Refine
Document Type
Way of publication
- Open Access (7)
Keywords
- health inequalities (8)
- scoping review (7)
- health (5)
- adolescents (4)
- children (4)
- Health inequalities (3)
- Socioeconomic position (3)
- family (3)
- socioeconomic position (3)
- BMI (2)
Institute
Hintergrund: Herausforderungen, wie die geringste Hausarztdichte Deutschlands und eine ungünstige Altersstruktur beeinflussen die ärztliche Versorgung in strukturschwachen Regionen Brandenburgs. Das Forschungsprojekt DIGILOG untersucht im Rahmen des Gesundheitscampus Brandenburg die Zufriedenheit der älteren Bevölkerung mit dem Zugang zur Haus- und Facharztversorgung.
Methoden: Anfang 2018 wurden per standardisiertem Fragebogen mit sowohl geschlossenen als auch offenen Fragen 3.006 zufällig ausgewählte 50 – 70-jährige Einwohner im Landkreis Oberspreewald-Lausitz zu soziodemografischen Merkmalen sowie zur aktuellen und künftigen Haus- und Facharztversorgung befragt. Die Response beträgt 17,5% und ergibt eine Stichprobe mit einem Durchschnittsalter von 62 Jahren (51% weiblich).
Ergebnisse: Der Zugang gilt als zufriedenstellend (Hausarzt (HA) 93%, Facharzt (FA) 87,8%). Es werden künftig Berentung, mangelnde Nachfolge und lange Wartezeiten befürchtet. 84% haben im letzten Jahr einen FA konsultiert (häufigste: Augenarzt (93 ×), Urologe, Orthopäde (je 74 ×). Der HA ist in rund x̃ = 4 km [0 – 64] und 10 Min. [0 – 90], der FA in x̃ = 15 km [0 – 338] und 20 Min. [0 – 338] überwiegend mit dem Auto (HA 60,9%; FA 77%) erreichbar. Beim HA wird 59 Min. [0 – 180], beim FA 57 Min. [0 – 240] gewartet.
Schlussfolgerungen: Obwohl derzeit der Zugang trotz offener Arztstellen insgesamt noch zufriedenstellend ist, drohen in naher Zukunft Versorgungsdefizite, zeitnah besonders in der fachärztlichen Versorgung. Neue Versorgungskonzepte, wie Community Nurses oder digitale Lösungen, könnten diese z.T. auffangen und Wartezeiten bei akuten Beschwerden verkürzen.
Das Zusammenspiel zwischen Migration, Gesundheit und sozialer Lage ist durch verschiedene Wirkmechanismen gekennzeichnet. Die soziale Lage beeinflusst gesundheitliche Chancen und Risiken sowie die Migration selbst und trägt dazu bei, ob migrationsbedingte Einflüsse auf die Gesundheit verstärkt oder abgeschwächt werden. Migration ist bedeutend für die Erklärung gesundheitlicher Ungleichheit, obgleich Verzerrungen und Messartefakte bei Interpretationen berücksichtigt werden müssen.
Ziel der Studie: Die medizinische Versorgung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ist von Verteilungsproblemen geprägt. Vor allem in ländlichen Regionen droht Unterversorgung. In dieser Studie wurde untersucht, wie ältere Bewohner des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz (OSL) des Bundeslandes Brandenburg ihre derzeitige medizinische Versorgungssituation einschätzen und welche Wünsche und Bedenken sie hinsichtlich deren zukünftigen Entwicklung im Jahr 2030 haben.
Methodik: In der vorliegenden Querschnitterhebung wurden 3006 Einwohner im Alter von 50–56 Jahren und von 65–71 Jahren des Landkreises OSL befragt. Ein Fragebogen mit geschlossenem und offenem Antwortformat wurde zur Erfassung der Zielstellung eingesetzt.
