When Wives Migrate and Leave Husbands Behind: A Jamaican Marriage Pattern

For over a hundred years Jamaicans have been migrating to make the proverbial `better life\u27 for themselves and their families. In the early 20th century husbands migrated, leaving wives behind. As economies of the United States and Canada have become more service-oriented, wives migrate leaving husbands behind. The experiences of Jamaican immigrant women are documented in Caribbean migration studies, but the marriages of Jamaican legally-married immigrant wives and their husbands left behind in Jamaica are so far unstudied. The main research question of this study is what maintains these transnational marriages over time, sometimes for decades, when spouses see each other sometimes only once or twice a year. Data for the study come from: in-depth interviews conducted between 2005 and 2007; conversations held over the past fifteen years with participants in these marriages in the United States and in Jamaica; and participant observation of U.S. and Jamaican societies. The findings reveal that daily companionship in marriage is not as essential a Jamaican cultural value as migration, but that the institution of marriage, although not the dominant form of coupling in Jamaica, is important enough to last. Moreover, divorce still bears a stigma in Jamaican culture. Outcomes of these marriages vary but may not be unpredictable, depending on their pre-migration state and the nature of the living-apart experience. By focusing on these Jamaican transnational marriages, this study hopes to cast another light on Jamaican migration, as well as to encourage further discussion and research of legal marriage in Jamaica and in the Afro-Caribbean

Older people, Social Isolation and Loneliness in Scotland Insights from the Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) study

Acknowledging the increasing recognition of social isolation and loneliness as major public health issues, the Scottish Government’s policy document A Connected Scotland (2018) sets out a strategic approach to tackling loneliness through building stronger social connections. The strategy recognises that although that social isolation and loneliness can affect anyone, particular groups of people, including those living alone, those who have been bereaved, and those with socio-economic disadvantage, are among those at increased risk. In seeking to build a Scotland where individuals and communities are more connected, the strategy identifies a series of priorities; empowering communities to build partnerships; promoting positive attitudes and tackling stigma; creating opportunities for people to connect; and supporting infrastructure that fosters connections. This briefing, drawing on initial findings from the Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) study (www.hagis.scot), presents headline statistics identified through the data, and demonstrates the significant potential of the project for informing policies in Scotland. The Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) study is the first comprehensive cohort study of older people in Scotland. In its pilot phase, the study interviewed over 1,000 people aged 50 or over in Scotland, with permission to link the survey data to administrative data including health (inpatients, day cases, outpatients, A&E and prescriptions), social care (social care census), tax and benefits. Collectively, the study’s data presents a rich source of information has the capacity to inform the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions aimed at reducing instances of loneliness and isolation among older people in Scotland

Pilot study protocol to inform a future longitudinal study of ageing using linked administrative data: Healthy AGeing in Scotland (HAGIS)

Introduction  Population ageing is a welcome testament to improvements in the social, economic and health circumstances over the life course. However, these successes necessitate that we understand more about the pathways of ageing to plan and cost our health and social care services, to support our ageing population to live healthier for longer and to make adequate provisions for retirement. Longitudinal studies of ageing facilitate such understanding in many countries around the world. Scotland presently does not have a longitudinal study of ageing, despite dramatic increases to its ageing population and its poor health record. Healthy AGeing in Scotland (HAGIS) constitutes the launch of Scotland’s first comprehensive longitudinal study of ageing.  Methods  A sample of 1000 people aged 50+ years will be invited to take part in a household social survey. The innovative sampling procedure used administrative data to identify eligible households. Anonymised survey responses will be linked to administrative data.  Ethics and dissemination  Ethics approval was obtained from the host institution for the study design and from the Public Benefits and Privacy Panel for administrative data linkage. Anonymised survey data will be deposited with the UK Data Service. A subset of survey data, harmonised with other global ageing studies, will be available via the Gateway to Global Aging platform. These data will enable powerful cross-country comparisons across the social, economic and health domains that will be relevant for national and international research.  Research publications from the HAGIS team will be disseminated through journal articles and national and international conferences. The findings will support current and future research and policy debate on ageing populations

Socioeconomic inequalities in breast and cervical screening coverage in England: Are we closing the gap?

Objective: Health policy in the UK is committed to tackling inequalities in cancer screening participation. We examined whether socioeconomic inequalities in breast and cervical cancer screening participation in England have reduced over five years.  Methods: Cross-sectional analyses compared cervical and breast screening coverage between 2007/8 and 2012/13 in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England in relation to area-level income deprivation.  Results: At the start and the end of this five year period, there were socioeconomic inequalities in screening coverage for breast and cervical screening. Inequalities were highest for breast screening. Over time, the coverage gap between the highest and lowest quintiles of income deprivation significantly reduced for breast screening (from 12.3 to 8.3 percentage points), but not for cervical screening (5.3 to 4.9 percentage points).  Conclusions: Efforts to reduce screening inequalities appear to have resulted in a significant improvement in equitable delivery of breast screening, although not of cervical screening. More work is needed to understand the differences, and see whether broader lessons can be learned from the reduction of inequalities in breast screening participation

Educational Technology: Availability and Use in Chicago's Public Schools

With expectations for technology use and its potential costs continuing to rise, the Consortium on Chicago School Research sought to provide baseline information on educational technology -- the use of computers and the Internet for instructional purposes -- in Chicago public schools. We addressed three questions in a year-long study that included both quantitative and qualitative analyses: (1) What are the current levels of technology availability and use? (2) Are availability and use distributed equitably across students, teachers, and schools in the district? and (3) What essential organizational supports are necessary to encourage technology use in schools? We examine these topics by looking at nearly 100,000 responses to the Consortium's biannual survey of teachers and students in 434 of Chicago's schools, in addition to other administrative data. Further insight was gained through site visits to schools with model technology programs.This study was sponsored in part by the Chicago Urban League

Using technology to promote social connectedness: Insights from the T&Scon project

Loneliness and social isolation can affect anyone, with policymakers recognising the impact of isolation on individual wellbeing and public health. In 2018 the Scottish Government set out its approach to tackling social isolation in A Connected Scotland, a national strategy to achieve a Scotland “where individuals and communities are more connected, and everyone has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships regardless of age, stage, circumstances, or identity.” A priority of the strategy is to create opportunities for people to connect, with a specific commitment to work with older age groups to “understand how digital technology can add value to their lives in a way that is meaningful”, informing wider work to deliver the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy for Scotland. The Technology and Social Connectedness (T&Scon) project explored the potential of technology to support social connectedness for adults living in Scotland, producing a toolkit to provide guidance for individuals and organisations on the use of digital technology in building and maintaining social connections. This briefing paper, drawing on the project’s key findings and recommendations, provides a summary of key information for policymakers and practitioners in Scotland, and further afield. Its findings will be of particular interest to those who are developing new ways of keeping in touch, as the risk of social isolation becomes more pronounced in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. Key findings A wide range of UK and international technology-based and technology-enabled services exist, designed to support social connectedness, targeted at different adult age user groups. Most technologies used in this way are intended for people living at home although there are technologies in use and in development for the care home sector. Data from the Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) study revealed patterns of social connectedness among people over the age of 50 living across Scotland. Patterns of technology use across different groups suggest that those who are least socially connected may also be those least likely to utilise technology to connect with others. Careful evaluation of the target user group is an important factor in the successful adoption of technology-based solutions, breaking down assumptions about who uses technology and who doesn’t, and understanding the risks and opportunities of using technology for this purpose.Briefing based on: T&SCon: Technology and Social Connectedness, Final Report, available online at http://www.tec.sco