Exploring the knowledge and awareness of diabetes mellitus among inhabitants of Ho Municipality in Ghana: A cross-sectional study

One of the fast-growing major non-communicable diseases (NCD) that poses a danger to global public health is Diabetes mellitus (DM). Trends in the incidence of DM indicate a disproportionate increase in developing countries due to current rapid demographic transitions from traditional to more westernized and urbanized lifestyles. Knowledge of DM is vital for curbing or control. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of DM among the Ho municipality general population, identify areas of deficiency for targeted health education efforts, and identify respondent characteristics that may be associated with knowledge of diabetes. A survey involving 132 respondents (age over 18 years) was conducted in the Ho municipality of the Volta region of Ghana. A 42-item pre-tested questionnaire was administered to participants to evaluate general and specific knowledge and awareness of DM. The Pairwise Multiple Comparison and Fisher’s Exact tests were used to test the hypotheses and associations between the respondents’ knowledge level and groups respectively. Of the 132 respondents, 22% were in the age range of 40-46 years; 72.7% were female. Mean over all diabetes knowledge composite score was poor: 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Respondents performed best in the symptoms section: mean score was 36.247% (CI; 29.0, 43.4); and worst in the section on complications: mean score was 30.909% (CI; 23.6, 38.2). In multiple linear regression analyses, education level, older age, own self having diabetes, and having a family member/relative/friend with diabetes were significantly associated with knowledge of diabetes. Knowledge of diabetes among the inhabitants of Ho municipality respondents was interpreted as being inadequate 32.99% (CI; 27.5, 38.5). Some deficient portions and factors associated with knowledge of diabetes were identified. Relevant information for targeted health education programs in Ghana and beyond may be considered as one of such benefits of these findings.

Public health priorities in countries undergoing economic transition

This chapter starts by reviewing the relationship between the economy and health, looking at changes in health outcome as income increases, demographic transitions related to economic growth, and the impact of urbanization on health outcomes. It then reviews major health challenges facing middle-income countries (MICs), including the triple burden of disease, multimorbidity, mental health across the life course, and the impacts of migration, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance. Finally, it discusses health system challenges and the importance of building resilient and ‘learning’ health systems with the agility to adapt to meet MICs’ evolving health needs. We discuss strategies to achieve universal health coverage in MICs and the importance of intersectoral collaboration in promoting health.

A Fundamental Vulnerability: Contributions from Population Studies

Abundant studies have researched the economic and social shifts associated with demographic transitions. There have also been many studies on the essentials of disaster preparedness and recovery. However, few studies have investigated these factors in combination. Therefore, this study explored how demographic shifts such as a decreasing and aging population impact disaster recovery and efforts to build a sustainable society. It examined coastal communities in Japan’s Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures that were affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJET) from the perspective of two disaster-recovery theories: (1) Bates and Peacock argued that disaster recovery continues or accelerates a community’s pre-disaster trends [1, 2]; and (2) Hirose argued that disaster-recovery efficacy depends on the disaster scale, outside aid, and community strength [3]. This study’s analyses support the first theory while stating that a community’s pre-disaster demographic and social trends have a more significant effect on disaster recovery success than the disaster scale and outside aid considering the second theory. The study reiterates that disaster recovery begins before a disaster, and demographic variables should affect plans to build a sustainable society. Finally, this note shows how the lessons learned from the 2011 GEJET disaster can provide the insights to improve disaster risk management in societies with declining and aging populations.

Future-Proofing Geriatric Mental Health Care Services in India: Training and Policy Directions

Background: A burgeoning rise in the elderly subpopulation is being noted in India. This rise has already earned the designation as a shining nation by the United Nations/World Health Organization. This growth will take the elderly subpopulation to 324 million persons above 60 years by 2050. The mental health needs of this subpopulation are varied and nuanced compared to that of the general population. The risk and prevalence of mental health morbidity are also greater. There is an urgent need to gear up the health care systems. Considerations: Various aspects of the ongoing demographic transitions are considered alongside available health information. Legislative mandates and laws are also reviewed to provide context to qualify the action points and recommendations. Recommendations, India must act urgently to strengthen health care delivery systems in a concurrent multipronged approach. These efforts should focus on developing trained Human Resources and adequate infrastructural resources. Review mechanisms to inform on required updates on best practices and evidence-based medicine must also be incorporated and developed to perform periodically.

