International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Volume 22, Issue 10

Background: Innovative interventions, such as social media platforms and telemedicine, were implemented during the COVID-19 lockdown period for HIV prevention and treatment services. However, limited studies have reported on the facilitators and barr...

Background and Objectives: This research aimed to examine the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, with religiosity as a moderator. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted in...

The natural environment is integral to supporting healthy and resilient communities. Community forests (CFs) are forested parcels, typically in rural areas, where community members have access, share governance, and receive various benefits. While co...

The first 1000 days (F1D), from conception to a child’s second birthday, constitute a critical window for shaping long-term health, development, and wellbeing. While conventional approaches often rely on external interventions to support young...

Adolescence is a developmental stage characterized by increased vulnerability to technology use. Several models have been proposed to explain the psychological processes involved in addictive use. In response to this evidence, therapeutic and prevent...

Olfaction is thought to have a role in intimate relationships and sexuality, despite the major roles that other senses, like sight, might have for human beings. Moreover, one of the specific symptoms of the COVID-19 infection, a disease largely impac...

Background: Delays in emergency cesarean section (CS) remain a major contributor to maternal and neonatal morbidity in low-resource settings. This study evaluated the combined effect of a mobile-based obstetric emergency system (MORES) and a midwife-...

Background: Lung cancer is a major cause of death. Japan has a higher rate of early detection of lung cancer, which is attributed to the impact of chest X-ray examinations implemented as mass screening. This study describes the characteristics and ou...

Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as physical inactivity and an unhealthy diet, can decrease quality of life and increase the risk of obesity, depression, and chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In workplace settings, these h...

Family caregivers provide most daily care for people living with chronic illness or frailty, yet they remain under-recognized in health and social care systems. To address this gap, we co-designed the Caregiver-Centered Care Champions Education Progr...

Parents of premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are at elevated risk of anxiety, depression, stress, and trauma, which may impair bonding and infant development. This scoping review synthesized preventive and treatment interve...

The human gut hosts approximately 100 trillion microbes, forming a complex ecosystem critical to the body’s metabolism, nutrition, and immune function. Despite growing research, African Americans remain underrepresented in clinical studies. Thi...

Objectives: Prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the disease COVID-19 is a public health priority. The efficacy of non-pharmaceutical interventions such as wearing face masks to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection h...

Chronic disease, for which diet is a major risk factor, remains the leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for 8 out of 10 deaths. A continually growing body of research has been looking at food environments, relating them to charac...

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important indicator of well-being among older people, especially those living with chronic diseases. Mindfulness-based interventions have shown promise in improving HRQoL. However, in the literature there...

Prolonged stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and two concurrent earthquakes in 2020 increased Internet-based addictive behaviour, leading to decrease in mental health and quality of life (QoL) in the adult Croatian population. This study examined...

Human rights frameworks have historically emphasised physical integrity, yet psychological integrity, the right to mental stability, identity, and emotional safety all remain neglected in health policy and law. This narrative review and commentary ar...

The British From Harm to Hope drugs strategy seems limited in gender responsiveness. Evidence is presented from a West Midlands case study where a qualitative participatory methodology with thematic analysis was employed. The project was co-designed...

Background: Musculoskeletal pain (MSP) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and is frequently reported during the Muslim Hajj Pilgrimage; however, its prevalence and associated risk factors among Kuwaiti pilgrims have not been studied...

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess clinical-functional vulnerability (CFV) and associated factors in community-dwelling older adults treated in primary care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with non-institutionalized...

Psychological and motivational factors are implicated in various medical conditions, yet the link between physical health and life aspirations, as defined in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), remains underexplored. To address this gap and advance theo...

This study investigates the public health consequences of media exposure to terrorism by examining individuals’ emotional responses to photographs from the October 7th terror attack, assessing how such imagery interacts with personality traits...

Our smartphone habits have implications for our mental health, including new mothers’ experience of loneliness. For a baby, whose developmental trajectory will be directly impacted by their attachment relationship, a parent’s unconscious...

This pilot study explored the feasibility and acceptability of utilizing silicone wristbands to assess exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) among 25 Black and Hispanic breast cancer survivors recruited in Washington, DC, and Hackensack,...

Purpose: The global rise in mental health challenges among adolescents has led to the development of targeted interventions, including those designed to promote young people’s understanding and awareness of mental health. This systematic review...

Background: Veterinary fieldworkers play an important role in managing animal and public health risks, yet they face significant occupational hazards, particularly from zoonotic diseases. In South Africa’s North West Province, the occupational...

