scholarly journals Recommendations for a Health literacy Policy Plan for Belgium: Learning from experiences of other countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Van Den Broucke ◽  
K Rondia ◽  
J Adriaenssens ◽  
L Kohn
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Key Informant ◽  
Federal Public Service ◽  
Safety And Environment ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Background In Belgium, the past decade has seen a large number of initiatives by various stakeholders to address health literacy (HL) at different levels, but an encompassing policy plan to coordinate efforts across sectors is missing. The Belgian Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment commissioned a study to investigate HL policy plans of other countries, with the intention to make recommendations for the development of a Belgian National Health Literacy Plan (NHLP). Methods To identify elements and criteria for a NHLP, a transversal analysis was performed of HL policies in Australia, Austria, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Scotland, following a preliminary scoping review regarding the availability of relevant information. Information about HL policies was analysed using a combination of document analysis and key informant approach, structured by means of an analytical grid specifying methods, resources, goals, actors, beneficiaries, actions, timing, opportunities, threats, evaluation, monitoring and impact. Results Policy approaches and action plans on HL vary widely in scope, focus and depth. Three pathways to developing a national HL plan were identified: (1) a conceptual approach whereby targets are formulated at the national or federal level, showing the country's determination to improve HL throughout its political system, but with a weak leverage for action (A, AUS, P); (2) a pragmatic approach targeting the healthcare sector first but progressively broadening the scope towards other sectors (SCOT); (3) a delegated approach whereby the authorities delegate the initiatives regarding HL to an active and dynamic civil society (NL, IRL). Conclusions There is no single best way to coordinate efforts to address HL across sectors. Policy makers should consider the strengths and weaknesses within their country to develop a substantiated HL approach that best fits the country's situation.

Contribution of DG Environment of Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment

2013 ◽  
pp. 335-340
Author(s):  
Lucette Flandroy ◽  
Sabine Wallens ◽  
Kelly Hertenweg ◽  
Saskia Van Gaever
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Food Chain ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Federal Public Service ◽  
Safety And Environment

Challenger Entry and Voter Learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANFORD C. GORDON ◽  
GREGORY A. HUBER ◽  
DIMITRI LANDA
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Strategic Interaction ◽  
Incumbency Advantage ◽  
Retrospective Voting ◽  
Positive Assessment ◽  
Threat Of Entry ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

We develop a model of strategic interaction between voters and potential electoral challengers to sitting incumbents, in which the very fact of a costly challenge conveys relevant information to voters. Given incumbent failure in office, challenger entry is more likely, but the threat of entry by inferior challengers creates an incentive for citizens to become more politically informed. At the same time, challenges to incumbents who perform well can neutralize a voter's positive assessment of incumbent qualifications. How a voter becomes politically informed can in turn deter challengers of different levels of competence from running, depending on the electoral environment. The model permits us to sharpen our understanding of retrospective voting, the incumbency advantage, and the relationship between electoral competition and voter welfare, while pointing to new interpretations of, and future avenues for, empirical research on elections.

COVID-19 and health information seeking behavior: Digital health literacy survey amongst university students in Pakistan (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubeena Zakar ◽  
Sarosh Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Zakria Zakar ◽  
Florian Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
University Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Seeking Behavior

BACKGROUND Amid to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital health literacy (DHL) has become a significant public health concern. OBJECTIVE This research aims to assess information seeking behavior, as well as the ability to find relevant information and deal with DHL among university students in Pakistan. METHODS An online-based cross-sectional survey, using a web-based interviewing technique, was conducted to collect data on DHL. Simple bivariate and multivariate linear regression was performed to assess the association of key characteristics with DHL. RESULTS The results show a high DHL related to COVID-19 in 54.3% of students. Most of the Pakistani students demonstrated ~50% DHL in all dimensions, except of reliability. Multivariate findings showed that gender, sense of coherence and importance of information were found to be significantly associated with DHL. However, a negative association was observed with students’ satisfaction with information. CONCLUSIONS This led to the conclusion that critical operational and navigations skills are essential to achieve COVID-19 DHL and cope with stress, particularly to promote both personal and community health. Focused interventions and strategies should be designed to enhance DHL amongst university students to combat the pandemic.

scholarly journals Health literacy and health-promoting behaviours among Australian-Singaporean communities living in Sydney metropolitan area

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tze Gek Ho ◽  
Hassan Hosseinzadeh ◽  
Bayzidur Rahman ◽  
Mohamud Sheikh
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Migrant Populations ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Smoking And Health

