Search Results (82)

Somali refugee mothers navigating parenting in the United States face compounding challenges that extend well beyond the initial resettlement period. This study employed a multi-method qualitative design, including utilizing a focus group and follow-up key informant interviews with Somali refugee mothers. Thematic framework analysis identified three overarching domains of challenges and resilience. First, a pervasive deficit of functional literacy, defined as the practical capacity to navigate American institutional systems, emerged as the primary stressor, superseding material poverty as a barrier to daily functioning. Second, significant intergenerational tensions were documented, including role reversal between mothers and children, erosion of parental authority, and breakdown of the traditional expectations that adult children provide financial and social support to aging parents. Third, single motherhood amplified all other stressors, producing progressive role strain and mental health decline in the absence of extended family support. Despite these challenges, participants demonstrated substantial resilience through informal mutual aid networks, religious practice, and deliberate cultural and linguistic preservation. Findings have direct implications for the design of culturally responsive resettlement programming, family counseling services, and mental health interventions for Somali refugee populations. Full article

Background/objective: The Immunisation Agenda 2030, led by the World Health Organization, aims to ensure that people of all ages benefit from vaccination. South Africa remains committed to these goals, strengthening childhood immunisation largely through the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. However, despite progress, the number of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children continues to rise in some urban settings. This study sought to identify barriers to childhood immunisation in selected zero-dose urban communities in Gauteng Province. Methods: A qualitative exploratory–descriptive design was used to examine factors influencing childhood immunisation. Data were collected through seven focus group discussions and fifteen key informant interviews with purposively selected caregivers, community leaders, community health workers and healthcare workers involved in routine immunisation services at public healthcare facilities across the Cities of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo^® software. Results: The study identified multiple demand-side and supply-side barriers. Demand-side barriers included limited parental knowledge, lack of trust in the government and immunisation services, religious beliefs, migration, and perceptions of caregiver substance use. Supply-side barriers involved distance to the facility, negative healthcare worker attitudes, long queues and waiting times, and frequent vaccine stock-outs. These barriers collectively contributed to missed opportunities and decreased uptake of immunisation services. Conclusions: Childhood immunisation remains a critical and cost-effective public health intervention. The findings demonstrate the complex interplay of individual and system-level factors influencing vaccine demand, uptake and persistent zero-dose status in urban Gauteng communities. Addressing these barriers requires a comprehensive approach that strengthens community trust, improves caregiver vaccine literacy, and ensures accessible, responsive, and respectful immunisation services. Full article

Buddhist Sunday schools were modeled on the Christian Sunday school, a form of religious education that emerged in late eighteenth-century Britain to provide literacy and moral instruction for impoverished children. Following the Meiji Restoration, Japanese Buddhism institutionalized Buddhist Sunday schools (佛敎日曜學校) for children’s moral cultivation by adapting Christian methodologies, expanding them nationwide during the 1920s and 1930s through standardized curricula. In Korea, Buddhist Sunday schools were introduced from the 1920s onward in response to the expansion of propagation centers (p’ogyo-dang, 布敎堂), the growing demand for youth propagation, and the exclusion of religious education from public schools under the Japanese colonial system. This article examines the comprehensive educational vision and operational principles of these schools—integrating graded administration, teacher qualifications, worship, and recreational activities for children—with a focus on “佛敎 日曜學校案” [Proposals for Buddhist Sunday Schools] written by Ra Un-hyang (羅雲鄕) in 1940. It further analyzes the nationwide distribution of these schools in 1940, identifying limitations such as financial precariousness, personnel shortages, and a lack of societal recognition. Nevertheless, Buddhist Sunday schools represent a significant historical milestone, as they served as a practical site where the popularization of modern Buddhism was realized and as a strategic effort for the cultivation of children and youth as future religious adherents. Full article

