Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Apr 2013
Exploration of health risks related to air pollution and temperature in three Latin American cities.
This paper explores whether the health risks related to air pollution and temperature extremes are spatially and socioeconomically differentiated within three Latin American cities: Bogota, Colombia, Mexico City, Mexico, and Santiago, Chile. Based on a theoretical review of three relevant approaches to risk analysis (risk society, environmental justice, and urban vulnerability as impact), we hypothesize that health risks from exposure to air pollution and temperature in these cities do not necessarily depend on socio-economic inequalities. To test this hypothesis, we gathered, validated, and analyzed temperature, air pollution, mortality and socioeconomic vulnerability data from the three study cities. ⋯ The findings suggest that health risks from atmospheric conditions and pollutants exist without boundaries or social distinctions, even exhibiting characteristics of a boomerang effect (i.e., affecting rich and poor alike) on a smaller scale such as areas within urban regions. We used human mortality, a severe impact, to measure health risks from air pollution and extreme temperatures. Public health data of better quality (e.g., morbidity, hospital visits) are needed for future research to advance our understanding of the nature of health risks related to climate hazards.
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Social science & medicine · Apr 2013
A large-scale longitudinal study indicating the importance of perceived effectiveness, organizational and management support for innovative culture.
Teams participating in QI collaboratives reportedly enhance innovative culture in long-term care, but we currently lack empirical evidence of the ability of such teams to enhance (determinants of) innovative culture over time. The objectives of our study are therefore to explore innovative cultures in QI teams over time and identify its determinants. The study included QI teams participating between 2006 and 2011 in a national Dutch quality program (Care for Better), using an adapted version of the Breakthrough Method. ⋯ Multilevel analyses showed that perceived effectiveness, organizational support, and management support predicted innovative culture. Our QI teams were not able to improve innovative culture over time, but their innovative culture scores were higher than non-participant professionals. QI interventions require organizational and management support to enhance innovative culture in long-term care settings.
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Previous research shows no consensus as to whether and how natural disasters affect suicide rates in their aftermath. Using prefecture-level panel data of natural disasters and suicide in Japan between 1982 and 2010, we estimate both contemporaneous and lagged effects of natural disasters on the suicide rates of various demographic groups. We find that when the damage caused by natural disasters is extremely large, as in the case of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995, suicide rates tend to increase in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and several years later. ⋯ We then test the possibility that natural disasters enhance people's willingness to help others in society, an effect that may work as a protective factor against disaster victims' suicidal risks. We find that natural disasters increase the level of social ties in affected communities, which may mitigate some of the adverse consequence of natural disasters, resulting in a decline in suicide rates. Our findings also indicate that when natural disasters are highly destructive and disruptive, such protective features of social connectedness are unlikely to be enough to compensate for the severe negative impact of disasters on health outcomes.
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Social science & medicine · Apr 2013
'Emotional rights', moral reasoning, and Jewish-Arab alliances in the regulation of in-vitro-fertilization in israel: theorizing the unexpected consequences of assisted reproductive technologies.
Consumption rates of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) in Israel is internationally unprecedented, a phenomenon that has been the subject of growing anthropological and sociological attention. Explanations for the singular extent of ARTs use in Israel tend to pre-assume and conceptually prioritize the symbolic and political power of pro-natalist discourses, Jewish religious values, and the demographic interests of the Jewish state. This article attempts to understand the exceptional usage of IVF in Israel in terms of its emergent meanings and unexpected effects in a particular local setup. ⋯ The latter assumes shared 'emotional vulnerability' of all 'childless' Israelis, Jews and Arabs alike and advocates a universal language of 'emotional rights' and 'human rights'. This liberal framing of IVF, which is the most persuasive justification in the dispute, blurs dichotomous rivalries between Jews and Arabs and generates a potential for alliances between traditionally rival sectors. These are some of the unexpected and non-intuitive consequences of ARTs in Israel.