Search Results (328)

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) programs hold significant social and economic relevance, as the technological innovation that sustains a country’s competitiveness depends on them. This article compares research on STEM programs in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries, specifically Brazil, Chile, Portugal, and Spain. More specifically, it aims to reflect on the social and economic relevance of STEM programs; vocational choices and the social stereotypes associated with these fields; the variables that influence academic success, retention, and graduation rates; and the measures implemented, either nationally or by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), to promote access and success in these programs. We conducted qualitative research, analyzing official documents and peer-reviewed articles that describe the higher education landscape in the selected countries. Results show that in all four countries studied, there is a growing demand for STEM graduates. However, concerns remain about high dropout and failure rates, as well as the lower participation of women and students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds or ethnic minorities. Some measures have been implemented by the governments of these countries to promote greater democratization of access and academic success for these students. Nevertheless, inequalities persist, suggesting the need to increase investment in practices and policies that encourage young people, especially those from more disadvantaged groups, to engage early in STEM domains. Full article

Background: Children in underdeveloped rural areas of China often face socioeconomic disadvantages, which are associated with low confidence and self-esteem. While SEL programs have shown benefits internationally, evidence from Mainland China is limited. This study examined whether a school-based SEL intervention could improve confidence and self-esteem among children in economically disadvantaged rural areas. Methods: The intervention was a quasi-experimental study conducted in a rural, underdeveloped region of central China. It involved 16 weekly sessions, each lasting 90 min. A total of 230 children aged 8–12 years participated in the intervention school, while 325 children from another school served as the control group. The study used a mixed-methods design, including a quantitative survey administered at baseline, post-intervention, and a 5-month follow-up, as well as qualitative interviews with 83 children, nine caregivers, and eight teachers following the intervention. A linear mixed-effects model was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, while interview data were analyzed using an inductive thematic approach. Results: The findings suggested (1) children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds consistently reported lower levels of self-esteem and self-efficacy across all three assessment points. (2) There was a short-term intervention effect on self-esteem, with greater improvements among children from poorer families. (3) The increase in children’s confidence meant they were more able to express themselves and mix with others. (4) Children’s improvements were not sustained up to a 5-month follow-up. Conclusions: The program may be effective in improving children’s confidence and self-esteem in underdeveloped rural areas of China. Such a program may contribute not only to educational outcomes but also to broader efforts aimed at social mobility and poverty reduction. Full article

Stigmatized views of emotionality form within familial, cultural, and societal contexts and serve as a mechanism impacting youth mental health and substance misuse with notable ties to health equity. Yet critical questions remain regarding the impact of racial identity on emotionality stigma in urban groups and the moderating relationship between race and emotionality stigma on youth mental health and substance misuse. The current study aimed to investigate emotionality stigma as a mechanism of health inequity by exploring the relationships between racial identity, emotionality stigma, and adolescent mental health and substance misuse. Urban adolescents (n = 85) recruited from a combined mental health and substance use treatment program reported on their stigmatized views of emotionality, mental health, and substance use. Participants primarily identified as multicultural (60.3%) and socioeconomically disadvantaged, with 55.2% requiring transportation assistance and 63.8% being either insured through Medicaid or uninsured. Findings suggest a link between racial identity and emotionality stigma that was associated with attachment (β = −3.43, p < 0.001) as well as substance misuse type (β = 5.36, p < 0.001) and polysubstance use (β = −6.53, p < 0.001) for urban adolescents in combined treatment. This study is the first to provide empirical support for the interconnected role of sociocultural factors and emotionality stigma and calls for systems-level change to address emotionality stigma individually, communally, and socially. Full article

The primary goal of Transportation systems is to provide transportation accessibility to opportunities. Equitable access to essential destinations encompassing social, recreational, educational, and civic opportunities needs to be more consistent across different social groups. This study evaluates the disparities in social justice using social equity as a measure of transit access and walk access to non-work amenities. These non-work amenities include grocery stores, personal services, retail outlets, recreational venues, entertainment centers, and healthcare facilities in the U.S. Logistic regression models are developed using the 2017 National Community Livability Survey data. The results indicate regressive public transit access for socially disadvantaged groups, including older citizens, non-drivers, Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries, and non-metropolitan residents. Walk access inequities similarly affect older individuals, non-drivers, the physically disabled, the unemployed, students, women, and non-metropolitan residents. This research emphasizes the importance of addressing transit and walk-access inequities to non-work amenities within transportation systems. By acknowledging the disparities in transportation equity, decision-makers and communities can foster more inclusive and equitable access to essential destinations, thereby promoting social cohesion and overall community well-being. Full article

