Suchergebnisse

This article presents a model-based evaluation of a program designed to reduce HIV transmission from HIV-infected Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. Rather than rely on self-reported variables such as condom use, this study's approach focuses on pregnancy rate reduction, estimated from administrative periodic reporting data, as a measure of unprotected sexual exposure. The models show that among both HIV+ women and the female sex partners of HIV+ men, the ongoing pregnancy rates estimated during the intervention were significantly lower than the estimated baseline pregnancy rates, suggesting reductions in unprotected sexual exposures among those participating in the program.

Objective: To examine the associations of patients' characteristics, hospitalization factors, and the patients' or family assessment of the discharge planning process, with their evaluation of adequacy of the discharge plan. Method: A prospective study. Social workers from 11 acute care hospitals in Israel provided data on 1426 discharged patients. At 2-week postdischarge, 407 patients and 659 family members evaluated the discharge planning process (information received, involvement, influence) and adequacy. Results: More family (77%) than patients (62%) assessed the discharge planning to be adequate. Discharge process variables contributed more than patient or hospitalization characteristics to evaluation of adequacy but had a negligible mediation effect. Factors significantly associated with higher adequacy of plans were: hospital ward, receiving information, high family involvement, and discharge destination among patients; receiving of information and high patient and family involvement among family respondents. Conclusions: Social workers should actively involve patients and family in discharge planning.

AbstractGuided by the psycho-social environment approach to explaining health inequalities, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the contribution of individual and community factors to explaining ethnic inequalities in overweight and obesity between Arab and Jewish mothers of young children in Israel. Data (N = 946, 371 Jewish, 575 Arab mothers) were collected by self-report questionnaire in mid-2015 as part of a special 'Preparation for School' project for children aged 5–6 years from twenty Mother and Child Health clinics in towns and villages of lowest socio-economic ranking in northern Israel. Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to assess the effect of socio-economic status (SES), psychological, lifestyle behaviour and community food-related practices on mediating the association of ethnicity with overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity were significantly higher among Arab mothers. The strength of the association of ethnicity with overweight [(odds ratio) OR = 1.80, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) = 1.31, 2.47] or obesity (OR = 2.14. 95 per cent CI = 1.44, 3.18) remained constant after SES, and other variables were included in two steps. The persistence of ethnic inequalities suggests that the variables included in the analysis did not explain inequalities in this disadvantaged population. Social work may contribute to understanding additional explanatory variables that have the potential to be amenable to change by multidisciplinary and social work interventions.