The high prevalence of military veteran substance use (SU) when compared to their nonveteran counterparts has been described as an urgent public health issue. The commonality of severe mental and physical health comorbidities in this population affects their ability to recover and relates to the onset and maintenance of homelessness. While veteran-targeted housing and SU interventions exist, they are being underutilized. This scoping review synthesizes published peer-reviewed articles from 1990 to 2021 at the intersections of housing, substance abuse, and service utilization by homeless veterans. Qualitative thematic analysis of 119 retained peer-reviewed articles revealed five key themes: (1) the association between SU and housing stability, (2) gendered comparisons with service needs and provision, (3) consideration for comorbidities, (4) social support and relationship-centered interventions, and (5) barriers to health care services. This review offers a series of concerns, outcomes, and recommendations that might be valuable for practitioners, health care providers, and community stakeholders when implementing or re-evaluating new or existing homeless veteran treatment programs.
While cure rates in pediatric oncology have improved over the past 30 years, childhood cancer remains the second leading cause of death in children aged 1 to 14. Developing therapies often require using cancerous tissues, which may come from deceased donors. Tumor banks collect, store, and distribute these donated samples. While tumor banking is more common, factors that contribute to parents' decision and the impact of it on the family are not well understood. The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to understand the meaning and impact of tumor banking for parents of children who have died from cancer. Findings suggest that parents donating their child's tumors unexpectedly found a sense of meaning in their loss. They also found a legacy of their child's life; the living cells in some ways assisted the parents with grief. Aspects of this sensitive conversation and decision are discussed from the perspective of the parents' experiences.
In this article, we discuss a study we conducted to examine the effects of cancer on romantic partners (i.e., boyfriends and girlfriends, social/romantic/intimate partners) of adolescents and young adults experiencing, or who have experienced, cancer. In this hermeneutic study, we interviewed partners who were involved with an adolescent/young adult with cancer, a cancer survivor who was in a relationship during his treatment, and two healthcare professionals who have worked with these couples and witnessed many other situations of impact, effect, and repercussion. Out of this study, we suggest that partners are affected in many ways that can vary from estrangement, to termination of the relationship, to premature decisions about remaining in the relationship, to family disregard of the partner, and to disregard of the family due to influence of, or relationship with, the partner. We discuss these findings within the context of the larger picture of the psychosocial relational impact of cancer on members beyond those in the immediate and biological family.
Three empirical papers critically assess the impact and potential of foregrounding life story and digitally mediated narrative in three widening participation (WP) projects carried out in the North-East, South-West and south coast of England. The projects share a critical perspective on deficit discourses in WP theory and practice. The projects draw upon life stories of under-represented students as a way of attending to the politics of representation and the need to diversify WP discourses, utilising digital technologies and participatory methods to foreground power and positioning, representation and ethics in WP work. The papers argue that attending to social justice issues methodologically has broader significance for educational research.
Recent studies concerning the possible relationship between climate trends and the risks of violent conflict have yielded contradictory results, partly because of choices of conflict measures and modeling design. In this study, we examine climate–conflict relationships using a geographically disaggregated approach. We consider the effects of climate change to be both local and national in character, and we use a conflict database that contains 16,359 individual geolocated violent events for East Africa from 1990 to 2009. Unlike previous studies that relied exclusively on political and economic controls, we analyze the many geographical factors that have been shown to be important in understanding the distribution and causes of violence while also considering yearly and country fixed effects. For our main climate indicators at gridded 1° resolution (∼100 km), wetter deviations from the precipitation norms decrease the risk of violence, whereas drier and normal periods show no effects. The relationship between temperature and conflict shows that much warmer than normal temperatures raise the risk of violence, whereas average and cooler temperatures have no effect. These precipitation and temperature effects are statistically significant but have modest influence in terms of predictive power in a model with political, economic, and physical geographic predictors. Large variations in the climate–conflict relationships are evident between the nine countries of the study region and across time periods.
