Policy Level Research Articles

Spatial Clustering of Malnutrition and Anemia Among Reproductive Women and Its Associated Risk Factors in India: Evidence From National Family Health Survey-5.

Malnutrition and anemia are 2 severe public health concerns, predominantly in low-and middle-income nations. Malnutrition is defined as poor nutritional condition that encompass both under nutrition and over nutrition. The prevalence of overweight or obesity and anemia has increased in India from 2016 to 2021. The study aims to investigate the spatial clustering and factors responsible for underweight, overweight/obesity, and anemia among reproductive women (15-49 years) in India using the data from National Family and Health Survey-5 (2019-2021). We conducted hot-spot analysis using Moran's Index (MI) with the help spatial analysis software (i.e., GeoDa 1.18 and ArcGIS 10.8). It also demonstrates the autocorrelation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis has been performed to examine different determinants and risk associated with underweight, overweight/obesity, and anemia with various dependent variable by using Stata-14 software. Moran's Index for underweight (MI = 0.68), overweight/obesity (MI = 0.72), and anemia (MI = 0.62) indicates a high level of spatial-autocorrelation (P < .001) exists across the districts in India. As a result, a total of 156, 143, and 126 hot-spot districts are detected for underweight, overweight/obesity, and anemia, respectively. The burden of undernutrition and anemia is higher in rural areas. Risk of under nutrition and anemia are both reduced by media exposure and eating habits. Moreover, low income and low education level raises the risk of anemia and undernutrition, while obesity shows an inverse trend with income and education level. The study recommends targeting hot-spot districts for malnutrition and anemia, and policy level initiatives by addressing the responsible risk factors.

Cities as Actors in the EU Policy Towards China

AbstractCity diplomacy between European Union (EU) and Chinese cities has become an increasingly significant layer of bilateral relations. The collaboration between cities is extensive and covers a wide range of thematic areas, with around half of European cities having partnerships with Chinese counterparts, according to a survey of 745 cities. However, despite the commonality of these partnerships, our research has highlighted a disconnect between subnational relations and the upper levels of European policy. Despite some previous initiatives, local actors have not been effectively engaged in EU policy‐making. The European Parliament has called for greater co‐ordination with substate actors, but this call has gone unanswered. This article unpacks the city level of EU relations with China, showing its scope, patterns of co‐operation and potential impact. The authors present theoretical and empirical arguments to support the notion that city diplomacy could have a much more significant impact on EU policy towards China.

Institutional responses to sexual harassment and misogyny towards women teachers from boys in Australian schools in the post-#metoo era

ABSTRACT Sexual harassment and misogyny are historical experiences of the teaching workforce in Australia. While #metoo promised a moment of reckoning for all girls and women, this reckoning has been less acutely felt in Australian schools, evidenced by a persistence of sexual harassment and misogyny despite progress allegedly made in political and public discourse. In this paper, we draw on data from interviews with 30 women teachers and critically examine their reflections on responses from their school leadership to sexual harassment and misogyny from boys. We demonstrate that school-level responses to misogyny do not reflect broader attitudinal shifts initiated by #metoo, indicating that school leadership largely remains beholden to institutional norms and gender regimes that legitimate and consolidate practices of hegemonic masculinity that subordinate girls and women. We conclude by calling for a renewed focus on addressing cultures of misogyny and sexism in schools at both a policy and classroom level.

Tackling the Menace of Speed Violation among Motorcyclists in Nigeria: A Policy Brief

Motorcycle accidents in Nigeria are of particular concern because they rank among the top two vehicle causes of road traffic accidents in the country. Also, the motorcycle plies every road type in the country, and over-speeding tops its causes of accidents, a cause that also ranks top in the human causes of all accidents in all vehicle types. The partial or complete ban on the use of motorcycles has proven to be ineffective in various regions of the country due to its role in sustaining the livelihood of many Nigerians. However, on a policy level, motorcycle accidents have been neglected in Nigeria despite changing policies and intervention programmes since the pre-1939 era of Road Traffic Management. Currently, it is paramount to investigate Motorcycle accidents, emphasizing over-speeding as an emergency. Therefore, the aim of this review is to investigate any existing policy that tackles motorcycle accidents, whether at the national or regional level and develop it to make recommendations for an independent policy that should urgently regulate the motorcycle means of transportation and subsequently tackle motorcycle accidents in Nigeria.

