Suporte social em cuidadores informais de dependentes de substâncias.

Os cuidadores informais têm de lidar com situações potencialmente causadoras de stress e Sobrecarga. Uma amostra com 120 cuidadores de Dependentes de Substâncias, residentes em Portugal, completou uma bateria de questionários que incluía o BDI (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961; McIntyre & Araújo-Soares, 1999), BSI (Canavarro, 1999; Derogatis, 1975, 1993), CRA (Given, et al., 1992), WHOQOL – Bref (Fleck, 2000; Vaz Serra, et al., 2006) e o IESSS (Ensel & Woelfel, 1986; Faria, 1999). De seguida, os participantes foram distribuídos por três grupos (G1, G2 e G3), dependendo do tempo de abstinência do familiar a quem prestavam cuidados. O estudo explorou a relação entre diversas variáveis clínicas e psicológicas e o suporte social nesses cuidadores. Os resultados revelaram que a coabitação com o paciente, o distress psicológico, a qualidade de vida (relações sociais e psicológica) e a sobrecarga são preditores, do suporte social explicando 48% da variância observada. O modelo de mediação demonstrou que o suporte social é um mediador parcial da relação entre o distress e a sobrecarga, explicando 60% da variância observada. Deste modo, verifica-se a importância de intervir no suporte social no sentido de diminuir o impacto do distress e sobrecarga nos cuidadores.

A VEP study in sleeping and awake one-month-old infants and its relation with social behavior

With the present study we aimed to analyze the relationship between infants' behavior and their visual evoked-potential (VEPs) response. Specifically, we want to verify differences regarding the VEP response in sleeping and awake infants and if an association between VEP components, in both groups, with neurobehavioral outcome could be identified. To do so, thirty-two full-term and healthy infants, approximately 1-month of age, were assessed through a VEP unpatterned flashlight stimuli paradigm, offered in two different intensities, and were assessed using a neurobehavioral scale. However, only 18 infants have both assessments, and therefore, these is the total included in both analysis. Infants displayed a mature neurobehavioral outcome, expected for their age. We observed that P2 and N3 components were present in both sleeping and awake infants. Differences between intensities were found regarding the P2 amplitude, but only in awake infants. Regression analysis showed that N3 amplitude predicted an adequate social interactive and internal regulatory behavior in infants who were awake during the stimuli presentation. Taking into account that social orientation and regulatory behaviors are fundamental keys for social-like behavior in 1-month-old infants, this study provides an important approach for assessing physiological biomarkers (VEPs) and its relation with social behavior, very early in postnatal development. Moreover, we evidence the importance of the infant's state when studying differences regarding visual threshold processing and its association with behavioral outcome.

Report to the government of Baroda on the marine zoology of Okhamandal in Kattiawar, by James Hornell ... With supplementary reports on special groups by other zoologists ...

pt. 2

Report to the government of Baroda on the marine zoology of Okhamandal in Kattiawar, by James Hornell ... With supplementary reports on special groups by other zoologists ...

pt. 1

Two Studies on the Interplay between Social Preferences and Individual Biological Features

Biological features and social preferences have been studied separately as factors influencing human strategic behaviour. We run two studies in order to explore the interplay between these two sets of factors. In the first study, we investigate to what extent social preferences may have some biological underpinnings. We use simple one-shot distribution experiments to attribute subjects one out of four types of social preferences: Self-interested (SI), Competitive (C), Inequality averse (IA) and Efficiency-seeking (ES). We then investigate whether these four groups display differences in their levels of facial Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) and in proxies for exposure to testosterone during phoetal development and puberty. We observe that development-related biological features and social preferences are relatively independent. In the second study, we compare the relative weight of these two set of factors by studying how they affect subjects’ behaviour in the Ultimatum Game (UG). We find differences in offers made and rejection rates across the four social preference groups. The effect of social preferences is stronger than the effect of biological features even though the latter is significant. We also report a novel link between facial masculinity (a proxy for exposure to testosterone during puberty) and rejection rates in the UG. Our results suggest that biological features influence behaviour both directly and through their relation with the type of social preferences that individuals hold.

Social norms, morals and self-interest as determinants of pro-environment behaviour.

