Socio-cultural Access Research Articles

Addressing Maternal Perinatal Mortality: State Responsibility in Primary Health Care in Perú

Using data from the Comprehensive Health Insurance, this study examined Primary Health Care (PHC) and disparities in maternal-perinatal health in Peru. Its primary goal was to assess how PHC affected the decline in high and persistent maternal and perinatal mortality. The investigation also encompassed regional inequities and unequal access to health services. The study used a technique that integrated a qualitative approach, a review of scientific literature, and data analysis. It made clear how crucial it is to address inequality characteristics such as sociocultural accessibility, geographic, and economic in order to enhance care in the nation. The findings demonstrate the necessity of resolving these disparities in order to improve prenatal and maternal care. The present study offers a robust basis for subsequent inquiries and the development of evidence-based health policies. The Ministerio de la Mujer y Poblaciones Vulnerables (2021) recommended changes in health policy, which this study supports in order to enhance the health of vulnerable people and reduce inequities in access to maternal-perinatal care. The study also highlights the critical necessity of PHC in Peru. Its primary contributions are to deepen our understanding of disparities in obstetric treatment and to set the stage for future studies and national health policy.

Exploring the nexus between assessment, quality and social justice: reflections on remote assessment practices

ABSTRACT In the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) during the Covid-19 pandemic, remote assessment and feedback became a major source of discontent and challenge for students and staff. This paper is a reflection and analysis of assessment practices during ERT&L, and our theorisation of the possibilities for shifts towards sustainable and transformative approaches to assessment in the global south. We argue that the challenges experienced during the pandemic revealed a view of assessment as gatekeeping, and a conception of quality as exceptional. In the context of ERT&L, assessment strategies based on such views may have further marginalised and disadvantaged students faced with technological, economic, and socio-cultural access issues. We highlight that institutional responses and staff concerns regarding standards and the validity and reliability of remote assessments are evident of affirmative rather than transformative approaches to reimagining assessments for social justice.

The Role of Local Communities in the Discourse of Controversial Heritage of Norway and Estonia

The current paper analyses the paradigm shifts in the discourse of heritage sites with tragic personal stories, memories, and remains, emphasising local communities' role in reframing controversial heritage in Norway and Estonia. Although these stories are from different cultures and places, they all spin around the same - how do we deal with the most delicate strings in the human mind, beliefs, sorrows, and dignity. The sites under discussion are "ghosts" of the tragedies of the past century. Among heritage communities, states and experts, there were intense debates about the values and fate of those areas. Besides several historical, political and socioeconomic issues, personal wounds were reconciled. The first case describes the heritage communities' initiatives in accessing and reconciling values of contested Cold War heritage - Suurpea Naval Base erected during Soviet Occupation and deportations on the coasts of Estonia. The second case deals with the initial demolition and later recognition of Sami burial sites and sacred landscapes of Arctic Norway, re-gaining the rights to Saami heritage and restitution. These cases highlight the importance of inclusiveness while dealing with conflicting histories, reconciliation, restitution, and dignity of heritage and communities concerned. Authors rely on a holistic concept of cultural heritage. Cultural communities, spirit and feeling of their presence are essential indicators of character and sense of place. The authors show the benefits of a people-centred approach towards heritage as the basis of transformative change in heritage protection. The authors` positions are not purely academic – they have been involved in defining and protecting the cultural heritage of the areas under discussion.
 Keywords: cultural heritage, heritage communities, sociocultural accessibility, inclusiveness, restitution, reconciliation

Notes for the Rural Criminologist: Conducting Field Research with Rural Law Enforcement

Drawing primarily on research with law enforcement officers in rural East Texas, this research note explores the practical challenges of conducting qualitative research with rural police and provides tips for successfully overcoming the barriers that arise. Conducting qualitative research in a rural setting, especially with rural law enforcement agencies and officers, presents unique challenges. As with all rural investigations, defining ‘rural’ and identifying a target space to study is the first substantial hurdle. Once a rural community has been identified, the researcher will face issues related to the geographic distance or isolation of their chosen community that can affect their physical access to the research site and data. Traveling to and navigating rural spaces requires extensive preparation that may be easily overlooked if the researcher is accustomed to collecting data in and from urban cities and agencies. Additionally, and perhaps more significantly, challenges involving sociocultural access accompany rural research projects. Regarding law enforcement specifically, the intersection of the rural community’s culture, dense social networks, and an often-distinct occupational police subculture can either be advantageous, or present obstacles, to successful completion of research. Furthermore, the rural researcher must consider their physical and emotional safety when interviewing, engaging, or participating with first responders. Backup may be delayed due to the geographic expansiveness of an agency’s jurisdiction and the fact that few officers are patrolling at a given time, and treatment in the event of a tragic encounter may be limited due to the lack – sometimes simultaneously in quantity and quality – of healthcare facilities and providers.