A comparative analysis of Chinese green building policies from the central and local perspectives using LDA and SNA

ABSTRACT China’s construction, energy consumption, and emissions are the world’s largest, making green building (GB) crucial for sustainable development and climate action. GB policies play a crucial role in promoting sustainable development and mitigating environmental impacts. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of China’s GB policies at both central and local levels using natural language processing (NLP), Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), and semantic network analysis (SNA). It also integrates three theoretical frameworks: Policy Implementation Theory, Sustainable Development Theory, and Innovation Diffusion Theory. The study aims to: (1) compare the characteristics of central and local GB policies; (2) identify problems and propose solutions to improve policy effects and impacts. The results show that both levels of policies cover various sustainability aspects but with different focuses. The SNA reveals the semantic relationships and differences within the policy documents. The study suggests several strategies to enhance GB policy effectiveness and sustainability, based on the three theoretical frameworks. These strategies include providing more specific guidance, enhancing financial support and incentives, promoting technological advancements, strengthening monitoring and evaluation, adopting a more systematic approach, democratizing policy formulation, identifying key stakeholders and influencers, and considering innovation characteristics. This study contributes to the GB policy research and practice in China. It is also the first study to use NLP, LDA, and SNA to comprehensively analyze China’s GB policies, and the first study to apply the three theoretical frameworks to GB policy analysis.

Maintaining essential health services during COVID-19 in Ghana: a qualitative study

IntroductionEvidence suggests that non-pharmaceutical interventions such as lockdown policies, restriction of movement and physical distancing to control the novel COVID-19 contributed to the decline in utilisation of essential health services....

The Academic Oratory Tax Paid by Undergraduates as Persons Who Stutter

Abstract: This study highlights the nuanced ways ten undergraduate students who stutter can experience ableism. A critical framework of stuttering ableism at the community and public policy levels are used to interrogate how ableism oppresses persons who stutter. Inclusive language humanizes the experiences of participants who experienced an academic oratory tax and invisibility. Participants paid an academic oratory tax through co-curricular participation and felt invisible, being cast into material participation and passive involvement. Implications for practice include new ways of thinking about belonging for persons who stutter in college.

Are Recreational Sports a Relic of the Past OR a Solution for the Future?

Children's participation in sport is a critical component to their physical and social development and as such, efforts should be made to provide all children with the opportunity to play. In recent years, there has been an observed shift in the focus of youth sports from that of participation for the health benefits of physical activity and fun to that of winning and competing. As a result, there has been a rise in club sports offerings and a subsequent reduction in recreational sports opportunities. This change presents unique challenges to children's access to sport and may not adequately support their overall physical, social, and emotional development. This commentary will discuss the benefits and barriers to increasing recreational sport opportunities using the Social Ecological Model as a framework. It also will propose solutions that can be implemented at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy levels to revive recreational sports.

Effects of Behavioral, Clinical, and Policy Interventions in Reducing Human Exposure to Bisphenols and Phthalates: A Scoping Review.

There is growing interest in evidence-based interventions, programs, and policies to mitigate exposures to bisphenols and phthalates and in using implementation science frameworks to evaluate hypotheses regarding the importance of specific approaches to individual or household behavior change or institutions adopting interventions. This scoping review aimed to identify, categorize, and summarize the effects of behavioral, clinical, and policy interventions focused on exposure to the most widely used and studied bisphenols [bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), and bisphenol F (BPF)] and phthalates with an implementation science lens. A comprehensive search of all individual behavior, clinical, and policy interventions to reduce exposure to bisphenols and phthalates was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Google Scholar. We included studies published between January 2000 and November 2022. Two reviewers screened references in CADIMA, then extracted data (population characteristics, intervention design, chemicals assessed, and outcomes) for studies meeting inclusion criteria for the present review. A total of 58 interventions met the inclusion criteria. We classified interventions as dietary (), clinical (), policy (), and those falling outside of these three categories as "other" (). Most interventions (81%, 47/58) demonstrated a decrease in exposure to bisphenols and/or phthalates, with policy level interventions having the largest magnitude of effect. Studies evaluating policy interventions that targeted the reduction of phthalates and BPA in goods and packaging showed widespread, long-term impact on decreasing exposure to bisphenols and phthalates. Clinical interventions removing bisphenol and phthalate materials from medical devices and equipment showed overall reductions in exposure biomarkers. Dietary interventions tended to lower exposure with the greatest magnitude of effect in trials where fresh foods were provided to participants. The lower exposure reductions observed in pragmatic nutrition education trials and the lack of diversity (sociodemographic backgrounds) present limitations for generalizability to all populations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11760.

