Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences最新文献

{"title":"Energy Poverty, Burns and Health Risks in the Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria","authors":"O. P. Abu, Amba Mariam Orisa-Couple","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/11429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11429","url":null,"abstract":"In the study, we examined the link between energy poverty and burns incidents among low-income suburban residents in the Port Harcourt Metropolis in Nigeria. Energy poverty manifests in many ways in low-income suburban areas. This includes frequent power outages, scarcity, the high cost of petroleum products and electricity, and the use of cooking systems devoid of energy efficiency. The residents respond to these challenges in ways that compromise their health and safety, resulting in preventable morbidity and mortality. In the study, we undertook a retrospective review of patients at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital Burns Centre. Burns incidents and fatalities from 2015 to 2021 were analysed with a focus on age, mortality, gender, causes of the injury and areas of residence. The results revealed that about 177 cases (48%) were caused by kerosene explosion. Flames from the ignition of fuel stored at home for power generating sets and from artisanal oil refining sites accounted for 113 cases (17%). Flames from candles for lighting during periods of power outages comprised 24 cases (4%). Fire caused by electricity constituted 28 cases (4%). Gas explosions caused by ignorance and poor housing conditions accounted for 177 cases (27%). The mortality coefficient of burns of 0.5 implies that at least five deaths resulted from every 10 cases of burns recorded in the hospital. In the study, we recommend that government implement policy on energy access and equitable distribution more vigorously to enable poor households to meet their energy needs in relatively safe and less risky ways.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79646579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Community Engagement Model for an Inclusive Just Energy Transition in the South","authors":"Naiema Taliep","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/11411","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11411","url":null,"abstract":"Within a dynamic global political arena, the economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, energy impoverishment, ever-increasing global awareness of climate change, energy justice and just energy transition have emerged as important aspects that require critical reflexive deliberation to ensure that those on the margins of the energy divide do not pay the price for such a transition. Existing models to ensure energy justice were described as failing to consider stakeholder perspectives and needs. It was therefore proposed that such models be inclusive and reflective of diverse stakeholders, including local households, communities, utilities and governments. To this end, the University of South Africa’s Institute for Social and Health Sciences has developed a Transformational Model of community engagement in collaboration with communities which can be applied to articulate and guide the community engagement processes in an inclusive just energy transition. In this article, I present the model which offers opportunities to integrate multiple perspectives, prioritise the needs of diverse community stakeholders, interrogate power imbalances, and enhance working collaborations and partnerships, while also facilitating ongoing oversight and sustainable programme implementation. This model is a viable framework to achieve energy justice through an inclusive equitable transition to renewable energy technologies and by extension to reduce energy poverty. It has been applied in diverse community contexts across two provinces (Gauteng and the Western Cape) to engage with and build lasting community–institutional relationships. It has also been used to design, develop and evaluate contextually applicable sustainable initiatives, including a community-wide campaign.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79932337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Perspectives: Paraffin, a Burning Issue for Economically Vulnerable People","authors":"E. Andrews","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/11493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11493","url":null,"abstract":"The price of life in South Africa is cheap. The official price of illuminating paraffin was R16.90 (US$1) for March 2022 at the petrol pumps. The purchase price to consumers varies depending on availability, markups and convenience and can cost up to R25 (US$1.51) per litre. It has been reported that each year the direct cost of R490 million (US$29 661 016.90) is spent on caring for patients with paraffin burns. Sadly, this is not the full picture. When considering the price paid for a commodity one must deliberate what is the real cost for the use of the commodity. Henry David Thoreau’s quotation: “The cost of a thing is the amount of life, which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run” encapsulates the price-versus-cost argument on the use of illuminating paraffin. Both direct and indirect costs must be considered to obtain the accurate cost of paraffin in the context of treating burns. The estimated total direct cost of treating a single patient with a 20% body surface area with deep dermal thickness burn was estimated between R103 000 (US$6 234.87) and R154 000 (US$9 322.03) per year in 2011. The indirect or hidden cost is the amount not considered or calculated, yet someone is paying for it albeit the patient, their family and friends or society. The cost of treating burns undeniably is far more than the mere price of the product, far more than the direct cost of R154 000 (US$9 322.03); it can literally cost the patient’s life and the family’s livelihood. Paraffin is cheap, life is not. The objective of this article is to accentuate the exorbitant cost associated with treating paraffin burns to create awareness among policymakers and decision makers about a silent consequence of the use of a cheap commodity.