This paper considers the role which selfish, moral and social incentives and pressures play in explaining the extent to which stated choices over pro-environment behaviours vary across individuals. The empirical context is choices over household waste contracts and recycling actions in Poland. A theoretical model is used to show how cost-based motives and the desire for a positive self- and social image combine to determine the utility from alternative choices of recycling behaviour. We then describe a discrete choice experiment designed to empirically investigate the effects such drivers have on stated choices. Using a latent class model, we distinguish three types of individual who are described as duty-orientated recyclers, budget recyclers and homo oeconomicus. These groups vary in their preferences for how frequently waste is collected, and the number of categories into which household waste must be recycled. Our results have implications for the design of future policies aimed at improving participation in recycling schemes.

Social isolation causers mortality by disrupting energy homeostrasis in ants

Social deprivation can have negative effects on the lives of social animals, including humans, yet little is known about the mechanisms by which social withdrawal affects animal health. Here we show that in the carpenter ant Camponotus fellah, socially isolated workers have a greatly reduced life span relative to ants kept in groups of ten individuals. By using a new tracking system, we found that social isolation resulted in important behavioral changes and greatly increased locomotor activity. The higher activity of single ants and their increased propensity to leave the nest to move along the walls suggested that the increased mortality of isolated ants might stem from an imbalance of energy income and expenditure. This view was supported by the finding that while isolated ants ingested the same amount of food as grouped ants, they retained food in the crop, hence preventing its use as an energy source. Moreover, the difference in life span between single and grouped individuals vanished when ants were not fed. This study thus underlines the role of social interactions as key regulators of energy balance, which ultimately affects aging and health in a highly social organism.

An epidemiological and clinical approach to adolescent suicide. A comparison between suicidal and non-suicidal clinical groups in a health foundation center for French students.

Suicidal behaviour among young people represents a major public health problem. This study seeks to compare the major sociological, clinical, schooling and family features of suicidal and non-suicidal subgroups of adolescents hospitalised in the Health Foundation Center for French Students of neufmoutiers en Brie (France). All these adolescents suffered from the severe mental disorders. The adolescents from the suicidal subgroup presented significantly fewer psychoses and more mood disorders than those of the non-suicidal subgroup. Half of the patients from the suicidal subgroup presented some features of personality disorders, mostly borderline personality disorders. Nevertheless, their global functioning was more frequently improved between admission and discharge than was the case for the non-suicidal group.

The social transition of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the African region: evidence from three cross-sectional surveys in the Seychelles.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and several cardiovascular disease risk factors (CVRFs) and to assess whether this association has changed over a 15-year observation period. METHODS: Three independent population-based surveys of CVRFs were conducted in representative samples of all adults aged 25-64 years in the Seychelles, a small island state located east to Kenya, in 1989 (N=1081), 1994 (N=1067) and 2004 (N=1255). RESULTS: Among men, current smoking and heavy drinking were more prevalent in the low versus the high SES group, and obesity was less prevalent. The socioeconomic gradient in diabetes reversed over the study period from lower prevalence in the low versus the high SES group to higher prevalence in the low SES group. Hypercholesterolemia was less prevalent in the low versus the high SES group in 1989 but the prevalence was similar in the two groups in 2004. Hypertension showed no consistent socioeconomic pattern. Among women, the SES gradient in smoking tended to reverse over time from lower prevalence in the low SES group to lower prevalence in the high SES group. Obesity and diabetes were more common in the low versus the high SES group over the study period. Heavy drinking, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were not socially patterned among women. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of several CVRFs was higher in low versus high SES groups in a rapidly developing country in the African region, and an increase of the burden of these CVRFs in the most disadvantaged groups of the population was observed over the 15 years study period.

Levelling up - Securing Health Improvement by Promoting Social Inclusion

Levelling up - Securing Health Improvement by Promoting Social Inclusion - A Cross Border Action Plan for the North West of Ireland  Vision - The aim of 'Levelling Up' is to work towards a society where all voices are heard, where the vulnerable and those on the margins are supported to be involved and in which plans developed for the people are shaped by the people. Their vision is of a region in which organisations and politicians actively demonstrate a commitment to equity – equity both within the North West and between the North West and the rest of Ireland North and South.

