Vulnerable Persons Research Articles

Role of Media Consumption, Governmental Distrust & Psychological Vulnerability in Predicting Affective Well-being of University Students & Healthcare Professionals during COVID-19

The present research aimed to explore the role of media consumption, governmental distrust, and psychological vulnerability in predicting the practical well-being of university students and healthcare professionals during COVID-19. Two correlational studies were conducted. Study 1 was conducted with 411 university students (206 Women; 205 men), and it was conducted during the first lockdown in Pakistan. Study 2 was conducted during the thigh-intensity phase he COVID-19, and the sample comprised 375 healthcare professionals (198 women; 177 men). Both studies showed that higher levels of media consumption, governmental distrust, and psychological vulnerability were associated with lower levels of well-being. Our path models in both studies (with students and healthcare professionals) indicate that during the pandemic, participants’ level of media consumption, trust in the government, and their personal vulnerability were negatively associated with their affective well-being. These findings have implications for individuals’ affective well-being during healthcare crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personality traits as predictors of depression across the lifespan

BackgroundDepression is a major public health concern. A barrier for research has been the heterogeneous nature of depression, complicated by the categorical diagnosis of depression which is based on a cluster of symptoms, each with its own etiology. To address the multifactorial etiology of depression and its high comorbidity with anxiety, we aimed to examine the relations between personality traits, diverse behavioral, cognitive and physical measures, and depression and anxiety over the lifespan. MethodOur sample was drawn from the NKI-RS, a community-based lifespan sample (N = 1494 participants aged 6 to 85). Analyses included multivariate approach and general linear models for group comparisons and dimensional analyses, respectively. A machine learning model was trained to predict depression using many factors including personality traits. ResultsDepression and anxiety were both characterized by increased neuroticism and introversion, but did not differ between themselves. Comorbidity had an additive effect on personality vulnerability. Dimensionally, depression was only associated with personality in adolescence, where it was positively correlated with neuroticism, and negatively correlated with extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The relationship between anxiety and personality changed over time, with neuroticism and conscientiousness being the most salient traits. Our machine learning model predicted depression with 70 % accuracy with neuroticism and extraversion contributing most. LimitationsDue to the cross-sectional design, conclusions cannot be drawn about causal relationships between personality and depression. ConclusionThese results underscore the impact of personality on depressive disorders and provide novel insights on how personality contributes to depression across the lifespan.

Data Protection Impact Assessment under the EU General Data Protection Regulation: A feminist reflection

Can the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) under Article 35 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) address the power imbalances between those in control of information and the most vulnerable and marginalised persons to whom this information refers? Put another way, can DPIA be considered a feminist tool?Whilst data protection scholars and regulators consider DPIA a promising instrument for the protection of the fundamental rights threatened by personal data processing, particularly when performed by automated systems, a feminist critique thereof, essential to comprehensively evaluate whether such optimism is justified, is still missing. This contribution addresses this knowledge gap using a combination of doctrinal and non-doctrinal analysis, feminist legal methods and intersectionality.Building on the state of the art about DPIA, I revisit its advantages and drawbacks through feminist lenses, concluding that DPIA cannot be considered a feminist tool as such. Yet, it could still serve feminist goals and become an empowering instrument for data subjects. For that, my proposals are to incorporate feminist legal methods and intersectionality principles in the process and to conceptualise a “right to DPIA”.

Protecting Confidentiality in the Digital Ecosystem of Humanitarian Aid

Protecting Confidentiality in the Digital Ecosystem of Humanitarian Aid

Media Portrayals of Religion, Prayer Camps and Persons with Mental Illness in Ghana: A Discursive and Narrative Analysis

Abstract In Ghana, the situation of persons with mental illness is precarious. This is due, in part, to the inadequate resources for mental health care. Individuals and families whose relatives suffer from mental illness rely largely on faith-based resources. The media has sought to highlight aspects of the stigmatisation and rejection of the mentally ill. These reportages show the dilapidated conditions under which vulnerable persons are kept in religious institutions. They also highlight serious issues that need attention, but how exactly do they construct mental illness, religion, and Ghanaian society and do they challenge or uphold stigmatising notions about religion and the mentally ill? We use a discursive and narrative approach to unpack the depictions of three reportages and one official documentary about mental illness and religion in Ghana. We argue that stigmatisation prevails in the chosen videos, but the videos also do provide knowledge and understanding, however with varied focus on and insights into religious aspects of mental health care.

