Search Results (1,206)

Atmospheric contamination and thermal pollution are two phenomena that impact negatively on the quality of life of residents in a city. Furthermore, exposure to these phenomena has a differential impact on socioeconomic strata, with the poorest being the most affected. Spatial and temporal analyses were conducted of PM_2.5 pollution and air temperature, as well as socioeconomic variable. This characterization revealed that low-income people are more exposed to thermal pollution during the warm season with temperatures up to 32.6 °C, and to PM_2.5 pollution with concentrations up to 205 µgm⁻³ during the cold season, focusing on the eastern part of the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MAMC). High temperatures can persist for up to 6 h, while PM_2.5 concentrations can persist for up to 5 h. The social backwardness index is a fixed variable that can change in the long term and is related to thermal pollution. This study will allow us to understand social and environmental vulnerability and, thus, to develop an appropriate mitigation methodology for these two phenomena and their impact on human health, with special attention to environmental justice issues. Full article

Vascular diseases remain a major global health burden despite remarkable technological advances in vascular surgery and endovascular therapies. Conditions such as peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, carotid stenosis, chronic venous disease, diabetic vasculopathies, and vascular chronic ulcers are not only biological entities but are deeply shaped by social structures, cultural norms, and economic inequalities. This article introduces Vascular Sociology as an interdisciplinary field that integrates vascular surgery with medical sociology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of vascular health and disease. Drawing on classical and contemporary sociological theory, including concepts such as social determinants of health, embodiment, illness narratives, and the disease–illness–sickness triad, the article argues that vascular pathology reflects cumulative social exposures across the life course. Socially patterned behaviors, work conditions, food environments, healthcare access, gender norms, and geographic inequalities profoundly influence disease onset, progression, treatment decisions, and outcomes. The paper highlights how surgical success is contingent not only on technical excellence but also on patients’ social contexts, including health literacy, trust in institutions, caregiving resources, and the capacity to adhere to long-term follow-up and rehabilitation. By outlining conceptual foundations, epidemiological evidence, and mixed-methods research strategies, the article positions Vascular Sociology as a framework capable of bridging biomedical knowledge with lived experience. This approach expands the definition of vascular outcomes to include social reintegration, identity transformation, and equity of care, ultimately aiming to improve patient-centered practice, reduce disparities, and inform more socially responsive vascular health policies. Full article

Food insecurity is not merely an outcome of individual deprivation but a place-based expression of how urban food systems operate within unequal socio-spatial contexts. Using the Drivers–Pressures–State–Impacts–Responses (DPSIR) framework as a policy-relevant analytical lens, this study examines the Metropolitan Region of Rome to show how structural inequalities and uneven food infrastructures shape exposure to food-related risks. The results show that vulnerability is amplified by food price inflation, the rising cost of a healthy diet, and spatial gaps in retail provision—captured through the combined presence of food deserts and food blackouts—disproportionately affecting peripheral municipalities. State indicators, including the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the Food Affordability Index (FAI), and the spatial distribution of FEAD beneficiaries, reveal a markedly uneven geography of food poverty, mirroring a higher prevalence of overweight, obesity, and diabetes. These spatial configurations point to obesogenic environments in which constrained affordability and limited accessibility restrict the capacity to maintain healthy diets, generating hidden social and health costs that disproportionately burden peripheral areas. Overall, food insecurity in Rome follows a pronounced centre–periphery gradient rooted in structural and institutional arrangements rather than incidental variation. Addressing this condition requires place-based, justice-oriented interventions that strengthen food infrastructures, improve coordination across governance scales, and place food security at the core of an integrated metropolitan Food Policy. Full article

Malaria continues to impose a devastating disease burden globally despite control efforts spanning decades. Its elimination has been hindered by parasite and vector complexity and emerging drug and insecticide resistance, along with unremitting barriers to uptake of preventative strategies largely driven by social inequities, cost constraints, and logistical challenges in implementation. This review synthesises current and emerging prevention strategies, including vector control, chemoprevention and immunoprophylaxis. Insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying remain cornerstones of vector control, although their effectiveness is increasingly compromised by widespread insecticide resistance. Chemoprevention, including intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy and seasonal malaria chemoprevention in children, has proven highly efficacious, yet uptake remains below WHO targets and concerns about drug resistance remain. Recent advances in vaccines, notably RTS,S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M, represent landmark achievements, with large-scale rollouts demonstrating reductions in severe disease and mortality. Novel approaches, such as monoclonal antibodies and genetically modified mosquitoes, offer promising avenues for future prevention. However, challenges remain in ensuring equitable access, sustaining efficacy in the face of evolving parasite and vector biology, and integrating interventions into diverse health systems. This review highlights the need for adaptive, multifaceted approaches to achieve malaria elimination goals. Full article