IPH response to Northern Ireland Utility Regulator's Social Action Plan 2009-2014

IPH welcomes the Regulator’s Social Action Plan as one of a range of policy measures needed to tackle escalating fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. The Social Action Plan relates to how energy suppliers and networks respond to the needs of vulnerable customers. The submission discusses the definition of vulnerable customers used by energy suppliers and calls for special consideration of householders with multiple vulnerabilities. IPH also calls for special attention to be paid to the development of appropriate social tarrifs and supports for debt management. Key messages •    The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) views this social action plan as a welcome contribution to the range of policy measures needed to tackle escalating fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. •    The activities and ethos of energy suppliers plays a significant role in alleviating fuel poverty and the threats posed to health when living in a cold, damp and energy inefficient home. •    IPH shares the view of the World Health Organisation that more evidence is needed to demonstrate the real impact of corporate social responsibility in the provision of goods and services vital to health and well-being, such as fuel and water.

Inhabitants' and professionals' social representations of health determinants in a disadvantaged urban area in France: a qualitative analysis = représentations sociales des déterminants de santé dans une zone urbaine défavorisée en France : analyse qualitative auprès d'habitants et de professionnels

Background and objective. - Access to care in French disadvantaged urban areas remains an issue despite the implementation of local healthcare structures. To understand this contradiction, we investigated social representations held by inhabitants of such areas, as well as those of social and healthcare professionals, regarding events or behaviours that can impact low-income individuals' health. Method. - In the context of a health diagnosis, 288 inhabitants living in five disadvantaged districts of Aix-les-Bains, as well as 28 professionals working in these districts, completed an open-ended questionnaire. The two groups of respondents were asked to describe what could have an impact on health status from the inhabitants' point of view. The textual responses were analyzed using the Alceste method. Results. - We observed a number of differences in the way the inhabitants and professionals represented determinants of health in disadvantaged urban areas: the former proposed a representation mixing personal responsibility with physiological, social, familial, and professional aspects, whereas the latter associated health issues with marginalization (financial, drug, or alcohol problems) and personal responsibility. Both inhabitants and professionals mentioned control over events and lifestyle as determinants of health. Discussion. - The results are discussed regarding the consequences of these different representations on the beneficiary - healthcare-provider relationship in terms of communication and trust.

Joint Commissioning Plan of the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency: 2010-2011

Legislation enacted on 1 April 2009 created a new Commissioning system with the establishment of a region-wide Health and Social Care Board, including 5 Local Commissioning Groups (LCGs), and a Public Health Agency. In line with Departmental direction and guidance the objectives of the new commissioning arrangements were to: - Approach the future delivery of Health and Social Care from a region-wide perspective focused on outcomes. - Ensure local sensitivity through the creation of five Local Commissioning Groups reflective of their areas. - Give appropriate weight to the public health agenda to ensure that commissioning reflects the drive to reduce health inequalities in our society and works in partnership with others to improve health and wellbeing. In this regard the legislation signalled a new way forward which would first be expressed in a Commissioning Plan for 2010/11 and beyond. This plan outlines how the Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency are approaching that task. It is our aim that this plan is straightforward and written in a manner which will encourage public engagement and understanding. We wish to show clearly how the commissioning task is to be approached and to signal the decisions necessary to ensure the maintenance of a health and social care system in Northern Ireland which responds to the population it serves.

Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland. Mental Health and Social Well-being Report

SĹN 2007: Older People, Loneliness and Social Support to Mental HealthSĹN, the national Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition, shows that most Irish adults have a reasonably high level of positive mental health. It is the largest national survey on positive and negative mental health and social well-being in the Irish adult population.��One finding highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. Finding reveal that 14% of respondents reported being often lonely in the last four weeks, with women, older people and respondents in lower social class groups reporting high levels of loneliness. The SĹN report indicates that being widowed and not being in paid employment are the strongest overall predictors of loneliness. Respondents who are widowed are about five times more likely to feel lonely than those who are married or cohabiting, while 17% of respondents aged 65 and over report being often lonely.��SLAN 2007 highlights the significance of loneliness and social support to mental health. It proposes community-based interventions, including community development approaches and strategies to promote community involvement as a way to tackle such social and health inequities at local level. The report also highlights the importance of implementing the recommendations of the policy document A Vision for Change. It says that protection and promotion of the future health and well-being of the Irish population requires the implementation of effective cross-sectoral policies that will help create and maintain a mentally healthy society, with consequent health, economic and social benefits for all.����SLAN is commissioned by the Department of Health and Children and involved face-to-face interviews with 10,364 respondents aged 18 years and over.��