scholarly journals The Role of the Global Solar UV Index for Sun Protection of Children in German Kindergartens

Author(s):  
Olaf Gefeller ◽  
Sonja Mathes ◽  
Wolfgang Uter ◽  
Annette B. Pfahlberg

More than twenty-five years ago the Global Solar UV index (UVI) has been introduced as a simple means of visualizing the intensity of ultraviolet radiation and to alert people to the need for sun protection. In our survey among directors of 436 kindergartens in southern Germany we investigated the level of awareness and knowledge about the UVI as well as the practical consequences for sun protection in kindergartens. Less than half of the directors (n=208, 47.7%) had ever heard of the UVI, and only a small minority of them (n=34, 8.7%) used the daily UVI information to adapt sun protective measures in their kindergartens. Detailed knowledge about the UVI was a rarity among the respondents. The proportion of respondents with self-perceived detailed UVI knowledge was five times higher than actual knowledge assessed by an in-depth structured interview using open-ended questions about the UVI (14.2% vs. 2.8%). No clear relationship of UVI awareness, knowledge, and use to directors' age and gender was found. The UVI-related variables also showed no association with directors' knowledge of risk factors for skin cancer and their attitudes towards tanned skin. Overall, the results paint a sobering picture regarding the penetration of the UVI into sun protection policies of German kindergartens. Future public health campaigns should target increasing awareness and understanding of the UVI as well as its importance for sun protection of children.

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barnabas Szaszi ◽  
Nandor Hajdu ◽  
Peter Szecsi ◽  
Elizabeth Tipton ◽  
Balazs Aczel

AbstractKnowing who to target with certain messages is the prerequisite of efficient public health campaigns during pandemics. Using the COVID-19 pandemic situation, we explored which facets of the society—defined by age, gender, income, and education levels—are the most likely to visit social gatherings and aggravate the spread of a disease. Analyzing the reported behavior of 87,169 individuals from 41 countries, we found that in the majority of the countries, the proportion of social gathering-goers was higher in male than female, younger than older, lower-educated than higher educated, and low-income than high-income subgroups of the populations. However, the data showed noteworthy heterogeneity between the countries warranting against generalizing from one country to another. The analysis also revealed that relative to other demographic factors, income was the strongest predictor of avoidance of social gatherings followed by age, education, and gender. Although the observed strength of these associations was relatively small, we argue that incorporating demographic-based segmentation into public health campaigns can increase the efficiency of campaigns with an important caveat: the exploration of these associations needs to be done on a country level before using the information to target populations in behavior change interventions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Temesgen Assefa ◽  
Netsanet Nigussie ◽  
Destaw Mullualem ◽  
Gebiru Sinshaw ◽  
Yeshaneh Adimasu

In Ethiopia, medicinal plants had been used since ancient time and became an important source of health care. Though majority of the people in the study area depend on ethnomedicine to manage different ailments, the indigenous knowledge largely is not documented. As a result, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted with the objective of assessing the role of medicinal plants in traditional medicine. Data was collected by using semi-structured interview and group discussion. Twenty informants were purposefully selected based on indigenous knowledge and gender. Ethnobotanical data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and expressed in tables and flow charts. A total of 25 medicinal plants (22 families) recorded to treat human and livestock ailments. Medicinal plant habit analysis indicates that shrubs occupy the highest proportion (36%), followed by trees and herbs (28% for each) and climbers (8%). The most commonly used plant parts in the study area were leaves and roots. Although medicinal plants play a great role in the society, their  sustainability is declining through time in the study area due to the increasing number of users, improper uses of the plants and poor conservation. Therefore, the conservation of these medicinal plants would be important.


2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balaswamy Reddy ◽  
Santosh Kumar Chaturvedi ◽  
Geetha Desai ◽  
Narayana Manjunatha ◽  
Srinivas Guruprasad

Background: The positive association between adverse life events and somatoform disorders is a consistent observation. But no systematic studies have evaluated the relationship between health-related life events (HLEs) in patients with somatic symptom disorder (SSD)/somatoform disorders. Aim: To examine the nature and relationship of HLE in patients with SSD and to assess the correlates of HLE. Methods: A total of 50 adult patients with SSD and 50 matched healthy controls from a Neuropsychiatric hospital were recruited. Sociodemographic interview, scale for assessment of somatic symptoms (SASS), Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) and a semi-structured interview schedule to gather information on HLE were used. Results: Patients in the SSD group had a significantly higher number of total HLE in general (4.72 ± 2.63, 3.36 ± 1.92; p = .004), major HLE (1.48 ± 1.45, 0.68 ± 0.94; p = .006), during their lifetime in comparison to controls. Infections, trauma, non-communicable diseases and reproductive system–related diseases were the more common types of HLE in SSD group. Conclusion: Our findings may implicate a role of major HLE of patients and HLE of their family members in the pathophysiology of SSD.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 271-279
Author(s):  
Khaizran Zahra ◽  
Rubina Hanif .

