Social inclusion: Context, theory and practice

This paper reviews the literature on social inclusion in Australia and provides an overview of the current situation regarding university/community engagement. Social inclusion is a contested term in both academic and policy literature entailing a range of interpretations. The paper will argue that there is a spectrum of ideological positions underlying theory, policy and practice. The broad theoretical construct put forward regards social inclusion in relation to areas (who is to be included?) and degrees (ideologies) of inclusion. Possible areas of inclusion are socio‐economic status, culture (including indigenous cultures), linguistic group, religion, geography (rural and remote/isolated), gender, sexual orientation, age (including youth and old age), physical and mental health/ability, and status with regard to unemployment, homelessness and incarceration. Degree of inclusion comprises a nested threefold schema incorporating a spectrum of ideologies involving—from narrowest to most encompassing—the neoliberal focus on access and economic factors, the social justice focus on community participation and the human potential focus on personal and collective empowerment stemming from positive psychology and critical/transformative pedagogies. Contemporary Australian social inclusion policy is related to UK policy. While policy rhetoric indicates a broad interpretation of social inclusion, concerns are raised that a dominant Economicist agenda favours corporate and national economic interests over social and psychological ones. Questions are also raised about the privileging of some areas of inclusion over others and the possibility that reductive interpretations of social inclusion are forms of cultural assimilation. Social inclusion in practice is addressed both in relation to degrees of inclusion and through case studies. The paper provides an overview of examples of social inclusion interventions, including a review of two initiatives of RMIT University and Victoria University focussing on industry/community partnerships. The paper concludes with some challenges and issues for further research on social inclusion including a proposed in-depth survey and consideration of literature on integrative phenomena such as ecological sustainability, and contextualisation of social inclusion within broader movements of global socio‐cultural change

The Impact of Internet Addiction on Mental Health: Exploring the Mediating Effects of Positive Psychological Capital in University Students

Introduction: The widespread use of the internet has brought numerous benefits, but it has also raised concerns about its potential negative impact on mental health, particularly among university students. This study aims to investigate the relationship between internet addiction (IA) and mental health (MH) in university students, as well as explore the mediating effects of positive psychological capital (PsyCap) in this relationship. Objective: The main goal of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the measures and to determine whether internet addiction could negatively predict university students’ mental health, mediated through PsyCap. Method: A cross-sectional design with an inferential approach was employed to address this objective. The data were collected using the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24), Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), and Keyes’ Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF). The total sample of this study comprised 850 students from two large public higher education institutions in Ethiopia, of whom 334 (39.3%) were female and 516 (60.7%) were male, with a mean age of 22.32 (SD = 4.04). Several analyses were performed to achieve the stated objectives, such as Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliabilities, bivariate correlation, discriminant validity, common method biases, and structural equation modeling (confirmatory factor analysis, path analysis, and mediation analysis). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the construct validity of IAS, PCQ-24, and MHC-SF. Additionally, the mediating model was examined using structural equation modeling with the corrected biased bootstrap method. Results: The preliminary study results found that the construct validity of IAS, PCQ-24, and MHC-SF was excellent and appropriate. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that internet addiction had a negative and direct effect on PsyCap and MH. Moreover, PsyCap fully mediated the relationship between IA and MH. Additionally, this study confirmed that all the scales exhibited strong internal consistency and good psychometric properties. Conclusion: This study contributes to a better understanding of the complex interplay between IA, PsyCap, and MH among university students, confirming previous findings. Recommendation: The findings, discussed in relation to the recent and relevant literature, will be valuable for practitioners and researchers aiming to improve mental health and reduce internet addiction by utilizing positive psychological resources as protective factors for university students

Psychometric Evaluation of the Teacher Professional Well-Being Scale: Assessing Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity in University Instructors