Overview of recent cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the European Committee of Social Rights (June 2023 – December 2023)

This case law report discusses two cases before the European Court of Human Rights and two cases before the European Committee of Social Rights. The first case (Pająk and others v. Poland) concerns the introduction of a lower and different retirement age on the basis of sex for judges of the Polish Constitutional Court. In the case X and others v. Ireland, the ECtHR had to examine the extent to which the residence requirement for child benefits violated Article 14 ECHR, read in conjunction with Article 8 ECHR and Article 1 of the Additional Protocol to the ECHR. Child benefits were paid only to claimants who were fully resident in Ireland, and the applicants, who were awaiting a decision on their residency status, did not fulfil this requirement under Irish law. The collective complaint no. 167/2018 (Sindacato autonomo Pensionati Or.S.A. v. Italy) concerned an alleged violation of Article 12 (3) ESC due to the total or partial suspension of the automatic indexation of a large share of pensions in 2011. The measure was extended in 2015 and revised in 2018, taking into account the position of particularly vulnerable persons. In the last case (collective complaint no. 185/2019, European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. Belgium), the applicants argued that their right to social assistance had been violated, as they had not received social assistance benefits following a police investigation. The ECSR did not go along with the applicants’ claim.

Mental Illness Leading to Homelessness in Adolescents and Reintegration with Families: A Case Series of Three Adolescent Girls

Individuals with poor mental health often find themselves vulnerable to a myriad of factors such as poverty, social disadvantage, lower level of education, abuse, and personal vulnerability. For these reasons, they struggle to secure stable housing, which leads to a cycle of persistent poverty. In this background, we present a series of three adolescents who succumbed to homelessness due to their mental illnesses and subsequent social situations. The three adolescent girls were rescued by child welfare committees with the help of police and brought to the hospital. The challenges faced by the treating team included a lack of caregivers, difficulty in ruling out any sexual abuse, dealing with different jurisdictions, financial limitations of parents to travel long distances, COVID restrictions across states, and mental illness of patient impairing capacity. This also delayed their rehabilitation and prolonged hospital stay. We can conclude that clinicians should focus on stopping the vicious cycle at the earliest so that the long‐term consequences of mental illness, as well as homelessness, can be avoided. The current imperative is to establish a secure setting for children while also facilitating early detection and intervention for mental health issues, with a particular focus on homeless children.

Deportation threat predicts Latino US citizens and noncitizens’ psychological distress, 2011 to 2018

The national context of deportation threat, defined as the federal government's approach to deportation and/or deportation's salience to the US public, fluctuated between 2011 and 2018. US Latinos across citizenship statuses may have experienced growing psychological distress associated with these changes, given their disproportionate personal or proximal vulnerabilities to deportation. Drawing on 8 y of public- and restricted-access data from the National Health Interview Survey (2011 to 2018), this article examines trends in psychological distress among Latinos who are US-born citizens, naturalized citizens, and noncitizens. It then seeks to explain these trends by considering two theoretical pathways through which the national context of deportation threat could distress Latinos: 1) through discrete dramatic societal events that independently signal a change to the country's approach to deportation and/or that render deportation temporarily more salient to the public or 2) through more gradual changes to the country's everyday institutional (i.e., quotidian efforts to detain and deport noncitizens) and social (i.e., deportation's ongoing salience to a concerned public) environment of deportation threat. We find that, though both pathways matter to some degree, there is more consistent evidence that the gradual changes are associated with Latino US citizens and noncitizens' overall experiences of psychological distress. The article highlights how, even absent observable spillover effects of dramatic societal events bearing on deportation threat, the institutional and social environment in which they occur implicates Latinos' well-being.

Social Context of Civil Process for Sustainable Development

This paper focuses on the existing mechanisms for the participation of vulnerable persons, including persons with disabilities and children, in civil disputes. As modern democratic society develops the concept of a social state, ensuring equal conditions for the participation of vulnerable persons in civil turnover is essential. Hence, the aim of the study is to identify existing legislative gaps and challenges that prevent the participation of vulnerable persons in civil disputes. Humanity has agreed on a sustainable development plan, in which social sustainability is set as one of the main goals. However, modern civil procedure law is mainly based on the codification of the 19th century, which in turn originates from Roman law. Since then, public relations have changed and modern technologies are constantly developing. The concept of a digital judge, smart contracts, and a blockchain system has already emerged. Therefore, the regulations of civil proceeding do not respond to modern challenges, and it is necessary to update civil procedure legislation in order to provide an equal platform for the participation of vulnerable persons in civil disputes. The purpose of the article is to review the rules of civil procedure law in terms of a social context based on the international approaches, practices, and research. Through a mixed-quantitative, qualitative, and general research methods, as well as comparative analysis, specific recommendations are introduced that will bring civil dispute resolution closer to sustainable development plans and ensure the equal participation of vulnerable persons in civil dispute.