La seguridad alimentaria nutricional en el Perú: disponibilidad agroalimentaria

Es preciso conocer la definición de Seguridad Alimentaria Nutricional, bajo un enfoque de derecho a la alimentación. La FAO y políticas nacionales la definen como: “Seguridad alimentaria nutricional es el acceso físico, económico y socio cultural de todas las personas en todo momento a alimentos suficientes, inocuos y nutritivos, de manera que puedan ser utilizados adecuadamente para satisfacer sus necesidades nutricionales, a fin de llevar una vida activa y sana”. El presente estudio expone resultados del análisis descriptivo sobre la Seguridad Alimentaria Nutricional en el Perú, enfocada al análisis del componente Disponibilidad Agroalimentaria y su aporte nutricional hacia la persona.

Access to Infertility Consultations “What Women Tell Us About it”?

Background:Infertility has been considered as a serious public health problem. Nevertheless, it is still very difficult to assess the epidemiology of this individual and public health problem. On the other hand, promotion of access to infertility treatments must be treated as a priority to national and regional policies.Objective:The aim was to evaluate the perception of women concerning the barriers and access to infertility consultations.Methods:Socio cultural and economic access to infertility consultations is detached and three municipalities of the northwest of Portugal were chosen as an example of a peripheral country. A quantitative/qualitative study was done with 60 women.Results:Three dimensions were evaluated: geographic and structural and functional access, economic access and sociocultural access. The main barriers were mainly identified in the last two dimensions. The economic access was less well evaluated by women bearing the cost of treatment (medication, and concentration of costs in a short period) which is difficult to bear.Conclusion:This can justify a greater involvement of the Portuguese Government, by developing policies for the reimbursement of part of the costs. Also, some changes in structural and functional access must be done with special regard to the separation of the infertility consultations from the reproductive medicine section. The setting of the teams, with a follow-up by the same team of health professionals is also needed.

Womens Needs Related to Family Planning: Meta-Synthesis

To understand women´s needs related to the care in family planning, we conducted a meta-synthesis based on Noblit and Hare´s meta-ethnography. Nine studies were included in this review. Five themes were identified: sociocultural access, geographical access, economic access, organizational access and quality of care. A "line of argument" synthesis was produced with six constructs: sociocultural context, accessibility, availability, functional adequacy, ability of purchasing, technical and relational adequacy. The needs relating to family planning was understood to multiple dimensions of access to health services. The most relevant aspects were: financial condition, gender and religion related as determinants of reproductive decisions; health resources inadequacy; concerns with side effects; unsatisfactory interpersonal relations; lack of information and counseling; difficulties for male access. To overcome the distance between recommended care and provided care at the services it is indispensable organization of actions committed to gender equality, considering objective and subjective aspects to the care in family planning.

VISUALIZATION OF METHOD-SPECIFIC SUICIDE MORTALITY DATA

The aim of this article is to examine method-specific suicide mortality data. Method-specific suicide trends vary across countries by time, age, and sex. Often the patterns of suicidal behaviour are determined by sociocultural accessibility of suicide methods and their corresponding associations are very complex. In this article a graphic software tool (Cirocs) is used to visualize tabulated method-specific mortality data counts. Created images allow capturing and displaying complex patterns.

Access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care facilities in three rural districts of Sindh province, Pakistan.

