Information to share

1. Hothouse on Education

Visit: http://thehothouse.net.au/the-ideas/ for the ideas that came out of The Hothouse on Education. If you didn’t get to the forum last week and would like to hear more about it visit: ABC Radio National's Life Matters: http://abc.net.au/rn/lifematters

2. Arts Health Tasmanian Network

Networking gatherings are held currently in the South but will be extended to other areas of the state in the near future.

Next Hobart Meeting will be (please note change of date)

DATE- Tuesday 21st July at 9.30-11.30.

VENUE - Hobart City Council Lower Ground Floor Conference Room off Elizabeth Street,

GUEST PRESENTER - Associate Professor Ashley Lucas, Director of the Prison Creative Arts Project, (PCAP) Theatre & Drama Department , University of Michigan. For more information about the great work of PCAP visit the websites below.

http://razorwirewomen.wordpress.com

http://www.lsa.umich.edu/pcap  

There will be opportunities for networking and sharing information. Please RSVP jacquie.maginnis@dhhs.tas.gov.au

3. Achieving gender equality to reduce intimate partner violence against women

Kathryn L Falb, Jeannie Annan, Jhumka Gupta

The Lancet Global Health, 2015, 3(6);e302-e303

Published online: June 2015

Abstract

This year marks 20 years since 189 countries signed the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and committed to prioritisation of women’s empowerment and gender equality. Yet a recently released UN analysis1 shows that violence against women persists at “alarmingly high levels”. Worldwide, one in three women reports sexual or physical violence from a male partner at some point in their lifetime, and such experiences have been linked with harmful effects on health, including maternal morbidity, poor mental health, and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.2 The UN report also contends that progress towards gender equality has been slow.1 Effective and scalable interventions to reduce intimate partner violence remain scarce, and questions remain about what drives individual violence and why prevalence differs across settings and countries. Lori Heise and Andreas Kotsadam’s study in The Lancet Global Health, is thus very timely, and is a major advance in the understanding of worldwide intimate partner violence. This analysis of data from 44 countries suggests that gender inequality at the macro-level (ie, country-level) serves as a key driver in women’s individual risk of violence and provides insight into why prevalence of intimate partner violence varies across countries…

How to obtain this article click here.

4. Association between gender inequality index and child mortality rates: a cross-national study of 138 countries
Ethel Mary Brinda1, Anto P Rajkumar and Ulrika Enemark

Abstract
Background
Gender inequality weakens maternal health and harms children through many direct and indirect pathways. Allied biological disadvantage and psychosocial adversities challenge the survival of children of both genders. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has recently developed a Gender Inequality Index to measure the multidimensional nature of gender inequality. The global impact of Gender Inequality Index on the child mortality rates remains uncertain.

Methods
We employed an ecological study to investigate the association between child mortality rates and Gender Inequality Indices of 138 countries for which UNDP has published the Gender Inequality Index. Data on child mortality rates and on potential confounders, such as, per capita gross domestic product and immunization coverage, were obtained from the official World Health Organization and World Bank sources. We employed multivariate non-parametric robust regression models to study the relationship between these variables.

Results
Women in low and middle income countries (LMICs) suffer significantly more gender inequality (p < 0.001). Gender Inequality Index (GII) was positively associated with neonatal (β = 53.85; 95% CI 41.61-64.09), infant (β = 70.28; 95% CI 51.93-88.64) and under five mortality rates (β = 68.14; 95% CI 49.71-86.58), after adjusting for the effects of potential confounders (p < 0.001).

Conclusions
We have documented statistically significant positive associations between GII and child mortality rates. Our results suggest that the initiatives to curtail child mortality rates should extend beyond medical interventions and should prioritize women’s rights and autonomy. We discuss major pathways connecting gender inequality and child mortality. We present the socio-economic problems, which sustain higher gender inequality and child mortality in LMICs. We further discuss the potential solutions pertinent to LMICs. Dissipating gender barriers and focusing on social well-being of women may augment the survival of children of both genders.