Background: Mental health problems are highly prevalent among university students in Saudi Arabia; however, help-seeking behaviors remain low despite the availability of mental health services. There is limited evidence regarding students’ intentions to seek help and preferred sources of support, especially formal or informal sources. This study examined help-seeking intentions for mental health problems among university students. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using an online self-administered questionnaire. Participants were 248 undergraduate students from various Riyadh universities. Help-seeking intentions were assessed using the General Help-Seeking Questionnaire. SPSS software was used to perform independent t-tests to assess differences in preferred sources across demographic groups, and Pearson’s correlation analyses were conducted to examine relationships between preferred sources and demographic variables. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to examine demographic and academic predictors of intentions to seek help from formal and informal sources. Results: Students demonstrated a low overall propensity to seek help. Online sources were the most preferred help-seeking option, followed by mothers, friends, and general physicians, whereas faculty, relatives, and religious persons were the least preferred. Preferred help-seeking sources differed by gender. Seeking help from mental health specialists was positively correlated with age and grade point average. Additionally, the regression analysis for formal help-seeking was significant, explaining 8.4% of the variance, with gender as the only significant predictor. Conclusions: These findings suggest the need for targeted interventions to improve students’ help-seeking behaviors. Universities should prioritize mental health literacy initiatives, stigma reduction strategies, and accessible support pathways, particularly by integrating digital and hybrid services and enhancing the role of faculty and institutional support systems in promoting timely and appropriate help-seeking. Full article

Bioethics education has become established as an essential component for addressing the ethical challenges associated with biomedical development, biotechnology, and decision-making in the healthcare field. Although numerous studies have analyzed the teaching of bioethics among medical students and other health professions, empirical research on bioethics literacy in religious formation contexts remains limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of bioethical knowledge (here operationalized as bioethics literacy) among Catholic seminarians in Colombia and to explore the psychometric properties of a questionnaire designed to measure bioethics literacy in this population. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted through the administration of a structured questionnaire consisting of 32 multiple-choice items with a single correct answer addressing philosophical foundations, personalist bioethics, bioethical principles, clinical bioethics, and issues related to biotechnology. A total of 216 complete questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics and exploratory psychometric analyses, including item difficulty and discrimination, internal consistency, and exploratory factor analysis. The results showed a moderate overall level of bioethics literacy, with better performance in applied domains such as clinical bioethics and bioethical principles, and lower levels of correct responses in philosophical foundations and personalist bioethics. The questionnaire showed moderate internal consistency and a preliminary factorial structure, suggesting its usefulness as an exploratory tool for assessing bioethical knowledge in seminary educational contexts. These results highlight the importance of strengthening the integration between philosophical and theological education and the applied analysis of bioethical problems in seminary educational programs. Full article

Teaching biblical history and biblical archaeology to undergraduates presents distinctive pedagogical challenges. Unlike graduate students, undergraduates often enroll with limited historical literacy, minimal exposure to ancient Near Eastern history, and religiously shaped assumptions about the Bible that have not been examined critically. At the same time, the cursory treatment of the biblical world in standard Western Civilization textbooks leaves many students without adequate chronological and historical frameworks. Presenting undergraduates with the complex historiographic issues innate to the field is problematic, as it can lead to alienation or even challenges to faith. This essay argues that instructors must be clear about their approaches and keep the distinction between teaching religion and teaching about the Bible as a historical document explicit, while acknowledging the diverse backgrounds with which students enter the classroom. The article uses several examples (including approaches to the Exodus narrative) to demonstrate how scholarship can be presented responsibly. The essay also addresses disciplinary and terminological complications. Full article

During the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, the folk-belief text Yuli constructed a systematic “underworld legal code” via its image–text system, distinct from traditional religious karma and religious law. This study focuses on Yuli’s core image system, exploring its unique legal characteristics and social governance functions through an interdisciplinary approach integrating religious studies, art history, and legal history. Yuli transforms real judicial symbols, such as government offices and prison gates, into underworld visual elements, establishing the core legal principles of “correspondence between crime and punishment” and “universal equality” while reflecting contemporary legal thought. The formation of this “underworld legal code” is closely linked to the creative practices of Qing Confucian scholars, who utilized folk beliefs as a vehicle to disseminate secular legal concepts and respond to social demands for behavioral norms. The Yuli thus became the primary behavioral norm for its grassroots audience, who, due to low literacy, could not understand the formal laws of the Qing Dynasty, and guided them to refrain from criminal acts. Yuli’s “underworld legal code” not only supplemented the national legal system but also reflected the pluralistic pattern of social governance in late imperial China, providing crucial empirical support for the theory of legal pluralism. This study deepens the understanding of the interactive relationship between folk beliefs and legal order in traditional China, and further clarifies the unique mode of grassroots social governance in the Qing Dynasty. Full article

