Search results

This research aimed to identify systemic housing-level contributions to infectious disease transmission for Indigenous Australians, in response to the Government program to 'close the gap' of health and other inequalities. A narrative literature review was performed in accordance to PRISMA guidelines. The findings revealed a lack of housing maintenance was associated with gastrointestinal infections, and skin-related diseases were associated with crowding. Diarrhoea was associated with the state of food preparation and storage areas, and viral conditions such as influenza were associated with crowding. Gastrointestinal, skin, ear, eye, and respiratory illnesses are related in various ways to health hardware functionality, removal and treatment of sewage, crowding, presence of pests and vermin, and the growth of mould and mildew. The research concluded that infectious disease transmission can be reduced by improving housing conditions, including adequate and timely housing repair and maintenance, and the enabling environment to perform healthy behaviours.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: To assess the moderating effects of primary sources of COVID‐19 information on the association between knowledge and protective behaviors against COVID‐19. STUDY DESIGN: This is a secondary analysis of data from a cross‐sectional online COVID‐19 survey conducted among US adults in April 2020 using advertisement‐based recruitment on social media. A total of 6518 people completed the survey. Linear regression analysis was performed on COVID‐19 knowledge and protective behavior scores. An interaction term between knowledge and primary source of information was included in order to examine any moderating effects of the information source on the relationship between knowledge and protective behaviors. The analysis was adjusted for demographic and socio‐economic factors and was conducted using R software (version 3.6.3). POPULATION STUDIED: Adult population (age > 18) living in the United States. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Overall, higher level of COVID‐19‐related knowledge was associated with higher level of self‐reported engagement in protective behaviors. More specifically, our results indicate that the primary source of information modified the association between knowledge and protective behaviors. The most effective sources of information to translate incremental knowledge into higher engagement in protective behaviors were interpersonal communication and social media. Official sources such US government, CDC, and WHO websites had significantly weaker effects. Our results also showed that respondents with lower knowledge scores preferred social media or interpersonal communication as their primary source for seeking COVID‐19‐related information. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the important role that the different COVID‐19 information sources can play on influencing people's engagement in protective behaviors while delivering the COVID‐19‐related knowledge. IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY OR PRACTICE: Overflowing information and misinformation are influencing people's degree of engagement in protective ...

Objective: Although the fastest growing mi­nority group, Asian Americans receive little attention in mental health research. More­over, aggregated data mask further diversity within Asian Americans. This study aimed to examine depression risk by detailed Asian American subgroup, and further assess de­terminants within and between three Asian ethnic subgroups.Methods: Needs assessment surveys were collected in 16 Asian American subgroups (six Southeast Asian, six South Asian, and four East Asian) in New York City from 2013-2016 using community-based sampling strategies. A final sample of N=1,532 com­pleted the PHQ-2. Bivariate comparisons and multivariable logistic models explored differences in depression risk by subgroup.Results: Southeast Asians had the greatest depression risk (19%), followed by South Asians (11%) and East Asians (9%). Among Southeast Asians, depression risk was associ­ated with lacking health insurance (OR=.2, 95% CI: 0-.6), not having a provider who speaks the same language (OR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.3-8.0), and lower neighborhood social cohesion (OR= .94, 95% CI: .71-.99). Among South Asians, depression risk was associated with greater English proficiency (OR=3.9, 95% CI: 1.6-9.2); and among East Asians, depression risk was associated with ≤ high school education (OR=4.2, 95% CI: 1.2-14.3). Additionally, among Southeast Asians and South Asians, the high­est depression risk was associated with high levels of discrimination (Southeast Asian: OR=9.9, 95% CI: 1.8-56.2; South Asian: OR=7.3, 95% CI: 3.3-16.2).Conclusions: Depression risk and deter­minants differed by Asian American ethnic subgroup. Identifying factors associated with depression risk among these groups is key to targeting limited public health resources for these underserved communities. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4):553-562; doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.553