Assessing Perception and Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Energy Sector Firms in Ghana

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in Ghana are spearheaded by large-scale multi-national companies and have gained momentum in recent years possibly due to the discovery of oil. The goal of this study is to learn more about how energy companies in Ghana view and practise CSR. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods was adopted for this study. Structured questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data from selected energy companies and inhabitants. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and content analysis were the analytical tools adopted. The findings suggest that CSR was seen as a voluntary activity in the Ghanaian energy supply industry, with enterprises being obliged to work within societal norms rather than regulatory standards in the country. In the lens of the level of CSR practiced by the energy supply company, the findings indicate that the companies do practice CSR but based on their own planned policy objectives with most of the interventions geared towards social interventions like education, provision of potable water for communities, scholarship schemes, and road development. Policymakers will make use of the findings of the research to inform their knowledge in designing policies related to CSR. The outcome will also guide corporate firms in the energy sector to make decisions to either consider stakeholders as vital movers of development in the communities they operate, or they are being a hindrance to their CSR mandate. This study is unique as it extends knowledge on CSR in the energy sector of Ghana.

Well-Being Programme for Caregivers of Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Background: SCI is a high-cost chronic disability, and it is a life-changing experience for family members and societies. For families, the unpredictable nature of the injury leads some of the members into an 'unexpected career' as family caregivers, the caregiver’s have to put enormous efforts, to provide continuous full-time caregiving for the recovery of Person with Spinal cord injury, which will affect the caregiver's physical and mental health. The current study aims to develop and test the feasibility of a well-being programme for caregivers of persons with spinal cord injury. Methods/Design: The current study adopts a Quasi-experimental study design, which have three phases; the first phase is to explore the needs of the caregivers by conducting in-depth interviews with different stakeholders. The second phase is to develop a well-being programme, and checking the feasibility of the programme is the third phase by recruiting 24 caregivers. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis, whereas quantitative data will be analyzed using appropriate parametric or non- parametric tests upon confirming normality of data distribution. Discussion: This study would help us to understand the psycho-social issues and unique needs of the caregivers at different time periods. It also gives information about psycho-social interventions and outcome measures for the well-being of the caregivers.

Creation and Validation of a Polysocial Score for Mortality Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults in the United States

The interrelatedness between social determinants of health impedes researchers to identify important social factors for health investment. Since the older population had highly diverse social backgrounds, a new approach is needed to quantify the aggregate effect of social factors and develop person-centered social interventions. Participants ([n = 7383], 54.5% female) were aged 65 years or above who complete an additional psychosocial questionnaire in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) at study entry in 2006 or 2008. Social determinants of health encompassing five social domains: economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, community and social context, and health care system. Five-year mortality was calculated as the number of years from the interview date to the death date. We used the forward stepwise logistic regression to construct the polysocial score and multivariate logistic regressions to assess the associations between polysocial score and five-year mortality. Polysocial score (range: 7 to 59, mean±SD: 35.5±7.5) was created using 15 social determinants of health. Of the 7383 participants, 491 (30.8%), 599 (17.2%), and 166 (7.8%) deaths occurred over five years among participants with a low (0-29), intermediate (30-39), and high (40+) polysocial score, respectively. Participants with an intermediate (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.76; 95% CI, 0.65-0.89) or high (OR=0.46; 95% CI, 0.36-0.59) polysocial score had higher odds of death than those in the low category in the fully adjusted model, respectively. The polysocial approach may offer possible solutions to monitor social environments and suggestions for older adults to improve their social status for specific health outcomes.

Combating Social Isolation among Older Immigrant Adults: A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis

Older immigrants totaled 7.3 million in 2018, representing 13.9 percent of the population of seniors in the U.S. While this population is found to contribute significantly to society, along with new opportunities comes circumstantial challenges. Of these, one of the most salient issues for foreign-born older adults is social isolation. Additionally, this population may be at an increased risk for social isolation with poor mental health because migrating to a new country might results in resettlement challenges. Despite these concerns, less is known about the consequences of social isolation among older immigrant adults. Guided by the Population Interest Context (PICO) framework and the Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis (QIMS) guidelines, this study seeks to explore consequences of social isolation among older immigrant, as well as interventions to combat isolation. The final sample of six full text articles were published between 2011 and 2021, totaling 180 participants with ages ranging from 61 to 93 years old. Findings from the study indicated that older immigrants are at risk of social isolation and loneliness because they have fewer social connections due to leaving behind their familiar social group in the home country, encounter linguistic challenges that negatively contribute to greater social isolation and poor mental health. Despite these difficulties older immigrants reported various social interventions, i.e., access to senior centers, community programs and services to be of greater importance in building social networks. Authors discuss opportunities for future research, such as exploring evidence-based studies on interventions for social isolation and loneliness of older immigrant populations.

