Africanizing scientific knowledge: the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria as a model?

In November 2009, the fifth Pan African Malaria conference was held in Nairobi. Thirteen years after the founding initiative in Dakar, the first African Secretariat based in Africa (TANZANIA) organized this major event for the malaria community. Looking back, it has been a long way: changes in the research landscape, new funding opportunities came out and establishment of new partnerships between Europe, America and Africa. Goals identified in 1997 have not all been achieved because the critical mass of scientists has not been reached yet. However a new generation of African scientists have emerged through MIM/TDR funding and advocacy for more support remains on the agenda. Could it be rightly stated today that the MIM concept reflects the africanization of malaria research

Promoting mental health in migrants: a GHQ12-evaluation of a community health program in Sweden

Abstract Background Research increasingly highlight post-migration factors for migrants’ mental health status. We investigated the association between participation in a health promotion program and changes in migrants’ mental health, and if socio-demographic factors and length of time in the new home country, Sweden, influenced a potential association. Methods A five-week health promotion program named ‘Hälsostöd’ [Health Support], led by community health workers, was offered to migrants, primarily asylum seekers and newly arrived immigrants (N = 202). The framework for the program was salutogenic psycho-education, which focused on health effects of migration experiences, lifestyle and health, and the health care system. Mental health was measured at the start and end of the program. We analysed this follow up by using the recommended clinical cut off (i.e. &gt; 11 of maximum 36, with higher scores indicating possible mental illness) in the 12- item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12). Chi Square test was used to analyse statistical significance of changes, and multinomial logistic regression to analyse associations to sociodemographic factors and length of stay in Sweden. Results The number of participants scoring above the clinical cut off after participation in the program (N = 79, 39.1%) was lower compared to the corresponding number before participation (N = 111, 55.0%), Chi Square = 10.17, p &lt; .001. The majority of the participants had no change 72.3 (N = 146), 21.8% (N = 44) had a positive change, yet 5.9% (N = 12) had a negative change, compared to before participation in the program. None of the investigated sociodemographic factors showed to significantly influence the association. Length of stay in Sweden was trending, with participants with longer stay being more likely to have possible mental illness. Conclusion We conclude that psycho-educative programs, similar to ‘Hälsostöd’, have potential for promoting asylum seekers’ and newly arrived immigrants’ mental health as the evaluation showed a considerable number of positive changes in participants. The result suggests the importance of offering immigrants health promotive programs in close connection with arrival to the new home country. Future research should clarify under what circumstances sociodemographic factors influence the effects of such programs. </jats:sec

Africanising scientific knowledge: MIM and malaria research in postcolonial dilemma

Priebe, Gunilla, Att afrikanisera vetenskaplig kunskap – MIM och malariaforskningen i postkolonialt dilemma [Africanising Scientific Knowledge – MIM and malaria re¬search in Postcolonial Dilemma]. Doctoral thesis in Swedish. Department of Phi¬losophy, Linguistics and Theory of Science, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2010. ISBN 978-91-977196-6-7 The goal of this thesis is to analyse the concept of Africanisation in relation to the efforts of the international research alliance The Multilateral Initiative on Ma¬la¬ria (MIM), which since 1997 has promoted research on malaria and wor¬ked to strengthen research environments in Africa. When applied to academic know¬ledge production the concept of Africanisation entails two integrated themes: (1) the meaning of locality to researchers’ ability to represent a study object correctly and with relevance, and (2) the impact of continuing colonial logics on scientific knowledge production (in terms of epistemology and orga¬nisation of research). The thesis shows what the concept of Africanisation means in the case of MIM, and demonstrates its complexity – the many mate¬rial, social and political factors that it embraces and processes. Theoretical and methodological points of departure are Actor Network Theo¬ry (ANT), and such feminist and post-colonial perspectives that analyse colonialism’s influence on knowledge production and the researcher’s ability to authentically represent a study object. The thesis presents MIM’s historical de¬velopment (1995–2005): it shows the situation that led to the launch of MIM, what was thought to be achieved, actors’ negotiations over MIM’s focus and how ideas then materialised. It includes an in-depth study of one of MIM’s Pan-African conferences, where it is illustrated how actors negotiate about what justifies research, about what gives scientific knowledge its value and what the relationship between science and other societal institutions should look like. It discusses the meaning of the researcher’s different localities, and pre¬sents exam¬ples of the sort of scientific facts that the Africanisation of malaria research is claimed to result in. The study of MIM shows that the Africanisation of malaria research implies that scientific knowledge production should not be imagined as an auto¬nomous activity, but instead be formulated in cooperation with all the actors affected by scientific work – mainly those who produce knowledge and those who are affected by the disease and the socio-political consequences of the disease. It implies that social and political effects of different support activities should be evaluated in order to avoid the reproduction of colonial orders.Disputationsexempla

