Effects of the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918 - 19 on later life mortality of Norwegian cohorts born about 1900

By using Age-Period-Cohort analysis the paper shows that Norwegian male and female cohorts born about 1900 have experienced significantly higher all-cause mortality in middle and old ages relative to “neighbor” cohorts. In a widely cited study, Horiuchi suggests that only males from belligerent countries who were adolescents during WW I exhibit this cohort effect. The finding in this paper demonstrates that Horiuchi’s explanation may be incomplete.The search for explanations for neutral Norway must clearly go beyond the direct (soldiers wounded physically and mentally) and indirect effects (rationing of food) of WW I on laterlife mortality. This paper suggests that Spanish Influenza 1918-19 is the most important of several possible factors priming the Norwegian cohorts. A large proportion of the cohorts considered contracted Spanish Influenza, but only a small proportion died of it immediately.The net effect on later life mortality is thus assumed to be that of debilitation

An egalitarian disease? Socioeconomic status and individual survival of the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 - 19 in the Norwegian capital of Kristiania

The Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-19 was one of the most devastating diseases in history, killing perhaps as many as 50-100 million people worldwide. In addition to the high death toll and the high general lethality, the disease had a peculiar feature: the largest increase in death rates occurred among those between the age of 20 and 40 as opposed to the very young and the elderly, which is the more typical pattern of influenza epidemics. Furthermore, it appeared that it was the most robust population groups and the previously healthy that had highest mortality rates. Much of the literature favors the view that Spanish Influenza was class neutral with respect to mortality. This paper uses individual level data and applies Cox regressions to test the hypothesis that the blue-collar working class in 1918 suffered higher death rates from Spanish Influenza than the bourgeois and white-collar middle class in two parishes of the Norwegian capital of Kristiania (renamed Oslo in 1924)

Individual and Organizational Well-being when Workplace Conflicts are on the Agenda: A Mixed-methods Study

Previous studies have shown that direct involvement in workplace conflicts may have a significant impact on individual well-being. We used survey and interview data from a large nongovernmental organization (NGO) to analyze both the relationships between direct and indirect involvement in workplace conflicts and individual and organizational well-being. Results show that unaddressed conflicts and nonresponsive or conflict-involved managers are problematic because they fuel already existing conflicts, and also pave the way for new ones. If conflicts are not handled at an early enough stage, they seem to “paralyze” the organization and serve as an interlocking mechanism that contributes to hindering the necessary action from management. In our case, one-fifth of the employees were directly involved in the conflicts, and two-thirds felt that their local working environment had been influenced negatively by the conflicts. The prevalence of mental health problems in the NGO was almost twice as high as in the general Norwegian population, and slightly more than one out of 10 reported reduced work ability. We conclude that individuals directly involved in the conflicts experience negative health consequences, and that this fact, in combination with organizational issues and a very high share of employees indirectly involved in the conflicts, affected the well-being of the whole organization

Disparities in the offer of COVID-19 vaccination to migrants and non-migrants in Norway: a cross sectional survey study

Background Vaccination is key to reducing the spread and impacts of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. Migrants, compared to majority populations, tend to have lower vaccination rates, as well as higher infection disease burdens. Previous studies have tried to understand these disparities based on factors such as misinformation, vaccine hesitancy or medical mistrust. However, the necessary precondition of receiving, or recognizing receipt, of an offer to get a vaccine must also be considered. Methods We conducted a web-based survey in six parishes in Oslo that have a high proportion of migrant residents and were hard-hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate differences in reporting being offered the COVID-19 vaccine based on migrant status. Different models controlling for vaccination prioritization variables (age, underlying health conditions, and health-related jobs), socioeconomic and demographic variables, and variables specific to migrant status (language spoken at home and years lived in Norway) were conducted. Results Responses from 5,442 participants (response rate of 9.1%) were included in analyses. The sample included 1,284 (23.6%) migrants. Fewer migrants than non-migrants reported receiving a vaccine offer (68.1% vs. 81.1%), and this difference was significant after controlling for prioritization variables (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.52–0.82). Subsequent models showed higher odds ratios for reporting having been offered the vaccine for females, and lower odds ratios for those with university education. There were few to no significant differences based on language spoken at home, or among birth countries compared to each other. Duration of residence emerged as an important explanatory variable, as migrants who had lived in Norway for fewer than 15 years were less likely to report offer of a vaccine. Conclusion Results were consistent with studies that show disparities between non-migrants and migrants in actual vaccine uptake. While differences in receiving an offer cannot fully explain disparities in vaccination rates, our analyses suggest that receiving, or recognizing and understanding, an offer does play a role. Issues related to duration of residence, such as inclusion in population and health registries and health and digital literacy, should be addressed by policymakers and health services organizers.publishedVersio

Covid-19 could generate a baby ‘bust’ in the Nordic countries

Previous epidemics have been associated with a fall in births. Trude Lappegård, Axel Peter Kristensen and Svenn-Erik Mamelund assess what the Covid-19 pandemic could mean for birth rates in the Nordic countries, which were already declining prior to the virus. They argue that financial insecurity generated by the outbreak could encourage young adults to put off starting a family, producing a baby ‘bust’

Can the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 explain the baby-boom of 1920 in neutral Norway?

The main purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that Spanish Influenza is the explanation of the dramatic fertility decline in Norway, from 1918 to 1919, and the subsequent baby-boom in 1920. The European country analyzed was not randomly picked; a neutral haven was chosen to possibly rule out the other, and probably more obvious candidate explaining the baby-boom of 1920; the First World War. The data used in the analysis are, in a European context, of superior quality as registration of population data including vital statistics continued as normal in Norway because the First World War did not disturb it. The paper also draws attention to the importance of including – in epidemic crisis models – not only mortality but also fear of contracting a coming or present epidemic – as well present epidemic disease experience – to explain why conception rates may fall in connection with an epidemic.Influenza; epidemic; fertility

Profiling a Pandemic. Who were the victims of the Spanish flu?

At the end of May 1918, the Spanish government was one of the first to admit that a new disease had emerged in their country. The newswire from Reuters reported that King Alfonso XIII, the prime minister, and other officials were all sick with influenza. This outbreak was later referred to as “the first wave” or “spring/summer wave” of the 1918– 1920 Spanish flu pandemic. As a neutral country during World War I, Spain lacked the incentive to censor the news the way combatants did. Although it was recognized early on that the disease did not originate in Spain, the name nevertheless stuck