Using Geographically Weighted Regression to Assess the Relationship Between Weather and Sociodemographic Indicators and COVID-19 Infection in Iraq

The impact of COVID-19 is still being recognised due to increased research, demand for the communication of uncertainties and evidence based information to help decision makers to design appropriate mitigation policies overtime. Weather and sociodemographic indicators are important to comprehensively understand rapid spread of the disease at a given spatial scale. The spatial pattern in the occurrence of disease may hint at the mechanisms that produce the disease, hence spatial analysis is very useful in studying the causes of a disease. This study evaluates the influence of weather variables, sociodemographic characteristics and their corresponding records of COVID-19 in Iraq cities. The assessments of these relationships were based on R0 estimated from the time series data of COVID-19 infections, and by using geographically weighted regression (GWR) and linear regression modelling. Global estimates of these relationships from the linear regressions are generally poor. On the contrary, the results derived from the GWR show spatially varying patterns. The lag7 of weather variables performed better compared to other lags. Among weather variables, increasing wind speed leads to risen COVID-19 infection. Population density is one of the sociodemographic characteristics that contributes to higher COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 infections, on the other hand, decreased in cities with a good health index and access to piped water. The findings of this study are therefore of great value to policy makers to design appropriate measures to reduce COVID-19 infection in Iraq and elsewhere.

US Local Public Health Department Spending Between 2008 and 2016 Did Not Increase for Communities in Need

BackgroundGreater US local public health department (LPHD) spending has been associated with decreases in population-wide mortality. We examined the association between changes in LPHD spending between 2008 and 2016 and county-level sociodemographic indicators of public health need.MethodsMultivariable linear regression was used to estimate the association between changes in county-level per-capita LPHD spending and 2008 sociodemographic indicators of interest: percent of population that was over 65 years old, Black, Hispanic, in poverty, unemployed, and uninsured. A second model assessed the relationship between changes in LPHD spending and sociodemographic shifts between 2008 and 2016.ResultsLPHD spending increases were associated with higher percentage points of 2008 adults over 65 years of age (+$0.53 per higher percentage point; 95% CI: +$0.01 to +$1.06) and unemployment (+$1.31; 95% CI: -$2.34 to -$0.27). Spending did not increase for communities with a higher proportion of people who identified as Black or Hispanic, or those with a greater proportion of people in poverty or uninsured, using either baseline or sociodemographic shifts between 2008 and 2016.ConclusionFuture LPHD funding decisions should consider increasing investments in counties serving disadvantaged communities to counteract the social, political, and structural barriers which have historically prevented these communities from achieving better health.

Sociodemographic Indicators of Child and Adolescent Mortality in Finland—A Nationwide Study of 310 Municipalities Covering Over 5,000,000 Inhabitants

Background: The reduction of child and adolescent deaths (defined as decedents aged 0–19 years) remains a crucial public health priority also in high-income countries such as Finland. There is evidence of a relationship between socioeconomic gradients and child mortality, but the association is considered complex and relatively poorly understood. Exploiting a Finnish dataset with nationwide coverage, the present study aimed to shed light on the sociodemographic predictors of child and adolescent mortality at the municipality level.Methods: A public database of Statistics Finland was queried for municipality-level data on sociodemographic traits and child and adolescent deaths in Finland during the years 2011–2018. The sociodemographic indicators included total population size, child and adolescent population size, sex distribution, mean age, education, unemployment, median income, population density, rurality, percentage of individuals living in their birth municipality, household size, overcrowded households, foreign language speakers, divorce rate, car ownership rate, and crime rate. The sociodemographic indicators were modeled against child and adolescent mortality by means of generalized estimating equations.Results: A total of 2,371 child and adolescent deaths occurred during the 8-year study period, yielding an average annual mortality rate of 26.7 per 100,000 individuals. Despite a fluctuating trend, the average annual decline in child and adolescent deaths was estimated to be 3% (95% confidence interval 1–5%). Of the sociodemographic indicators, population density was associated with higher child and adolescent mortality (rate ratio 1.03, 95% confidence interval 1.01–1.06), whereas the percentage of foreign language speakers was associated with lower child and adolescent mortality (0.96, 0.93–0.99).Conclusion: Densely populated areas should be the primary focus of efforts to reduce child and adolescent mortality. Of note is also the apparently protective effect of foreign language speakers for premature mortality. Future studies are welcomed to scrutinize the mediating pathways and individual-level factors behind the associations detected in this study.