More here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/15/97

5. The policy process for health promotion

Erik Söderberg and Ewa Wikström
Scand J Public Health first published on May 21, 2015
 http://sjp.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/05/20/1403494815586327.abstract?papetoc

6. A Road to Home: The Right to Housing in Canada and Around the World: http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp/

7. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity

Robert A. Hahn; Benedict I. Truman

International Journal of Health Services, 0(0) 1–22

SAGE Journals

Published online: 19 May 2015

Abstract

This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health – an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits.

How to obtain this article click here. (Let me know if you want to access this article but are unable via the link)

8. State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health

The World Health Organization.

Published online: May 2015

Abstract

The health of the world’s population is in a state of inequality. That is to say, there are vastly different stories to tell about a person’s health depending on where they live, their level of education, and whether they are rich or poor, etc. Monitoring the state of inequality in health takes into account the current experiences of population subgroups, as well as the trends of how health experiences in these subgroups have changed over time. This 2015 report demonstrates best practices in reporting the results of health inequality monitoring, and introduces innovative ways for audiences to explore inequality data.  Interactive data visualization components – including story-points, equity country profiles, maps and reference tables – accompany the key messages and findings of this report, allowing users to customize data displays and engage in benchmarking according to their interests. A series of feature stories indicated that inequalities in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health persist, despite having narrowed over the past decade. There is still much progress to be made in reducing inequalities in reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health through equity-oriented policies, programmes and practices. Though the report draws on data about reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health in low- and middle-income countries, the approach and underlying concepts can be widely applied to any health topic.

Access the full report click here.

Interactive visuals click here.

9. St. Michael’s Hospital health team offers prescription for poverty

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/05/23/st-michaels-hospital-health-team-offers-prescription-for-poverty.html

10. This is Our Community is a bisexual anti-stigma campaign by Rainbow Health Ontario and the Researching for LGBTQ Health team. http://www.rainbowhealthontario.ca/bisexual-health/

11. eLearning - The Health inequality monitoring eLearning module

The World Health Organization

Released online: May 2015

Abstract

The Health inequality monitoring eLearning module is an overview of health inequality monitoring, aiming to build theoretical and technical capacity for health inequality monitoring across diverse settings and health topics. This module introduces and explores the five general steps of monitoring as they pertain to health inequality monitoring: selecting health indicators and equity stratifiers, obtaining data, analysing data, reporting results and implementing changes. A comprehensive applied example of health inequality monitoring in the Philippines demonstrates how the concepts can be applied in the context of low- and middle-income countries. This module is presented in eight chapters, which are each followed by a number of quiz questions and an application exercise. In each chapter, additional information and examples are available to facilitate a more-thorough understanding of the material. The entire module takes approximately four hours to complete, and is not timed.

Contents:

Orientation

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Health indicators and equity stratifiers

Chapter 3: Data sources

Chapter 4: Simple measures

Chapter 5: Complex measures

Chapter 6: Reporting inequalities I

Chapter 7: Reporting inequalities II

Chapter 8: Cumulative example

Resources

Acknowledgements

Note: This eLearning module is available in a standard format (with audio), suitable for users with access to broadband internet, as well as in a no-audio, low-bandwidth format.

How to access the eLearning platform click here.

12. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015: http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/

14. Social determinants of health, inequality and social inclusion among people with disabilities

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the socio-familial and community inclusion and social participation of people with disabilities, as well as their inclusion in occupations in daily life.

METHOD: qualitative study with data collected through open interviews concerning the participants' life histories and systematic observation. The sample was composed of ten individuals with acquired or congenital disabilities living in the region covered by a Family Health Center. The social conception of disability was the theoretical framework used. Data were analyzed according to an interpretative reconstructive approach based on Habermas' Theory of Communicative Action.

RESULTS: the results show that the socio-familial and community inclusion of the study participants is conditioned to the social determinants of health and present high levels of social inequality expressed by difficult access to PHC and rehabilitation services, work and income, education, culture, transportation and social participation.

CONCLUSION: there is a need to develop community-centered care programs in cooperation with PHC services aiming to cope with poverty and improve social inclusion.

Access this article in English