Public Health in Practice最新文献

{"title":"An observational study on imported COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong during mandatory on-arrival hotel quarantine","authors":"Mario Martín-Sánchez ,&nbsp;Peng Wu ,&nbsp;Dillon C. Adam ,&nbsp;Bingyi Yang ,&nbsp;Wey Wen Lim ,&nbsp;Yun Lin ,&nbsp;Eric H.Y. Lau ,&nbsp;Sheena G. Sullivan ,&nbsp;Gabriel M. Leung ,&nbsp;Benjamin J. Cowling","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Hong Kong enforced stringent travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the characteristics of imported COVID-19 cases is important for establishing evidence-based control measures.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Retrospective cohort study summarising the characteristics of imported cases detected in Hong Kong between 13 November 2020 and 31 January 2022, when compulsory quarantine was implemented.</p></div><div><h3>Findings</h3><p>A total of 2269 imported COVID-19 cases aged 0–85 years were identified, of which 48.6 % detected on arrival. A shorter median delay from arrival to isolation was observed in Delta and Omicron cases (3 days) than in ancestral strain and other variants cases (12 days; p &lt; 0.001). Lower Ct values at isolation were observed in Omicron cases than in ancestral strain or other variants cases. No Omicron cases were detected beyond 14 days after arrival. Cases detected after 14 days of quarantine (n=58, 2.6 %) were more likely asymptomatic at isolation and had higher Ct value during isolation, some of them indicating re-positivity or post-arrival infections.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Testing inbound travellers at arrival and during quarantine can detect imported cases early, but may not prevent all COVID-19 introductions into the community. Public health measures should be adapted in response to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants based on evidence from ongoing surveillance.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100525"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000624/pdfft?md5=3f305a754ceb51250578a0da368e67af&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000624-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141486577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socioeconomic inequalities in the incidence of COVID-19 in Barcelona students","authors":"M. Olivella-Cirici ,&nbsp;G. Perez ,&nbsp;M. Rodriguez-Sanz ,&nbsp;Ll Forcadell-Díez ,&nbsp;P. Montemayor Cejas ,&nbsp;M.I. Pasarin","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study aimed to assess socioeconomic inequalities in schools regarding the COVID-19 incidence during different epidemic waves among Barcelona students, differentiating by sex and educational stage.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>Cross-sectional ecological study.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>We included in the study all students from childhood to secondary education in Barcelona city. The unit of analysis was the schools. The study covered the epidemic waves coinciding with the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school courses. The cumulative incidence (CI) per school and wave was calculated. Bivariate and multivariate analyses using Poisson regression were conducted to estimate relative risks. The population attributable risk, by sex and educational stage, was calculated as a measure of impact.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>In the second wave, higher CI in students was associated with greater school socioeconomic deprivation in all groups. In the younger girls, 24.5 % (5.2–41.4) of the CI was attributed to school socioeconomic vulnerability, increasing to 33.1 % (15.1–47.2) in older girls. During the sixth wave, the impact was lower in the most vulnerable schools in all strata.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Socioeconomic factors significantly impacted the incidence of COVID-19 in schools, reflecting social inequalities in Barcelona. There was an inversion of the pattern of inequalities in the sixth wave compared to the previous ones. The results emphasize the need for urgent action and targeted resources to address health inequalities in education and understand the impact of epidemic dynamics on socioeconomic context.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000648/pdfft?md5=3b1994bd5c5305a4ea6e6df0485adb34&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000648-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141486558","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beliefs about COVID-19 testing and treatment: A national survey of Black and White adults","authors":"Laura A. Siminoff ,&nbsp;K. Laura Barker ,&nbsp;Ryan Blunt ,&nbsp;Diana Litsas ,&nbsp;Gerard P. Alolod ,&nbsp;Jay S. Patel","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100519","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>Knowledge, access, and use of testing and antiviral treatments is critical to managing and mitigating the continuing burden of the novel Corona Virus (COVID-19) in the United States. This study measured knowledge, attitude, behaviors, and self-reported barriers towards COVID-19 testing and outpatient anti-viral medications (OPA) treatments among Black and older individuals who face greater hospitalization and mortality from the disease.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>Cross-sectional structured survey.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Respondents were randomly selected from an opt-in national panel in December 2022. Equal numbers of Black and White US adults over the age of 40 (n = 1037) completed the 42 item online survey. The main measures were key sociodemographic variables of respondents, race, age, political affiliation and COVID-19 attitudes, beliefs, testing behaviors, and knowledge and barriers to OPA access.