Avant-propos

Ce numéro des Quaderni tente de croiser plusieurs approches et niveaux d'analyse pour appréhender le concept de risque technologique, mais également pour comprendre comment la définition des dangers rattachés à cette mise en risque se trouve spontanément intégrée au dialogue constitutionnel, donc au politique. Mary Douglas a bien montré l'usage politique des dangers naturels dans les sociétés traditionnelles, elle présuppose fortement un lien entre ces dangers et leur rôle dans la consolidation des valeurs communautaires de nos sociétés actuelles. [Premières lignes de l'article

The same, only different:Doing management in the intersection between work and private life for men and women in small-scale enterprises

The aim of this article is to elucidate how male and female managers of small-scale enterprises in Norway and Sweden relate to and experience the intersection between work and private life. A qualitative content analysis was adopted to explore interviews with 18 managers. The analysis resulted in three primary categories: conflict as a part of the deal, using management to construct balance, and management identity contributing to enrichment. A key theme that emerged was doing management. Both men and women reproduced masculine values in describing their management identities and in explaining how they enacted management. This clear identification was used to legitimate conflict, construct balance and explain the interaction between work and private life as enriching. How the managers enacted gender emerged primarily in how they related to family responsibilities and their feelings of guilt in relation to home and children

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Patterns and Their Implications for Intervention Strategies in Vietnam

Background. Data on cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVDRFs) in Vietnam are limited. This study explores the prevalence of each CVDRF and how they cluster to evaluate CVDRF burdens and potential prevention strategies. Methods. A cross-sectional survey in 2009 (2,130 adults) was done to collect data on behavioural CVDRF, anthropometry and blood pressure, lipidaemia profiles, and oral glucose tolerance tests. Four metabolic CVDRFs (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes, and obesity) and five behavioural CVDRFs (smoking, excessive alcohol intake, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and stress) were analysed to identify their prevalence, cluster patterns, and social predictors. Framingham scores were applied to estimate the global 10-year CVD risks and potential benefits of CVD prevention strategies. Results. The age-standardised prevalence of having at least 2/4 metabolic, 2/5 behavioural, or 4/9 major CVDRF was 28%, 27%, 13% in women and 32%, 62%, 34% in men. Within-individual clustering of metabolic factors was more common among older women and in urban areas. High overall CVD risk (≥20% over 10 years) identified 20% of men and 5% of women—especially at higher ages—who had coexisting CVDRF. Conclusion. Multiple CVDRFs were common in Vietnamese adults with different clustering patterns across sex/age groups. Tackling any single risk factor would not be efficient

Vulnerability to episodes of extreme weather: Butajira, Ethiopia, 1998–1999

BACKGROUND: During 1999-2000, great parts of Ethiopia experienced a period of famine which was recognised internationally. The aim of this paper is to characterise the epidemiology of mortality of the period, making use of individual, longitudinal population-based data from the Butajira demographic surveillance site and rainfall data from a local site. METHODS: Vital statistics and household data were routinely collected in a cluster sample of 10 sub-communities in the Butajira district in central Ethiopia. These were supplemented by rainfall and agricultural data from the national reporting systems. RESULTS: Rainfall was high in 1998 and well below average in 1999 and 2000. In 1998, heavy rains continued from April into October, in 1999 the small rains failed and the big rains lasted into the harvesting period. For the years 1998-1999, the mortality rate was 24.5 per 1,000 person-years, compared with 10.2 in the remainder of the period 1997-2001. Mortality peaks reflect epidemics of malaria and diarrhoeal disease. During these peaks, mortality was significantly higher among the poorer. CONCLUSIONS: The analyses reveal a serious humanitarian crisis with the Butajira population during 1998-1999, which met the CDC guideline crisis definition of more than one death per 10,000 per day. No substantial humanitarian relief efforts were triggered, though from the results it seems likely that the poorest in the farming communities are as vulnerable as the pastoralists in the North and East of Ethiopia. Food insecurity and reliance on subsistence agriculture continue to be major issues in this and similar rural communities. Epidemics of traditional infectious diseases can still be devastating, given opportunities in nutritionally challenged populations with little access to health care

Prevention of antibiotic resistance : an epidemiological scoping review to identify research categories and knowledge gaps

Background: Antibiotics have become the cornerstone for the treatment of infectious diseases and contributed significantly to the dramatic global health development during the last 70 years. Millions of people now survive what were previously life-threatening infections. But antibiotics are finite resources and misuse has led to antibiotic resistance and reduced efficacy within just a few years of introduction of each new antibiotic. The World Health Organization rates antibiotic resistance as a ‘global security threat’ impacting on global health, food security and development and as important as terrorism and climate change. Objectives: This paper explores, through a scoping review of the literature published during the past 20 years, the magnitude of peer-reviewed and grey literature that addresses antibiotic resistance and specifically the extent to which “prevention” has been at the core. The ultimate aim is to identify know-do gaps and strategies to prevent ABR. Methods: The review covers four main data bases, Web of Science, Medline, Scopus and Ebsco searched for 2000–17. The broader research field “antibiotic OR antimicrobial resistance” gave 431,335 hits. Narrowing the search criteria to “Prevention of antibiotic OR antimicrobial resistance” resulted in 1062 remaining titles. Of these, 622 were unique titles. After screening of the 622 titles for relevance, 420 abstracts were read, and of these 282 papers were read in full. An additional 53 references were identified from these papers, and 64 published during 2018 and 2019 were also included. The final scoping review database thus consisted of 399 papers. Results: A thematic structure emerged when categorizing articles in different subject areas, serving as a proxy for interest expressed from the research community. The research area has been an evolving one with about half of the 399 papers published during the past four years of the study period. Epidemiological modelling needs strengthening and there is a need for more and better surveillance systems, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. There is a wealth of information on the local and national uses and misuses of antibiotics. Educational and stewardship programmes basically lack evidence. Several studies address knowledge of the public and prescribers. The lessons for policy are conveyed in many alarming reports from national and international organizations. Conclusions: Descriptive rather than theoretical ambitions have characterized the literature. If we want to better understand and explain the antibiotic situation from a behavioural perspective, the required approaches are lacking. A framework for an epidemiological causal web behind ABR is suggested and may serve to identify entry points for potential interventions

Intimate partner violence and mental health-remarks from two Chief Editors on a joint publishing venture

This article is being published simultaneously in European Journal of Psychotraumatology and Global Health Action.</p