Teacher professional well-being (TPWB) is crucial in education, affecting educators and students. The Teacher Professional Well-Being Scale (TPWBS) measures five core dimensions—self-efficacy, job satisfaction, aspiration, recognition, and authority—initially developed in Turkey. This study aims to adapt, develop, and validate the Teacher Professional Well-Being Scale (TPWBS) in Ethiopia. Investigate the TPWBS factor structure and evaluate its measurement invariance (MI) across gender, university type, and teaching experience. By examining teachers’ perceptions of professional well-being, this study contributes to understanding Ethiopian higher education. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) use data from Ethiopian university instructors. Conduct initial EFA on a sample of 82 men and 222 women (sample 1), followed by CFA on a sample of 529 men and 179 women (sample 2). Assess factor loadings of TPWBS items across sub-dimensions. Use data from Ethiopian higher education institutions and involve 1012 instructors. The EFA reveals excellent factor loadings for all TPWBS items within each sub-dimension, indicating a robust factor structure. TPWBS exhibits acceptable construct validity, good reliability, and satisfactory convergent and divergent validity. The CFA demonstrates good model fit, supporting TPWBS validity: χ2 (289) = 942.20, p < 0.001, χ2/df = 3.26, GFI = 0.912, TLI = 0.935, CFI = 0.943, RMSEA = 0.057, 95% CI [0.053, 0.061]. TPWBS is a valid and reliable tool for assessing the professional well-being of Ethiopian university teachers. Its adaptation and validation process highlight cultural and contextual factors in well-being evaluation. Findings offer insights for practitioners and researchers in well-being assessment

Health impacts of bedbug infestation: A case of five towns in Amhara Region, Ethiopia

Background: Bedbug is a wingless human blood-sucking bug that generally infests houses and beds. Bedbug infestation is prevalent across the country. Despite its prevalence, however, there is scarce information on the epidemiological, psychological, social and public health impacts of the infestation. This lack may arise from the absence of sufficient research in the area. The impetus for this study arose from this recognition. This study therefore assessed the extent of bedbug infestation in five towns in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, and its impact on public health in the areas considered in this study.Methods: A community-based cross sectional study was conducted in five towns of Amhara Regional State from 1 March 2015 to 30 June 2016. Bedbug inspection was done following the Michigan manual for prevention and control of bedbug recommendation. The presence of a living or dead bedbugs, their eggs, their skin discarded in shedding, and their fecal stains or droppings were taken as an infestation. In addition, data from households were collected using pretested, structured and interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. Both bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were computed to identify associated factors.Results: From the 203 residential institutions surveyed, evidence of prevalence of bedbugs was located in 75.9% (154) houses. From among the infested residents, 87%, 83.1%, and 71.4% had faced one or more psychological, social and health impacts, respectively. Residential institutions in Bahir Dar town administration were 3.4 times more likely to be infested by bedbug than those in Amanuel town (AOR: 3.4; 95% CI: 1-11). The chances that residents of Kobo town administration had to be infested by bedbug were 41 times more than that of the residents in Amanuel town (AOR: 41; 95%CI: 8-206). However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the rates of bedbug infestation and the type of residential institutions.Conclusions: Bedbug infestation was found to be a major public health problem in Bahir Dar, Woreta and Kobo towns. A significant psychological, social and health impact was observed in the communities. Thus, aggressive public health promotion campaigns against bedbug are recommended to empower the communities and equip them with preventive strategies. Moreover, an effective pest management strategy also needs to be made a priority health agenda, in the particular areas of study. A larger study is recommended to assess more in-depth impacts of bedbug infestation on public health [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2017;31(4):251-258]Keywords: Bedbug infestation, Ethiopi

Knowledge and practice on magnitude, diagnosis, treatment and prevention strategies of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review