Crowdsourced cycling data applications to estimate noise pollution exposure during urban cycling

This research demonstrates a methodology to integrate freely available datasets to understand the relationship between road traffic noise and cycling experiences in a medium sized city. An illustrative example of the methodology was drawn from data for Dublin, Ireland. We aggregate local environmental data with 81,403 Strava cycle trips, contextualised by feedback from 335 cyclists to estimate exposure levels and infer impacts on experiences and behaviours. Results demonstrate that cyclists recognise that they are subjected to increased noise levels and experience negative psychophysical consequences as a result, but they tend to downplay the impact of noise as merely a minor annoyance. Noise also impacts behaviour, most noticeably through temporal and spatial detours. Geospatial mapping was used to visualise the relationship between noise pollution and cycling activity. Estimating traffic noise levels across two cycle routes, direct vs popular detour, revealed a +10 dB(A) increase in exposure for a saving of approximately 4 min on the direct route compared to the detour. Spatial inequities in exposure levels may have serious health consequences for cyclists in a city such as Dublin. The methodology is demonstrated as suitable for policy level interventions and planning purposes.

The impact of child malnutrition on the teaching-learning process of schoolchildren

Introduction: malnutrition is a state of nutritional imbalance that results from insufficient intake of nutrients to meet normal physiological needs. The causes, inadequate food intake in quantity and quality required to meet the needs of the body during growth and psychomotor development, childhood malnutrition, which affects children under 5 years of age worldwide, associated with social and economic determinants in the most countries in the region. In Ecuador it affects 27,2 % of children under 2 years of age, this is the result of inadequate or insufficient nutrition. Objectives: determine the number of infants who are suffering from child malnutrition under 3 to 5 years of age E.G.B. Republic of Colombia, from the Saquisilí canton. Methods: a cross-sectional, quantitative design study with descriptive scope was carried out. Three instruments were used, the first instrument was the WHO growth curve, structured by percentiles, the second was the survey directed at parents, and the third instrument was a questionnaire to assess development-learning. Results: the results obtained in this research describe that 90 % exclusively maintained breast milk during the first six months of life, being a protective factor for the children's immune system. In the final results obtained from the research, mild malnutrition is reflected. In 36,7 % of children, and a significant 20 % of these children suffer from moderate malnutrition, which can indirectly affect their learning development. Conclusions: in this sense, child malnutrition can be reduced by improving levels of maternal education and government policies to promote income redistribution, since the highest percentage of malnourished children belongs to the lowest poverty quintile

Activities used by evidence networks to promote evidence-informed decision-making in the health sector– a rapid evidence review

BackgroundEvidence networks facilitate the exchange of information and foster international relationships among researchers and stakeholders. These networks are instrumental in enabling the integration of scientific evidence into decision-making processes. While there is a global emphasis on evidence-based decision-making at policy and organisational levels, there exists a significant gap in our understanding of the most effective activities to exchange scientific knowledge and use it in practice. The objective of this rapid review was to explore the strategies employed by evidence networks to facilitate the translation of evidence into decision-making processes. This review makes a contribution to global health policymaking by mapping the landscape of knowledge translation in this context and identifying the evidence translation activities that evidence networks have found effective.MethodsThe review was guided by standardised techniques for conducting rapid evidence reviews. Document searching was based on a phased approach, commencing with a comprehensive initial search strategy and progressively refining it with each subsequent search iterations. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement was followed.ResultsThe review identified 143 articles, after screening 1135 articles. Out of these, 35 articles were included in the review. The studies encompassed a diverse range of countries, with the majority originating from the United States (n = 14), followed by Canada (n = 5), Sweden (n = 2), and various other single locations (n = 14). These studies presented a varied set of implementation strategies such as research-related activities, the creation of teams/task forces/partnerships, meetings/consultations, mobilising/working with communities, influencing policy, activity evaluation, training, trust-building, and regular meetings, as well as community-academic-policymaker engagement.ConclusionsEvidence networks play a crucial role in developing, sharing, and implementing high-quality research for policy. These networks face challenges like coordinating diverse stakeholders, international collaboration, language barriers, research consistency, knowledge dissemination, capacity building, evaluation, and funding. To enhance their impact, sharing network efforts with wider audiences, including local, national, and international agencies, is essential for evidence-based decision-making to shape evidence-informed policies and programmes effectively.

