International journal of environmental research and public health
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 2019
Understanding the Factors and the Corresponding Interactions That Influence Construction Worker Safety Performance from a Competency-Model-Based Perspective: Evidence from Scaffolders in China.
Purpose: Construction workers' reactions to safety-related issues during operation vary from person to person due to their different occupational levels, which can be attributed to various influencing factors and their correspondingly complicated interactions. This research aims to propose an integrated framework to combine the concepts of these factors and provide a holistic interpretation of the interrelationship among them. Methods: Based on items that were mainly extracted from competency theory, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted to identify the critical factors from the data collected from 243 scaffolders on Wuhan Metro construction sites. ⋯ Significance: This study provided an integrated theoretical framework and a set of modeling approaches to combine the related concepts and facilitate a greater understanding of construction safety in terms of workers' characteristics and behaviors. Practical implications: This study presented a tentative approach for assessing construction workers' safety competency, as well as emphasized to the managers and professionals the necessity of developing training systems to ensure workers are integrated into a crew in an appropriate and smooth manner. Limitations and Future Work: The volume and the scope of samples impeded the study from achieving a more generalized result and a more cost-efficient data collection approach is in need of development for a comprehensive and in-depth investigation.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 2019
Mental Health among Left-Behind Children in Rural China in Relation to Parent-Child Communication.
In China, there are an estimated 41 million left-behind children (LBC). The objective of this study was to examine the mental health of current-left-behind children (current-LBC) and previous-left-behind children (previous-LBC) as compared to never-left-behind children (never-LBC), while considering factors like parent-child communication. Children were recruited from schools in rural areas of Anhui province in eastern China. ⋯ Parental migration has an independent, long-lasting negative effect on children. Poor parent-child communication is strongly associated with children's mental health. These results indicate that parent-child communication is important for the development of children, and interventions are needed to improve migrant parents' understanding and communication skills with their children.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 2019
The Perceived Impact of Suicide Bereavement on Specific Interpersonal Relationships: A Qualitative Study of Survey Data.
People bereaved by suicide have an increased risk of suicide and suicide attempt, yet report receiving less support than people bereaved by other sudden deaths. Reductions in support may contribute to suicide risk, yet their nature is unclear. We explored the impact of suicide bereavement on the interpersonal relationships of young adults in the UK using an online survey to collect qualitative data. ⋯ We identified four main themes describing the changes in relationships following the suicide: (1) Social discomfort over the death (stigma and taboo; painfulness for self or others to discuss; socially prescribed grief reactions); (2) social withdrawal (loss of social confidence; withdrawal as a coping mechanism); (3) shared bereavement experience creating closeness and avoidance; (4) attachments influenced by fear of further losses (overprotectiveness towards others; avoiding attachments as protective). These findings contribute to understanding deficits in support and pathways to suicidality after suicide bereavement. Such disrupted attachments add to the burden of grief and could be addressed by public education on how to support those bereaved by suicide.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 2019
Understanding Where We Are Well: Neighborhood-Level Social and Environmental Correlates of Well-Being in the Stanford Well for Life Study.
Individual well-being is a complex concept that varies among and between individuals and is impacted by individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, policy and environmental factors. This research explored associations between select environmental characteristics measured at the ZIP code level and individual well-being. Participants (n = 3288, mean age = 41.4 years, 71.0% female, 57.9% white) were drawn from a registry of individuals who completed the Stanford WELL for Life Scale (SWLS), a 76-question online survey that asks about 10 domains of well-being: social connectedness, lifestyle and daily practices, physical health, stress and resilience, emotional and mental health, purpose and meaning, sense of self, financial security and satisfaction, spirituality and religiosity, and exploration and creativity. ⋯ Among the neighborhood factors with the most associations with well-being domains were rate of preventable hospital stays (7/10 domains), percent holding bachelor's degrees (6/10 domains), and median income and percent with less than high school completion (5/10 domains). These observational insights suggest that neighborhood factors are associated with individuals' overall self-rated well-being, though variation exists among its constituent domains. Further research that employs such multi-dimensional measures of well-being is needed to determine targets for intervention at the neighborhood level that may improve well-being at both the individual and, ultimately, neighborhood levels.
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Int J Environ Res Public Health · May 2019
Chronic Respiratory Disease and Health-Related Quality of Life of African American Older Adults in an Economically Disadvantaged Area of Los Angeles.
Background. Most of the attention of policy makers, program planners, clinicians, and researchers in the area of physical health disparities among African American older adults has been traditionally focused on cardiometabolic disease and cancer. Among a long list of chronic medical conditions, chronic respiratory conditions (CRCs), such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, have received less attention. ⋯ Evaluation and treatment of CRCs in African American older adults may be a strategy for reduction of disparities in HRQoL in this population. As smoking is the major modifiable risk factor for CRCs, there is a need to increase accessibility of smoking cessation programs in economically disadvantaged urban areas. More research is needed on the types, management, and prognosis of CRCs such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema in African American older adults who reside in low-income and resource limited urban areas.