Background: Health literacy affects how individuals navigate and make decisions within the healthcare system and has been recognized to influence health behaviours. However, less is known about its associations with health-promoting behaviours amongst Australian migrant populations. This study is an attempt to fill this gap by investigating the level of health literacy and its associations with physical activity, healthy diet, smoking and health services utilization among Australian-Singaporean communities. Methods: A total of 157 participants were recruited from Singaporean communities living in Sydney metropolitan areas, New South Wales, Australia. Data was collected through a cross-sectional online survey from January 2016 to August 2016. Results: Most of the respondents were female (56.1%), employed (70.7%) and had lived in Sydney for >5 years (80.3%). About 60% of the participants were inadequately health-literate (Brief Health Literacy Screening Tool score ≤ 16). The level of health literacy varied significantly based on participants’ socioeconomic status. Regression analysis indicated that health literacy was a reliable predictor of health-promoting behaviours including diet, body mass index, smoking and alcohol consumption, physical activity and having a medical check-up. Conclusions: This study’s findings have significant implications for health policy makers and suggest that health literacy should be encouraged and included in any health-promoting behaviour interventions amongst migrant populations.

Early Childhood Development Practitioners’ Information Practices through GMISP Lens: The Case of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

Libri ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-217
Author(s):  
Kepi Madumo ◽  
Constance Bitso
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Early Childhood Development ◽  
Information Service ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
School Libraries ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Childhood Development ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Key Informant

Abstract In the interest of developing relevant information services for ECD practitioners in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), as ECD is one of the national priorities, a study was conducted to ascertain their information needs and information-seeking behaviour. Using Leckie, Pettigrew and Sylvain’s General Model of the Information Seeking of Professionals (GMISP) as the theoretical framework, and situated within interpretivist paradigm, the study took a qualitative approach to collect data, with the results based on group discussions and an interview with a key informant. The research focused on establishing Grade R practitioners’ information needs, with information sources they often consulted, actions and strategies used when seeking information, as well as challenges they face when seeking information. Grade R practitioners need information to increase their knowledge for optimum performance of their duties. To satisfy the demand for information, it is recommended that the EMM libraries and Gauteng Department of Education school libraries should consider a coordinated and accessible library and information service (LIS) that supports ECD practitioners. The plans and design of LIS in the EMM should accommodate the information needs expressed by the Grade R practitioners.

scholarly journals Etude De Quelques Caracteristiques Physicochimiques Et Biochimiques De Wavé-fortex Un Complement Alimentaire Naturel Du Gabon

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (33) ◽  
pp. 508
Author(s):  
Alexis Nicaise Lepengue ◽  
Alain Souza ◽  
Jean Fabrice Yala ◽  
Judicaël Lebamba ◽  
Jacques Mavoungou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Functional Food ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Matter Wave ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Health Food ◽  
Nutritional Properties ◽  
Biochemical Characteristics ◽  
Food Powder ◽  
Different Levels

Wavé-fortex is a dietary supplement designed to Gabon, to fight against the problems of malnutrition and undernourishment. It would also contain diuretic properties, purgative, antimicrobial, aphrodisiac, influenza, regulating blood pressure, reducing overweight and stimulating sperm production. This work was carried out to study the physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of this health food. The results revealed that Wavé-fortex was heavily dehydrated and contained 6.27% of crude ash and 11.32% of total gross fibers. The mineral level, Wavé-fortex contains 1.27% of calcium, 0.09% of iron, 0.37% of magnesium, 0.87% of potassium and 0.01% of zinc. Biochemical analyzes showed that this functional food contained 45.69% of carbohydrates, 26.01% of protein and 4.67% of fat. This gives it an energy value of 3.55 kcal / g of dry matter. Wavé-fortex is an acidic product (pH 4.02) with high levels of vitamin A (2.38%), vitamin C (1.93%) and phenolic compounds (11.83%). The different levels of these compounds are capable of validating the various nutritional properties attributed to this food powder.

scholarly journals Development and validation of the Espaijove.net mental health literacy (EMHL) test for Spanish adolescents

