“Girls Aren’t Meant to Exercise”: Perceived Influences on Physical Activity among Adolescent Girls—The HERizon Project

Background. Adolescent girls are less active than boys, with approximately 10% of girls in Ireland and the United Kingdom meeting the minimum recommended daily physical activity (PA) guidelines. This study investigated factors perceived to influence PA among adolescent girls from low socioeconomic areas in order to inform the design of a future intervention (The HERizon Project). Methods. A total of 48 adolescent girls (13–18 years) from low socioeconomic areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland participated in focus groups (n = 8), to explore perspectives of physical activity and the influence of gender within this. Focus groups were thematically analyzed and interpreted within a socioecological framework. Results. Most girls enjoyed PA and were aware of its benefits. They identified both barriers and facilitators to PA at intrapersonal (fear of judgement and changing priorities WITH age), interpersonal (changing social pressures and support from others) and organizational (delivery of PE) levels. Gender inequality was a multilevel factor, crossing all socioecological levels. Conclusion. Although many adolescent girls enjoy PA, their experiences appear to be limited by a fear of judgement and an overarching sense of gender inequality. Future interventions, such as the HERizon Project, should address influences at intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational levels to promote positive PA experiences for adolescent girls.

Sleep Health: An Opportunity for Public Health to Address Health Equity

The concept of sleep health provides a positive holistic framing of multiple sleep characteristics, including sleep duration, continuity, timing, alertness, and satisfaction. Sleep health promotion is an underrecognized public health opportunity with implications for a wide range of critical health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental health, and neurodegenerative disease. Using a socioecological framework, we describe interacting domains of individual, social, and contextual influences on sleep health. To the extent that these determinants of sleep health are modifiable, sleep and public health researchers may benefit from taking a multilevel approach for addressing disparities in sleep health. For example, in addition to providing individual-level sleep behavioral recommendations, health promotion interventions need to occur at multiple contextual levels (e.g., family, schools, workplaces, media, and policy). Because sleep health, a key indicator of overall health, is unevenly distributed across the population, we consider improving sleep health a necessary step toward achieving health equity.

Applying Socioecological Framework to Acid Attack Violence: An Exploration of Inhabitant Factors

This study focused on the phenomenon of acid attack violence by using the socioecological framework. It explored the personal, relational, institutional, and cultural factors that contribute toward the act of acid violence. By using the qualitative research design, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted from acid victims. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The main themes under the framework of social ecology focused on certain inhabitant aspects such as prevailing poverty, forced marriages, conflicting relationships, lack of social support, the falsified religious interpretation of violence, lack of medical assistance, and poor response of law enforcement agencies. This lack of social support is extended at an institutional level as well as where rehabilitative help and response were absent. This study concluded the complexity and interdependence of all levels factors contribute to the act of acid violence. Moreover, it emphasized the need to develop a biopsychosocial approach to address the issue.