BackgroundPakistan’s maternal and child health indicators remain unacceptably high, with a maternal mortality ratio of 276 per 100,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 55 per 1,000 live births. Provision of basic and comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care is mandated by the government; however, coverage, access, and utilisation levels remain unsatisfactory, with the situation in Sindh province being amongst the worst in the country. This study attempted to assess access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care (C-EmONC) facilities and barriers hampering access in Sindh.MethodsOne public sector hospital in each of three districts in Sindh province providing C-EmONC services were selected for a facility exit survey. A cross-sectional household survey and focus group discussions were conducted in the catchment population of these hospitals.ResultsOverall, 82% and 96% of those who utilised a public or private C-EmONC facility, respectively, incurred out-of-pocket expenditure. As expected, those living more than 5 km from the facility reported higher mean expenditure than those living within 5 km of the facility. More than half of the respondents (55%) among public sector users and the majority (71%) of private sector users could not afford travel costs. More than one third (35%) of public sector users and about two thirds (64%) of private sector users who could not afford travel costs took loans. The proportion of respondents who took loans was higher among those living more than 5 km of the health facility compared to those living within a 5 km distance. The majority of respondents (70%) in the community survey chose to go to a private sector C-EmONC facility. In addition to poverty, in terms of sociocultural access, religious and ethnic discrimination and the poor attitude of facility staff were amongst the most important barriers to accessing a C-EmONC facility.ConclusionsC-EmONC facilities in both the public and private sectors may simply not be accessible and affordable for the vast majority of poor and marginalised women in targeted districts.

Occupational Mobility Patterns: A Case Study of Leadership and Access in the National Football League

th , 2013; revised August 9 th , 2013; accepted August 20 th , 2013 This short report provides an overview and analysis of data on coaching mobility patterns in the National Football League (NFL). Previous studies in this area have generally focused on the effectiveness of the Rooney Rule (for example, analyzing the hiring process and proposing new strategies to increase the number of non-White head coaches) and comparing the win/loss records of White and non-White head coaches (for example, determining whether non-White coaches are provided with a meaningful opportu- nity to turn around a team with a losing record). This report focuses on whether Whites and non-Whites face systemic and socio-cultural access barriers after one or more stints as a head coach in the NFL. The findings of this study indicate that, historically, NFL teams have been reluctant to hire a non-White indi- vidual for a head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator position after a non-White indi- vidual has previously been fired or has resigned from a head coach position in the NFL.

A Look at Information Access through Physical, Intellectual, and Socio-cultural Lenses

Information access can be thought of as a continuum beginning with information acquisition and culminating at information use. Information access begins at a point where a user comes into contact with information. The nature of this contact is largely determined by three facets of information access, namely the physical, intellectual, and socio-cultural access to information (Burnett et al., 2008). Use of the acquired information is also affected by this tripartite model. A holistic study of information access must take these three facets into account when determining the likelihood with which information might be used by a user to satisfy her/his need.<BR> Physical access to information is often addressed in digital divide studies, and intellectual information access tends to be a strong component of information literacy research. There are some studies (although limited in scope) exploring the socio-cultural aspect of access to information, but holistic discussion of information access that incorporates all three lenses in examination of access issues is largely absent from the information studies literature. This paper presents an overview of the complexities of this holistic model of information access, with an emphasis on understanding of the socio-cultural elements that support or prevent group access to needed information.

Access to residential care in Beijing, China: making the decision to relocate to a residential care facility

ABSTRACTThe demand for residential care by older people is increasing in Beijing as a result of dramatic demographic and socio-economic transformations. Little is known about the way older people access residential care in the context of Beijing. In this research, qualitative data collected from 46 in-depth semi-structured interviews with residential care facility (RCF) managers, older residents, and their family members in six RCFs in Beijing were transcribed and analysed using the constant comparative method. The findings included the following themes: access to residential care as geographical access, information access, economic access, socio-cultural access, and the socio-managerial environment. Geographical access is influenced by location, distance, and the micro-physical environment and amenities of RCFs. Information access refers to the capability to acquire related information on available resources. Economic access is the financial affordability for the resources. Socio-cultural access is affected by individual attitudes and aggregative cultural values on ageing and care of older people. Additionally, the social-managerial environment such as reputations of RCFs, quality of services, and management mechanisms are also important to the decision-making process. All these factors influence older people and their family members’ decision-making process of which RCF to choose. The research provides a multi-perspective analysis of access to residential care and suggestions on improving the accessibility of residential care for older people in Beijing.