Discussions of school safety management have often centered on physical and infrastructure-related risks and have not adequately addressed sociocultural risks emerging from South Korea’s gradual transition toward a multicultural and multireligious society. To address this gap, we pose two interrelated research questions: (1) In what ways do these sociocultural risks present challenges that existing frameworks do not cover? (2) What curriculum framework can be developed to foster religious literacy as a sustainable approach to sociocultural risk reduction? In response, we first use the term sociocultural risk to identify a distinct dimension within the landscape of school safety policy and propose religious literacy education as a response to these emerging challenges. Adapting Joseph Schwab’s practical approach to curriculum development, particularly through deliberation on the interactions among his four commonplaces of education, we then design Exploring Korean Religions, a general education course that complements a curriculum for teaching about world religions. By examining the historical development of religious traditions in Korea (e.g., Buddhism, Confucianism, Korean folk beliefs, and Christianity) and their contemporary relevance, this course enables Korean students to reflect on the religious foundations of their own culture while helping students from diverse backgrounds develop a deeper understanding of the religious and cultural landscape of Korean society. Through this educational approach, this study contributes a distinct perspective on addressing sociocultural dimensions of safety challenges by demonstrating the importance of religious education in fostering religious literacy and interreligious understanding in multicultural South Korea and beyond. Full article

The use of telemedicine by the Ultra-Orthodox (UO) population in Israel presents challenges due to unique cultural characteristics, including limited internet use for religious ideological reasons and lower levels of digital literacy. This cross-sectional survey examines the rate of telemedicine use in the UO society in Israel according to religious groups, factors, attitudes and barriers associated with telemedicine use. The study included 1460 adult UO participants using quota by gender, and religiosity groups. The participants underwent a phone interview assessing telemedicine use (defined as at least one monthly phone/video call/e-mail correspondence with a medical professional, during the last year), attitudes, and perceived barriers. In total, 39% of participants used telemedicine and 42% performed one or more administrative actions. Phone consultations were the most common mode of communication with healthcare providers. The main barrier to using telemedicine was religious-ideological. Multiple logistic regression revealed that female sex, participants aged 30–44, married status, above-average income, frequent family physician visits, and internet use significantly associated with telemedicine use. Compared to <30, adults aged 60+ years use less telemedicine (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.32–0.86). These findings indicate telemedicine use within the UO population, though substantial cultural barriers remain, and may assist policymakers in expanding its implementation. Full article

Background/Objectives: Vaccine hesitancy arises from multiple determinants, including individual beliefs, cognitive style, social norms, political identity and the information environment. In this context, health literacy, e-health literacy, susceptibility to health misinformation, conspiracy beliefs and trust in science may be relevant in mediatized societies. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine how susceptibility to health misinformation relates to vaccine hesitancy in Poland and how this association is influenced by health literacy, e-health literacy, trust in scientists and sociodemographic factors. Methods: Data came from a web-based survey conducted in December 2024 among 2200 adults aged 18–75 years. The questionnaire included validated scales of vaccine hesitancy, health literacy, e-health literacy, vaccine conspiracy beliefs and trust in scientists. The susceptibility to health misinformation was measured with ad hoc instrument based on the statement from fact-checking services. Items assessing digital media use, political sympathies, religious practices and sociodemographics were also applied. Multivariable linear regression was applied with continuous vaccine hesitancy as the dependent variable. Results: The model explained 57.8% of the variance in vaccine hesitancy. Susceptibility to misinformation (B = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.08–0.15) and vaccine conspiracy beliefs (B = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.41–0.46) were positive predictors, whereas trust in scientists (B = −0.20, 95% CI: −0.23–−0.17) and e-health literacy (B = −0.07, 95% CI: −0.11–−0.02) were protective. Older age was associated with lower hesitancy (B = −0.02, 95% CI: −0.03–0.00). Secondary education (B = −0.58) and a master’s degree (B = −0.77) predicted lower hesitancy. Health literacy categories were not significantly related to vaccine hesitancy. Conclusions: Susceptibility to health misinformation and vaccine conspiracy beliefs were key predictors of vaccine hesitancy, outweighing the effects of health literacy and the protective impact of trust in scientists and e-health literacy, and indicating a need for interventions that combine prebunking and literacy-focused strategies with efforts to strengthen confidence in health institutions. Full article

