Higher Levels Of Health Problems Research Articles

Evidence assessment and narrative synthesis of the key characteristics of older people living in service-integrated housing facilities, and their ‘accommodation journey’

PurposeThis paper aims to provide an evidence assessment and narrative synthesis of literature regarding the key characteristics of older people living in service-integrated housing (SIH) facilities and their “accommodation journey”.Design/methodology/approachA rapid evidence assessment was conducted: 22 research publications met the inclusion criteria and were analysed using narrative synthesis.FindingsThe quality of studies in this area is low, but consistency across components of the results of studies included in the review is apparent. Results suggest key characteristics of older people that drive moves into SIH are a decline in health, increased dependency, increased health service use and carer burden. Suggested key characteristics of SIH residents are high levels of health problems, dependency and health service use, but high self-reported health and well-being. Results indicate that the key driver for older people leaving SIH is a lack of workforce competency to manage further declines in health and dependency status.Research limitations/implicationsCurrent policy may not realise or account for the complex health and care needs of SIH residents. Investment into integrated care, robust community health services and workforce development to facilitate a comprehensive assessment approach may be required to support residents to remain in SIH and live well. Further longitudinal studies are required to map the progression of SIH residents’ health status in detail over time to provide an understanding of preventative and enablement support, development of care pathways and workforce planning and development requirements.Originality/valueThis evidence assessment is the first to consider the accommodation journey of older people residing in SIH.

The violence of uncertainty: Empirical evidence on how asylum waiting time undermines refugee health

The idea of violent uncertainty was first introduced in the New England Journal of Medicine (Grace et al., 2018) making claims about the deleterious impacts of insecure immigration status on the health of migrants. Policies of uncertainty are said to directly and indirectly create harm by impacting on individual's health via detention and public degradation and undermining healthcare services. We offer original empirical evidence indicating an association with uncertainty, in the form of asylum waiting times, on refugees' self-reported health. We devise four hypotheses that: long waiting time for asylum decisions increases likelihood of self-reported health problems and the effect persists overtime, that female refugees report higher levels of health problems resulting from uncertainty and religion moderates the association between health and uncertainty. We use data from the UK longitudinal Survey of New Refugees wherein all new refugees were sent a baseline survey immediately after receiving refugee status and then follow-up surveys 21 months later. The findings show longer asylum waiting time is associated with poor health. Female refugees were more likely to report poor emotional and physical health. The negative effect of asylum waiting time on emotional health persists 21 months post settlement and is worse for women. The hypothesisabout the ameliorating effect of religion is only partially supported. Our findings supports existing theory and qualitative studies about the deleterious effects of using policies of waiting-related uncertainty for managing migration. Given the wide use of such policies in the Global North, our work is suggestive of likely generalisability. Thus, countries with large refugee populations might want to consider our findings when developing asylum policy which minimises impact on refugee health.

Alexithymic Traits and Somatic Symptoms in Children and Adolescents: a Screening Approach to Explore the Mediation Role of Depression

The association among alexithymia, somatic symptoms and clinical correlates has been scantly investigated in children. The present study examined alexithymic features and somatic symptomatology in schoolchildren with high and low levels of depression, testing the role of depressive symptoms in mediating the associations between alexithymia and somatic symptoms. Seven-hundred schoolchildren were involved in this study and divided into two subgroups (8-10years and 11-14years) in order to test differences according to the age. Participants completed the Children's Somatization Inventory-24 for the assessment of somatic symptoms, the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children to evaluate alexithymic features and the Children's Depression Inventory-2 to investigate depressive symptoms. Results showed that children with high levels of depression reported both higher alexithymia and somatic symptoms levels. Despite a direct effect of alexithymia on somatic symptoms, the mediation analyses also highlighted an indirect effect of alexythimia on somatic symptoms through depressive symptoms. Findings suggested that a depressive symptomatology may clarify why schoolchildren with high alexithymia scores tend to report higher levels of health problems. Results also support the possibility that depressive symptoms may contribute to the development of somatic symptomatology among schoolchildren in the presence of high levels of alexithymia.