Introduction: In Ethiopia, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common cancer with 100% fatality rate. HCC cases in low income countries die within few months following diagnosis. There is lack of information on the burden, risk factors, diagnosis modalities, surveillance strategies and treatment approaches to HCC in Ethiopia.Objective: To analyze the existing evidence related to burden, risk factors, diagnosis modalities, surveillance strategies, and treatment and prevention strategies of HCC in Ethiopia.Methods: All studies done on HCC in Ethiopian irrespective of year of publication and study types were included. Literatures were retrieved from electronic database of PubMedand Cochrane library during September/2016 to January 2/2017. Key words and mesh terms such as ‘hepatocellular carcinoma’, ‘hcc’, ‘hepatoma’, ‘malignant hepatoma’, ‘hepatocarcinoma’ were used to search for documents. Besides, we searched for articles, guidelines and reviews from world health organizations, lancet and Google scholar sites. Each of the retrieved studies was assessed by two authors for inclusion based on the eligibility criteria, and for quality using the critical appraisal checklist. Qualitative data were synthesized for analyzing the theories of studies. Medley reference manager was used to manage citations.Results: A total of 1448 literatures were retrieved. Eight studies fulfill the eligibility criteria, however, only three were full-fledged articles. HCC is clinically characterized by exhaustion, loss of appetite, rapid loss of weight, epigastric pain, right upper abdominal quadrant pain with a rapidly growing mass, jaundice, and ascites with or without hepatomegaly and splenomegaly. Data on HCC proportion among liver disease patients lies between 16.1%-19.2%. Cirrhosis followed by hepatotoxic indigenous drugs and viral hepatitis were found to be as major risk factor for HCC. In Ethiopia, there is no surveillance activity and no standard staging systems. Furthermore, there was no policy frame -work for management of HCC.Conclusion: As compared to other countries, Ethiopia is far behind in addressing HCC. There is no national policy framework and guideline for the management of HCC. Moreover, HCC is a neglected cancer that is considered as a death penalty by the community. Health professionals working in health facilities and health offices should share the data they have to the scientific community and policy makers, for further searching solutions and informed decision, respectively. An intensified public health strategy on health education and early case detection is of critical importance. In addition concerted effort should be made to develop HCC prevention and treatment modality.Key words: Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Ethiopi

Xpert MTB/RIF assay for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its Rifampicin resistance at Felege Hiwot and Debre Tabor Hospitals, Northwest Ethiopia: A preliminary implementation research

Background: The World Health Organization endorsed GeneXpert MTB/RIF (Xpert) assay for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2010. However, the practice of using this novel diagnostic method is still limited in a high TB and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burden settings, including Ethiopia. Therefore, we conducted this study aimed at describing the first implementation status of Xpert assay in the diagnosis of TB and MDR-TB at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital (FHRH) and Debre Tabor General Hospital (DTGH), Northwest Ethiopia.Methods: We analyzed the records of 1922 (FHRH=544 and DTGH=1378) presumptive TB patients diagnosed using Xpert test from 1 November 2015 to 30 April 2016 at FHRH and DTGH, Northwest Ethiopia. All patients who had registered data on their sex, age, HIV status, presumptive MDR-TB status and Xpert results were included for analysis. Data were retrieved directly from GeneXpert result registration log book using data extraction sheet. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS statistical software package; p &lt; 0.05 was considered to be significant.Results: Overall Xpert assay properly diagnosed 14.6% of the cases (258/1922). Among these, rifampicin (RIF) resistance was detected at 9.3% (24/258). In the studied settings, clinical data showed that 81.0% (1556/1922) of the cases were MDR- TB. Among the study subjects, 888 (46.2 %) of them were HIV positive. However, TB-HIV co-infection rate was at 41.9% (108/258). Of the total patients registered, 1005 (52.3%) of whom were males. The mean age of patients was 31.1 years with SD of 17.5. Significant predictors of the Xpert test were: age (p=0.000), sex (p=0.009), HIV status (p=0.003) and presumptive MDR-TB (p=0.000).Conclusions: In the studied areas, large proportion of clinically TB suspected patients were wrongly diagnosed with MDR-TB. Therefore, the use of Xpert assay in health settings with no culture facility will decrease the unnecessary use of anti-TB drugs and improve rapid TB, and MDR-TB detection and proper management of the cases. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2016;30(2):60-65]Keywords: TB, GeneXpert, MTB/RIF assay, Northwest Ethiopi