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Overall<strong>,</strong> awareness and knowledge of COVID-19 outpatient treatments was low. Black respondents were more likely to test for COVID-19 than White respondents but less likely to know about OPA treatments. Insurance coverage was a significant factor in use of home tests. Knowledge of OPA treatments was low across groups. White respondents were more likely than Black respondents to be aware of OPA treatments (1.75, 95 % CI [1.31–2.33]) as were higher income respondents (1.13, 95 % CI [1.08–1.17]) and self-identified Liberals (1.79, 95 % CI [1.29–2.49]).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Clinicians should know large numbers of patients may not be testing for COVID-19, nor are they aware of outpatient treatment options and may hold inaccurate beliefs about them. Developing culturally specific patient education materials are warranted to increase testing, utilization of vaccinations and OPAs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100519"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000569/pdfft?md5=edce8295d94c45243d9e905260995d2c&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000569-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141486523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Description of control measures, attitudes, and behaviours at a scientific conference with a confirmed COVID-19 case but no reported onward transmission, November 2021 England","authors":"Katie Wrenn ,&nbsp;Paula Bianca Blomquist ,&nbsp;Petra Manley ,&nbsp;Jin-Min Yuan ,&nbsp;Ellie Gilham ,&nbsp;Hannah Higgins ,&nbsp;Andrew Curran ,&nbsp;Yiqun Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) outbreaks in workplace settings have been investigated to understand how transmission occurred. However, there is limited data looking at COVID-19 transmission in conference settings in England, particularly where an outbreak did not occur. The aim of this work was to investigate COVID-19 infection risk factors and control measures at a large conference, with a known case but no reported onward transmission to inform prevention of future outbreaks of respiratory infections in conferences and similar settings.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This cross-sectional study was part of a wider COVID-19 Outbreak Investigation to Understand Transmission (COVID-OUT) study. A two-day in-person conference on SARS-CoV-2 transmission and environment was held at a university conference centre on 17–November 18, 2021, in England, with about 100 delegates. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 50 conference attendees to identify any confirmed cases and understand transmission, history of COVID-19 symptoms, testing and vaccination.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>One person met the definition of a confirmed case at the conference. This case was most likely infectious when attending the conference, however there were no known secondary cases. All respondents reported receiving at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine before the conference and an increased frequency of handwashing/sanitising hands during the study period in comparison to before the pandemic. Prior to the conference, a COVID-19 risk assessment including a review of the ventilation at the site was completed. All attendees were advised to take an LFD test before travelling to the conference, wear face coverings, and maintain 1-m distance during the conference.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>A multipronged approach, encouraging attendee behaviours (regular hand washing, mask wearing, being vaccinated against COVID-19) and introducing control measures at the conference site (ventilation, sufficient spacing capacity, combined with prior knowledge of COVID-19 transmission, were effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19 in this setting.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100521"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000582/pdfft?md5=ebee72c18f761af24fdca3735199b30f&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000582-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141486557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Should governments feed all school children?","authors":"Michelle Black,&nbsp;Joseph Williams,&nbsp;Anna Wharton","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100465","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100465","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100465"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000028/pdfft?md5=1e11d6d4ee55955018fa23ee6064841d&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000028-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139631488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food insecurity and its contributing determinants among rural households in the south-western region of Bangladesh, 2021: A cross-sectional study","authors":"Suvasish Das Shuvo,&nbsp;Md Mohtasim Hasan,&nbsp;Tapon Kumar Das,&nbsp;Md Emran Hossain,&nbsp;Tamanna Aktar,&nbsp;Md Riazuddin,&nbsp;Md Sakib Hasan","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100514","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100514","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Introduction</h3><p>The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted food access, resulting in substantial consequences for food insecurity and contributing to adverse individual and public health outcomes. To comprehensively evaluate these challenges and grasp their implications for food security, this study aimed to evaluate the contributing determinants of food insecurity among rural households in the southwestern region of Bangladesh.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>A cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated questionnaire in selected 310 rural household respondents from the southwestern region of Bangladesh.