Sexual violence against children in South Africa: a nationally representative cross-sectional study of prevalence and correlates

(1) Background: Sexual violence (SV) has become common in universities for reasons related to unwanted social/peer pressures regarding alcohol/drug use and sexual activities. Objectives: To identify perceptions of SV and alcohol use and estimate prevalence among nursing students in Catalonia, Spain. (2) Methods: Observational descriptive cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of nursing students attending public universities. (3) Results: We recruited 686 students (86.11% women), who reported as follows: 68.7% had consumed alcohol, 65.6% had been drunk at least once in the previous year, 62.65% had experienced blackouts and 25.55% had felt pressured to consume alcohol. Drunkenness and blackouts were related (p < 0.000). Of the 15.6% of respondents who had experienced SV, 47.7% experienced SV while under the influence of alcohol and were insufficiently alert to stop what was happening, while 3.06% reported rape. SV was more likely to be experienced by women (OR: 2.770; CI 95%: 1.229–6.242; p = 0.014), individuals reporting a drunk episode in the previous year (OR: 2.839; 95% CI: 1.551–5.197; p = 0.001) and individuals pressured to consume alcohol (OR: 2.091; 95% CI: 1.332–3.281; p = 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Nursing instructors need to raise student awareness of both the effects of alcohol use and SV, so as to equip these future health professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to deal with SV among young people.

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Ultra-processed food consumption in Barbados: evidence from a nationally representative, cross-sectional study

Journal of Nutritional Science ◽

10.1017/jns.2021.21 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Author(s):

Rachel M. Harris ◽

Angela M. C. Rose ◽

Suzanne Soares-Wynter ◽

Nigel Unwin

Keyword(s):

Communicable Disease ◽

Population Based ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Targeted Interventions ◽

Sweetened Beverages ◽

Group 4 ◽

The Mean ◽

Nationally Representative

Abstract Our objective was to describe, for the first time in an English-speaking Caribbean country, the contribution of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) to nutrients linked to non-communicable disease. Using a cross-sectional study design, dietary data were collected from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Recorded food items were then classified according to their degree of processing by the NOVA system. The present study took place in Barbados (2012–13). A representative population-based sample of 364 adult Barbadians (161 males and 203 females) aged 25–64 years participated in the study. UPFs represented 40⋅5 % (838 kcal/d; 95 % CI 791, 885) of mean energy intake. Sugar-sweetened beverages made the largest contribution to energy within the UPF category. Younger persons (25–44 years) consumed a significantly higher proportion of calories from UPF (NOVA group 4) compared with older persons (45–64 years). The mean energy shares of UPF ranged from 22⋅0 to 58⋅9 % for those in the lowest tertile to highest tertile. Within each tertile, the energy contribution was significantly higher in the younger age group (25–44 years) compared with the older (45–64 years). One-quarter of persons consume ≥50 % of their daily calories from UPF, this being significantly higher in younger persons. The ultra-processed diet fraction contained about six times the mean of free sugars and about 0⋅8 times the dietary fibre of the non-ultra-processed fraction (NOVA groups 1–3). Targeted interventions to decrease the consumption of UPF especially in younger persons is thus of high priority to improve the diet quality of Barbadians.

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A cross-sectional study measuring contact patterns using diaries in an urban and a rural community in South Africa, 2018

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11136-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jackie Kleynhans ◽

Stefano Tempia ◽

Meredith L. McMorrow ◽

Anne von Gottberg ◽

Neil A. Martinson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Age Groups ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Rural Site ◽

Urban Site ◽

Contact Rate ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Contact Rates ◽

Contact Patterns

Abstract Background Describing contact patterns is crucial to understanding infectious disease transmission dynamics and guiding targeted transmission mitigation interventions. Data on contact patterns in Africa, especially South Africa, are limited. We measured and compared contact patterns in a rural and urban community, South Africa. We assessed participant and contact characteristics associated with differences in contact rates. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study nested in a prospective household cohort study. We interviewed participants to collect information on persons in contact with for one day. We described self-reported contact rates as median number people contacted per day, assessed differences in contact rates based on participant characteristics using quantile regression, and used a Poisson model to assess differences in contact rates based on contact characteristics within age groups. We also calculated cumulative person hours in contact within age groups at different locations. Results We conducted 535 interviews (269 rural, 266 urban), with 17,252 contacts reported. The overall contact rate was 14 (interquartile range (IQR) 9–33) contacts per day. Those ≤18 years had higher contact rates at the rural site (coefficient 17, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) 10–23) compared to the urban site, for those aged 14–18 years (13, 95%CI 3–23) compared to < 7 years. No differences were observed for adults. There was a strong age-based mixing, with age groups interacting more with similar age groups, but also interaction of participants of all ages with adults. Children aged 14–18 years had the highest cumulative person hours in contact (116.3 rural and 76.4 urban). Conclusions Age played an important role in the number and duration of contact events, with children at the rural site having almost double the contact rate compared to the urban site. These contact rates can be utilized in mathematical models to assess transmission dynamics of infectious diseases in similar communities.

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