Culture and Health : A Wider Horizon

What is Culture and Health? Culture and Health: A Wider Horizon introduces this highly topical field of enquiry from a broad, multidisciplinary perspective. The book addresses fundamental issues including:What do the terms ‘culture’ and ‘health’ actually mean? How has the field emerged in Sweden? How can we research Culture and Health? Can we avoid an instrumentalisation of art – and should we? Culture and Health: A Wider Perspective also provides a detailed introduction to two central, international research directions: ‘arts and health’ and the ‘medical humanities’. As well, the book sketches the diversity of research perspectives in the field at the University of Gothenburg. Culture and Health: A Wider Perspective is at once an accessible and in-depth introduction to the field with many approaches. Directed at researchers, students, policymakers and practitioners, the book is an important resource for future study and practical work.First published in 2014 by LIR.SKRIFTER.VARIA as Kultur och hälsa: Ett vidgat perspekti

Kultur och hälsa. Ett vidgat perspektiv

Vad är kultur och hälsa? I Kultur och hälsa: ett vidgat perspektiv presenteras det högaktuella forskningsfältet utifrån ett brett och mångvetenskapligt perspektiv. Boken tar upp grundfrågor som: vilka innebörder har egentligen begreppen kultur och hälsa? hur växte området fram i sverige? hur forskar man om kultur och hälsa? Kan man undvika en instrumentalisering av konsten – och bör man det? Kultur och hälsa: ett vidgat perspektiv ger också en utförlig introduktion till två centrala internationella forskningsinriktningar: ”konst och hälsa” och ”medicinsk humaniora”. Likaså ges en bild av mångfalden av forskningsperspektiv inom området vid Göteborgs universitet. Kultur och hälsa: ett vidgat perspektiv är en på samma gång tillgänglig och fördjupande introduktion till fältet med många ingångar. Den vänder sig till forskare, studenter, beslutsfattare och yrkesverksamma som en viktig resurs i såväl framtida forskning som praktiskt arbete

Differences in sexual behavior, health, and history of child abuse among school students who had and had not engaged in sexual activity by the age of 18 years: a cross-sectional study.

Empirical research about late sexual debut and its consequences is limited, and further research is needed

Sexual debut before the age of 14 leads to poorer psychosocial health and risky behaviour in later life

Aim: This study investigated the relationship between sexual debut before 14 years of age and socio-demographics, sexual experience, health, experience of child abuse and behaviour at 18 years of age. Methods: A sample of 3432 Swedish high school seniors completed a survey about sexuality, health and abuse at the age of 18. Results: Early debut was positively correlated with risky behaviours, such as the number of partners, experience of oral and anal sex, health behaviours, such as smoking, drug and alcohol use, and antisocial behaviour, such as being violent, lying, stealing and running away from home. Girls with an early sexual debut had significantly more experience of sexual abuse. Boys with an early sexual debut were more likely to have a weak sense of coherence, low self-esteem and poor mental health, together with experience of sexual abuse, selling sex and physical abuse. A multiple logistic regression model showed that a number of antisocial acts and health behaviours remained significant, but early sexual debut did not increase the risk of psychiatric symptoms, low self-esteem or low sense of coherence at 18 years of age. Conclusion: Early sexual debut was associated with problematic behaviours during later adolescence, and this vulnerability requires attention from parents and healthcare providers

Background, experience of abuse, and mental health among adolescents in out-of-home care : a cross-sectional study of a Swedish high school national sample

Purpose: To compare experiences for adverse events, especially sexual abuse, and mental health in a group of high school students in out-of-home care with a representative sample of peers of the same age and similar educational attainment living with their parents. Materials and methods: A sample of 5839 students in the third year of Swedish high school, corresponding to a response rate of 59.7%, answered a study specific questionnaire. Data from 41 students living in out-of-home care were compared with data from peers not in out-of-home care in a cross-sectional analyze. Results: Students in out-of-home care had more often an immigrant background and a non-heterosexual orientation, had more often experienced physical and penetrative sexual abuse, and more often sought healthcare for mental problems. Disclosure of sexual abuse was less common, and acts of persuasion or adults' use of their social position was more common among students in out-of-home care. Conclusions: Even where the protective factor 'senior educational attainment' is present, risks for abuse and poor mental health are evident for adolescents in out-of-home care. Disclosure of adversity, when it has occurred, ought to be higher among these adolescents with regular contact with social services, but our findings indicate tendencies for the opposite. We therefore suggest routines to be established to screen for adverse life events and mental health actively, along with general and systematic assessments of adversity and mental health during care