Background/Objectives: Evidence on religiosity, religious affiliation, and e-nutrition literacy in shaping nutrition attitudes is limited in adult majority-Muslim contexts. The aim of this study is to examine the independent and interactive associations of religiosity, religious affiliation, and e-nutrition literacy with positive nutrition attitudes among adults in Türkiye. Methods: This study involved a cross-sectional online survey conducted November–December 2024 via convenience and snowball sampling. After quality checks, 1104 adults remained (mean age = 25.7 years, mean BMI = 23.5 kg/m²; 69.3% female, 90.7% Muslim). Religiosity was measured with the Duke University Religion Index, and nutrition literacy and positive nutrition attitudes with validated scales. Demographics and anthropometrics were self-reported. Positive Nutrition Attitudes was the primary outcome, predicted by e-nutrition literacy, analyzed using robust OLS and explored for nonlinearities/interactions with Random Forests and SHAP. A generalized linear model tested three-way interactions of e-nutrition literacy, religious affiliation, and religiosity, adjusting for age and BMI. Performance used train or test splits and five-fold cross-validation. Results: e-Nutrition literacy was the strongest predictor (β = 0.155, p < 0.001). Cross-validated R² was modest (about 0.04). Random Forests slightly improved fit (test R² about 0.064). SHAP indicated a literacy threshold near 26.1 with predominantly positive contributions above this value. In threshold-stratified models, religiosity showed a positive association (β = 0.332, p = 0.010). Non-Muslims had higher unadjusted means, but affiliation effects were not significant after adjustment. Conclusions: The results highlight the threshold-dependent role of e-nutrition literacy in positive nutrition attitudes and the independent effect of religiosity. These results suggest that boosting literacy above the critical threshold and incorporating religious values may support healthier nutrition behaviors. Full article

Cancer is one of the biggest health burdens for women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with the incidence of breast, cervical and colorectal cancer on the rise. Although preventive measures such as the HPV vaccination and population-based screening are available, access to them remains very unequal. Women in rural, low-income and refugee communities face additional barriers, cultural stigmatisation, low health literacy, gender norms and fragile health systems, leading to delayed diagnoses and poorer outcomes. This review summarises the results of 724 peer-reviewed publications to assess the current situation of cancer screening in MENA and Mediterranean countries. The studies were classified into four dimensions: cancer type (breast, cervical, colorectal), behavioural constructs (awareness, uptake, education), vulnerability factors (e.g., migrants, refugees, low-literacy groups), and geography (indigenous MENA populations versus diaspora and Mediterranean immigrant communities). The results show large inequalities in access and participation due to fragmented policies, socio-cultural resistance and infrastructure gaps. Nevertheless, promising approaches are emerging: community-led outreach, mobile screening programmes, AI-assisted triage and culturally appropriate digital health interventions. Comparisons between the local and diaspora populations make it clear that systemic and cultural barriers persist even in well-equipped facilities. Closing the screening gap requires a culturally sensitive, digitally enabled and policy aligned approach. Key priorities include engaging religious and community leaders, promoting men’s engagement in women’s health and securing sustainable funding. With coordinated action across all sectors, MENA countries can build inclusive screening programmes that reach vulnerable women and reduce preventable cancer mortality. Full article