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) represents a major public health and social concern, with evidence linking persistent sexist beliefs to a higher likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating GBV, particularly among young adults. This study aimed to examine attitudes towards GBV among university students in Castilla-La Mancha, providing insight into ongoing gender inequalities within higher education. A total of 399 undergraduate and double-degree students at the University of University of Castilla-La Mancha completed the 47-item Gender and Violence Attitudes Questionnaire (GVAQ), and data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational methods. The results indicate the persistence of sexist beliefs and justifications for violence, with significant differences according to sex, age, and academic discipline: men scored higher overall on the GVAQ (M = 101.69) than women (M = 83.82), students in Engineering and Architecture scored higher (M = 100.89) than those in Arts and Humanities (M = 83.22), and younger students (≤25 years) scored slightly higher (M = 89.63) than older students (≥26 years) (M = 85.91). These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted educational programmes integrating a gender perspective to challenge entrenched sexist attitudes and reduce GBV in university contexts, fostering safer and more equitable learning environments. Full article

Environmental Health Literacy (EHL) empowers individuals and communities to understand and make informed decisions about health and the environment. This study uses bibliometric indicators to map the field, identifying patterns, emerging trends, and gaps that offer opportunities for future research. We analyze 152 articles from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The first publication was recorded in 2012, and there was a significant increase in output since 2018. The literature emphasizes environmental exposures and public health, with a growing focus on social justice and participatory research. While areas such as environmental exposure, environmental health, health literacy, and participatory research are well established, significant gaps remain in emerging and cross-cutting themes, including education, health risks, environmental/climate justice, community engagement, communication, and climate-related health literacy. These issues are increasingly central to debates on the intersection of health, environment, and social equity, as they are key to advancing environmental justice, reducing health inequalities, and empowering vulnerable populations to make informed decisions, contributing to the development of more inclusive and effective public policies. Full article

Background: International policy increasingly recognises the importance of inclusive, community-based support for people living with dementia. Football, as a culturally significant sport, has the potential to reach older adults and communities disproportionately affected by health inequalities. The objectives of this review were to collate evidence on football-based dementia initiatives, including intervention format, delivery approaches, and reported outcomes. Methods: Seven databases (Sportdiscus, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science) were searched for relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature from their inception to June 2025. The PICO framework was used to define eligibility criteria. Eligible studies described community-based football-themed or football-based programmes involving people living with dementia. Data were extracted on participant sample, intervention characteristics, and reported outcomes, and iteratively charted. Results: In total, 11 of the 1059 identified articles were included within this review. Initiatives were often delivered through professional football clubs and charitable foundations, with formats ranging from reminiscence therapy sessions to walking football. Common outcomes for participants included increased sociability, improved mood, enhanced communication, and a strengthened sense of identity and belonging. Some interventions also reported physical benefits, such as improved mobility. Carers highlighted respite opportunities, peer support, and enjoyment from seeing relatives more engaged. Despite positive reports, outcome measurement was inconsistent, and most studies were small-scale or descriptive pilot projects. Conclusions: Football-based dementia initiatives provide meaningful, culturally grounded opportunities for social inclusion and support. Their delivery through community clubs/organisations positions them well to address inequities in dementia care, particularly in areas of disadvantage. However, stronger evaluation methods are required to build a robust evidence base and guide sustainable implementation at scale. Full article

Sustainability in the agri-food sector has become a cornerstone of global efforts to combat climate change, ensure food security through climate-smart agriculture, and strengthen economic resilience. Sustainability reporting within agri-food systems has gained increasing regulatory significance with the introduction of mandatory frameworks such as the Turkish Sustainability Reporting Standards (TSRSs). This article searches for the sustainability reports of agri-business firms listed in BIST in Turkey. Although TSRS reporting is not yet mandatory for the agribusiness sector, this study examines the first TSRS-aligned sustainability reports published by eight agri-food companies, excluding the retail sector. The analysis assesses how effectively these reports address sector-specific environmental and social challenges defined in the GRI 13 Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing Sector Standard and their alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Using a structured content analysis approach, disclosure patterns were examined at both thematic and company levels. The findings indicate that TSRS-aligned reports place strong emphasis on environmental and climate-related disclosures, particularly emissions, climate adaptation and resilience, water management, and waste. In contrast, agro-ecological and land-based impacts—such as soil health, pesticide use, and ecosystem conversion—are weakly addressed. Economic disclosures are predominantly framed around climate-related financial risks and supply chain traceability, while social reporting focuses mainly on occupational health and safety, employment practices, and food safety, with limited attention to labor and equity issues across the broader value chain. Company-level results reveal marked heterogeneity, with internationally active firms demonstrating deeper alignment with GRI 13 requirements. From an SDG alignment perspective, high levels of coverage are observed across all companies for SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). By contrast, SDGs critical to agro-ecological integrity and social equity—namely SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 15 (Life on Land)—are weakly represented or entirely absent. Overall, the results suggest that while TSRS-aligned reporting enhances transparency in climate-related domains, it achieves only selective alignment with the SDG agenda. This underscores the need for a stronger integration of sector-specific sustainability priorities into mandatory sustainability reporting frameworks. Full article