Challenges in the reduction of infant mortality in India: have we reached a plateau

The infant mortality rate is one of the major indicators of a country’s overall health and development. From time to time, many new initiatives were launched by the government of India to bring down the IMR of the country. Many of the initiatives launched in the early phases were able to substantially reduce the IMR to 26/100 live births by 2023. However, the decline has not been uniform and the IMR seems to have reached a plateau. Beyond this it will need some major changes at the health policy level to bring the IMR to a level which is compatible with the developed countries. This article attempts to highlight the trajectory of India towards reduction of Infant mortality, the various initiatives launched from time to time and the challenges in bringing it down further from the present plateau stage.

Anti-racist interventions to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare in the UK: an umbrella review and findings from healthcare, education and criminal justice

ObjectivesTo assess the evidence for anti-racist interventions which aim to reduce ethnic disparities in healthcare, with a focus on implementation in the UK healthcare system.DesignUmbrella review.Data sourcesEmbase, Medline, Social Policy...

Health Service Utilization of Black Immigrant Women Residing in the United States: A Systematic Review.

Black immigrants constitute a rapidly growing population group in the U.S. A comprehensive understanding of health services used by Black immigrant women is necessary to support the complex needs of this population. We conducted a systematic review to (1) understand the types of health services used by Black immigrant women living in the U.S. and (2) examine barriers and motivators to using health services. Relevant studies were identified in the following databases: PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL, and Embase. Articles published until October 2022 were included in the review. From a total of 15,245 records, 47 articles that reported on health service utilization practices of Black immigrant women were included in the review. A variety of different health services were accessed by Black immigrant women, such as hepatitis screening, reproductive health services, cancer screenings, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, HIV services, dental services, genetic testing, cardiovascular risk testing, and general health services/ hospitalizations. Motivators for using health services included possession of health insurance, knowledge of health resources and conditions, and positive experiences with providers. Barriers to using health services included challenges navigating the health system, language barriers, and cultural beliefs. Factors that positively influence health service utilization must be expanded at the institutional, societal, and policy levels to improve access to health services for Black immigrant women.

Health-care organization characteristics in cancer care delivery: an integrated conceptual framework with content validation.

Context can influence cancer-related outcomes. For example, health-care organization characteristics, including ownership, leadership, and culture, can affect care access, communication, and patient outcomes. Health-care organization characteristics and other contextual factors can also influence whether and how clinical discoveries reduce cancer incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Importantly, policy, market, and technology changes are transforming health-care organization design, culture, and operations across the cancer continuum. Consequently, research is essential to examine when, for whom, and how organizational characteristics influence person-level, organization-level, and population-level cancer outcomes. Understanding organizational characteristics-the structures, processes, and other features of entities involved in health care delivery-and their dynamics is an important yet understudied area of care delivery research across the cancer continuum. Research incorporating organizational characteristics is critical to address health inequities, test care delivery models, adapt interventions, and strengthen implementation. The field lacks conceptual grounding, however, to help researchers identify germane organizational characteristics. We propose a framework identifying organizational characteristics relevant for cancer care delivery research based on conceptual work in health services, organizational behavior, and management science and refined using a systematic review and key informant input. The proposed framework is a tool for organizing existing research and enhancing future cancer care delivery research. Following a 2012 Journal of the National Cancer Institute monograph, this work complements National Cancer Institute efforts to stimulate research addressing the relationship between cancer outcomes and contextual factors at the patient, provider, team, delivery organization, community, and health policy levels.