Background/Objectives: Based on years of work from high-income countries, the Parenting for Lifelong Health programme for parents of Young Children (PLH-YC) was developed by the first and last authors, as a freely available low-cost programme for low-income families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The initial group-based 12-session programme has since been delivered, adapted, and evaluated across many LMICs and now has a significant body of evidence. Over the last 10 years, early intervention services in the UK have been considerably reduced whilst, exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19, service demands have grown. This paper describes a feasibility trial of the 12-session PLH-YC programme in Wales to explore whether it could recruit and retain parents, and demonstrate improvements in parenting skills and reductions in child behaviour problems. Methods: Two small pre–post trials were conducted in socially disadvantaged communities in Wales, and they were delivered by local parenting practitioners. Of the 20 parents recruited across 3 groups, 17 provided pre- and post-course data and 10 completed qualitative interviews. Results: Retention was good (85%) with mean attendance of 8.7 sessions, and parental and facilitator feedback reported high levels of satisfaction with the programme, with the only recommendation being to make the programme longer and for facilitators to be given more time. Results showed significant benefits to parent-reported parenting practices, child behaviour, and parental mental wellbeing. Conclusions: These preliminary results justify work to develop a rigorous evaluation to establish whether PLH-YC could have a place among parenting-support programmes in the UK. Full article

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Telemedicine offers a potential strategy to support risk factor management in such groups with limited access to care. Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of a telemedicine-supported intervention compared to usual care in improving cardiovascular risk parameters among adults from a socially deprived urban population. Materials and Methods: In this controlled intervention study, adult patients with one or more cardiovascular risk factors were recruited from a primary care center in a low-income urban neighborhood in Timişoara, Romania. Participants were allocated to either usual care or a six-month telemedicine-supported intervention group. The intervention consisted of regular phone calls by trained staff focusing on medication adherence, self-monitoring of blood pressure and glucose, smoking cessation, and lifestyle advice. No physical visits were delivered. Primary outcomes included changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and lipid profile. Data were collected at baseline and at six months. Results: A total of 144 patients were allocated to the telemedicine group and 142 to the usual care group. After 6 months, diastolic blood pressure decreased by 3.9 mmHg in the telemedicine group compared to 0.3 mmHg in the standard care group (p < 0.001). LDL-cholesterol was reduced by 18.0 mg/dL with telemedicine versus 5.7 mg/dL with usual care (p < 0.001). In contrast, fasting glucose improved more in the standard care group (–10.9 mg/dL vs. –2.0 mg/dL, p < 0.001). Patient satisfaction in the telemedicine group was high, with 84% rating the program as very useful. Conclusions: Basic telemedicine-supported interventions may represent a feasible and effective strategy for improving cardiovascular risk factors such as diastolic blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol in socially deprived populations. High satisfaction suggests strong acceptability; however, given the small sample size, short follow-up, and single-center design, these findings should be interpreted cautiously and confirmed in larger studies. Full article

Background: Pediatric cancer incidence has been increasing in the United States, despite improvement in pediatric cancer survival. This steady increase in incidence trends is not completely understood but maybe associated with social and environmental factors. In this study we aimed to assess the cumulative incidence, temporal trends, and mortality rates in pediatric cancer. Additionally, we examined sub-group variability in both incidence and mortality rates. Methods: Data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) −18 from 1973–2014 were used for the purpose of analysis in this study. Age-adjusted incidence rates were used to assess temporal trends in cancer among children aged <1–19 years. Univariable and multivariable binomial regression models were used to examine the association between race and cancer mortality while adjusting for potential confounders. Results: There were 92,594 cancer diagnoses during this period. White children comprised 74,758, (80.7%), black children 10,030, (10.8%), and other races 6648, (7.2%). Overall the age-adjusted cumulative incidence was slightly higher among white children (16.4%) than black children (12.4%) and other (13.0%). Children aged 15–19 years and those in metropolitan regions were more likely to be diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Relative to females, males were 16% more likely to die from the disease [adjusted Risk Ratio (aRR): 1.16, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.09–1.22]. Additionally, compared to white children, black children had higher mortality rates [(aRR): 1.37, 99% CI: 1.23–1.52]. Conclusions: There is an increasing trend in pediatric cancer incidence; while white children have the highest incidence, black children and males indicated a survival disadvantage, indicative of racial and sex variability in overall pediatric cancer in the United States. Full article

