Defamilisation/familisation measures and pensions in Hong Kong and Taiwan

This article discusses the link between familisation measures (to lower the negative consequences of participating in the family as a care-provider) and defamilisation measures (to reduce individual responsibility for providing care in the family), and pensions for women. To enhance women’s chance of having a secure retirement life, it makes two suggestions: government should provide defamilisation measures to assist women to accumulate pension income through work-based pension measures; and government should provide familisation measures extensively as an alternative to these measures. It also demonstrates how the case examples of Hong Kong and Taiwan provide support to these two suggestions

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Monstrous fears: Experiences of pregnancy and opiate use in Vietnam, and strategies for support

Maternity for opiate users in Vietnam is challenging due to the criminalization of drug use, stigmatization, and poor specialist knowledge among health providers. This article outlines action research conducted among Vietnamese women who had experienced pregnancy while opiatedependent. Misguided fears that their baby would be a "monstrosity" drove some women to seek out abortion. For those who chose to continue with their pregnancy, communication with health professionals was poor and misinformation concerning advised maternal practices and newborn care was common. Often women made intuitive decisions; few attempted to go "cold turkey" and withdrew suddenly from opiates while pregnant, and most new mothers chose to breastfeed-a healthy choice-despite being advised against this. The study revealed the importance of support provided outside of state services and culminated in new information for female drug users and training materials for peer counselors. The participatory process by which these outputs were developed is outlined. © The Author(s)2013

Using Child Well-Being Assessments to Track Progress in Family-Based Reintegration

Retrak, an international non-governmental organization operating in Africa and Latin America, prioritizes family-based reintegration for children living and working on the streets. Retrak has adopted the use of well-being assessments to monitor the progress of each child through their reintegration journey. This paper reflects upon lessons learned by Retrak and explores the challenges and the benefits of developing a body of evidence on reintegration good practice. Children’s well-being assessments have revealed overall improvements during reintegration with some areas such as education and psychosocial well-being being slower to improve. Understanding how well-being changes during reintegration has provided insights to inform program planning and a platform from which to build support for reintegration with donors and policy makers. Recommendations include the need for more organizations to monitor reintegration programs and share results so that methods can be revised and improved. Information gathered through case management systems should be used to ease the monitoring of both changes in children’s lives and the quality and effectiveness of reintegration processes. Weaknesses in gathering data through case management systems can be reduced by clear guidelines and triangulation with different methods