The Effects of Domestic Violence on Violent Prison Misconduct, Health Status, and Need for Post-Release Assistance Among Female Drug Offenders in Taiwan.

Although much research has documented the fact that a high percentage of female inmates serving sentences for drug offenses have experienced domestic violence prior to incarceration, little research has been done to explore the potential long-term impact of domestic violence on prison misconduct, health status, and the need for post-release assistance. Based on survey data for 633 female drug offenders collected from Taiwanese correctional facilities in 2014, about one third (32%) of the offenders reported experienced domestic violence at least once prior to their incarceration. In all, 27% of them experienced being violently abused by a spouse/coinhabitant. Multivariate regression analyses indicate that a prior history of domestic violence victimization contributes significantly to inmates' violent misconduct even after controlling for a set of potential intervening variables. In addition, female drug offenders who were the victims of domestic violence reported higher levels of health problems in the prison setting, and perceived need for greater after-release assistance.

Optometric Education in Africa

The African continent, with a population of more than one billion and 55 recognized developing countries, is still grappling in some countries with socioeconomic and other challenges inherent in developing countries. The continent is working toward a single political entity known as the African Union, and development is taking place faster than ever in most countries. The continent is known to have high levels of health problems, including visual impairment and blindness. Most nations in the continent are making efforts to reduce the scourge of health problems including visual impairment and blindness. Visual impairment in the continent is mostly caused by refractive errors. Consequently, optometry can help reduce the prevalence of visual impairment on the continent. The educational programs currently offered by the different institutions include Diploma in Optometry (DipOptom), Bachelor of Optometry (BOptom), and Doctor of Optometry (OD). There are 17 established institutions offering optometry degree programs on the continent, of which 14 are fully accredited. Considering the optometric manpower needed in the continent, more optometry institutions need to be established. Staffing and infrastructural and training facilities are major challenges facing the majority of the existing institutions. There is also a need to place greater emphasis on postgraduate education to meet the institutional, national, and international professional training standards and to ensure sustainability of optometry education. This article addresses the historical development, educational issues, challenges, and needs, as well as recommendations, for improving the standard and sustainability of optometric education.

Carer‐Reported Contemporary Health Problems in People With Severe and Profound Intellectual Disability and Genetic Syndromes

Abstract Identifying health problems in people with severe and profound disabilities and genetic syndromes can be problematic, and unidentified or unmanaged health problems may adversely impact an individual’s quality of life. The authors studied carer‐reported contemporary health problems in three genetic syndromes (Angelman, Cornelia de Lange, and Cri du Chat syndromes) associated with severe and profound disabilities and investigated the association of these problems with affect. A control group of individuals with an intellectual disability of heterogeneous causes was used. A carer‐report questionnaire was used to collect the data. Health problems were classified using Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD‐10) criteria. Negative affect was assessed using the Mood, Interest and Pleasure Questionnaire. Half of the total sample reported at least one health problem. The nature of the health problems varied across groups, with particularly high levels of diseases of the nervous system seen in Angelman syndrome and diseases of the digestive system in Cornelia de Lange syndrome. Correlational analysis across the groups revealed a positive association between negative affect and the presence of a health problem. High levels of health problems occur in this population with certain problems associating with particular syndromes. The authors concluded that these problems seem to have a negative impact on individual affect, although further research investigating this relationship is needed.

Building relationships between pharmacy students and the Pacific community: A pilot project

Pacific Island (PI) individuals make up 6.5% of the New Zealand population. They face high levels of health problems, and experience difficulties in accessing appropriate health care. This project attempted to build relationships between pharmacy students and the PI community. As part of their fourth year pharmacy programme, seven students met with PI individuals to ask them about any medicines related problems they had, and to help to address these. Fifteen individuals were formally interviewed. Students became more positive towards the PI community and more aware of issues they faced. It is hoped that the project also encouraged PI individuals to see pharmacists as willing and able to assist with medicine problems.

