Migrant and native women's perceptions of prenatal care communication quality: the role of host-country language proficiency

BackgroundDespite the potentially significant impact of women-prenatal care provider communication quality (WPCQ) on women's perinatal health, evidence on the determinants of those perceptions is still lacking, particularly among migrant women.MethodsWe aimed to examine the effect of women's host-country language proficiency on their perceived WPCQ. We analyzed the data of 1210 migrant and 1400 native women who gave birth at Portuguese public hospitals between 2017 and 2019 and participated in the baMBINO cohort study. Migrants' language proficiency was self-rated. Perceived WPCQ was measured as a composite score of 9 different aspects of self-reported communication quality and ranged from 0 (optimal) to 27.ResultsA high percentage of women (29%) rated communication quality as optimal. Zero-inflated regression models were fitted to estimate the association between language proficiency and perceived WPCQ. Women with full (aIRR 1.35; 95% CI 1.22,1.50), intermediate (aIRR 1.41; 95% CI 1.23,1.61), and limited (aIRR 1.72; 95% CI 1.45,2.05) language proficiencies were increasingly more likely to have lower WPCQ when compared to natives.ConclusionsFacilitating communication with migrant women experiencing language barriers in prenatal care could provide an important contribution to improving prenatal care quality and addressing potential subsequent disparities in perinatal health outcomes

Global public health policies: gathering public health associations' perspectives

Background Advocacy is one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Public health associations play a key role in advocating for the development and implementation of strategies to prevent diseases and promote health and well-being. Objective This study aims to map out the focus of public health advocacy carried out by selected national public health associations over 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, in order to identify gaps and strengths and support associations and professionals in their advocacy efforts. Methods Twelve national public health associations participated in the study. Official policy documents produced between 2018 and 2021 were collected and analysed. The title and summary of the policy documents were examined line by line and coded into the main subject categories and themes. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Policies were assessed from global and regional perspectives. Results A total of 220 policy documents were analysed. Overall, the largest number of policy documents came from high-income countries and dealt with environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19, with, however, important differences among regions. In the African region, public health advocacy focused mainly on strengthening health systems; Europe and South America were mostly concerned with communicable diseases and pandemic management; and North America and the Western Pacific regions focused primarily on climate change. Limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right in all regions. Conclusion Our study showed that, especially in high-income countries, public health associations actively engage in advocacy; however, more effort needs to be devoted to implementing a more international and intersectoral approach at the global level, anchored in health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals

Spawning and fecundity of <i>Sardinella fimbriata</i> (Val.) in Kuwaiti waters of the Arabian Gulf

39-41Based on gonadosomatic index and ova diameter measurements, spawning was found to occur from March through August with a peak in April and May. Fecundity ranged from 3,038 to 40,488 ova. Mean relative fecundity was 592 ova. g-1 fish. Because of small size range of specimens no relation was found between fecundity and length or body weight. Based on ova measurements, it is suggested that individual S. fimbriata has one long spawning season in Kuwaiti waters