Background: Outdoor workers (OW) are highly exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and thus at increased risk for developing skin cancer. An essential part of an overall strategy to reduce workplace UVR-exposure to OW's skin is the usage of sunscreens. However, compliance with regular sunscreen usage seems to be low, as products are usually designed for recreational sun exposure and thus do not meet the requirements of physically active OW. To date, no standardized test procedures assess the suitability of sunscreens for professional use. The aim of this pilot study was to develop standardized methods of testing secondary performance attributes (PA) to represent real-life working conditions of outdoor work. Methods: Ten sunscreen products, carefully selected after a detailed market survey of all relevant producers available on the German market, were evaluated regarding their suitability for professional outdoor work on 24 healthy volunteers in a newly designed test procedure. In addition to three standardized efficacy characteristics, i.e., sun protection factor, water-resistance, and UVA protection, we evaluated each PA involving parameters typically associated with outdoor workplaces. Results: We developed standardized methods for objectifying the suitability of sunscreen products for professional outdoor work. The test procedures used are well feasible and appropriate for testing the PA because they represent practical working conditions in detail – although the degree of discriminability of single test methods varied. The claimed sun protection factor (SPF) of the products was confirmed; bio-stability of the SPF after physical activity was achieved in most cases. While most products hardly irritate the eyes and are quickly absorbed, the evaluation of the subjective skin feeling and non-slip grip is inconsistent. Conclusions: In this pilot study, for the first time secondary PA are defined and examined. Although further objectification of the PA assessment as well as the establishment of minimum standards should be sought, the new methods could already complement the so far mandatory labels and in this way provide a significant impetus for the current scientific and political focus on the improvement of occupational health in highly UVR-exposed OW.
Abstract Objectives Continuous provision of appropriate medicines of assured quality, in adequate quantities, and at reasonable prices is a concern for all national governments. A national medicines policy (NMP) developed in a collaborative fashion identifies strategies needed to meet these objectives and provides a comprehensive framework to develop all components of a national pharmaceutical sector. To meet the health needs of the population, there is a general need for medicine policies based on universal principles, but nevertheless adapted to the national situation. This review aims to provide a quantitative and qualitative (describing the historical development) study of the development process and evolution of NMPs. Methods The number of NMPs and their current status has been obtained from the results of the assessment of WHO Level I indicators. The policy formulation process is examined in more detail with case studies from four countries: Sri Lanka, Australia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and South Africa. Results The number of NMPs worldwide has increased in the last 25 years with the highest proportional increase in the last 5–10 years in high-income countries. Higher income countries seem to have more NMP implementation plans available and have updated their NMP more recently. The four case studies show that the development of a NMP is a complex process that is country specific. In addition, it demonstrates that an appropriate political window is needed for the policy to be passed (for South Africa and the FYR Macedonia, a major political event acted as a trigger for initiating the policy development). Policy-making does not stop with the official adoption of a policy but should create mechanisms for implementation and monitoring. The NMPs of the FYR Macedonia and Australia provide indicators for monitoring. Conclusions To date, not all countries have a NMP since political pressure by national experts or non-governmental organizations is generally needed to establish a NMP. Case studies in four countries showed that the policy process is just as important as the policy document since the process must create a mechanism by which all stakeholders are brought together and a sense of collective ownership of the final policy may be achieved.