Physical and Behavioral Health of Medicaid Children in Two Southern States

As the primary insurer of children in the United States, Medicaid covers at least one in four US children. Information on the health and behavioral health needs of this group of children is critical to plan, deliver, and monitor services accordingly. Parent interview data from a representative sample of Medicaid children in two Southern states were used to generate information from standardized questionnaires on physical health status, chronic illnesses, physical functioning, emotional and behavioral symptoms, and psychosocial functioning. The levels of physical and behavioral health and co-occurring problems were higher than other estimates available on the general population. The high levels of health problems among Medicaid-enrolled children need attention in the current struggles over Medicaid reform. Support for improving screening, referral, and integration of services is discussed, as well as the importance of monitoring service system performance in this era of managed care.

Bullying's Sequelae Know No Borders

Bullying's Sequelae Know No Borders

Sex differences in health at ages 11, 13 and 15

This paper tests the hypothesis of an emerging or increasing female excess in general ill-health and physical symptoms, as well as psychological distress, during early to mid-adolescence. Self-reported data on general health (longstanding illness and health in the last 12 months), recent symptoms (classified as ‘physical’ and ‘malaise’) and depressive mood were obtained from a large, Scottish, school-based cohort at ages 11, 13 and 15. Generally high levels of health problems at age 11 tended to increase with age, these increases being greater for females than males, not only in respect of depression and ‘malaise’ symptoms, but also limiting illness, ‘poor’ self-rated health, headaches, stomach problems and dizziness. The consequence, by age 15, is the emergence of a female excess in general ill-health and depressive mood, and a substantial strengthening of the small excess in both ‘physical’ and ‘malaise’ symptoms already apparent at 11 years. These findings are discussed in relation to explanations for the adult female excess in poorer health, and the emergence of a female excess of depression during adolescence.

Substance Abuse Treatment: Critical Issues and Challenges in the Treatment of Latina Women

This article presents data on the profile and history of childhood abuse from a study of 66 Latinas enrolled in a residential substance abuse treatment program. Data were gathered through interviews conducted at program entry. A significant majority reported a childhood history of abuse (80%) and past year diagnosis of mental health problems (76%) and health (68%) problems. Compared to those with no reported history of childhood abuse, women with a history of abuse were more likely to be predominantly Spanish speakers (p = .01), report significantly higher levels of health problems (p = .01), have had children removed from their custody (p = .008), and drop out in the early stages of treatment (p = .01). These findings have important implications for the course of treatment, how history of abuse is handled in residential treatment, and support services needed by clients. The authors discuss challenges and approaches to providing needed services.

Subjective health complaints: Is coping more important than control?

The influence of psychological demands in a work situation on subjective health complaints has been investigated. A demand/coping model has been developed and compared with the traditional demand}control model. The new model is based on the notion that all stressors (loads) are filtered by coping (positive response outcome expectancies) and defence mechanisms (stimulus distortion) before they gain access to the response system. A total of 1060 employees (401 men and 659 women) working in the Norwegian postal service filled out questionnaires on psychological demands, control, coping (Utrecht Coping List), job stress, and subjective health complaints (Subjective Health Complaint Inventory). Subjective health complaints were found to depend more on combinations of demands and coping than on demands and control. Individuals with high demands/low coping had most health problems, and those with low demands}high coping had the lowest level. Individuals with high demands/high coping had high reports of job stress, but not high levels of health problems. Individual coping mechanisms were more important for subjective health than were organizational factors.

High-risk young mothers: infant mortality and morbidity in four areas in the United States, 1973-1978.

An examination of the changes in infant mortality and morbidity in four regions in the United States has revealed high levels of health problems among the infants of two groups of mothers: those less than or equal to 17 years and 18-19 year-old multiparas, many of whom began their childbearing under age 18. Despite decreases over the period of observation, neonatal mortality rates remain over one and a half times as high for infants of these mothers as for other mothers, largely due to the relatively high proportion of low birthweight (LBW) infants born to these mothers. Post-neonatal mortality rates also remain high, and may be increasing; this change cannot be explained solely by differences in proportion of LBW infants between these and older mothers. Both the high post-neonatal mortality rates and the type of morbidity experienced by surviving infants is consistent with the socioeconomic disadvantage of young mothers. The data further indicate the limited resources available to these mothers to cope with their children's health needs, and their potential vulnerability to decreases in public programs supporting child health care.