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78176453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nigeria’s Energy Crisis and the Sustainability Question","authors":"J. Jack, Better Jack","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/11449","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11449","url":null,"abstract":"Nigeria’s deepening energy crisis will continue to pose a challenge to the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 despite being the largest producer of oil and gas resources in Africa. With an expanding population of over 200 million people and a rapidly growing economy, the demand for energy has significantly increased over the last decade. However, with a meagre electricity generation capacity of 3 500 to 5 000 MW, only about 53% of Nigeria’s population is connected to the national electric grid accounting for a per capita electricity consumption of 144 kWh, one of the lowest in Africa. To bridge the widening gap between energy demand and supply, millions of Nigerians have continued to rely on unsustainable alternatives such as petroleum-based electricity generating sets to meet domestic, commercial and industrial energy demands. It is against this backdrop that we, by relying on a critical analysis of secondary sources, examined the nature of Nigeria’s energy crisis, the emergent coping behaviour in response to the energy crisis and its impacts on sustainability. We submit that the perennial energy crisis in Nigeria undermines inclusive energy transition and stifles socio-economic growth in the country. Consequent upon this is the emergence of other forms of negative coping behaviour such as artisanal crude oil refining in the oil rich Niger Delta region in which the attendant economic, social, health and environmental implications are most manifest.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86196757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy Preferences for Household Cooking in Burundi","authors":"A. Ifegbesan, T. Makonese","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/11349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11349","url":null,"abstract":"In this study, we aimed to investigate use patterns and determinants of household fuel in Burundi. There is limited information in the open literature on the uses and determinants of household fuel in Burundi. In the study, we employed data on Burundi’s most recent Demographic and Health Surveys, with the data subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The results indicated that 11.9% of the sampled households had access to electricity. About 86.3% of the respondents in the rural communities relied on firewood for cooking, whereas 67.2% of households in the urban setting relied on charcoal for cooking. Electricity was used across the wealth stratum regardless of income levels. Firewood was used across the wealth stratum, albeit with higher consumption recorded from the poorest to the richer wealth stratum. The chi-square analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between the place of residence, electricity access and cooking fuel type. Multiple regression analysis results indicated that the type of residence, gender of household head, age of household head, wealth index, and highest education level influence the cooking fuel used. These results have implications for household cooking fuel policies and sustainability, and it is recommended that the government invest in improved cooking stoves and clean fuels such as LPG and biogas.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"192 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76520735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial: Special Issue - Energy Transitions in the Global South and Africa: Policy Imperatives, System Dynamics and Challenges","authors":"D. Kimemia, A. Oladejo, A. van Niekerk","doi":"10.25159/2957-3645/12155","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/12155","url":null,"abstract":"Editorial","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77985918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hardships, Motivations, and Resiliency: Case Study of Health Implications of 2022 Russian Invasion on Ukrainian Resistance Members","authors":"Jessi Hanson-DeFusco","doi":"10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.23","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.23","url":null,"abstract":"The 2022 Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine caused millions of Ukrainians to flee. Yet most citizens continue to reside in the country, playing critical roles in the Ukrainian resistance. Today the Ukrainian fighting force includes trained military and police as well as citizens who either were conscripted or volunteered to take part in national war efforts. This mixed-method study conducted in Spring 2022 presents data collected from 79 respondents in a semistructured survey, using snowball sampling. Data analysis examined individual self-reported motivations, attitudes toward the conflict, resilience, quality-of-life hardships, and scaled perceived stress. Results indicated that Ukrainian resistance members face extreme physical threats, are displaced, separated from family, and experience high levels of stress, especially anxiety, sadness, and anger. Yet individuals tend to experience significantly less overall Perceived Symptoms Scale symptoms if they have intrinsic motivations linked to patriotic ideologies, altruism, and preventing genocide. Bootstrap regression modeling indicates that familial relationship with their nation reduces symptoms by approximately 13%. Comparatively, being extensively separated from family is linked to 21% higher stress. These motivations appear to provide a sense of purpose and source of resiliency despite the health risks associated with resisting a full-scale foreign invasion. My purpose with this article is to represent respondents’ motivations and experiences during the war and to help inform future public health policy and program services that many Ukrainians may need to recover.