Understanding rural communities’ perceptions of the health impacts of extreme weather is vital for strengthening community resilience and adaptation strategies. This paper aimed to collate existing evidence on the perceptions of rural Australians regarding the health impacts of extreme weather events. A scoping review following PRISMA-ScR guidelines was conducted. Peer-reviewed empirical articles published up to 7 May 2025 were identified from Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. One author undertook two-step screening and data extraction, which was checked by another author, and data were analysed using a thematic approach. Of 242 non-duplicate articles screened, 34 were included, which discussed drought (n = 14), bushfire (n = 8), flood (n = 6), extreme heat (n = 4) or a combination of events (n = 2). Two main themes arose: (1) perceived severity, frequency and duration of extreme weather events; and (2) perceptions of health impacts. The second theme comprised six subthemes: mental health risks, social disconnectedness, disrupted connection to land, distress due to uncertainties, community resilience, and disproportionate effects on vulnerable groups. Evidence gaps included a lack of perspectives separated by gender and age and a shortage of voices of socio-economically disadvantaged groups. Future research should investigate how to understand rural communities’ resilience to develop targeted adaptation and mitigation strategies. Full article

The willingness to pay (WTP) for green energy consumption not only indicates the public’s green energy consumption practices, but also affects the realization of China’s “dual carbon” goals and global green development. Based on data from the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this study describes the WTP for green energy consumption of Chinese urban and rural residents in the context of “dual carbon”. Moreover, it provides an in-depth interpretation from the perspectives of capital endowment and energy cognition, guided by social practice theory (SPT). This study found that, firstly, the public’s WTP for green energy consumption needs to be strengthened urgently, and the percentage of the refusal to participate group reaches 41.44%, and shows significant urban–rural differences. Compared with rural residents, the proportion and amount of WTP for urban residents are 7.5% and 4.016 CNY/month higher, respectively. Secondly, capital endowment and energy cognition are important influencing factors. Among them, economic capital (β = 0.647, p < 0.01) and cultural capital (β = 0.358, p < 0.05) play a significant role for urban residents, while rural residents depend on the government support cognition of energy (β = 7.678, p < 0.001). Finally, the urban–rural divergence in WTP for green energy consumption mainly stems from the gap in capital endowment, which contributes 29.08%, significantly higher than the contribution of energy cognition (8.34%). Therefore, efforts should be made to enhance the capital endowment levels of urban and rural residents, implement a targeted energy knowledge dissemination system, build a comprehensive government support system, and break down institutional barriers through urban–rural integration to guard against the disadvantages of rural residents. Full article

Social procurement can attain particular traction when governments leverage large-scale infrastructure programmes to mandate the procurement of goods and services from categories of people in society that have historically be disadvantaged. However, frictions can arise within a system of regulation when operational choices in the structural design of a regulatory regime are not well matched with the nature of the social opportunity being addressed. In 2018, the Australian State of Victoria introduced a Social Procurement Framework, intending to create economic and employment opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups. Applying Sheehy and Feaver’s theory of regulatory coherence, and taking into account findings from interviews with stakeholders, this article assesses the coherence of the Australian State of Victoria’s social procurement regulatory regime, as it applied from 2018 to 2023. This article explains Victoria’s framework, makes recommendations for its improvement, and, drawing upon pertinent theoretical perspectives, extends the regulatory coherence debate into the domain of social procurement. Full article

The race paradox in mental health refers to the phenomenon in which African Americans often demonstrate mental health outcomes that are comparable to or more favorable than those of non-Hispanic Whites, despite systemic socioeconomic disadvantage and disproportionate exposure to chronic stressors. Few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying this race paradox among older adults, and even fewer have explored the role of social participation. This study aims to examine whether social participation mediates the relationship between race and mental health. Longitudinal data were drawn from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging study Waves 1–3 (N = 1292). Race was dichotomized as African American and non-Hispanic White. Three types of social participation were assessed: volunteering, participating in organized groups, and attending religious services. Depressive symptoms were assessed as the mental health outcome. Path analyses were conducted to examine the aim. Results indicate that being African Americans predicted increased levels of religious attendance, which in turn, decreased the levels of depressive symptoms. Religious attendance is an underlying mechanism partially explaining the race paradox in mental health, and a modifiable factor that mitigates depressive symptoms. Culturally sensitive interventions promoting social participation are warranted. Full article

