Food Insecurity and Social Policy: A Comparative Analysis of Welfare State Regimes in 19 Countries

We sought to determine whether a country's social policy configuration—its welfare state regime—is associated with food insecurity risk. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2017 U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization individual-level food insecurity survey data from 19 countries (the most recent data available prior to COVID-19). Countries were categorized into three welfare state regimes: liberal (e.g., the United States), corporatist (e.g., Germany), or social democratic (e.g., Norway). Food insecurity probability, calibrated to an international reference standard, was calculated using a Rasch model. We used linear regression to compare food insecurity probability across regime types, adjusting for per-capita gross domestic product, age, gender, education, and household composition. There were 19,008 participants. The mean food insecurity probability was 0.067 (SD: 0.217). In adjusted analyses and compared with liberal regimes, food insecurity probability was lower in corporatist (risk difference: −0.039, 95% CI −0.066 to −0.011, p  =  .006) and social democratic regimes (risk difference: −0.037, 95% CI −0.062 to −0.012, p  =  .004). Social policy configuration is strongly associated with food insecurity risk. Social policy changes may help lower food insecurity risk in countries with high risk

Implementation and effect of intensified case finding on diagnosis of tuberculosis in a large urban HIV clinic in Uganda: a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Increased detection of tuberculosis (TB) using intensified or active case finding (ICF) is one of the cornerstones of the Stop TB Strategy, and contrasts with passive case finding (PCF) which relies on self-reported symptoms. There is no clear guidance on implementation strategies. We implemented ICF in addition to ongoing PCF in our large urban HIV clinic in July 2010 using a twice-daily announcement screen method by a trained peer educator, asking waiting patients to self-refer to a trained peer supporter for screening of TB symptoms. We sought to determine the associated effect on TB case detection. METHODS: Suspects were investigated by sputum smear, chest X-ray and ultrasound, if indicated. Routinely collected clinical and laboratory data were merged with the ICF register and TB clinic data for patients attending the clinic in 2010. We compared the yield of TB cases (defined as the prevalence of newly diagnosed TB cases in the screened population), the type of TB diagnosed and the total cost per TB case identified (in United States Dollars [USD]) for the period before and after ICF implementation. RESULTS: Of the 20,456 patients who visited the clinic in 2010, 614 were identified as TB suspects, 220 pre-ICF and 394 post-ICF (229 via PCF and 165 via ICF). The proportion diagnosed with TB dropped from 66% to 48% (60% in suspects identified through PCF and 31% through ICF). During the post-ICF period, TB suspects identified through ICF compared to PCF identification were more likely to be female, older, on ART and to have been enrolled in HIV care for a longer duration. The yield of combined PCF and ICF screening was 1.4% pre-ICF and 1.7% post-ICF with a cost per TB case identified of 12.29 USD and 21.80 USD, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of ICF in a large HIV clinic yielded more TB suspects and cases, but substantially increased costs and was unable to capture the majority of TB suspects who were referred for diagnosis by clinicians through PCF. The overall yield of TB cases in a mature HIV clinic was low, although targeted screening of those recently enrolled in care may increase the yield

Increasing educational attainment and mortality reduction: a systematic review and taxonomy

Abstract Background Understanding the relationship between increasing educational attainment and mortality reduction has important policy and public health implications. This systematic review of the literature establishes a taxonomy to facilitate evaluation of the association between educational attainment and early mortality. Methods Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched Ovid Medline, Embase, PubMed and hand searches of references for English-language primary data analyses using education as an independent variable and mortality as a dependent variable. Initial searches were undertaken in February 2015 and updated in April 2016. Results One thousand, seven hundred and eleven unique articles were identified, 418 manuscripts were screened and 262 eligible studies were included in the review. After an iterative review process, the literature was divided into four study domains: (1) all-cause mortality (n = 68, 26.0%), (2) outcome-specific mortality (n = 89, 34.0%), (3) explanatory pathways (n = 51, 19.5%), and (4) trends over time (n = 54, 20.6%). These four domains comprise a novel taxonomy that can be implemented to better quantify the relationship between education and mortality. Conclusions We propose an organizational taxonomy for the education-mortality literature based upon study characteristics that will allow for a more in-depth understanding of this association. Our review suggests that studies that include mediators or subgroups can explain part, but not all, of the relationship between education and early mortality. Trial registration PROSPERO registration # CRD42015017182 .https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138128/1/12889_2017_Article_4754.pd

Measurements of microbial processes, dissolution, water and porewater chemistry during experiments on two coral reef sediments: Pigment concentration

These are the 4 appendix tables of all included studies in the review, alphabetically organized, and grouped by domain. Table S1. All Cause Mortality; Table S2. Outcome Specific; Table S3. Trends Over Time; Table S4. Explanatory Pathway. (DOCX 127 kb

Screening for Immigration-Related Health Concerns in a Federally Qualified Health Center Serving a Diverse Latinx Community: A Mixed Methods Study

Immigration-related concerns can impact health and are an important consideration while caring for a multinational Latinx immigrant community. Patients and caregivers waiting for a non-urgent clinic appointment were randomly screened with one of two social risk screening tools. One tool included a question about "any health or stability concerns related to immigration status." The other tool did not include an immigration health question. Immediately following, respondents were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview regarding their social risk screening experience. 201 screens were completed, and 20 patients agreed to an interview. There were no significant sociodemographic differences between groups. Of those screened for immigration, 11% reported a concern. In both arms, interviewees felt that social risk screening was acceptable in a clinic setting. Questions about immigration are timely, important, and relevant, and can be considered when implementing social assessments in communities where there are high levels of trust in providers

Control of Microstructure and Orientation in Solution-deposited BaTiO₃ and SrTiO₃ Thin Films

Columnar and highly oriented (100) BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 thin films were prepared by a chelate-type chemical solution deposition (CSD) process by manipulation of film deposition conditions and seeded growth techniques. Randomly oriented columnar films were prepared on platinumcoated Si substrates by a multilayering process in which nucleation of the perovskite phase was restricted to the substrate or underlying layers by control of layer thickness. The columnar films displayed improvements in dielectric constant and dielectric loss compared to the fine-grain equiaxed films that typically result from CSD methods. Highly oriented BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 thin films were fabricated on LaAlO3 by a seeded growth process that appeared to follow a standard “two-step” growth mechanism that has been previously reported. The film transformation process involved the bulk nucleation of BaTiO3 throughout the film, followed by the consumption of this matrix by an epitaxial overgrowth process originating at the seed layer. Both BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 seed layers were effective in promoting the growth of highly oriented (100) BaTiO3 films. Based on the various processing factors that can influence thin film microstructure, the decomposition pathway involving the formation of BaCO3 and TiO2 appeared to dictate thin film microstructural evolution