Journal of epidemiology and community health
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Sep 2005
Incidence of shoulder and neck pain in a working population: effect modification between mechanical and psychosocial exposures at work? Results from a one year follow up of the Malmö shoulder and neck study cohort.
To assess the impact of mechanical exposure and work related psychosocial factors on shoulder and neck pain. ⋯ Job related mechanical exposure in both sexes, and psychosocial factors in women, seem independently of each other to play a part for development of shoulder and neck pain in vocationally active people. The effect of psychosocial factors was more prominent in women, which could be the result of biological factors as well as gender issues. These results suggest that interventions aiming at reducing the occurrence of shoulder and neck pain should include both mechanical and psychosocial factors.
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J Epidemiol Community Health · Aug 2005
Do social and economic reforms change socioeconomic inequalities in child mortality? A case study: New Zealand 1981-1999.
Socioeconomic inequalities in child mortality are known to exist; however the trends in these inequalities have not been well examined. This study examines the trends in child mortality inequality between 1981 and 1999 against the background of the rapid and dramatic social and economic restructuring in New Zealand during this time period. ⋯ Dramatic changes in income in New Zealand possibly translated into increasing relative inequality in child mortality by income, but not by education or occupational class. The a priori hypothesis that socioeconomic inequalities in child mortality would have increased in New Zealand during a period of rapid structural reform and widening income inequalities was only partly supported.
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This paper addresses a fundamental question in evidence based policy making--can scientists and policy makers work together? It first provides a scenario outlining the different mentalities and imperatives of scientists and policy makers, and then discusses various issues and solutions relating to whether and how scientists and policy makers can work together. Scientists and policy makers have different goals, attitudes toward information, languages, perception of time, and career paths. ⋯ The suggested solutions include providing new incentives to encourage scientists and policy makers to work together, using knowledge brokers (translational scientists), making organisational changes, defining research in a broader sense, re-defining the starting point for knowledge transfer, expanding the accountability horizon, and finally, acknowledging the complexity of policy making. It is hoped that further discussion and debate on the partnership idea, the need for incentives, recognising the incompatibility problems, the role of civil society, and other related themes will lead to new opportunities for further advancing evidence based policy and practice.
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This construct and process are central to ecosocial theory and epidemiological inquiry. Recognising that we, as humans, are simultaneously social beings and biological organisms, the notion of "embodiment" advances three critical claims: (1) bodies tell stories about-and cannot be studied divorced from--the conditions of our existence; (2) bodies tell stories that often--but not always--match people's stated accounts; and (3) bodies tell stories that people cannot or will not tell, either because they are unable, forbidden, or choose not to tell. Just as the proverbial "dead man's bones" do in fact tell tales, via forensic pathology and historical anthropometry, so too do our living bodies tell stories about our lives, whether or not these are ever consciously expressed. This glossary sketches some key concepts, definitions, and hypotheses relevant for using the construct of "embodiment" in epidemiological research, so as to promote not only rigorous science but also social equity in health.