Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Feb 2011
Social inequalities in the association between partner/marital status and health among workers in Spain.
The objectives of this study are to examine the association between partner/marital status and several health outcomes among workers and to assess whether it depends on gender and occupational social class. The sample was composed of all workers aged 21-64 years interviewed in the 2006 Spanish National Health Survey (8563 men and 5881 women). Partner/marital status had seven categories: married and living with the spouse (reference category), married and not living with the spouse, cohabiting, single and living with parents, single and not living with parents, separated/divorced and widowed. ⋯ There were almost no differences in health between being married and the rest of partner/marital status categories for different combinations of gender and social class and, even, some groups of single people reported better health outcomes than people who were married. Our results show no evidence that being married and living with the spouse is unequivocally linked to better health status among Spanish workers. They emphasize the importance of not only considering marital status, but also partner status, as well as the role of gender, social class and the sociocultural context in the analysis of the association between family characteristics and health.
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Social science & medicine · Feb 2011
The influence of culture on home-based family caregiving at end-of-life: a case study of Dutch reformed family care givers in Ontario, Canada.
Families are facing increased pressure to provide care to their terminally-ill or dying kin in the home. It is known that balancing care with other personal and social roles can adversely affect family caregivers' (FCGs) health, yet access to supportive services which can mitigate burden is often inadequate. Cultural factors are known to shape the experience of caregiving; however, most research to date tends to neglect the experiences of FCGs from different cultural groups. ⋯ Cultural identity provided a framework through which to understand and make sense of the experience, while group membership provided access to networks of informal support. This research contributes to the geographical literature on care/caregiving by providing insight into the social, cultural and religious context of informal family caregiving with a population who live in close geographic proximity. On a practical level, this case study indicates the importance of considering how these factors may operate in other settings in order to implement timely and appropriate interventions to better support FCGs who are caring for their terminally-ill loved-ones at home.
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Social science & medicine · Feb 2011
Factors in health initiative success: learning from Nepal's newborn survival initiative.
What shapes the level of political priority for alleviation of significant health problems in low-income countries? We investigate this question in the context of the significantly increasing political priority for newborn survival in Nepal since 2000. We use a process-tracing methodology to investigate causes of this shift, drawing on twenty-nine interviews with individuals close to newborn health policymaking in Nepal and extensive document analysis. ⋯ The findings highlight the significance of political fragmentation in war-torn areas for impeding priority generation. Additionally, theories of social construction provide important insights to the roles of ideas in shaping health initiative success.
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Social science & medicine · Jan 2011
Food security and humanitarian assistance among displaced Iraqi populations in Jordan and Syria.
The Iraq conflict resulted in the largest displacement in the Middle East in recent history, and provision of health services to the displaced population presents a critical challenge. With an increase in the number of people affected by complex emergencies and the number of people displaced in urban settings, the international community must adapt intervention strategies to meet the specific demands and contexts of this population. The study aimed to provide information on food security and livelihoods for Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan to inform humanitarian assistance planning. ⋯ In Syria, female headed households, Damascus residents, families with children, and those registered with UNHCR were more likely to receive cash assistance. Food insecurity remains a concern among displaced Iraqi households in both Jordan and Syria. Improved targeting of both food and cash assistance and the expansion of cash-based programs could lead to a more effective use of funds and facilitate the implementation of assistance programs that are sustainable in the context of declining funding availability.