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Household food insecurity status was the outcome variable for the analysis. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore and predict risk factors correlated with food insecurity among southwestern Bangladeshi households.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>We found that 59 % and 27.5 % of households were suffering from moderate food insecurity and severe food insecurity, respectively. The multinomial regression model revealed that respondents residing in Kusthia (RRR = 5.56 CI:2.67–8.4 and RRR = 6.65, CI:3.37–9.22) aged between 30 and 40 years (RRR = 2.32, 95 % CI:1.84–3.77 and RRR = 1.87, 95 % CI:1.48–3.97) and 40–50 years (RRR = 1.86 95 % CI:1.46–3.82 and RRR = 1.95, 95 % CI:1.75–3.26) were significantly associated with mild-to-moderate and severe food insecurity. Respondents with a monthly family income of &lt;58.96 USD (3.38 times and 2.18 times), had ≥5 family members (2.68 times and 1.89 times), and had poor income during the pandemic (4.25 times and 2.75 times) more likely to be moderate and severe food insecure.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>The results emphasized that during the COVID-19 lockdown in Bangladesh, rural households faced diverse levels of food insecurity, ranging from moderate to severe. It suggests that efforts to raise awareness and implement support strategies for those at higher risk should not only focus on income but also consider additional factors such as family size, adults aged 30–40 years, and occupation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100514"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266653522400051X/pdfft?md5=2712cafa2533a4f35675d5a773b51033&pid=1-s2.0-S266653522400051X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141145535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anti-science case study: COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness and safety exaggerated","authors":"Raphael Lataster","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100517","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100517","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100517"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000545/pdfft?md5=9e8156c96b200eb08bc04ef207712a77&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000545-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141134348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Community Culture Survey – Revised: Measuring neighborhood culture and exploring geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural determinants of health in samples across the United States and in Thailand","authors":"Karen L. Pellegrin ,&nbsp;Sarah Hales ,&nbsp;Patrick O'Neil ,&nbsp;Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit ,&nbsp;Suchada Jongrungruangchok ,&nbsp;Thanapat Songsak ,&nbsp;Alicia J. Lozano ,&nbsp;Katharine Miller ,&nbsp;Christina L. Mnatzaganian ,&nbsp;Eduardo Fricovsky ,&nbsp;Claudio R. Nigg ,&nbsp;Michelle Tagorda-Kama ,&nbsp;Alexandra L. Hanlon","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100512","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100512","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objectives</h3><p>Research on links between social, geographic, and cultural determinants of health has been thwarted by inadequate measures of culture. The purpose of this study was to improve the measurement of community culture, defined as shared patterns of attitudes and behaviors among people within a neighborhood that distinguish it from others, and to examine dimensions of culture, independent of socioeconomic and demographic factors, and their relationships with health.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>A survey research design with correlational analyses was used.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A survey packet including the Community Culture Survey – Revised (CCS-R), demographic, health, and other individual-level measures was administered through convenience sampling across the United States (US) and to a sample in Thailand from 2016 to 2018. US county-level variables were obtained from zip codes.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>1930 participants from 49 US states (n = 1592) and Thailand (n = 338) completed all CCS-R items, from which 12 subscales were derived: Social Support &amp; Connectedness, Responsibility for Self &amp; Others, Family Ties &amp; Duties, Social Distress, Urban Diversity, Discontinuity, Church-Engaged, External Resource-Seeking, Locally Owned Business-Active, Power Deference, Next Generation Focus, and Self-Reliance. Neighborhood culture subscale scores varied more by geography than by participant's demographics. All subscales predicted one or more health indicator, and some of these relationships were significant after adjusting for participant age and county-level socioeconomic variables. Most of the significant differences on subscales by race/ethnicity were no longer significant after adjusting for participant's age and county-level socioeconomic variables. Most rural/urban and regional differences in culture within the US persisted after these adjustments. Based on correlational analyses, Social Support &amp; Connectedness and Responsibility for Self &amp; Others were the best predictors of participants' overall health and quality of life, and Responsibility for Self &amp; Others was the best predictor (inversely) of the CDC's measures of social vulnerability.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Neighborhood culture is measurable, multi-dimensional, distinct from race/ethnicity, and related to health even after controlling for age and socioeconomic factors. The CCS-R is useful for advancing research and practice addressing the complex interactions between individuals, their neighborhood communities, and health outcomes.