Online and offline social networks in illness management of elderly patients with asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: mixed-method study using quantitative social network assessment and qualitative analysis (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Individuals' social network and social support are fundamental determinants of self-management and self-efficacy. OBJECTIVE To identify how online and offline social networks play a role in health management for patients with chronic respiratory conditions. To explore the role of support from online peers in patients’ self-management, and understand the barriers and potential benefits to digital social interventions. METHODS We recruited participants from a hospital-run singing group to a workshop in London, UK, and adapted PERSNET, a quantitative social network assessment tool on a secure open-source web platform (REDCap), to generate social maps of online and offline individuals involved in managing participants’ chronic respiratory conditions. The second workshop was replaced by telephone interviews due to COVID-19 lockdown. We analyzed the transcripts using thematic analysis. RESULTS Seven participants (2M, 5F), with an age range of 64 to 81, produced network maps that comprised between 5 and 10 individuals, including family members, healthcare professionals, colleagues, activity groups, offline and online friends, and peers. Participants with small, close-knit networks received physical, health, and emotional support, whereas those with more diverse and large networks benefited from accessing alternative/complementary sources of information. Participants in the latter type of network tended to communicate more openly about their illness, shared the impact their illness had on their day-to-day life, and demonstrated distinct traits in terms of identity and perception of chronic disease. During the COVID-19 lockdown, additional themes emerged, including the need to develop the ability to switch from offline to online communication. Participants described potential benefits of expanding their network to include online peers, as source of novel information, motivation, and access to supportive environments. Lack of technological skills, fear of being scammed, or preference for keeping illness-related problems for themselves/immediate family were reported as barriers to engage with online peer support. CONCLUSIONS The social network assessment tool proved feasible and acceptable. The visual maps facilitated reflections and enhanced participants’ understanding of the role of offline and online social networks in the management of chronic respiratory conditions. It also highlighted the work undertaken by the networks themselves in the self-management support of people with asthma or COPD. These data show the value of using a social network tool as an intervention that can support self-management, and as a research tool that can help assess and understand network structure and engagement in the self-management support of people with chronic respiratory conditions. Patients’ preferences to share illness experiences with online peers, and the contexts in which this can be acceptable, should be considered when developing and offering digital social interventions. Future studies can explore the evolution of the social networks of people with chronic illnesses to understand whether willingness to engage with online peers can change over time. CLINICALTRIAL n/a

Effectiveness of interventions for prevention of common infections in people who use opioids: a protocol for a systematic review of systematic reviews

Background The North American opioid crisis is driven by opioid-related mortality and morbidity, including opioid use-associated infections (OUAIs), resulting in a substantial burden for society. Users of legal and illegal opioids are at an increased risk of OUAIs compared to individuals not using opioids. As reported for hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), bacterial, fungal, and other infections, OUAIs transmission and acquisition risks may be modifiable. Several systematic reviews (SRs) synthetized data regarding interventions to prevent infections in persons using drugs (e.g., opioid substitution therapy, needle and syringes exchange programs, psycho-social interventions); however, their conclusions varied. Therefore, SR of published SRs is needed to synthesize the highest level of evidence on the scope and effectiveness of interventions to prevent OUAIs in people using opioids legally or illegally. Methods We will comprehensively search for SRs in the PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Epistemonikos, and Google Scholar databases from inception to November 2020. Data selection and extraction for each SR will be performed independently by two researchers, with disagreements resolved by consensus. All SRs regarding interventions with evaluated effectiveness to prevent OUAI in legal and/or illegal opioid users will be eligible. Risk of bias assessment will be performed using the AMSTAR2 tool. The results will be qualitatively synthesized, and a typology of interventions’ effectiveness with a statement on the strength of evidence for each category will be created. Discussion Our pilot search of PubMed resulted in 379 SRs analyzing the effectiveness of interventions to prevent HCV and HIV in persons who inject different types of drugs, including opioids. Of these 379 SRs, 8 evaluated primary studies where participants used opioids and would therefore be eligible for inclusion. The search results thus justify the application of SR of SRs approach. Comprehensive data on the scope and effectiveness of existing interventions to prevent OUAIs will help policy-makers to plan and implement preventive interventions and will assist clinicians in the guidance for their patients using opioids. Systematic review registration Registered in PROSPERO on 30 July 2020 (#195929).

NEETs and “Structured Social Interventions” in Rural Areas: The Case of Thessaly in Greece

This article aims at approaching the phenomenon of Young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) using the empirical data from an action against unemployment in the region of Thessaly in Greece. The main purpose of the study was to examine the attitudes and perceptions of NEETs on important issues related to employment, training, entrepreneurship, as well as their main decisions and perspectives regarding their future. This approach tries to shape a multidimensional proposal which is linked to the core peculiarities of the region of Thessaly by highlighting the transition from “specialized individual action plans” to “structured social interventions”. In conclusion, it attempts to promote a structured and applicable policy framework, shedding light on the dimensions of a crucial social issue such as NEETs promoting the drastic role of structured interventions on local and regional level.