Social Experiences and Health Needs of Patients with Severe Mental Illness and their Caregivers during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Background The strict isolation measures for the population imposed by the health authorities caused a prolonged disruption of informal social support networks. Both this new social situation and the decrease in accessibility to health care have generated new needs in people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their caregivers. Objectives This study provides insight into life experiences and health needs of a population with SMI during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. Methods Qualitative design using semi-structured dyadic interviews, conducted from January through December 2022. A purposive sampling of patients with SMI and their caregivers was carried out through key informants in rural and urban localities in southern Spain. Verbatims were identified and classified by triangulation after the evaluation of the interview transcripts. The codes were defined through content analysis using the NVivo software. Results Semi-structured dyadic interviews (21), identifying three main categories: 1. Social isolation: increased, causing greater personal vulnerability, exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms and exhaustion in caregivers. 2. Accessibility to Health Services : decreased with fewer face-to-face consultations, with difficulty in managing urgent situations and telephone attention in decompensated and disabled patients. 3. Continuity of healthcare: decreased with distrust in health professionals due to lack of communication between primary care and the hospital Conclusion COVID-19 confinement exacerbated loneliness and worse health self-perception in SMI people. Greater formal social support was required. GPs role is key to avoiding delays in appointments and lack of coordination between primary and specialised care.

Individual heat adaptation: Analyzing risk communication, warnings, heat risk perception, and protective behavior in three German cities.

Extreme heat poses severe health threats, as the increased numbers of hospitalizations and fatalities during heat waves show, though little is known about adaptive behavior toward heat. We conducted a household survey on individual perceptions of heat stress and individual heat protection in the summer and autumn of 2019. In total, 1417 people from three medium-sized German cities participated via telephone or online. Based on the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), which we adapted to heat stress, we analyzed links between risk perception, environmental and demographic factors, perceptions of stakeholders, different heat warning messages, as well as actual and intended adaptive behavior. Overall, the PADM constructs explained around 16% of the variance in protection motivation, 19% in protective response, and 23% in emotion-focused coping. Context factors (i.e., temperature, risk communication, gender, age, and homeownership) were significant predictors of the addressed outcome variables as were psychological factors (i.e., perceived personal vulnerability, response efficacy, response costs, preparedness, and perceived external responsibility). We further explored the effect of different warning messages on situational knowledge and intended behavioral adaptation in an experimental setting. Results showed that respondents felt significantly better informed after receiving a warning with action recommendations and reported more intended specific behaviors. Our research gives insights into individual protective action decision-making processes. Based on our findings, we recommend tailoring risk communication strategies and combining heat warnings with action recommendations whenever possible to increase understanding and individual adaptation.

Quantifying Population Characteristics Within and Outside a 30-Minute Drive-Time to Health Resources and Services Administration-Supported Health Centers.

The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Health Center Program provides health care to vulnerable persons across the US, regardless of their ability to pay for health care. We examined characteristics of populations living within and outside a 30-minute drive-time to HRSA-supported health centers to establish a baseline to better understand the differences in these populations. Using a descriptive, cross-sectional study design and geographic information systems, we found that 94% of persons in the US live within a 30-minute drive-time of a health center. Of those outside a 30-minute drive-time to a health center, 11.7 million (60.11%) are rural and over 1.5 million households (20.32%) lack broadband internet access.

Perinatal mental health and Covid-19-related distress: the role of personality traits.

Perinatal mental health is a topic of growing interest, that could affect mothers in a period of high vulnerability, and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic is an important factor to consider in this field. The aim of our study is to study the correlations between five dimensions of personality and subjective Covid-19-related distress in a sample of women in the perinatal period. The study included 114 Italian women in the perinatal period. Subjects were asked to complete the Big Five Inventory (BIG-5) and a version of the Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R) anchored to Covid-19-related distress. When the BIG-5 personality traits and several confounding variables were included in a regression model with IES-R total score as criterion, neuroticism subscale of BIG-5 inventory was the only variable independently associated with higher IES-R total score (p<0.001). Our study highlights the importance of considering the personality vulnerability factors that can worsen psychopathological symptoms of women in the perinatal period, especially in periods of high psychological stress.