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100512"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000491/pdfft?md5=93f15b0405970fa7d8dfae7e328c997a&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000491-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141135910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Final assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic impact between the different social and economic strata population of the city of Buenos Aires","authors":"Alejandro Macchia ,&nbsp;Cristian Biscayart ,&nbsp;Patricia Angeleri ,&nbsp;Javier Mariani ,&nbsp;Daniel Ferrante","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100511","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100511","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>During the pandemic, epidemiological communications reported an estimation of excess deaths. However, the final calculation requires a detailed analysis. The study aim was to ascertain the number and distribution of COVID-19 fatalities among various socio-economic strata in a large, moderate to low-income city.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>Observational time series analysis in a large city, treated as a natural experiment.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>Analysis of death certificates, demographic data, and health system records of positive RT-PCR COVID-19 tests from 2015 to 2021, categorizing by age, sex, and place of residence. The study measured the pandemic's impact on mortality, including COVID and non-COVID deaths, using corrected Poisson regression models for different demographics and assessing socio-economic status impact via ecological community-level analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>Compared to the pre-pandemic period (2015–2019, IRR = 1.00), the sex- and age-adjusted rate of all-cause death increased significantly during the pandemic (2020–2021) IRR = 1.109 [1.054–1.167], p &lt; 0.0001. This was observed in both males (IRR = 1.158 [1.1–1.219], p &lt; 0.0001) and females (IRR = 1.068 [1.016–1.124], p = 0.01). There was no observed effect of the pandemic on the historical trend in the progressive reduction of mortality in people under 35 years of age. The increase in deaths was at the expense of COVID (+11,175 deaths) and cardiovascular causes (IRR = 1.114 [1.020–1.217] p = 0.017). During the pandemic, there was a significant increase in deaths at home (IRR = 1.219 [1197–1.242], p &lt; 0.0001), especially in people dying of cardiovascular causes (IRR = 1.391 [1.360–1.422], p &lt; 0.0001). The increase in the adjusted mortality rate during the pandemic was socially conditioned.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>The pandemic not only led to increased COVID-19 mortality but also heightened fatalities from non-COVID causes, reflecting a potential bias in healthcare resource allocation towards SARS-CoV-2 at the expense of chronic pathologies care.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"8 ","pages":"Article 100511"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266653522400048X/pdfft?md5=0b7a5ff278ae751791860d4575760fd2&pid=1-s2.0-S266653522400048X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141145707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A phenomenological qualitative study of male-partners perspectives of maternity waiting homes in rural Ethiopia","authors":"Teklemariam Ergat Yarinbab ,&nbsp;Hailay Abrha Gesesew ,&nbsp;Tefera Belachew","doi":"10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2024.100513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>The implementation of maternity waiting home (MWH) has been used as a strategy to improve maternal health outcomes in low-resource settings such as Ethiopia. However, MWH utilization is low in Ethiopia, and women's access to MWH depends largely on male partners' decisions. This study explored male-partners perspectives of MWHs including their experiences of paternal support in rural Ethiopia.</p></div><div><h3>Study design</h3><p>An exploratory qualitative study with a phenomenological methodological orientation was performed.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>This study was conducted in Ana-Lemo and Gibe districts of Hadiya Zone, in rural Southern Ethiopia. The study participants were male partners. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 47 participants. Data were collected from May 10–25, 2023. Four focus group discussions, 15 in-depth interviews, and observations were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and the thematic content analysis was performed using ATLAS.ti 7.1.4 software.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>This study showed that male-partners participated in spousal communication and provided practical support such as sharing household chores and financial support; however, they did not accompany their spouses to health facilities. Long distances, lack of transportation, poor referral services, and perceived poor quality of care were barriers to maternal health services. Furthermore, male-partners demonstrated poor awareness and unfavorable attitudes of MWHs.</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Male-partners participated in spousal communication, shared household chores and provided financial support to their spouses; however, they did not accompany them to health facilities. They had poor awareness and unfavorable attitudes of MWHs. Creating awareness among male partners may improve their attitude towards MWHs and other maternal health services in rural Ethiopia.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34141,"journal":{"name":"Public Health in Practice","volume":"7 ","pages":"Article 100513"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000508/pdfft?md5=963f61c52fd8d74dd11b190b25668cfd&pid=1-s2.0-S2666535224000508-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141096169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}