Migratory Victims of War: Syrians as the Homines Sacri

The civil war broke out on March 15, 2011 with the political tension between either domestically legitimate or illegimate actors in Syria so that many people had impelledly or forcedly to migrate neighboring countries via crossing the land or maritime boundaries. These demographic transitions, in which many people, particularly children lost their lives, led admittedly European and Middle Eastern authorities to pursue the state of migratory exception policies. The state of exception revealing the homo sacer through including the exclusion of bodies, considering the use of Giorgio Agamben, corresponds to the temporary suspension of de facto legal norms, but the permanent state of this temporality. By problematizing the exemplary cases from European and Middle Eastern countries, this paper therefore copes not only with the exclusion of Syrians as homines sacri who are the subject of inclusionary techniques with regard to the spatial management of boats, cities and camps but the outlawry of existing juridico-political capabilities, also which may flexibly rule over the ways encompassing their lives and deaths.

Association between primary caregiver type and mortality among Chinese older adults with disability: a prospective cohort study

Background Socio-demographic transitions have dramatically changed the traditional family care settings in China, caused unmet care needs among older adults. However, whether different primary caregiver types have different influences on disabled older adults’ health outcomes remain poorly understood. We aimed to examine the association between the type of primary caregiver (e.g., spouse and children) and death among community-dwelling Chinese older adults disabled in activities of daily living. Methods We used data from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey. The analytic sample comprised 4278 eligible adults aged ≥ 80 years. We classified primary caregiver type into five categories: spouse, son/daughter-in-law, daughter/son-in-law, grandchildren, and domestic helper. We used Cox regression model to examine the association between primary caregiver type and all-cause mortality. Covariates included age, sex, residence, years of education, co-residence status, financial independence, whether living with children, number of ADL disability, number of chronic conditions, and self-reported health, cognitive impairment, and caregiving quality. Results Married older adults whose primary caregivers were son/daughter-in-law had a 38% higher hazard of death than those who had spouse as the primary caregiver. Married men who received care primarily from son/daughter-in-law or daughter/son-in-law had a 64 and 68% higher hazard of death, respectively, than those whose primary caregiver was spouse. The association between primary caregiver type and mortality among widowed older adults differed between urban and rural areas. Urban residents who had domestic helpers as the primary caregiver had an 16% lower hazard of death, while those living in rural areas had a 50% higher hazard of death, than those having son/daughter-in-law as the primary caregiver. Conclusions The quality of care of the primary caregiver may be a risk factor for mortality of disabled older adults in China. Interventions are necessary for reducing unmet needs and managing care burden.

Family Demography in India: Emerging Patterns and Its Challenges

Family has always been an important unit of analysis in an effort to improve and understand human development. Studying the changes in the institution of family and households keeping in view the demographic, social, and economic transitions also becomes imperative. So far, in our knowledge, there are very few studies based in India have investigated the household size and family formation patterns, while a few of them have looked into its possible causes or associations and demographic, economic, and social repercussions. In particular, as per our knowledge, there is no evidence on who is losing and who is gaining among family members due to the unprecedented transition in family forms in India. This paper serves a twofold purpose as first it seeks to explore and enrich the field of family demography in India by studying the existing evidence in the field as well as allied fields to understand how family serves as the nuclei directing individuals and communities toward certain behaviors and choices which consequently translate into larger social, economic and demographic transitions. Second, it also discusses the missing links and scope in the field of family demography in India as compared to the developed societies to provide future research prospects in this area.

Brain Drain: Comparative Study of Propulsive Factors

Brain drain is one of the important aspects of development economics/Demographic transitions. A populous country has the potential to export human capital. There are so many determinants of Human Capital Outflow (HCO). Some like economic, social, and political drivers are already discussed in the previous studies. This study compares the impact of various classes of variables on the HCO. Furthermore, it gives recommendations for controlling HCO based on such results. Data is collected in the form of questionnaires from three rural and three urban areas of Peshawar. Random sampling is used. Probit models are used for comparing the significance of variables. The study shows that not only the classic variables, i.e. economic, social and political are important but also the newly introduced religious and environmental factors have a great impact on HCO. The forthcoming researchers can do further study by considering even more factors affecting the HCO. They can conduct studies for different areas and on different scales.