This study was conducted to examine the relationship of personality traits (i.e., dominance, self-acceptance, self-control, flexibility, sociability, capacity for status and communality) and Gender Role attitudes among professionals of traditional and non-traditional occupations using selected scales from Urdu Version of California Personality Inventory (CPI) and Gender Role Attitudes Scale. A sample of 152 professionals from traditional and non-traditional occupations (criteria of defining traditional and nontraditional professions were based on literature). The findings suggested positive relationship among personality traits and gender role attitudes. The linear Regression analysis showed predicting role of personality traits for gender role attitudes. The significant differences were found on personality traits, gender role attitudes among traditional and non-traditional professionals, and gender as well. In addition, implications and limitations, as well as directions for future research are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barnabas Szaszi ◽  
Balazs Aczel ◽  
Nandor Hajdu ◽  
Peter Szecsi ◽  
Elizabeth Tipton

Knowing who to target with certain messages is the prerequisite of efficient public health campaigns during pandemics. Using the COVID-19 pandemic situation, we explored which facets of the society - defined by age, gender, income, and education levels - are the most likely to visit social gatherings and aggravate the spread of a disease. Analyzing the reported behavior of 87,169 individuals from and 41 countries, we found that in the majority of the countries, the proportion of social gathering-goers was higher in male than female, younger than older, lower-educated than higher educated, and low-income than high-income subgroups of the populations. However, the data showed noteworthy heterogeneity between the countries warranting against generalizing from one country to another. The analysis also revealed that relative to other demographic factors, income was the strongest predictor of avoidance of social gatherings followed by age, education and gender. Although the observed strength of these associations were relatively small, we argue that incorporating demographic-based segmentation into public health campaigns can increase the efficiency of campaigns with an important caveat: the exploration of these associations need to be done on a country level before using the information to target populations in behavior change interventions.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Rana ◽  
Shalini Singh

Purpose Performance appraisal (PA) is one of the most indispensable human resource management practices as many critical decisions regarding employees’ performance are heavily based on the PA results as they are responsible for various attitude-related outcomes. This study aims to investigate the relationship between PA justice and affective commitment (AC) of employees in the Indian banking sector, and to examine the moderating effects of age and gender on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach A total of 298 employees from the banking sector were randomly selected to examine the relationship between PA justice and AC along with the moderating role of age and gender on this relationship through structural equation modelling using AMOS 21. Findings The findings of the study supported hypothesized relationships as PA justice significantly predicted the AC of bank employees in India. The moderating effects of age and gender on the relationship of PA justice and AC are found to be high for older employees and female employees, respectively. Research limitations/implications As the present study was cross-sectional, so any inferences regarding causality are limited. Theoretical and managerial implications have been discussed in the context of banking sector. Originality/value The paper contributes new insights to the existing literature by examining the moderating effects of age and gender on the relationship of PA justice and AC in the context of Indian banking sector.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 133-183
Author(s):  
Simone Heidegger

In the two main branches of Jōdo Shinshū (or Shin Buddhism), the Ōtani-ha and the Honganji-ha, a movement toward gender equality emerged in the 1980s. This movement and its development have brought about internal discussions on discrimination against women and an increasing awareness of gender issues, as well as concrete reforms of institutional laws. In the Ōtani-ha, a ruling that explicitly excluded women from becoming temple chief priests (jūshoku) led to protests and petitions by the association of chief priests’ wives and resulted in the establishment of the “Women’s Association to Consider Gender Discrimination in the Ōtani-ha.” Although the Honganji-ha has formally accepted female chief priests since 1946, the definition of the role of the bōmori (lit. temple guardian) as the temple chief priest’s wife suggested hierarchical gender roles, which also stimulated demands for reforms. This article shows the forms of gender discrimination which have been the focus of debates and discussions. Here, I present the reforms and changes that have been achieved over the past few decades and examine the reasons and influences that were instrumental during this process. In this context, I analyze the arguments used by both the reform-oriented and the conservative sides of the issue, and I also explore the relationship of this gender discrimination discourse to earlier Shin Buddhist social developments, such as internal reform movements and efforts to combat discrimination against burakumin.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 510-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cat Pausé

This article argues that public health campaigns have an ethical obligation to combat fat stigma, not mobilize it in the “war on obesity.” Fat stigma is conceptualized, and a review is undertaken of how pervasive fat stigma is across the world and across the lifespan. By reviewing the negative impacts of fat stigma on physical health, mental health, and health seeking behaviors, fat stigma is clearly identified as a social determinant of health. Considering the role of fat stigma in public health, and the arguments made for using stigmatisation in public health campaigns to promote population health, it is concluded that it is a violation of public health ethics to use stigma as a tool in combatting fatness. The article concludes by making recommendations of how public health in New Zealand can combat, rather than reinforce, fat stigma.


2017 ◽  
Vol 107 (8) ◽  
pp. 1223-1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph G. L. Lee ◽  
Hope Landrine ◽  
Ryan J. Martin ◽  
Derrick D. Matthews ◽  
Paige E. Averett ◽  
...  

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