Family Choices on Welfare and Territorial Disadvantages: The Perception of the Child Care Services Approach in Urban and Rural Areas

Although the research on social-economic and demographic inequities of parents and their approach to formal child care (early childhood education and care [ECEC] system) is increasing, the territorial effects on child care remain underresearched. In Lithuania, the importance of the accessibility and availability of formal child care services are highlighted by the political agenda. However, the residential location is not considered enough to explain the differences in parental approach to child care in rural and urban regions. The article seeks to analyze how families’ child care choices and family welfare priorities are related to parental socioeconomic backgrounds, territorial dimension (residential location of parents), and general life satisfaction. The article uses the subsample of representative population survey data of the working-age generation cohort (34–48 years old cohort), focusing on respondents who have children below 4 years old and benefit from formal child care services in Lithuania. The main results contribute to explaining parental preferences to benefits-in-cash or services-in-kind (child care) family welfare priorities and their socioeconomic backgrounds, including residential location. The less is the residential location size (rural areas), the more likely respondents would support the benefits-in-cash system rather than formal child care services.

Apakah yang Kita Faham Mengenai Kesejahteraan Kanak-Kanak? Kajian Kes Di Pulau Gaya, Sabah

The aim of this study is to develop a better understanding of well-being concept as it relates to the children at Gaya Island. This study also focuses on quality of relationships of the children with others and their link with children’s happiness with life. Data for this study were obtained from 223 children with age ranged from 10 to 12 year old in the only one primary school at Gaya Island, Sabah. The Good Childhood Index was used to measure overall well-being and in relation to 10 aspects of the life of children. It includes a single-item measure of happiness with life as a whole, a five-item measure of overall life satisfaction. The results indicated that children in Gaya Island tend to be happy - the mean score on 10 point scale was 8.18. Around 7% of the children scored below the mid-point on this scale or around 16 out of 223 young people were more unhappy than happy. For life satisfaction scale, the score can range from 5 to 25. Again the result showed the life satisfaction of the children at Gaya Island was generally positive. The mean score on this scale was 19.22. Around 2.7% of children at Gaya Island scored below the mid-point of 15 on this scale. The result indicated that the choices in life and health condition were positive predictors of children’s happiness. Findings also showed well-being factors; relationship with family, choices in life, and appearance were significant predictors of Gaya Island’s children life satisfaction.

Successful Advance Care Planning in a Rural Nursing Home

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) often culminates in the completion of advance care directives (ACD), which is a written record of informed decisions specifying the type and extent of desired medical treatment. Documentation of ACD in nursing homes in the United States indicates a 60% to 70% completion rate. There are little data on the time at which ACD are completed in relation to when the resident was admitted to the nursing home facility. Objective: To explore the success of advanced care planning at a large, rural long-term care (LTC) facility. Methods: A descriptive approach, using a retrospective chart review, of 167 residents was used to examine resident completion of health-care system documents, legal documents, predisposing factors (resident demographics and psychosocial characteristics), and the actual process of ACP as defined by the rural LTC facility. Results: This nursing home utilizes a document entitled resident preference for life-sustaining treatment (RPLST). For residents who do not have formal prepared advance directive documents, the RPLST serves to define resident and family choices for resuscitation and implementation of fluids, nutrition, medications, and antibiotics. The most striking finding was the completion rate of the RPLST within 100 days of being admitted to the nursing home. Conclusion: Documentation of end-of-life preferences within 10 days of admission was achieved through the incorporation of RPLST during the resident admission process.

The impact of religious unorthodoxy on family choices and women’s well-being in Turkey

This chapter provides evidence from Turkey, a Muslim-majority country, on how religious unorthodoxy is related to the number of children and generations living in a household, both of which strongly link to women's time burden and, consequently, their well-being. It uses data from Turkish Household Consumption Surveys, which contain rich information regarding household-level consumption, household characteristics, and individual characteristics. The evidence from Turkish Household Budget Surveys supports the idea that women who live in ‘sinful’ households, that is households which do not follow Sunni dogmas in their consumption patterns, are faced with lesser burdens of childcare and elder care responsibilities.

Latina/o Religious Politics

Religion is at the heart of the Latina/o experience in the United States. It is a deeply personal matter that often shapes political orientations, how people vote, where they live, and the type of family choices they make. Latina/o religious politics—defined as the religious beliefs, ethics, and cultures that motivate social and political action in society—represent the historic interaction between popular and institutional religion. The evolution of Protestantism, Pentecostalism, and Catholic Social Action throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries illuminates the ways in which Latina/o religious communities interacted with movements for social justice.

Is Family Decision-making Power?

Do ‘final say’ survey questions measure power within families? Researchers rely on these items as proxy indicators of gender inequality within households, although there are reasons to doubt decision-making is equated with power. I review relative resources and exchange theory predictions about decision-making and two potential moderators: the gender system and methods of allocating income. Using original data (n = 3,975) from a vignette-survey experiment to disentangle the mechanisms leading to decision making authority, I find higher relative earners within families are not regarded as entitled to the final word in decisions. Whether respondents considered earnings individually or community owned did not explain the lack of association between financial resources and decision-making clout. Findings show a significant association between the decider’s gender and perceptions of fairness: specifically, when women were presented as the decider over monetary family choices, unilateral decision-making was viewed more favorably. Results from the qualitative analysis of the reasoning behind these evaluations were consistent with beliefs in egalitarian essentialism, that women and men are equal but characteristically different. Findings suggest ‘final say’ measures should be interpreted cautiously as markers of power and offers insights in to why gender equality within families remains stalled.

Fading Away in Plain Sight

The failure of health care professionals and providers to recognize and discuss end-of-life care continues to resonate across our heath care continuum. The value of the patient–clinician interaction is paramount in advocating for and establishing effective communication and care.A meaningful nurse–patient relationship is a key component to facilitate discussion of patient and family choices in how care can be managed throughout the dying process. This article describes how, using Virginia Henderson’s nursing model of patient-centered care, a holistic and palliative approach to end-of-life care was successfully supported in the home.