As the English language spreads worldwide, debate has intensified over introducing it early in multilingual school systems. In the Arab world, this question is especially sensitive because Arabic is closely linked to cultural and religious identity, and early English policies may shift the language balance in primary education. This review synthesizes 31 peer-reviewed studies on childhood English learning and early English teaching practices, addressing key aspects of age of acquisition, bilingual outcomes, and language maintenance or identity. Using transparent search and selection reporting, we examined studies published between 2000 and 2025. Findings cluster around four themes: age of acquisition, mother-tongue maintenance and identity, teacher preparation and pedagogy, and social outcomes. The evidence from the review shows that earlier exposure can support pronunciation, fluency, and metalinguistic awareness, but the strength and direction of these gains depend primarily on program quality and bilingual model design. Additive approaches that maintain and value Arabic literacy while providing rich, high-quality English input are often associated with better learning outcomes than subtractive arrangements that reduce Arabic use. However, effects vary by context and implementation quality. Where Arabic is reduced without adequate support, learners may face risks such as weaker first-language development and heightened identity-related strain. However, these outcomes are not inevitable and are moderated by factors such as teacher preparation, instructional design, and school–home language support. We propose a balanced early-English design that builds progressive English proficiency while maintaining continuous Arabic-medium literacy, supported by targeted teacher professional development, family and community engagement, and continuous Arabic-medium literacy. The review concludes with policy and practice implications for curriculum designers, school leaders, and decision-makers, and calls for longitudinal, classroom-based research on identity trajectories and English-medium instruction in Arab primary education. Full article

Rural and unincorporated communities (UCs) experience persistent health disparities driven by limited healthcare infrastructure, geographic isolation, and socioeconomic inequities. Health literacy (HL), the ability to obtain, understand, and use health information, is a critical yet underexplored determinant of health outcomes in these settings. This study examined HL and barriers to healthcare and health information access among low-income adults living with chronic conditions in nine rural UCs in Southern California. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was administered in English or Spanish to 222 respondents during community food distribution events. The questionnaire included demographics, self-reported health status, chronic disease history, perceived access to care and health information, trust in information sources and HL assessment using the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). Over four-fifths (82.7%) of respondents demonstrated limited or possibly limited HL. Although Spanish-speaking respondents scored significantly lower than English speakers on the NVS, language was not a significant predictor of HL after adjusting for age, gender, education and Hispanic origin. Lower education and older age were associated with reduced HL. One in four respondents reported barriers to healthcare access, primarily due to distance and appointment availability. Over half of the respondents reported difficulty accessing or understanding health information, regardless of HL or demographic characteristics. Doctors were the most trusted source of health information, while trust in government and religious organizations was lowest. Findings reveal pervasive low HL and broad challenges accessing care and health information across rural UCs, highlighting the structural and educational inequities underlying these disparities. Addressing these gaps requires community-driven, bilingual, and culturally resonant strategies that build trust, enhance communication, and strengthen health system accessibility for residents of unincorporated rural regions. Full article

This study examines the determinants of tolerance among higher education students in Montenegro and their implications for educational and societal sustainability. Guided by the framework of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), it investigates how socio-demographic factors, economic insecurity, political orientations, and digital media use shape attitudes toward ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity. Cross-sectional survey data were collected from 469 students in 2021 and analysed using binary logistic regression. Results show that education is the strongest predictor of tolerant attitudes (p < 0.01), highlighting the transformative role of higher education in fostering inclusive and sustainability-relevant competencies. Economic insecurity, particularly unemployment, was associated with more exclusionary views, linking social equity to sustainability outcomes. Gender (p < 0.001), age (p = 0.07), and engagement with human-rights content online (p < 0.01) also emerged as significant predictors. Religiosity showed a modest negative association with tolerance (p = 0.01). The final model explained 37% of the variance in tolerant attitudes (Nagelkerke R² = 0.37). Digital media played an ambivalent role: while it increased exposure to diverse perspectives, it also contributed to polarization, underscoring the need for critical digital literacy within ESD-aligned curricula. Overall, the findings demonstrate that inclusive education, digital competence, and participatory learning environments are central to building tolerant, cohesive, and sustainability-oriented societies. The study contributes to ESD scholarship by linking social inclusion, sustainability competencies, and the role of higher education in post-transition contexts. Full article