19 control? An analysis of selected 100 countries

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between economic activity in a country, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP) and the control of the COVID-19 pandemic outcomes, as measured by the rate of incidence and mortality increase per 100,000 population in different countries using up-to-date data, in the light of public health security capacities including prevention, detection, respond, enabling function, operational readiness, as measured by the 2019 State Party self-assessment annual reporting (SPAR) submissions of 100 countries.Design/methodology/approachFor this analytical study, multiple linear regression analyses were performed for each variable with the COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates, while controlling for Human Development Index (HDI) and GDP.FindingsCountries with higher income levels were significantly more likely to have a higher incidence and mortality rate per 100,000 population. Among the public health capacity categories, prevention of the infectious disease and detection of the pathogens were significantly associated with lower incidence and mortality of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country-level income was found to be an important negative predictor of COVID-19 control.Practical implicationsThese findings present to decision-makers in organizing mitigation strategies to struggle emerging infectious pandemics and highlight the role of country-level income while trying to control COVID-19. In order to determine the priority settings for the fight against pandemic, national policy-makers and international organizations should notice that countries in a high-income group had better health security capacities than that of other income groups, particularly in low- and lower-middle-income groups. The results of the capabilities of health security by the income group can assist health policy makers and other international agencies in resource allocation decisions and in mitigating risk with more informed resource planning.Social implicationsThe income level of countries may have a positive effect on public health strategies to mitigate the risk of infection of COVID-19. This study may assist the local public authorities to gain a better level of understanding on the relationship country-level income and COVID-19 outcomes in order to take appropriate measures at the local level. The results also highlighted the importance role of public health security capacities for the pandemic control policy.Originality/valueAlthough previous studies have examined to assess the public health capability by country-level and to describe cases and deaths by continent and by country, very limited studies have evaluated the rate of incidence and mortality of COVID-19 by country-level income and by health expenditure using the data on the health security capacities with analytical and practical approaches.

Levels and Correlates of Objectively Measured Sedentary Behaviour In Young Children: Sunrise Pilot Study Results from 19 Countries

Background: There is a paucity of data from low- and middle-income countries on sedentary behaviour (SB) levels and patterns during early childhood. The purpose of this study was to examine how device-measured SB in young children differed across geographically, economically, and socio-demographically diverse populations, in an international sample. Methods: This multinational, cross-sectional pilot study included data from 1071 3–5-year-old children from 19 countries, collected between 2018 and 2020 (pre-COIVID). SB was measured for three consecutive days using activPAL accelerometers. Sedentary time, sedentary fragmentation and seated transport duration were calculated using PAL Analysis Algorithms and a custom-made analysis program. Linear mixed models were used to examine the differences in SB variables between sex, country-level income groups, caregiver education levels, urban/rural settings, and population density. Findings: Children spent 56% (7.4 hrs) of their waking time sedentary, and 42% accrued at least one sedentary bout/day lasting ≥60 min. The longest average bout duration was 81.1±45.4 min, and an average of 61.1±50.1 min/day was spent in seated transport. Children from upper-middle-income and high-income countries spent a greater proportion of the day sedentary, accrued more sedentary bouts, had shorter breaks between sedentary bouts, and spent significantly more time in seated transport, than children from low- and lower-middle-income countries. Few differences were found in SB patterns between urban/rural settings and caregiver education levels within each country-level income group, while multiple significant differences were found when comparing between country-level income groups. Higher population density was correlated with several higher SB measures. Interpretation: These data advance our understanding of young children’s SB patterns globally and the influences of country income, urban/rural setting, caregiver education levels, and population density. Country income levels and population density appear to be stronger drivers of the observed differences, than sex, rural or urban residential setting or caregiver educational attainment. Funding: American Council on Exercise, USA Beijing Health System High Level Talents Training Project, China 13 Biomedical Research Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh Canadian Institutes of Health Research Planning and Dissemination Grant Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico - CNPq Research Department of National Planning and Monitoring, PNG Government Early Start, University of Wollongong, Australia Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Global Challenges Program, University of Wollongong, Australia Harry Crossley Foundation, South Africa National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia NIH - International Research Training Grant Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, Vietnam Research University Grant (GUP), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Sasakawa Sports Research Grant, Sasakawa Sports Foundation, Japan Stella de Silva Research Grant, Sri Lanka College of Paediatricians, Sri Lanka The DST-NRF Centre for Excellence in Human Development at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa The International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Pioneers Program Declaration of Interest: The authors have no competing financial or personal interests to declare. Ethical Approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Wollongong, Australia (ref: 2018/044) and the appropriate ethics committee(s) in each country.

