Cultural Dimensions Of Health Research Articles

Diabetes during pregnancy among Métis people in Alberta: a retrospective cohort study.

Diabetes in pregnancy is an important public health concern for Indigenous populations. We sought to evaluate the prevalence and outcomes of pre-existing and gestational diabetes among Métis pregnancies compared with other pregnancies in Alberta, Canada. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative health data from 2006 to 2016 and the Métis Nation of Alberta Identification Registry to compare the prevalence of pre-existing and gestational diabetes among all singleton Métis births with non-Métis births. We compared 10 maternal and neonatal outcomes using adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in multivariable analyses. The study population included 7902 Métis and 471 886 non-Métis births. The age-standardized prevalence of pre-existing diabetes was 1.7% (95% CI 1.4%-2.1%) for Métis and 1.1% (95% CI 1.1%-1.2%) for non-Métis pregnancies. For gestational diabetes, the age-standardized prevalence was 6.3% (95% CI 5.6%-6.9%) for Métis and 5.4% (95% CI 5.3%-5.4%) for non-Métis pregnancies. After adjusting for parity, maternal weight, age, smoking during pregnancy and material and social deprivation, Métis pregnancies had 1.72 times higher prevalence of preexisting diabetes (adjusted OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.15-2.56) and 1.30 times higher prevalence of gestational diabetes (adjusted OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.08-1.57) than non-Métis pregnancies. Métis pregnancies with pre-existing diabetes had nearly 3 times the odds of developing preeclampsia (adjusted OR 2.96, 95% CI 1.27-6.90), while those with gestational diabetes had 48% higher odds of large-for-gestational-age infants (adjusted OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.00-2.19). Métis pregnancies have an increased prevalence of pre-existing and gestational diabetes than non-Métis pregnancies and an elevated risk of some perinatal outcomes. Interventions to tackle these health inequities should address both physiologic and cultural dimensions of health, informed by Métis perspectives.

SEIR models in the light of Critical Realism – A critique of exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of Covid 19 vaccinations

In a recent modeling study Watson et al. (Lancet Infect Dis 2022;3099:1-10) claim that Covid-19 vaccinations have helped to prevent roughly 14–20 million deaths in 2021. This conclusion is based on an epidemiological susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model trained on partially simulated data and yielding a reproduction number distribution which was then applied to a counterfactual scenario in which the efficacy of vaccinations was removed. Drawing on the meta-theory of Critical Realism, we point out several caveats of this model and caution against believing in its predictions. We argue that the absence of vaccinations would have significantly changed the causal tendencies of the system being modelled, yielding a different reproduction number than obtained from training the model on actually observed data. Furthermore, the model omits many important causal factors. Therefore this model, similar to many previous SEIR models, has oversimplified the complex interplay between biomedical, social and cultural dimensions of health and should not be used to guide public health policy. In order to predict the future in epidemic situations more accurately, continuously optimized dynamic causal models which can include the not directly tangible, yet real causal mechanisms affecting public health appear to be a promising alternative to SEIR-type models.

Illness Representation among Adolescents: A Qualitative Approach

There is a significant increase in the studies investigating illness representation through quantitative methods, which is due to a certain extent to the valid psychometric instruments that measure this construct. This phenomenon is especially intense among people who have a certain diagnosis. Not the same can be said about the existing research for the study of the representation that healthy people have about illness, in which the qualitative methods predominate. The purpose of this study is to outline how adolescents perceive the disease, given that they go through a period of change with significant implications for adult-related health behaviours. In this study, 132 adolescents aged between 11 and 18 were included (M =14.60; SD= 2.54). Because we wanted to obtain complex and accurate information, we chose to collect the data through three qualitative methods: drawing, the free association method, and the open-ended questionnaire. Based on the common-sense model, we were able to identify the most frequently cited causes of disease onset, which are the indicators of its occurrence, the effects adolescents perceive as occurring over time and how they think we can treat it. One of the most important dimensions represented through the three methods of data collection was that of emotions. This result draws attention to the importance that people attach to the emotional sphere when it comes to illness. Unfortunately, medical staff are well prepared for the assessment of biomedical aspects, but less so for understanding the psychosocial, social, and cultural dimensions of health and illness.

The Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health as a Research Agenda: Establishing the Need for a Research Interest Group (RIG)in Social Medicine

<p class="Body"><em>&quot;Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.&quot;)</em> <p class="Body"><em>-Constitution of the World Health Organization</em> <p class="Body">The terms <em>&quot;health inequities,&quot; &quot;health disparities,&quot; </em>and<em> &quot;health inequalities&quot;</em> reflect the magnitude of differences in health outcomes existing in populations unless we address the underlying causes of disease and I&#39;ll health. In the Philippines, Kalusugang Pangkalahatan (KP) or Universal Health Care (UHC) is the health reform agenda of the Aquino administration which has been implemented by the Department of Health (DOH) since 2011.

Social and Cultural Dimensions of Genetic Blood Diseases An Anthropological study in the Omani Society

This study attempts to monitor the most important impacts of social and cultural variables on the health situation in the Omani society in general, and the incidence of hereditary blood disease in particular. The study aims to identify the social and cultural dimensions of health and disease in terms of concept and theoretical perspectives; the most important health indicators; the magnitude and spread of hereditary blood diseases in the Sultanate of Oman; and the disclosure of some of the social and cultural factors, and the difficulties facing the health pattern. The study relied on some Theoretical frameworks that provided scientific explanations about addressing the social and cultural dimensions of health and disease. Methodologically, the study was based on both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The study concluded that there are many social and cultural dimensions that shaped some of the factors that caused the incidence of hereditary blood disease in the Omani society. The study concluded that there are many reasons behind genetic blood diseases such as: endogamy and dietary habits, and some popular perceptions about health and disease. It could be argued that there is a gap between the foundations of knowledge in the health system, and the health situation indicators of social and cultural implications.

Social and Cultural Dimensions of Genetic Blood Diseases An Anthropological study in the Omani Society

This study attempts to monitor the most important impacts of social and cultural variables on the health situation in the Omani society in general, and the incidence of hereditary blood disease in particular. The study aims to identify the social and cultural dimensions of health and disease in terms of concept and theoretical perspectives; the most important health indicators; the magnitude and spread of hereditary blood diseases in the Sultanate of Oman; and the disclosure of some of the social and cultural factors, and the difficulties facing the health pattern. The study relied on some Theoretical frameworks that provided scientific explanations about addressing the social and cultural dimensions of health and disease. Methodologically, the study was based on both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The study concluded that there are many social and cultural dimensions that shaped some of the factors that caused the incidence of hereditary blood disease in the Omani society. The study concluded that there are many reasons behind genetic blood diseases such as: endogamy and dietary habits, and some popular perceptions about health and disease. It could be argued that there is a gap between the foundations of knowledge in the health system, and the health situation indicators of social and cultural implications.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Service-Learning in Nursing Inventory.

The aim was to develop an instrument to assess undergraduate nursing students' experience of service-learning to reveal benefits and identify service-learning as a professional value that leads to civic and social responsibility. Service-learning is a teaching and learning approach that integrates academic learning with experiential community-centered foci. It provides structured opportunities for reflection on broader social and cultural dimensions of health. There is no valid and reliable instrument to measure service-learning experience of nursing students. A psychometric evaluation was conducted through item analysis, validity, and reliability. Face validity agreement was 80 percent; the content validity index was adjusted until 1 was achieved for each item. Two factors explained 58.64 percent of the total variance. Cronbach's α was .940 for the skills subscale and .932 for the personal insight subscale. The inventory demonstrated strong psychometric properties. Future research should focus on replication on diverse populations.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

From the Issue Editor: Special Issue on International and Cultural Dimensions of Health

From the Issue Editor: Special Issue on International and Cultural Dimensions of Health

Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health at NIH

Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health at NIH

The Health Consequences of Cultural Consonance: Cultural Dimensions of Lifestyle, Social Support, and Arterial Blood Pressure in an African American Community

Cultural dimensions of health and behavior have been difficult to study because of limited theoretical and methodological models linking the cultural, the individual, and the biological. We employ a cognitive theory of culture to understand culture and health in an African American community in the southern United States. First, cultural consensus analysis is used to test for shared cultural models of lifestyles and social supports within the community. Then, the theoretical and operational construct of "cultural consonance" is used to assess the degree to which individuals behave in a way consistent with cultural models. Findings indicate that cultural consonance in lifestyle and social support combine synergistically in association with blood pressure. These associations of cultural consonance and health are not altered by taking into account a variety of other variables, indicating an independent association of cultural dimensions of behavior with health status. Implications of these results for culture theory are discussed, [culture theory, culture consensus analysis, cultural consonance, African American community, arterial blood pressure]