Urban parks are central to public health and equity, yet less is known about how park travel distance, park “attractor” types, and time-of-day visitation rhythms co-evolved through and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using anonymized smartphone mobility traces for public parks in Las Vegas, USA (2018–2022), we construct weekly origin–destination flows between census block groups (CBGs) and parks and link origins to socio-economic indicators. We first estimate visitor-weighted mean travel distance with a segmented time-series model that allows pandemic-related breakpoints. Results show that average park-trip distance (≈8.4 km pre-pandemic), including a substantial share of long-distance trips (≈52% of visits), contracted sharply at the onset of COVID-19, and that both travel radii and seasonal excursion peaks only partially rebounded by 2022. Next, cross-sectional OLS/WLS models (R² ≈ 0.08–0.14) indicate persistent socio-spatial disparities: CBGs with higher educational attainment and larger shares of Black and Hispanic residents are consistently associated with shorter park-trip distances, suggesting constrained recreational mobility for socially disadvantaged groups. We then identify a stable two-type park typology—local versus regional attractors—using clustering on origin diversity and long-distance share (silhouette ≈ 0.46–0.52); this typology is strongly related to visitation volume and temporal usage profiles. Finally, mixed-effects models of evening and late-night visit shares show that regional attractors sustain higher nighttime activity than local parks, even as citywide evening/late-night visitation dipped during the mid-pandemic period and only partly recovered thereafter. Overall, our findings reveal a durable post-pandemic re-scaling of park use toward more proximate, CBG-embedded patterns layered on enduring inequities in access to distant, destination-oriented parks. These insights offer actionable evidence for equitable park planning, targeted investment in high-need areas, and time-sensitive management strategies that account for daytime versus nighttime use. Full article

Background/Objectives: Meaningful social connections are critical for well-being in later life, yet older adults living with HIV frequently experience social isolation and loneliness, compounded by stigma, mental health conditions, and systemic inequities. This study aimed to explore how older adults living with HIV and a concurrent mental health diagnosis experience social isolation and cultivate meaningful relationships, situating these experiences within Social Convoy Theory. Methods: Using a Heideggerian phenomenological approach, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 33 adults aged 50 and older in Ontario, Canada, who self-identified as living with HIV and a diagnosed mental health condition. Participants were recruited through community-engaged strategies and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed iteratively, combining descriptive and interpretive coding to identify patterns in social isolation, relational meaning, and the influence of intersecting social, structural, and health determinants. Results: Participants described social isolation as both a physical and existential experience, influenced by stigma, mental health challenges, and contextual factors such as urban versus rural settings. Meaningful relationships were characterized by authenticity, trust, emotional safety, and reciprocity, often formed within peer networks sharing similar lived experiences. Community engagement and virtual platforms facilitated connection, while rural or suburban environments often intensified isolation. Relationships providing validation, agency, and continuity of experience were particularly impactful on participants’ well-being. Conclusions: Social isolation among older adults living with HIV and mental health conditions extends beyond objective network measures to include emotional and identity-related dimensions. Interventions should prioritize affirming, context-sensitive spaces that support disclosure, trust, and reciprocal relationships, recognizing the nuanced needs of this population for both social and existential connectedness. Full article

Women with intellectual disabilities (IDs) face persistent health inequities, particularly in preventive services such as breast cancer screening, where participation rates remain disproportionately low. These disparities contribute to higher mortality and poorer survivorship outcomes, often linked to later-stage diagnoses. To better understand these challenges and inform the development of inclusive screening programs, this qualitative study conducted in Austria explored barriers, facilitators, and needs related to breast cancer screening from the dual perspectives of 17 women with mild-to-moderate IDs aged 45 and older and 10 caregivers. Semi-structured focus groups and interviews were analyzed thematically within a constructivist framework, integrating perspectives from both groups. Barriers included social taboos around sexuality, psychological distress, exclusion through standardized procedures, and unclear responsibility among stakeholders. Facilitators involved person-centered communication, accessible information, emotional and practical support, and familiar healthcare environments. Women with IDs expressed a strong desire for education, autonomy, and inclusion, while caregivers played a pivotal role in enabling access. These findings demonstrate that low screening participation among women with IDs is driven by systemic and organizational barriers rather than lack of health awareness or willingness to participate. Without structurally inclusive design, organized screening programs risk perpetuating preventable inequities in early detection. Embedding accessibility, clear accountability, and person-centered communication as standard features of breast cancer screening is therefore a public health priority to reduce avoidable late-stage diagnoses and narrow survival disparities for women with IDs. Full article