Ergebnisse: In der vorliegenden Untersuchung äußerten sich die Einwohner des Landkreises OSL aktuell zufrieden oder sehr zufrieden mit der hausärztlichen (93,1%) und der fachärztlichen Versorgung (83,3%). Innerhalb des Landkreises zeigen sich in einigen Regionen Defizite. Im Gebiet Lauchhammer/Schwarzheide äußerten sich insbesondere zur fachärztlichen Versorgung 27,1% der Befragten unzufrieden oder sehr unzufrieden. Alternative und ergänzende Versorgungsangebote wie die Community Nurse sind akzeptierte, jedoch derzeit unterrepräsentierte Maßnahmen zur Sicherstellung der zukünftigen medizinischen Versorgung.
Schlussfolgerung: Derzeit zeigen sich Bewohner des ländlichen, metropolenfernen Landkreises OSL zufrieden mit der ambulanten medizinischen Versorgung, jedoch stellen sich in einigen Regionen Defizite, insbesondere bei der zukünftigen Facharztversorgung dar. Alternative Versorgungsangebote wie Telemedizin sind seitens der Bewohner gewünschte Maßnahmen zur Ergänzung und Sicherstellung der zukünftigen medizinischen Versorgung im ländlichen Raum.
Background: Although early childhood is a life period of overall good health, research shows that families’ socioeconomic position (SEP) is affecting children’s health from pregnancy on, ultimately leading to health inequalities. Little is currently known about the pathways by which family SEP is influencing child health and health-related behaviour, and which role family characteristics play. The scoping review therefore aims to screen the international literature on the mediating and moderating effects of contextual and compositional family characteristics on socioeconomic health risks of pre-school children in developed countries.
Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, three online databases (Pubmed, PsycINFO, and Scopus) will be searched for literature in English or German published after year 2000. The two-step data screening approach and the subsequent data extraction will be conducted independently by two researchers in consideration of specific criteria and a previously tested standardized data extraction form. Due to the broad research question at hand, various study designs (e.g. cross-sectional, intervention, cohort studies, and qualitative studies), SEP measures (e.g. education, income) and compositional (e.g. family size, migration) or contextual (e.g. parenting, housing) family characteristics influencing children ́s health will be included. Since diverse definitions and reporting formats of subjective health, health behaviour, well-being, and diseases will be considered, a substantial heterogeneity in outcome measures focusing on the age group of 0-6 years is expected. Thus, a narrative synthesis of the findings will be performed according to the Centre for
Reviews and Dissemination framework.
Ethics and dissemination: Because no primary data will be collected, ethical clearance will not be required. Dissemination will include peer-reviewed publications and conferences.
Characteristics of early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers might be relevant for children’s health. This scoping review aims to provide an overview of the association between meso-level characteristics (MLCs) of ECEC centers with children’s health, health behavior, and wellbeing. Five databases were searched for quantitative and qualitative research articles published in English or German since 1 January 2000 on health, health behavior, and wellbeing of children aged 0 to 6 years considering MLCs of ECEC centers. Two authors screened 10,396 potentially eligible manuscripts and identified 117 papers, including 3077 examinations of the association between MLCs and children’s health indicators (Kappas > 0.91). Five categories of MLCs were identified: (1) structural characteristics, (2) equipment/furnishings, (3) location, (4) facilities/environment, (5) culture/activities/policies/practices, and 6) staff. Only very few studies found an association of MLCs with body weight/obesity, and general health and wellbeing. Especially physical activity and mental health were related to MLCs. In general, the location (rural vs. urban, neighborhood status) seemed to be a relevant health aspect. MLCs of ECEC centers appeared relevant for child health indicators to different degrees. Future research should focus on these associations, in detail, to identify concrete ECEC indicators that can support health promotion in early childhood.