BURDEN AND DETERMINANT FACTORS OF ANEMIA AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN NORTHWEST ETHIOPIA: A COMPARATIVE CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Anemia is an indicator of both poor nutrition and health. In low-income countries like Ethiopia, the prevalence of anemia remains high due to several determinant factors. There is a lack of regular surveillance system to determine the magnitude of anemia among school age children. The aim of this study was to determine the burden and determinant factors of anemia among school children. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted from March 2014 to May 2014 among elementary school children in Northwest Ethiopia. Multi stage and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the schools and the study subjects. Standard questionnaire was employed to assess the socioeconomic status of study participants. Intestinal parasitosis infections and hemoglobin level were determined by formula ether concentration technique and automated hematology analyzer, respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the burden of anemia. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of anemia. Results: Among 2,372 elementary school children, the prevalence of anemia was 7.6% (95 % CI: 7% - 9%). The mean hemoglobin level was 11.6 g/dl ranging from 10 g/dl to 13g/dl. The magnitude of hookworm infection was 530 (22.3%). In multivariate analysis anemia was found associated with residence, source of water, availability of latrine, maternal education, family size and hookworm infection. Conclusion: Anemia still remains as a major public health problem among the school children in the study area. Residence, source of water, availability of latrine, maternal education, family size and hookworm infection are also the major determinant factors for the high prevalence of anemia. Therefore, health education, iron supplement and deworming should be given to school age children

Ammonia-limited growth of acetobacterium woodii in continuous culture

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN003915 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Holidays against depression? An Ethiopian Australian initiative

Tourism is an engine of economic growth, but its capacity to contribute to good health is only starting to be documented. This paper describes a forthcoming research project with the Ethiopian immigrant community in the Australian state of Victoria. The project aims to discover if writing about positive holiday experiences that involve visits to friends and relatives improves the community’s mental health – alleviates depression levels and increases levels of happiness. The role of holidays in improving mental health is of increasing interest to the tourism industry. This research note highlights the importance of understanding the benefits of holidays for individual well-being; this paper outlines a methodological approach for investigating these benefits

The spatial and temporal variation of fine particulate matter pollution in Ethiopia: Data from the Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group (1998-2019).

BackgroundEvidence suggests ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer morbidity and mortality, and all-cause mortality. Countries that implement strong policies are able to reduce ambient PM2.5 concentration. In Ethiopia, however, PM2.5 monitoring stations, laboratory technicians, and equipment are staggeringly limited. In this study, the spatial and temporal variation of PM2.5 in Ethiopia was assessed.MethodsSatellite-based PM2.5 estimates, from the year 1998 to 2019, by Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group (ACAG) at a spatial resolution of 0.01° X 0.01° was used. The annual mean PM2.5 concentration for all administrative regions and zones in Ethiopia was extracted. The average mean from the twenty-two years was also calculated. The trend of PM2.5 concentration was graphed and quantitatively calculated using the Mann-Kendall test. The slope of the change over time was estimated using the Theil-Sen slope. At the zonal administration level, for the average annual mean, spatial dependency using univariate Global Moran's I and clustering and outlier tests using Anselin Local Moran's were performed.ResultsThe country's average annual mean PM2.5 concentration was 17 μgm-3. The Afar region had the highest concentration, 27.9 μgm-3. The Mann-Kendall S was positive and significant at pConclusionAt the national and regional levels, the annual mean ambient PM2.5 concentration is beyond the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended level. The ambient PM2.5 concentration distribution is spatially dependent and significantly clustered in space. Installation of additional ground-based PM2.5 monitoring devices, particularly in regions where PM2.5 concentration is higher, is recommended. Validating satellite-based PM2.5 data with ground-based measurements in the country is also advised