Sociodemographic Indicators of Birth Rate in a Low Fertility Country–A Nationwide Study of 310 Finnish Municipalities Covering > 5,000,000 Inhabitants

Background and Aims: Declining fertility is a key driver behind the rapid aging of populations worldwide. Finland has experienced a 25% decline in fertility from 2010 to date and ranks low even on the European and Nordic scales. This study aimed to address the association between sociodemographic indicators and birth rate (i.e., live births relative to total population) in Finland.Methods: Open data on 310 Finnish municipalities were retrieved from the public database of Statistics Finland. Several sociodemographic subdimensions (population structure, education and income, location and living, divorces, car ownership rate, and crime rate), each converted to standard deviation units, were modeled against birth rate at the municipality level using generalized estimating equations.Results: In this dataset, average annual birth rate was 8.8 per 1,000 individuals. Birth rate was positively associated with change in population size (rate ratio 1.06, 95% confidence interval 1.04−1.08), percentage of <15-year-olds (1.29, 1.22−1.36), percentage of individuals living in their birth municipality (1.05, 1.03−1.08), and percentage of foreign language speakers (1.02, 1.01−1.04). In contrast, birth rate was negatively associated with percentage of ≥65-year-olds (0.90, 0.85−0.96), percentage of unemployed individuals (0.98. 0.95−0.99), income (0.92, 0.89−0.96), and number of individuals living in the same household unit (0.94, 0.90−0.98).Conclusion: The present findings are expected to advance the allocation of resources to areas and subpopulations that have high or low birth rate, and thus contribute to the development of a more family-friendly society. Future studies are encouraged to evaluate the sociodemographic indicators of birth rate in other low fertility countries, and to address the individual-level mechanisms behind the municipality-level associations identified in this study.

Prevalência de tabagismo ativo e passivo durante a gravidez: estudo transversal

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of active and passive smoking during pregnancy and its association with sociodemographic indicators, as well as perinatal and postnatal outcomes in newborns. Methods: This cross-sectional study was comprised of 431 pairs of mothers/ newborns. The study variables were: preterm birth, birth weight, oral mucosal lesions, sociodemographic indicators and smoking data. We collected data from medical records and through a self-administered questionnaire answered by mothers. A pediatric dentist examined the newborns for oral mucosal lesions. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between active and passive smoking and the other variables (α=5%). Results: The prevalence of active (9.5%) and passive smoking (4.2%) during pregnancy was low. Active smoking was statistically associated with low birth weight (OR: 2.4; 95%CI:1.1-5.3), lower schooling level (OR: 0.2; 95%CI:0.1-0.5) and mothers aged ≥36 years old (OR: 4.9; 95%CI:1.2-20.0). Passive smoking was not statistically associated with the other variables. There was no association between active or passive smoking during pregnancy and premature birth and oral lesions of the newborn. Conclusions: The prevalence of active and passive smoking were low. Active smoking was associated with low birth weight, maternal age and mother's schooling, suggesting a social influence of smoking behavior among a population with a lower educational level. There was no association between active and passive smoking and prematurity and oral lesions of the newborn

Voting in a Pandemic: Explaining Variation in Support for Absentee Ballots for All

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed all aspects of American life, including, for many, how we vote. We explore the question of who supports unrestricted absentee ballots during a pandemic. We argue that women are more likely to support absentee ballots because they allow for greater flexibility and minimize the potential for exposure. We test this theory using the National Panel Study of COVID-19 (n = 1,892), which asked respondents about their preferences for absentee ballots, their worry about the coronavirus, and their household composition. Using multinomial logistic regressions, we find that women are more likely to support allowing absentee ballots compared with more restrictive voting options and are more likely to say they support absentee ballots for all if they know someone who has contracted COVID-19. The policy implications for these findings are discussed along with other sociodemographic indicators in our analysis.

Sociodemographic indicators and quality of life of caregivers of children with neuromotor changes

Introduction: Children with neuromotor changes are challenged daily, and such challenges may be faced with the help of a caregiver. Thus, the functional dependence of these children lead to the daily demands, causing physical and emotional distress, which affect the quality of life of their caregiver. Objective: Analyze the sociodemographic indicators that interfere with the level of life quality of the caregivers of children with neuromotor changes. Method: 50 caregivers of children with neuromotor changes were interviewed at the Association of Parents and Friends of the Exceptional (APAE) of Paraiba, on the city of João Pessoa. To evaluate the quality of life, the questionnaire SF-36 was used, in addition to collecting demographic data (sex, age, degree of kinship, marital status, number of children, school level and religion). For the data analysis, a descriptive study was developed, the normality test of Shapiro-Wilk was realized, followed by the inferential analysis with non-parametric correlation of Spearman, considering the significant value α = 0.05. Results: There was a predominance of the female sex (96%) with medium age of ≥ 39 years old. Correlating the sociodemographic indicators with the level of life quality of the SF-36 of the caregivers, only the vitality domain presented significance with the variables: number of children (p=0.012), benefits (p=0.044), and how the transfer of the child is done (p=0.044). There was no significant difference relating the sociodemographic indicators on the other domains. Conclusion: The knowledge of sociodemographic indicators that interfere with the quality of life shows the importance of preventive measures, such as guidance and, if needed, treatment for improvement of possible grievances.