Social Determinants of Child Trafficking addressed by Government and Non-Government Strategies in South and Southeast Asia: An Integrate Review

Aims: Child trafficking in South and Southeast Asia is widespread and deeply troubling. While several agencies have initiated anti-child trafficking interventions, it is unknown if they address the 21 social determinants of child trafficking identified by Perry and McEwing (2103). The aim of this integrative review was to explore the anti-child trafficking strategies employed by governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) that target the social determinants of child trafficking in South and Southeast Asia, and identify which levels of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) they address. Methods: The authors performed a literature search for journal articles and reports by researchers, local or national governments, and international organizations on the prevention of child trafficking in eight South Asian and eight Southeast Asian nations. Identified manuscripts were analyzed to determine which social determinants and socio-ecological levels were addressed by the programs described. Results: 16 journals articles and 31 reports from the grey literature were identified. The government and NGO anti-child trafficking strategies in 16 South and Southeast Asian nations addressed 15 and 12 of the 21 social determinants, respectively. Social determinants at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and policy levels of SEM were addressed, but failed to address the organizational level. Conclusion: The gravity of child trafficking necessitates that interventions address all of the 21 social determinants of child trafficking at all levels of the SEM. The authors found no account on any anti-child trafficking intervention from four South Asian and five Southeast Asian nations. Dissemination and continuous evaluation of anti-trafficking interventions are warranted

Evaluation of different insecticides against Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on cucumber plants

Liriomyza sativae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is a cosmopolitan, polyphagous pest of horticultural crops and many are resistant to insecticides. Cucumber producers in the Katahari, Biratnagar in the Eastern region of Nepal, have been facing severe challenges in recent years due to infestations by the leafminer. This pest has emerged as a major concern for local cucumber farmers, adversely affecting plant health, yield, and economic viability. The objective of this study is to investigate the efficacy of various insecticides for controlling Liriomyza and the impact of these treatments on the growth, yield, and economic aspects of cucumber cultivation. Research plots were sprayed with profenophos + cypermethrin, emamectin, chlorantraniliprole, Btk + S. spinosa, spinetoram, azadirachtin, and a water spray control. Insecticide efficacy was monitored by examining the collected leaf samples for leafminer stings, larval mines, larvae number, and rate of injury. Chlorantraniliprole and spinetoram significantly reduced the number of leafminer stings, larval mines, and the average number of larvae, resulting in lower injury rates compared to the water spray control. The insecticide treatments exhibited varying effects on plant height, number of leaves per plant, male and female flower counts, and the sex ratio. Likewise, chlorantraniliprole application led to the highest fruit number per plant, resulting in the highest yield. Other treatments also influenced these parameters but to a lesser extent. The economic analysis revealed that chlorantraniliprole had the highest total cost of cultivation but also generated the highest gross return, net return, and benefit-cost ratio. Overall, this study demonstrates that chlorantraniliprole exhibited the most promising results in terms of pest control, plant growth, yield parameters, and economic returns. These findings provide valuable insights for cucumber farmers and can aid in developing effective strategies for managing cucumber leafminers

Efficacious lifestyle interventions for appropriate gestational weight gain in women with overweight or obesity set in the health care system: a scoping review.

Purpose: Health care systems offer opportunities to scale up interventions for appropriate gestational weight gain (GWG); however, GWG interventions in the health care setting remain largely unavailable to women with overweight or obesity. To inform the translation of efficacious lifestyle interventions to health care delivery systems, this scoping review aimed to systematically identify randomized controlled trials for appropriate GWG in women with overweight or obesity that were set in a health care system.Methods: A scoping review allows for the systematic synthesis of knowledge on an exploratory research question aimed at mapping key concepts (e.g. time, location, source, and evidence) and gaps in a specific area of study. The Colquhoun et al. (2014) framework to conducting scoping reviews was used to develop the research question, identify relevant studies, select studies, extract data, and synthesize data. Specifically, two reviewers searched publication databases for English-language articles published from January 2009 to May 2020 using specific keywords/MeSH terms.Results: Eight peer-reviewed journal articles were identified; six trials were based in Europe and two in the U.S. Only four included lifestyle interventions that were efficacious in reducing GWG. Three trials with efficacious interventions were among women with obesity only and encouraged them to gain at or below the lower limit for total GWG (i.e. ≤5 kg) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) guidelines. The fourth was among women with overweight or obesity and encouraged women to gain within the IOM guidelines with a telehealth behavioral intervention. Efficacious interventions were initiated in the first half of pregnancy and included frequent contact delivered through multiple modalities (i.e. in-person visits, telephone calls, text messages, email) by trained intervention staff (i.e. dietitian, lifestyle coach, and/or physiotherapist). Only one efficacious intervention trial briefly mentioned theoretical components for health promotion (e.g. self-monitoring); likewise, only one included cost-effectiveness analyses.Conclusions: This review systematically identified randomized controlled trials of efficacious lifestyle interventions (i.e. consisting of diet and physical activity components) for appropriate GWG in women with overweight or obesity that were set in the health care system and delivered by non-clinicians. Translation efforts could draw upon aspects of the efficacious lifestyle interventions described in this review. Future studies should examine theory-based telehealth interventions and cost-effectiveness

The burden of adolescent motherhood and health consequences in Nepal

Background: Annually, 18 million babies are born to mothers 18 years or less. Two thirds of these births take place in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to social and biological factors, adolescent mothers have a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes. We conducted this study to assess the incidence, risk factors, maternal and neonatal health consequences among adolescent mothers. Methods: We conducted an observational study in 12 hospitals of Nepal for a period of 12 months. Patient medical record and semi-structured interviews were used to collect demographic information of mothers, intrapartum care and outcomes. The risks of adverse birth outcomes among adolescent compared to adult mothers were assessed using multivariate logistic regression. Results: During the study period, among the total 60,742 deliveries, 7.8% were adolescent mothers. Two third of the adolescent mothers were from disadvantaged ethnic groups, compared to half of adult mothers (66.1% vs 47.8%, p-value< 0.001). One third of the adolescent mothers did not have formal education, while one in nine adult mothers did not have formal education (32.6% vs 14.2%, p-value< 0.001). Compared to adult mothers, adolescent mothers had higher odds of experiencing prolonged labour (aOR-1.56, 95% CI, 1.17-2.10, p-0.003), preterm birth (aOR-1.40, 95% CI, 1.26-1.55, p < 0.001) and of having a baby being small for gestational age (aOR-1.38, 95% CI 1.25-1.52, p < 0.001). The odds of major malformation increased by more than two-fold in adolescent mothers compared to adult mothers (aOR-2.66, 95% CI 1.12-6.33, p-0.027). Conclusion: Women from disadvantaged ethnic group have higher risk of being pregnant during adolescent age. Adolescent mothers were more likely to have prolonged labour, a preterm birth, small for gestational age baby and major congenital malformation. Special attention to this high-risk group during pregnancy, labour and delivery is critical