This scoping review systematically mapped evidence of the mediating and moderating effects of family characteristics on health inequalities in school-aged children and adolescents (6–18 years) in countries with developed economies in Europe and North America. We conducted a systematic scoping review following the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews recommendations. We searched the PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus databases. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full texts. Evidence was synthesized narratively. Of the 12,403 records initially identified, 50 articles were included in the synthesis. The included studies were conducted in the United States (n = 27), Europe (n = 18), Canada (n = 3), or in multiple countries combined (n = 2). We found that mental health was the most frequently assessed health outcome. The included studies reported that different family characteristics mediated or moderated health inequalities. Parental mental health, parenting practices, and parent-child-relationships were most frequently examined, and were found to be important mediating or moderating factors. In addition, family conflict and distress were relevant family characteristics. Future research should integrate additional health outcomes besides mental health, and attempt to integrate the complexity of families. The family characteristics identified in this review represent potential starting points for reducing health inequalities in childhood and adolescence.
Healthcare workers (HCW) play a vital role in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic control. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and the risk of COVID-19 infections in a cohort of HCW from four different risk groups (from intensive care unit to administration) of a hospital of a primary care level in rural Germany. The outcomes were monthly measures of antibody seroprevalence over a period of 6 months. Overall, a seroprevalence of 13.41% was determined, with significantly higher prevalence rates among HCW working in areas with more frequent contact to confirmed or suspected cases (30.30%, p = 0.003). The group specific differences in the risk of infection from COVID-19 were detected, as HCW groups with frequent exposure seemed to have an increased risk (RR = 3.18, p = 0.02; CI95 1.09–9.24). The findings contribute to the epidemiological understanding of the virus spread in an unvaccinated population group, which is highly relevant for the pandemic management.
Objectives: To synthesise the evidence on the role of compositional or contextual characteristics of schools in the association between students' socioeconomic position and their health in primary and secondary education in developed economies.
Design: Scoping review. We included studies examining the role of at least one school or class characteristic on students' health inequalities and was published since 1 January 2000, in English or German. We searched PubMed/Medline, Web of Science and Education Resources Information Center. We provided a narrative synthesis and an overview of findings. School characteristics were grouped into five broad categories: school composition, school climate, school policies and organisation, food environment and facilities.
Results: Of 8520 records identified, 26 studies were included. Twelve studies found a moderating and 3 a mediating effect. The strongest evidence came from studies examining the moderating effect of school composition, that is, the negative impact of a low individual socioeconomic position on mental health and well-being was aggravated by a low average socioeconomic position of schools. Evidence concerning the role of school climate, school stratification (eg, performance base tracking) and sponsorship, food environment and sport facilities and equipment was generally weak or very weak and mostly based on singular findings. Overall, favourable meso-level characteristics mitigated the negative impact of low individual socioeconomic position on health outcomes.
Conclusions: School characteristics affect health inequalities in children and adolescents to some degree, but future research is necessary to strengthen the existing evidence and address under-represented aspects in school characteristics and health outcomes.
Background
From birth to young adulthood, health and development of young people are strongly linked to their living situation, including their family’s socioeconomic position (SEP) and living environment. The impact of regional characteristics on development in early childhood beyond family SEP has been rarely investigated. This study aimed to identify regional predictors of global developmental delay at school entry taking family SEP into consideration.
Method
We used representative, population-based data from mandatory school entry examinations of the German federal state of Brandenburg in 2018/2019 with n=22,801 preschool children. By applying binary multilevel models, we hierarchically analyzed the effect of regional deprivation defined by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD) and rurality operationalized as inverted population density of the children’s school district on global developmental delay (GDD) while adjusting for family SEP (low, medium and high).
Results
Family SEP was significantly and strongly linked to GDD. Children with the highest family SEP showed a lower odds for GDD compared to a medium SEP (female: OR=4.26, male: OR=3.46) and low SEP (female: OR=16.58, male: OR=12.79). Furthermore, we discovered a smaller, but additional and independent effect of regional socioeconomic deprivation on GDD, with a higher odds for children from a more deprived school district (female: OR=1.35, male: OR=1.20). However, rurality did not show a significant link to GDD in preschool children beyond family SEP and regional deprivation.
Conclusion
Family SEP and regional deprivation are risk factors for child development and of particular interest to promote health of children in early childhood and over the life course.