Social Context of Civil Process for Sustainable Development

A democratic society develops the concept of a social state, expressed in ensuring equal conditions for the participation of vulnerable persons in civil turnover. At the same time, humanity has agreed on a sustainable development plan, in which social sustainability is set as one of the main goals. Modern civil procedure law is mainly based on the codification of the 19th century, which in turn originates from the "Roman law" created precisely for the citizens of Rome. But since then, public relations have changed and modern technologies are constantly developing. The concept of a digital judge, smart contracts, and a blockchain system has already been developed. Therefore, it is necessary to update the civil procedure legislation to find out how it provides an equal platform for the participation of vulnerable persons in civil disputes. The purpose of this article is to discuss procedures for regulating civil disputes in a social context. As a result of identifying existing gaps, specific recommendations have been developed that will bring civil dispute resolution closer to sustainable development plans and ensure the participation of vulnerable persons in civil disputes on equal terms.

Beyond the lone hero: How interpersonal feedback seeking helps entrepreneurs to engage with their social environment

AbstractEntrepreneurs are often depicted as lone heroes. However, they are encouraged to seek and use feedback from their social environment to refine their venture ideas and enhance performance. Surprisingly, systematic research on entrepreneurs' feedback‐seeking is in its infancy, and this nascent research is marked by conceptual vagueness about the feedback‐seeking process and the limitations of related concepts. This article leverages the rich research on feedback seeking from organizational behavior/applied psychology to explicate the nature of entrepreneurs' interpersonal feedback seeking while considering the specific demands of entrepreneurship. We delineate feedback seeking from related concepts and theorize a process model of how entrepreneurs seek feedback to pursue instrumental, ego, symbolic, and relational goals, resulting in outcomes not only for entrepreneurs but also for their ventures and immediate and wider social environments. This article provides a foundation for research on entrepreneurs' feedback seeking that is attentive to their personal goals and vulnerabilities while also considering the impact of this process on their social environment. Our conceptual model also offers new insights for organizational behavior/applied psychology research on feedback seeking in relation to the future of work.

THE INCLUSION OF DISASTER RISK REDUCATION IN CLASSROOM AND EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: A CASE OF RURAL BALOCHISTAN, PAKISTAN

Purpose – Balochistan, which makes up roughly 44 percent of Pakistan’s total land area, is home to 6 percent of the nation’s inhabitants. Due to long distances and low population density, service delivery is particularly challenging. The province’s educational services are impacted by natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, droughts, and migration. Disaster risk reduction is a widely recognized concept that emphasizes appropriate education to lower an individual’s personal, familial, and communal vulnerability. The role of the school is crucial in Disaster Risk Reducation (DRR) education. As a result, the study’s goal was to explore the approaches adopted for the inclusion of DDR through teaching in classroom and school activities. Methodology – A focus group discussion with three groups of Pakistan studies and Geography teachers was conducted that consistedof 10 male and 14 female members. Findings – Findings demonstrate that the current textbook continues to teach students less about disaster risk reduction; teachers include knowledge from their personal experience in planning lessons about DRR. School assemblies, child clubs and activities designed by school management, and social organizations play a prominent role in DRR education. Further, the role of teachers and school management was identified in psycho-social support during disasters and pandemics. Significance – The study concludes that in addition to extracurricular activities and the teacher’s role, prior disaster experience, school, and social organization played a significant role in DRR education in rural Balochistan. The study results will assist curriculumdevelopers, policymakers, and education leadership in developing more effective school disaster management plans. The results willalso clarify how schools and teachers can close the knowledge gap in disaster preparedness education. Organizations working on disaster risk education and education in emergencies will also benefit from additional research to respond to the need readily and effectively.

Exploring cutoff points and measurement invariance of the Brunnsviken brief quality of life inventory.

