Financial Loss and Depressive Symptoms in University Students During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparison Between 23 Countries

Objectives: To assess the association between students’ financial loss and depressive symptoms during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and whether this association varied by countries having different levels of lockdown measures. Methods: This cross-sectional survey, conducted in spring 2020, included 91,871 students from 23 countries. Depressive symptoms were measured using the shortened Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and information on lockdowns retrieved from the COVID-19 government response tracker. The association between financial loss and depressive symptoms was investigated estimating prevalence ratios (PR) with multilevel Poisson models. Results: Some 13% of students suffered financial loss during the lockdown and 52% had a relatively high depression score, with large between-countries differences. Minimally and maximally adjusted models showed a 35% (PR = 1.35, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.29–1.42) and 31% (PR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.26–1.37) higher prevalence of depressive symptoms in students who lost economic resources compared to students with stable economic resources. No substantial differences in the association were found across countries. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms were more frequent among students who suffered financial loss during the pandemic. Policy makers should consider this issue in the implementation of COVID-19 mitigating measures

Life course socioeconomic conditions and frailty at older ages

Objectives: This paper aimed to assess associations of childhood socioeconomic conditions (CSC) with the risk of frailty in old age and whether adulthood socioeconomic conditions (ASC) influence this association. Methods: Data from 21 185 individuals aged 50 years and older included in the longitudinal Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe were used. Frailty was operationalized as a sum of presenting weakness, shrinking, exhaustion, slowness, or low activity. Confounder-adjusted multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze associations of CSC and ASC with frailty. Results: While disadvantaged CSC was associated with higher odds of (pre-)frailty in women and men (OR=1.73, 95%CI 1.34, 2.24; OR=1.84, 95%CI 1.27, 2.66, respectively), this association was mediated by ASC. Personal factors and demographics, such as birth cohort, chronic conditions and difficulties with activities of daily living, increased the odds of being (pre-)frail. Discussion: Findings suggest that CSC are associated with frailty at old age. However, when taking into account ASC, this association no longer persists. The results show the importance of improving socioeconomic conditions over the whole life course in order to reduce health inequalities in old age

Determinants of vaccine hesitancy in Switzerland: study protocol of a mixed-methods national research programme

Vaccine hesitancy is a complex public health issue referring to concerns about the safety, efficacy or need for vaccination. Relatively little is known about vaccine hesitancy in Switzerland. This ongoing study (2017-2021) focuses on biomedical and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers and their patients since healthcare professionals play important roles in vaccination decision-making. This national research programme seeks to assess the sociocultural determinants of vaccine hesitancy regarding childhood and human papillomavirus vaccines in Switzerland. We aim to provide a detailed characterisation of vaccine hesitancy, including CAM and biomedical perspectives, patient-provider interactions, and sociocultural factors, to establish the mediating effects of vaccine hesitancy on underimmunisation, and to design an intervention to improve vaccination communication and counselling among physicians, parents and adolescents.; Our transdisciplinary team employs a sequential exploratory mixed-methods study design. We have established a network of more than 150 medical providers across Switzerland, including more than 40 CAM practitioners. For the qualitative component, we conduct interviews with parents, youth, and biomedical and CAM providers and observations of vaccination consultations and school vaccination information sessions. For the quantitative component, a sample of 1350 parents of young children and 722 young adults (15-26 years) and their medical providers respond to questionnaires. We measure vaccine hesitancy with the Parent Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines 15-item survey and review vaccination certificates to assess vaccination status. We administer additional questions based on findings from qualitative research, addressing communication with medical providers, vaccine information sources and perceptions of risk control vis-à-vis vaccine-preventable diseases. The questionnaires capture sociodemographics, political views, religion and spirituality, and moral foundations.; The study was approved by the local ethics committee. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated to healthcare professionals, researchers and the public via conferences and public presentations

Surveillance of risks in everyday life: The agency of pregnant women and its limitations

Risk management in pregnant women's everyday lives represents a central feature of the experience of pregnancy. We aim to analyse how the agency of pregnant women and the decisions they make are affected by social influences that reinforce medical norms and moral expectations towards motherhood. With data from a qualitative study conducted in Switzerland, we describe diverging positions on professional norms, distinguishing women who strive to eliminate uncertainty and ensure strict control of the biological development of their pregnancy from women who resist medical norms that they do not consider to be relevant to dealing with risk. Concrete resistance through personal bargaining with the normative framework was reported and justified through a range of arguments, allowing individual representations to match dominant expectations. Concurrently, we highlight the fact that social reinforcement of medical norms and moral expectations regarding proper motherhood limit possible deviations. This study contributes to the analysis of lay strategies towards health risks, emphasizing the articulation of agency and social influences that characterize the extension of risk surveillance in society

Trajectoires de santé, inégalités sociales et parcours de vie

L'ampleur et la persistance des inégalités sociales face à la santé interpellent, en particulier dans les pays à revenu élevé. Alors que, dans ces contextes, la santé de la population est en constante amélioration, d'importants écarts persistent entre groupes sociaux. Les analyses empiriques menées en Suisse soulignent combien les conditions sociales, familiales et économiques influencent les chances d'être en bonne santé. Par ailleurs, la perspective du parcours de vie apporte un éclairage supplémentaire permettant d'étudier les trajectoires des individus, issues des interactions entre situation familiale, vie professionnelle et état de santé. Enfin, les analyses longitudinales révèlent l'importance du contexte social, dont l'évolution au fil du temps non seulement affecte les conditions socio-économiques dans lesquelles vivent les cohortes successives, mais également leurs attentes et aspirations. En dépit de la force des constats empiriques, il faut souligner qu'en Suisse, comme ailleurs, les inégalités sociales face à la santé restent encore peu prises en compte. Or, leur meilleure considération dans les politiques publiques pourrait non seulement contribuer à réduire la vulnérabilité de certaines catégories sociales, mais aussi améliorer pour tous les chances de vieillir en bonne santé

Données de thèse de Marlyse Debergh

AbstractDonnées de thèse de Marlyse Deberg