In: Bulletin of the World Health Organization: the international journal of public health = Bulletin de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé, Volume 89, Issue 6, p. 412-421
International audience ; This study on land transactions in rural Cambodia is based on a twofold observation. On the one hand, Cambodian land policy, basically organized around a large-scale land titling program (LMAP) funded by the World Bank, ignores the land tenure relations that do not tally with the individual private ownership model, namely derived rights and indirect access to land. On the other hand, research on land tenure in Cambodia has mainly focused on purchase and sale markets and not on the transactions that are precisely the ones public policy neglect. The study, carried out by CEDAC with GRET methodological support, has relied on a qualitative approach on research sites located in four provinces: Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kompong Thom, Rotanak Kiri. The empirical fieldwork has made possible the identification and analysis of the transactions as social processes and of the actors involved, and thus the understanding of « real » land rights markets. Were highlighted the importance of land brokers in the transactions, the informal functioning on local authorities, the weight of urban stakeholders, and the influence of power relations on so-called « market » mechanisms, resulting in the eviction of smallholders from peri-urban areas and in the emergence of a class of landless farmers. The contradictions between land titling policy and the concession policy were also underscored. The study was funded by the Solidarity priority fund (FSP) of the French ministry of foreign affairs « Supporting agricultural policy » lodged at the Cambodian ministry of agriculture, forests and fisheries. ; Cette étude sur les transactions foncières dans les campagnes cambodgiennes part d'un double constat. D'une part, la politique foncière cambodgienne, essentiellement structurée par un grand programme de cadastrage et d'immatriculation foncière (LMAP) financé par la Banque mondiale, ignore les relations foncières ne correspondant pas au modèle de la propriété privée individuelle, à savoir les droits délégués et les ...
International audience ; This study on land transactions in rural Cambodia is based on a twofold observation. On the one hand, Cambodian land policy, basically organized around a large-scale land titling program (LMAP) funded by the World Bank, ignores the land tenure relations that do not tally with the individual private ownership model, namely derived rights and indirect access to land. On the other hand, research on land tenure in Cambodia has mainly focused on purchase and sale markets and not on the transactions that are precisely the ones public policy neglect. The study, carried out by CEDAC with GRET methodological support, has relied on a qualitative approach on research sites located in four provinces: Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kompong Thom, Rotanak Kiri. The empirical fieldwork has made possible the identification and analysis of the transactions as social processes and of the actors involved, and thus the understanding of « real » land rights markets. Were highlighted the importance of land brokers in the transactions, the informal functioning on local authorities, the weight of urban stakeholders, and the influence of power relations on so-called « market » mechanisms, resulting in the eviction of smallholders from peri-urban areas and in the emergence of a class of landless farmers. The contradictions between land titling policy and the concession policy were also underscored. The study was funded by the Solidarity priority fund (FSP) of the French ministry of foreign affairs « Supporting agricultural policy » lodged at the Cambodian ministry of agriculture, forests and fisheries. ; Cette étude sur les transactions foncières dans les campagnes cambodgiennes part d'un double constat. D'une part, la politique foncière cambodgienne, essentiellement structurée par un grand programme de cadastrage et d'immatriculation foncière (LMAP) financé par la Banque mondiale, ignore les relations foncières ne correspondant pas au modèle de la propriété privée individuelle, à savoir les droits délégués et les modes de faire-valoir indirect. D'autre part, les recherches foncières au Cambodge se sont essentiellement intéressées aux marchés de l'achat/vente et très peu aux formes qui précisément sont celles que négligent les politiques publiques. L'étude, menée par le CEDAC avec l'appui méthodologique du GRET, a privilégié une approche qualitative dans 4 provinces du pays : Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Kompong Thom, Rotanak Kiri. Ce travail empirique a permis d'identifier et d'analyser les transactions en tant que processus sociaux et les acteurs impliqués et ainsi de mieux comprendre comment fonctionnent les marchés « réels » des droits fonciers. On a en particulier mis en lumière l'importance des intermédiaires et courtiers dans les transactions, les fonctions informelles des autorités locales, le poids des acteurs urbains et l'influence des rapports de forces sur les mécanismes marchands, aboutissant entre autres à l'éviction des petits paysans des zones périurbaines et à l'émergence d'une couche de paysans sans terre. Les contradictions entre politiques d'immatriculation foncière et politiques de concessions ont également été mises en lumière. L'étude a été financée par le Fonds de solidarité prioritaire (FSP) du ministère français des Affaires étrangères « Appui aux politiques agricoles » basé au ministère cambodgien de l'Agriculture, des Forêts et de la Pêche.