Dental caries remains a major global public health problem characterized by pronounced social inequalities. This study aimed to identify, critically appraise, and synthesize the most recent evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic indicators and dental caries among adults aged 19–60 years, providing an updated systematic review that builds upon our previous reviews from 2012 and 2018. Reported following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, we conducted a systematic search of eight electronic databases for observational studies published between March 2017 and April 2024 (PROSPERO: CRD42017074434). Two independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Due to substantial methodological heterogeneity across the 22 included studies, a narrative synthesis was undertaken. The findings demonstrated a strong inverse association between socioeconomic position and caries experience. Lower income, lower educational attainment, and unemployment or employment in manual/unskilled occupations were associated with a higher overall caries experience. Advanced analytical approaches in recent studies, including life-course, reinforced that education and income are key contributors of these oral health inequalities, with persistent social disadvantage conferring the greatest risk. In conclusion, dental caries in adults aged 19–60 years is a social condition reflecting the cumulative effects of socioeconomic inequality across the life course. Addressing adult dental caries requires integrated approaches that combine clinical prevention with social and public policies aimed at reducing structural inequalities. Full article

Intergenerational trauma significantly affects the health and mental health of African American families, particularly women whose lives are shaped by systemic inequities and historical oppression. This scoping review examines how trauma and resilience are transmitted across generations in African American communities, with a focus on dyads such as mother–child and mother–daughter relationships and a conceptual grandmother–mother–daughter triad. The review aims to identify mechanisms of trauma transmission and resilience and to inform culturally responsive, multigenerational interventions. Peer-reviewed studies published between 2012 and 2025 were identified that included African American caregivers and children and addressed biological, psychological, social, cultural, and resilience dimensions of intergenerational processes. Data were synthesized using a dimensional conceptual analysis approach. Findings indicate that intergenerational trauma is perpetuated through chronic stress and discrimination, maternal mental health challenges, family structure and caregiving strain, and cultural narratives about strength and self-reliance. At the same time, resilience is transmitted through sensitive caregiving, spirituality and faith, social and kin support, racial socialization, and economic survival strategies that draw on cultural and historical knowledge. These results underscore the importance of addressing intergenerational trauma holistically by integrating dyadic evidence within a broader conceptual triadic framework. Culturally responsive, multigenerational interventions that leverage family and community strengths and make space for emotional vulnerability are essential for interrupting cycles of trauma and fostering healing within African American families. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated structural, social, economic, and racial inequalities affecting immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking men—vulnerable populations often overlooked in men’s health research. This study investigated the health conditions of immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking men during the COVID-19 pandemic. A scoping review was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance, and a qualitative lexical analysis (text-mining of standardized study syntheses) was performed in IRaMuTeQ using similarity analysis, descending hierarchical classification, and factorial correspondence analysis. We identified 93 studies published between 2020 and 2023 across 35 countries. The evidence highlighted vaccine hesitancy, high epidemiological risks (infection, hospitalization, and mortality), barriers to accessing services and information, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, psychological distress (e.g., anxiety and depression), and structural inequalities. Findings were synthesized into four integrated thematic categories emphasizing the role of gender constructs in help-seeking and gaps in governmental responses. Most studies focused on immigrants, with limited evidence on refugees and especially asylum seekers; therefore, conclusions should be interpreted cautiously for these groups. Overall, the review underscores the urgency of multisectoral interventions, universal access to healthcare regardless of migration status, culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, and gender-sensitive primary care strategies to support inclusive and resilient health systems. Full article

This paper introduces flourishing circularity as a transformative approach to resource assessment that transcends both traditional Resource-Based View (RBV) theory and conventional circular economy concepts. We demonstrate RBV’s fundamental limitations in addressing the polycrisis of breached planetary boundaries and social inequities. Similarly, while the circular economy focuses on resource reuse and recycling, it often merely delays environmental degradation rather than reversing it. Flourishing circularity addresses these shortcomings by reconceptualizing natural and social capital not as externalities but as foundational sources of all value creation. We develop a comprehensive framework for assessing resources within an open systems perspective, where competitive advantage increasingly derives from a firm’s ability to regenerate the systems upon which all business depends. The paper introduces novel assessment tools that capture the dynamic interplay between organizational activities and coevolving social and ecological systems. We outline the core competencies required for flourishing circularity: regenerative approaches to social and natural capital, and systems thinking with cross-boundary collaboration capabilities. These competencies translate into competitive advantage as stakeholders increasingly favor organizations that enhance system health. The framework provides practical guidance for transforming resource assessment from extraction to regeneration, enabling business models that create value through system enhancement rather than depletion. Full article