Dramatic shifts in state-level cannabis laws (CLs) and federal hemp regulations have resulted in increased availability and use of cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) products throughout the US, with unknown implications for the youth. Youth with mood dis...

Background: Cervical cancer remains a significant public health concern in Kenya, with male partner involvement increasingly recognized as a key factor in effective prevention and control. However, limited research has explored the specific barriers...

With the gradual decline in COVID-19 cases, there is a need to re-visit the mental health of adolescents and emerging adults in the post-pandemic period. Several observations can be highlighted from the scientific literature. First, while some studie...

Indigenous Peoples have developed and stewarded complex knowledge systems that have contributed to thriving societies. With continued threats to Indigenous lifeways, there is increasing need to further protect traditional ecological knowledges (TEK)....

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is no longer a standalone clinical condition—it has become a syndemic shaped by food insecurity, social inequality, and digital marginalization in emerging economies. This convergence calls for a reimagining of...

Globally, women continue to die from pregnancy-related conditions that could be prevented through ensuring timely access to emergency obstetric care and facility-based deliveries supervised by skilled birth attendants. However, many women are relucta...

The rapid increases in urbanization and time spent in built indoor environments have sparked significant concerns about their impact on human health and well-being. People who spend long hours in enclosed and highly artificial settings, such as hospi...

Alcohol, tobacco, and drug misuse continue to rise globally, with adolescents at particular risk. In response, school-based prevention programs have been widely implemented, yet their efficacy and long-term impact remain under-discussed. This scoping...

Background: The Early Intervention Program (EIP) was a 10-week family-based healthy living intervention for children with a BMI-for-age ≥85th percentile. The effectiveness of the EIP has been previously demonstrated; however, its implementation ha...

The link between occupational exposure to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) and silicosis, a potentially fatal respiratory disease, has been well-established, leading to global reductions in RCS Exposure Standards (ES). In Western Australia (WA), R...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a critical public health issue worldwide, with significant morbidity, mortality, and long-term disability. Timely transfer to a specialized trauma unit is crucial to improving outcomes, yet in resource-limited set...

The concept of engaging the community in the results of research or returning individual results to the respective participants seems more of an afterthought than an integral part of research processes. The study aims to assess the impact of research...

This study investigated the effects of eye exercises on eye-hand coordination, cognitive function, and balance in sixty elderly participants aged 60–70 years who were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group...

Self-harm is often stigmatised by healthcare professionals. Little is known about how certain characteristics of the behaviour, like the degree of suicidal intent, affect clinicians’ judgements and responses. This study explored how intent of s...

Urban year-round green exercise (YRGE)—defined as moderate to vigorous physical activity performed regularly in natural urban settings throughout all seasons and weather conditions—has the potential to promote health, well-being, and soci...

Health professionals commonly reference race and ethnicity to inform health care and administrative decisions. However, health researchers (and, arguably, society at large) misapply race and ethnicity when assuming an inherent relationship of these c...

Low rates of actively contributing to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) under the Social Health Authority (SHA) could be due to health insurance knowledge inadequacies, possibly because of poor electronic health (eHealth) literacy. This study a...

Surge capacity is the ability to manage sudden patient influxes beyond routine levels and can be evaluated using the 4S Framework: staff, stuff, system, and space. While low-resource settings like Rwanda face frequent mass casualty incidents (MCIs),...

Healthcare workers’ (HCWs) wellness is a critical concern, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff Wellness Rounding (SWR) has emerged as a leadership-driven strategy to support HCWs but research on its effectiveness remains limited...

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and preliminary outcomes of the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (Eagala) model of equine-assisted psychotherapy for active-duty military and veteran trauma survivo...

Aim: Older adult pedestrians are at greater risk of severe injuries than younger pedestrians due to gradual physical changes and coexisting medical conditions. This leads to longer hospital stays, increased mortality risk, and higher inpatient costs....

Objective: This study explores the prevalence of violence and forced displacement as indicators of inequity among Bogotá’s elderly population, with a particular focus on how these factors affect their health and access to healthcare serv...

The increasing consumption of artificially sweetened beverages among young people, coupled with prevalent digital technology use, presents growing public health concerns regarding potential effects on health and behavior. This study aimed to determin...

Fibromyalgia (FM) affects millions of people around the world, causing widespread physical pain, exhaustion, and psychological disorders. Through this study, we aim to observe the effectiveness of two different rehabilitation programs in reducing the...