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pere Castellvi ◽  
Rocio Casanas ◽  
Victoria-Mailen Arfuch ◽  
Juan-José Gil Moreno ◽  
María Torres Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Mental Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Mental Health Knowledge ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract Background There is evidence of the effectiveness of implementing Mental Health Literacy (MHL) programs in improving mental health knowledge and reducing the stigma. However, there are substantial limitations in the instruments of measurement of mental health literacy. This study aimed to develop and validate the EspaiJove.net MHL test (EMHL) for Spanish adolescents assessing its psychometric properties.Methods The development of the EMHL as a maximum performance test was conducted using item pool generation and pilot study. Content generation was assessed according item relevance by mental health professionals’ and comprehensive and non-offensiveness by adolescents’ focus groups. A convenience sample of high school students aged 13-15y (n=355) participated in the validity study. Reliability was assessed with internal consistency and test-retest. Convergent validity was evaluated comparing effect size among known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, correlation with mental health-related instruments, and item discrimination index.Results A final version of 35-item EMHL test was obtained with two parts: (i) 1st part consist of binary choice format (yes/no) for the identification of mental disorders; (ii) The part 2 has multiple choice questions with four possible answer options based on the thematic contents of the EspaiJove.net program. Internal consistency was acceptable in the 1st part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.744; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.773) and almost acceptable in the 2nd part (Cronbach’s alpha=0.615; Guttman’s lambda 2=0.643). The test-retest evaluation supported the stability of the test (1st part, ICC= 0.578; 2nd part, ICC= 0.422), no ceiling and floor effects were found. The EMHL test scores discriminated known groups with different levels of mental health knowledge, it is associated with a reduction of related-stigma, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and bullying behaviours and anxiety/depression and self-care quality of life (p<0.05), and it shows a strong discrimination index in almost all items (D≥0.40).Conclusions The EMHL test is a relevant measure for mental health prevention and promotion adapted to Spanish context taking into account the opinion of adolescents, using a non-offensive and adolescent-adapted vocabulary with acceptable validity and stability for assessing MHL levels in adolescents.

Following Gesture Following: Grounding the Documentation of a Multi-Agent Music Creation Process

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Boutard ◽  
Catherine Guastavino
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Musical Work ◽  
Levels Of Abstraction ◽  
Musical Works ◽  
Multi Agent ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Do So

The documentation of electroacoustic and mixed musical works typically relies on a posteriori data collection. In this article, we argue that the preservation of musical works having technological components should be grounded in a thorough documentation of the creative process that accounts for both human and nonhuman agents of creation. The present research aims at providing a ground for documentation policies that account for the creative process and provide relevant information for performance, migration, and analysis. To do so, we analyzed secondary ethnographic data from a two-year creation and production process of a musical work having a focus on gesture following. Using grounded theory, we developed a conceptual framework with different levels of abstraction and consequent levels of transferability to other creative contexts. Finally, we propose several paths for grounding a subsequent documentation framework in this conceptual framework.

Supporting Policy-Makers with Social Media Analysis Tools to Get Aware of Citizens' Opinions

2014 ◽  
pp. 121-156
Author(s):  
Timo Wandhöfer ◽  
Steve Taylor ◽  
Miriam Fernandez ◽  
Beccy Allen ◽  
Harith Alani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Facebook Pages

The role of social media in politics has increased considerably. A particular challenge is how to deal with the deluge of information generated on social media: it is impractical to read lots of messages with the hope of finding useful information. In this chapter, the authors suggest an alternative approach: utilizing analysis software to extract the most relevant information of the discussions taking place. This chapter discusses the WeGov Toolbox as one concept for policy-makers to deal with the information overload on Social Media, and how it may be applied. Two complementary, in depth case studies were carried out to validate the usefulness of the analysis results of the WeGov Toolbox components' within its target audience's everyday life. Firstly, the authors used the “HeadsUp” forum, operated by the Hansard Society. Here, they were able to compare the key themes and opinions extracted automatically by the Toolbox to a control group of manually pre-analyzed data sets. In parallel, results of analyses based on four weeks' intensive monitoring on policy area-specific Facebook pages selected by German policy makers, as well as topics on Twitter globally and local, were assessed by taking into account their existing experience with content discussed and user behavior in their respective public spheres. The cases show that there are interesting applications for policy-makers to use the Toolbox in combination with online forums (blogs) and social networks, if behavioral user patterns will be considered and the framework will be refined.

Labour Observatories for Agricultural Policymaking and Sustainable Development

2014 ◽  
pp. 56-63
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Agricultural Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Crop Varieties ◽  
The Right

Assimilation of relevant information within a labour observatory is a key to success of an observatory. Management of such relevant information and its dissemination to the right audience at the right time is also important. In this regard, a labour observatory plays a very important role for successful operationalization of agricultural policies within developing countries. Historical information regarding soil, crop varieties, agricultural practices, and skill of agricultural labourers needs to be maintained by a labour observatory. Information from the observatory has to be communicated to policy makers for making a pragmatic decision in developing countries with large agriculturally dependent populations. These decisions can impact the lives of this population and can impact the sustainable development of these countries. Initiatives related to labour observatory started more than a decade back in developed countries. It has now begun in parts of Africa, too. The chapter highlights these developments and contextualizes the association between these observatories, agricultural policymaking, and sustainable development.

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