International journal for equity in health
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Int J Equity Health · Jun 2020
Salutogenic model of health to identify turning points and coping styles for eating practices in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
It is important for people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) to eat healthily. However, implementing dietary advice in everyday life is difficult, because eating is not a distinguishable action, but a chain of activities, embedded in social practices and influenced by previous life experiences. This research aims to understand why and how eating practices are developed over the life-course by investigating influential life experiences - turning points - and coping strategies for eating practices of people with T2DM. ⋯ Disadvantaged childhood and later life adversities together with the inability to manage the mental stress explained the development unhealthier eating practices. All participants experienced turning points for healthier eating that caused eating to become a priority in their life. Yet, the fact that not all were able to eat as they intended, advocates for nutritional guidance for people with T2DM, with a greater emphasis on reflexivity, psycho-social well-being and social support.
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Int J Equity Health · May 2020
Is Nigeria prepared and ready to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in its conflict-affected northeastern states?
Northeastern Nigeria has over the decade suffered from the Boko Haram insurgency and is still in the process of recovery from the complex humanitarian crisis that has displaced and subjected millions of vulnerable children, women and elderly population to poverty, disease outbreaks, hunger and malnutrition. Yet, the conflict-affected states in Northeastern Nigeria is not far away from being the worse-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic if urgent public health preventive measures are not taken to contain the spread of the deadly and highly infectious virus. The question arises, "what is Nigeria doing to tackle the burden of a COVID-19 spread and an ongoing humanitarian crisis?
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Int J Equity Health · May 2020
Mobile health clinic model in the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and opportunities for policy changes and innovation.
Mobile Clinics represent an untapped resource for our healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated its limitations. Mobile health clinic programs in the US already play important, albeit under-appreciated roles in the healthcare system. They provide access to healthcare especially for displaced or isolated individuals; they offer versatility in the setting of a damaged or inadequate healthcare infrastructure; and, as a longstanding community-based service delivery model, they fill gaps in the healthcare safety-net, reaching social-economically underserved populations in both urban and rural areas. Despite an increasing body of evidence of the unique value of this highly adaptable model of care, mobile clinics are not widely supported. This has resulted in a missed opportunity to deploy mobile clinics during national emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as using these already existing, and trusted programs to overcome barriers to access that are experienced by under-resourced communities. ⋯ Understanding the economic and social impact that mobile clinics are having in our communities should provide the evidence to justify policies that will enable expansion and optimal integration of mobile clinics into our healthcare delivery system, and help us address current and future health crises.
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Int J Equity Health · May 2020
LetterCosting of actions to safeguard vulnerable Mexican households with young children from the consequences of COVID-19 social distancing measures.
COVID-19 has imposed unprecedented challenges to society. As the pandemic evolves, the social distancing measures that have been globally enforced, while essential, are having undesirable socioeconomic side effects particularly among vulnerable populations. ⋯ To facilitate governmental action, we estimated the costs for implementation of these recommendations. The methodology used could be replicated in other countries facing similar challenges.
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Int J Equity Health · May 2020
The challenges facing indigenous communities in Latin America as they confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic struck Latin America in late February and is now beginning to spread across the rural indigenous communities in the region, home to 42 million people. Eighty percent of this highly marginalized population is concentrated in Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. ⋯ We discuss four main challenges that need to be addressed by governments to guarantee the health and lives of those at the bottom of the social structure: the indigenous peoples in the region. More than an analysis, our work provides a practical guide for designing and implementing a response to COVID-19 in indigenous communities.