Quality of life (QoL) can be defined as the goodness of life, beyond simply absence of disease or functional impairments, self-rating scales of which capture valuable information beyond change in primary outcomes. This study (n = 3,384) validated the Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Inventory (BBQ) across divergent groups by evaluating its measurement invariance (MI). We hypothesized measurement invariance for the BBQ across age groups, genders, depression, and anxiety severity. Potential cutoff points for the BBQ were also explored. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were fit to sample data obtained from an ongoing study on transdiagnostic internet-based treatment modules. Parameters were successively constrained to assess configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance factor structures across different groups. The BBQ demonstrated MI at the metric level and partial MI at the scalar level across all these groups, which remained stable at the strict-residual level for all groups except for genders. These results remained stable after correcting for unbalanced group sizes for gender, clinical-subclinical levels of depression, and clinical-subclinical levels of anxiety. A cutoff point analysis revealed that a BBQ total scores below 39 was associated with notable psychopathology. The BBQ is a reliable measure of QoL that is applicable for various divergent groups (e.g., vulnerable persons), and thus a viable instrument for use in healthcare and research with minimal aversive impact.Clinical trial registration: NCT05016843.

SARS2/COVID 19 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts: A Pilot Community Report

The rapid spread, and relentless mutations of SARS2, are a reminder of how quickly upper respiratory viruses that do not cause acute, debilitating disease in all infected persons can spread, and that continuing mutation is an adaptive hallmark of viruses. The global response to the SARS2/COVID19 pandemic varied widely, country to country, and state to state in the United States of America (U.S.). To better prepare for the next pandemic, the U.S. Government Accounting Office recommends that health agencies “…identify, document and share all challenges and lessons learned … to improve the response to ongoing and future public health emergencies…” Some countries continually published SARS2/ COVID19 reviews and adjusted recommendations throughout the pandemic, but an objective review of the U.S. SARS2/COVID19 public health response is lacking. This knowledge gap can be at least partially filled by taking advantage of publicly-available databases. As an example, this is a report of the spread of SARS2/COVID19 in diverse communities in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Neither mask mandates nor vaccinations halted the surge of SARS2/COVID19 in January, 2022; communities with the highest infection incidence were statistically significantly lowest in per capita income and highest in population density. If these findings apply globally, the development of a library of effective medications should be the first-line defense against the next pandemic, with a plan for effective distribution to the most vulnerable persons.

Older people as vulnerable persons in the perspective of law

In the era of the “silent revolution” of an unstoppable aging of the world’s population, there is a question regarding the appropriateness and desirability of establishing a legal category called “elderly individuals” to address the gradual decline in physical and mental abilities associated with aging. This essay explores the potential designation of older people as an independent category under the law, considering that linking changes in their socio-legal status solely to the passage of time has been viewed as a form of “subjective discrimination” by civil law scholars so far. While labor and social welfare laws have long recognized the “special status” of elderly individuals, and the EU has increasingly referred to them in recent consumer-focused legislation, the prevailing view in Italian civil doctrine opposes the creation of an “old subject” category, arguing that vulnerability cannot be considered an intrinsic and defining characteristic solely based on age. Notwithstanding that, the essay suggests that creating a group or category for vulnerable (elderly) individuals could have several advantages, including recognizing their rights, assigning obligations, implementing tailored procedures, and providing forms of protection. Moreover, it would offer an opportunity to reflect on the importance of empowering individuals and promoting their autonomy in using legal instruments to plan their future.

"We need to talk about it, test it, prevent it, and that is our job": qualitative report on the awareness of primary care physicians regarding HIV in Ukraine.

Approximately 240,000 people in Ukraine are living with HIV. Recent changes in medical legislation have significantly strengthened the role of family doctors and primary care pediatricians in the prevention, early detection and follow-up of patients with HIV. Thus, the purpose of the study was to examine the experience of primary care physicians in testing and providing care to patients with HIV. Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with typical representatives of the target audience from different regions of Ukraine were conducted. Inductive thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data upon standardized research protocols using the Theoretical Domain System. The results identify knowledge, skills, motivation, barriers, and opportunities in the context of HIV testing among family doctors in Ukraine. Primary health care providers consider HIV testing of patients to be an important part of their professional activities. In most cases, HIV testing is initiated upon detection of clinical indicators or when a person is identified as a key population. Preventive testing at the request of the patient is less common. Although most family doctors believe that they are sufficiently informed to conduct testing, there is a certain knowledge gap regarding communication with the patient and further treatment in case of a positive HIV result. The main obstacle to regular HIV testing is the reluctance and resistance of patients, as well as in some cases insufficient or non-existent tests in primary health care facilities. In order to improve the situation with HIV testing among the population, family doctors believe that it is necessary to organize regular trainings and courses to improve the skills of doctors on HIV, provide primary health care facilities with sufficient tests and establish high-quality information support. The obtained results clearly outline the main problems that concern family doctors in Ukraine regarding work with key vulnerable groups and persons living with HIV.