Does heterogeneous media sentiment matter the ‘green premium’? An empirical evidence from the Chinese bond market

This paper selects 346 green bonds issued in China from 2016 to 2021 as the sample, and the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) method is employed to confirm the existence of ‘green premium’ in the Chinese bond market. On this basis, data on internet media sentiment and print media sentiment are collected from ‘Sina Weibo’ and ‘China Important Newspaper Full Text Database’ by both Web Crawler Technology and Textual Analysis Methods to explore the impact and the mechanism of heterogeneous media sentiments on the ‘green premium’. The results show that both the optimism of internet media and print media can significantly promote the ‘green premium’ of green bonds, and the influence of print media sentiment on the ‘green premium’ is greater than that of internet media sentiment. In addition, the Bootstrap method verifies the mediating effect of print media sentiment in the influence of internet media sentiment on ‘green premium’, indicating that print media sentiment is an important transmission path. Moreover, the results of the heterogeneity test show that the more optimistic the media is, the more significant the ‘green premium’ effect is in the regions with higher institutional environments and financial subsidies. The ‘green premium’ of green bonds is most pronounced for higher levels of institutional environment and green bond preferential policies.

ЕКОНОМІЧНА БЕЗПЕКОВА ПОЛІТИКА В СТРАТЕГІЯХ ІННОВАЦІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ СИСТЕМ В УМОВАХ ЄВРОІНТЕГРАЦІЇ

In the conditions of European integration, economic security policy ensures effective innovative development of socio-economic systems. In practical terms, security policy is based on the definition of a number of security characteristics that arise during the functioning of socio-economic systems. Economic security policy is one of the main priorities in the strategies of innovative development of socio- economic systems and should be based on the achievement of indicators for Ukraine's entry into the EU based on an increase in a number of indicators. The purpose of the study is the analysis of existing problems in the innovative activity of socio-economic systems and the search for directions of economic security policy in the strategies of their innovative development. In the process of research, the method of comparison was used, which provided an opportunity to explore the diversity of scientific and methodological approaches of different authors, to identify prospects for the development of certain issues; method of generalization - to form own approaches regarding the detailing of means, goals and measures of raising the level of economic security policy in strategies of innovative development of socio- economic systems; the method of analysis and synthesis - to determine the goals of the economic security policy in the development of innovations of socio-economic Вісник Чернівецького торговельно-економічного інституту. 2024. Вип. І (93) 12 systems; abstract-logical method - to summarize and formulate conclusions and prospects for further research. The peculiarities of development of socio-economic systems in modern economic conditions are revealed. Problems of ensuring intellectual property in the implementation of innovations are highlighted. An analysis of the existing scientific approaches regarding the economic security of the development of innovations in socio-economic systems was carried out. It has been proven that strategies for the development of innovations in socio-economic systems should include the security component of both their policy as part of innovative development and all other constituent elements, methods, mechanisms of functioning in the conditions of deepening European integration processes. Taking into account the lack of a single approach to the construction of economic security policy in the strategies of innovative development of socio- economic systems, the authors have formed their own approaches to the formation of goals, means and measures to increase its level. The article proposes to create a monitoring group to collect and analyze the necessary information, as well as to determine the main goals of the economic security policy.

The Role of the Pediatrician in the Promotion of Healthy, Active Living.

Few children and adolescents meet federal nutrition or physical activity recommendations, and many experience poor or inadequate sleep and negative health effects from screen use and social media. These lifestyle factors exacerbate physical and mental health risks for children and adolescents. This clinical report provides guidance to help pediatricians address the nutritional, physical activity, sleep, media and screen use, and social-emotional factors that affect child and adolescent health and wellness. The recommendations in this clinical report aim to promote health and wellness practices for infants, children, and adolescents across several domains of influence, including the individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy levels.

Pola Pelembagaan Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Perguruan Tinggi

The study discusses the dynamics of the implementation of the policy of the Prime Minister No. 30 of 2021 on the prevention and handling of sexual violence at the College of Waterwangi district and discovered institutional patterns of prevention and handling of sexual violence at the College.The research method used is qualitatively descriptive.Data collection techniques using primary and secondary data.Technical data analysis using: 1) data codification; 2) classification; 3) drawing of conclusions.To verify the validity of data using data triangulation.The correspondence of the results of this research is: 1) the involvement of the college with the regional government in the Waterwangi district before the release of the policy number 30 of 2021 permendikbud has shown significant collaboration.Programmes related to violence against women and children have been carried out through special participation forums at district level. College is actively involved in action. 2 ) local government, although involved in previous cooperation, are limited in the authority to intervene in the implementation of this new policy.3 ) major challenges in the implementation of policy ppks in college is the limited human resources and financial.4 ) blended institution was the idea of new legal status was based on obstacles and challenge in the research offers the interaction in vertical kelembagan hierarchy which is not only with the level of policy, but requires consolidated with authority pemiliki knowledge and supervision.