Grounded in the existing literature on administrative burden and using a qualitative and community-engaged research approach, the research examined the administrative burden experienced in accessing disability, retirement, and survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The research team held in person and virtual focus groups and interviews with 40 adults with disabilities, older adults, and family members of people with disabilities who resided in rural areas of the U.S. State of New Hampshire in 2024. The qualitative analysis revealed that rural residents, regardless of type of SSA benefit receipt, were experiencing high levels of administrative burden in their interactions with the SSA and preferred to turn to in-person assistance at local SSA field offices (rather than phone, mail, or web-based service options) to address these concerns. Overall, people living in rural counties that do not have local SSA field offices voiced a distinct disadvantage in terms of knowing where to turn with questions about their benefits. A lack of ready and reliable access to information and advice led to endangering their own economic stability and to increased calls and visits to the SSA. Persons with stronger social networks were better able to overcome these barriers to services. Full article

It is well known that climate change exacerbates inequalities and vice versa. What is less known is that the most disadvantaged groups are also at risk of becoming non-negligible producers of emissions that cause climate change. Examples include the difficulties disadvantaged micro-entrepreneurs face in limiting the emissions of their activities, or the need for subsistence farmers to cut down trees to increase the amount of farmland. The above is mainly due to the unintended negative effects of some mitigation and adaptation (M&A) policies on the most vulnerable and their non-inclusion in the deployment of these policies. This paper aims to provide a detailed analysis in this respect, highlighting the significant limitations of some policies, which often exclude/penalise disadvantaged groups and are likely to be strongly resisted by them. The possible anti-equalisation effects of such policies, which tend to protect those who are better off more, are also highlighted. To overcome these limitations, the prospect of combining climate and social justice is emerging. However, this perspective has so far had limited impact on M&A policies, as it is only occasionally applied in practice. Conversely, specific social clauses (including social inclusion, protection of vulnerable groups, and gender mainstreaming) should be defined and applied. Full article

Atherogenic dyslipidemia is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While lipid abnormalities are well-established clinical risk factors, growing evidence highlights the influence of sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants on lipid profiles. However, large-scale epidemiological data addressing these associations within occupational settings remain limited. Objective: To assess the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between atherogenic risk—measured through TC/HDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c, TG/HDL-c ratios, and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD)—and sociodemographic variables, health behaviors, and alcohol consumption in a large cohort of Spanish workers. Methods: A dual-phase study was conducted. The first phase was a cross-sectional analysis of 139,634 workers (83,282 men; 56,352 women) from multiple employment sectors undergoing routine occupational health assessments. The second phase was a longitudinal study of a subsample (n = 40,431) with complete data from 2009 and 2019. Clinical, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected using standardized protocols. Lifestyle factors (smoking, physical activity, Mediterranean diet adherence, alcohol intake) and socioeconomic indicators (education, occupational class) were recorded. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine independent associations with high-risk atherogenic profiles. Results: Higher atherogenic indices and prevalence of AD were associated with advancing age, lower educational level, lower social class, smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet quality, and alcohol consumption. Men exhibited higher TG/HDL-c and AD values, whereas women had higher TC/HDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c. Physical inactivity showed the strongest association with TG/HDL-c (OR: 36.23; 95% CI: 32.12–40.35) and AD (OR: 16.86; 95% CI: 14.80–18.93). Alcohol intake also independently predicted higher TG/HDL-c (OR: 1.60) and AD (OR: 1.79). Over the decade, a general increase in atherogenic risk was observed, especially among older adults, socially disadvantaged groups, and those with unhealthy behaviors. Conclusions: Sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, particularly physical inactivity and alcohol consumption, are strongly associated with adverse atherogenic profiles in the working population. The observed rise in lipid-related cardiovascular risk over the past decade emphasizes the urgent need for workplace-based health promotion strategies targeting modifiable behaviors and structural health inequalities. Full article

This paper investigates the implication of the COVID-19 pandemic on household food insecurity in Burkina Faso. We used data from the High-Frequency Phone Survey collected from the period June 2020 to June 2021 by the World Bank in collaboration with the National Institute of Statistics. To assess the persistence of food inadequacy, we estimated a dynamic linear probability model. Our results revealed that female and elderly household members were more likely to skip meals during the pandemic than their respective counterparts. For households that skipped a meal due to the pandemic, the likelihood of facing food insecurity in the subsequent month increased by 37 percent. Similarly, individuals who ran out of food in consecutive months were 0.28 times more likely to experience the same situation in the following month. While other shocks can cause food insecurity, the global health-related, economic, social, and information dimensions of COVID-19 created a distinctive and multifaceted form of food shortage that sets it apart from many other types of shock. These findings suggest the implementation of effective programs to respond to shocks and the mitigation effects experienced by most disadvantaged groups. Full article