International Differences in Crime Reporting: A Multilevel Exploration of Burglary Reporting in 35 Countries

Our knowledge about crime, and the ability to help victims, is only as good as the information that is shared with us. However, crime reporting is known to be variable, and much research has been done to look at factors that influence the decision to report. Few studies, though, have looked at whether, and how, the country context impacts a victim’s decision to report crime. Using data from the International Crime Victims Survey and available data on corruption, income inequality, development, and democracy, this article explores that relationship for burglary reporting in 35 different countries through multilevel models. The results confirm that there is significant variation among countries in terms of burglary reporting. In addition, models that take into account both micro- and macro-level predictors show that country-level crime prevalence, democracy, corruption, and income inequality significantly predict burglary reporting and provide support for using Freda Adler’s conception of “synnomie” and anomie as a theoretical framework for understanding the crime reporting decision internationally. Future research should continue to examine crime reporting decisions cross-nationally, as this research has shown the importance of sample composition and crime type on findings, and test the influence of macro-level factors, especially relating to “synnomie,” over time.

Adolescents\u2019 physical activity: cross-national comparisons of levels, distributions and disparities across 52 countries

BackgroundDespite global concerns regarding physical inactivity, limited cross-national evidence exists to compare adolescents’ physical activity participation. We analysed data from 52 high- and low-middle income countries, with activity undertaken inside and outside of school in 2015. We investigated gender and socioeconomic disparities, and additionally examined correlations with country-level indices of physical education (PE) curriculum time allocation, wealth, and income inequality.MethodsWe compared adolescents’ reported activity levels inside and outside of school using nationally representative cross-sectional data from 52 high- and low-middle income countries (N = 347,935)—the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2015. Students reported average attendance (days/week) in PE classes, and the days/week engaged in moderate activity (MPA) and vigorous activity (VPA) outside of school. We also compared gender and socioeconomic disparities, and additionally examined correlations with purported determinants—country-level estimates of PE curriculum time allocation, wealth, and income inequality.ResultsAverage activity levels differed substantially both between and within regions, with potentially important differences in distributions identified—such as a bimodal distribution in the U.S. and Canada in PE. Males were more active than females, as were those from households with higher rather than lower household wealth; these disparities were modest for PE, but higher for moderate and vigorous activity outside school—there was strong evidence for heterogeneity in the magnitude of these disparities (e.g., I2 > 95% for gender differences across all countries). PE class attendance was positively correlated with PE curriculum time allocation (rho = 0.36); activity outcomes were inconsistently associated with country-level wealth and income inequality.ConclusionsOur findings reveal extensive cross-country differences in adolescents’ physical activity; in turn, these highlight policy areas that could ultimately improve global adolescent health, such as the incorporation of minimum country-level PE classes, and the targeting of gender and socioeconomic disparities in activity conducted outside of school. Our findings also highlight the utility of educational databases such as PISA for use in global population health research.

Effects of air pollution on children from a socioecological perspective

BackgroundCountry-level inequality in life expectancy (ILE) and deaths of children under age five due to air pollution (DCAP) can be influenced by country-level income per capita, solid fuel, electrification, and natural resource depletion. The ILE and DCAP in the short-term are useful indicators that can help in developing ways to reduce environmental threats. This study confirms evidence for ILE and DCAP as the effects of environmental threats by country-level income, energy, and natural resource levels from a socioecological approach.MethodsThis study based on life expectancy and children data on 164 countries acquired from the United Nations Development Programme. We obtained the country-level socioecological data from the United Nations and the World Bank database. We assessed the associations between ILE, DCAP, and the country-level indicators applying correlations coefficient and the regression models.ResultsThese study findings showed considerable correlations between ILE and country-level socioecological indicators: gross national income per capita (GNI), non-solid fuel (NSF), electrification rate (ER), and natural resource depletion (NRD). The DCAP in short-term predictors were low NSF and low ER (R2 = 0.552), and ILE predictors were low GNI, NSF, and ER and higher NRD (R2 = 0.816). Thus, the countries with higher incomes and electrification rates and more sustainable natural resources had lower expected DCAP in the short-term and ILE in the long-term.ConclusionsBased on our results, we confirmed that country-level income, energy, and natural resource indicators had important effects on ILE in long-term and DCAP in short-term. We recommend that countries consider targeting high standards of living and national incomes, access to non-solid fuel and electricity as energy sources, and sustainable natural resources to reduce ILE and DCAP in short-term.