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"5 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88009819","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Non-Governmental Organization/Non-Profit Organization Impact on Education Policy in Ghana","authors":"Sarah Ayikai Okine","doi":"10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.20","url":null,"abstract":"Non-Governmental Organizations/Nonprofit Organizations (NGOs/NPOs) are progressively becoming an essential source for government agencies in education worldwide. Developing countries such as Ghana have opened the way through regulations and policies for NGOs/NPOs to contribute to the educational system. Nevertheless, perceived threats and confrontations hinder their ability to support the Ministry of Education (MoE) and partner leaders to fulfill their duties in assisting the government in realizing comprehensive universal primary education. This qualitative case study responded to stakeholders’ perceptions of NGOs/NPOs influence on Ghana’s educational system to better comprehend the dynamic and power of NGOs/NPOs on education in Ghana’s rural communities. The study used the Advocate Coalition Framework; advocacy coalition theory brings together sub-systems and political actors interested in policy changes or shifts for a common goal to organize effective ways for the changes or shifts. Ten volunteers participated in the interview focusing on schools in rural Ghana. The findings indicated NGOs/NPOs are a complementary authority to MoE and partner leaders. According to the data analysis and findings, MoE and partner leaders need to form an intentional coalition with NGOs/NPOs for interventions to define the role descriptions and functions of programs and projects to achieve the interventions. NGOs/NPOs resources for MoE and partner leaders are necessary to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. Decision-making bodies of MoE and partner leaders may benefit from this study in policymaking for interventions of programs and projects supervision, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation for positive social change.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78958100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association Between Therapeutic Interventions and Quality of Life in People With Autism","authors":"Taline Movsessian, T. Osoba","doi":"10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.21","url":null,"abstract":"Research exploring the association of autism interventions with the quality of life (QoL) of adults with autism spectrum disorders was scarce. Although a multitude of interventions are used to target a specific challenge facing the individual with autism, their correlation with achieving a better QoL is largely unknown. We conducted a cross-sectional, correlational survey study to determine the association between seven interventions—behavioral, social, mental health, daily living skills (DLS), vocational, mindfulness, and medications—and the QoL of adults 18 years and older with autism with no intellectual disability (ID) living in Canada. A national sample of 182 autistic adults or proxy reports completed the survey that used the WHOQOL-BREF to measure subjective QoL. Behavioral, mental health, and medications were the most frequently used interventions (67%, 71.4%, and 82.4%, respectively). QoL was lower across all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF compared with the general population. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that characteristics, such as autism severity, being female, and older age negatively predicted QoL across all domains except for the physical domain, whereas being in a relationship positively predicted social QoL explaining 35.2% of the variance. Of the seven interventions used, behavioral therapies and receiving mental health support consistently predicted a better QoL across all domains, except for the environment domain where only mental health support was a significant predictor. Our findings suggest prioritizing provision of behavioral and mental health interventions to adults with autism and inform future research to evaluate their effectiveness in QoL outcomes as an end goal.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79904084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Helping Responses by Indirect Bystanders of Coercive Sexual Harassment in Academia: Friendship Status With Source of Information","authors":"D. Heretick, I. Learn, Jessica M. Holmes","doi":"10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5590/jsbhs.2022.16.1.22","url":null,"abstract":"Coercive sexual harassment (CSH) by faculty is a risk factor for women in higher education. Bystander intervention and support for a victim are critical. Social networks can influence peers’ social reactions to victims of sexual violations. This is the first study to explore the responses of peers who learn about CSH of a peer indirectly, thus becoming indirect bystanders. In this scenario, a peer classmate learns of CSH of a classmate from another classmate who witnessed the CSH. The 181 participants (52.8% female) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions where a written vignette described an interaction between the instructor faculty member and a student; the interchange involved either moderate or severe CSH (severity). The peer informant who witnessed the CSH and shared the information with the potential indirect bystander was described as either a close friend in the same class or only a classmate (friendship status). The vignette was followed by a series of items with Likert-type scales that measured cognitive appraisals (offensiveness of interaction, harm to victim, the believability of information, personal responsibility to act), emotional reactions (fears of negative consequences for taking action, emotional reactions to perpetrator and victim), and behavioral intentions (helping peer victim, social responses to victim, behaviors towards professor/perpetrator). Results indicated that the severity of CSH was a critical factor in cognitive appraisals and both positive emotional reactions to the victim and negative emotions towards the perpetrator. Yet, the main effects for the severity of CSH were moderated by friendship status of the informant: when the source was a close friend in the moderate CSH condition, participants were more likely to act to support the victim, less likely to avoid/exclude the victim, and more likely to avoid/exclude the professor than when the source of the information was simply a classmate. Results support training programs that focus on peer social networks as sources of deterrence and enhanced support regarding SH.","PeriodicalId":89999,"journal":{"name":"Journal of social, behavioral and health sciences","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91304708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}