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Institute
Hintergrund: In Deutschland greift ein Zehntel der Schwangeren zur Tabakzigarette. Gleichzeitig verbreiten sich E-Zigaretten
insbesondere unter jungen Erwachsenen in Deutschland zunehmend. Das Ziel dieser Studie war es, die aktive und passive Exposition
durch E-Zigaretten- und Tabakzigaretten sowie die Einstellung zur E-Zigarette unter Schwangeren in Deutschland zu
erforschen.
Methoden: Im Rahmen der STEP (STudy on E-cigarettes and Pregnancy) beantworteten 575 Schwangere an einer Geburtsklinik
in Hamburg von April 2018 bis Januar 2019 Fragen zur E-Zigaretten- und Tabakzigarettenexposition sowie ihren Einstellungen
zur E-Zigarette.
Ergebnisse: Insgesamt nutzten 1,2% der Befragten ausschließlich E-Zigaretten, 6,7% E- und Tabakzigaretten und 20,3% ausschließlich
Tabakzigaretten vor der Schwangerschaft. In der Schwangerschaft nutzten 0,5% E-Zigaretten und 9,1% Tabakzigaretten.
86,9% aller Schwangeren waren der Ansicht, dass E-Zigaretten nicht als Alternative zu Tabakzigaretten genutzt
werden sollten. Befragte, die die Tabakzigarette während der Schwangerschaft nutzten, vertraten seltener diese Einstellung
als Nichtnutzer (78,0% vs. 88,0%; p=0,045). Der aktuelle Konsum der E-Zigarette (bzw. Tabakzigarette) durch den Partner
erfolgte bei 5,5% (bzw. 24,4%) der Befragten. 18,5% (bzw. 9,3%) der Partner mit E-Zigarettenkonsum (bzw. Tabakzigarettenkonsum)
konsumierten zuhause.
Schlussfolgerungen: Die aktive E-Zigarettenexposition ist – im Gegensatz zur aktiven Tabakzigarettenexposition - in der
Schwangerschaft bisher gering. Gleichzeitig kommt eine passive Exposition durch den konsumierenden Partner von Schwangeren
häufiger bei der E-Zigarette vor. Die Ergebnisse betonen die Wichtigkeit der weiterführenden Tabakprävention und der
Erforschung der Gesundheitsrisiken des Passivdampfes in der Schwangerschaft.
Hintergrund:
Sozioökonomische Ungleichheiten in der gesundheitlichen Versorgung werden häufig krankheitsspezifisch untersucht, während die Evidenz zu Unterschieden in der Inanspruchnahme in der Gesamtbevölkerung bislang unzureichend ist. Ziel der Arbeit ist es, den internationalen Stand zum Zusammenhang zwischen dem Sozialstatus und der Inanspruchnahme von Haus- und Fachärzten systematisch aufzubereiten.
Methode:
In den Datenbanken Medline und Web of Science wurde eine systematische Literaturrecherche durchgeführt, um quantitative Studien aus den Jahren 2003 bis 2018 zu identifizieren. Von 1214 Treffern werden aktuell 69 Volltexte in Hinblick auf die Einschlusskriterien überprüft.
Ergebnisse:
Die Inanspruchnahme wird entweder als „Anzahl der Arztkontakte“ gemessen oder zwischen Nutzung und Nicht-Nutzung eines Haus- oder Facharztes in einem bestimmten Zeitraum unterschieden. Die bisher gesichteten Studien deuten darauf hin, dass sich die sozioökonomischen Ungleichheiten in der Inanspruchnahme der haus- und fachärztlichen Versorgung unterscheiden. Während Fachärzte seltener von Menschen mit niedrigem Sozialstatus aufgesucht werden, sind die Ungleichheiten bei Hausärzten geringer und die Studien konnten entweder keine sozioökonomischen Unterschiede aufzeigen oder fanden, dass Menschen mit niedrigem Sozialstatus häufiger eine Primärversorgung in Anspruch nehmen.
Diskussion:
Sozioökonomische Unterschiede zu Ungunsten der sozial benachteiligten Bevölkerung bestehen möglicherweise deutlicher bei Fachärzten im Vergleich zu Hausärzten. Gerade in der Inanspruchnahme von Fachärzten besteht daher Handlungsbedarf zur Verringerung der Ungleichheiten, um eine bedarfsgerechte Inanspruchnahme der Versorgung zu gewährleisten. Mögliche Gründe für die Unterschiede sollen bei einem Vergleich der Studien untersucht werden, um Implikationen für eine Verbesserung der Versorgung abzuleiten.
Hintergrund: Der Wohnort kann eine Dimension sozialer Ungleichheiten darstellen, und es gibt Hinweise dafür, dass sich dieser bereits auf die perinatale Entwicklung auswirken könnte. Die zugrunde liegenden Wirkmechanismen sind nach wie vor unbekannt; theorie-basierte und hypothesengeleitete Analysen fehlen. Um diesen Herausforderungen zu begegnen, untersucht diese Studie, inwieweit kleinräumige Merkmale zu einem niedrigen Geburtsgewicht beitragen, unabhängig von individuellen Merkmalen. Auf der Grundlage eines konzeptionellen Modells1 wurden kleinräumige Merkmale ausgewählt, erhoben und deren Auswirkungen auf niedriges Geburtsgewicht analysiert.
Methoden: Die Individualdaten stammen aus der Geburtskohortenstudie „Gesundheit von Babys und Kindern in Bielefeld“.
Die Stichprobe besteht aus 958 Frauen und ihren Säuglingen, verteilt auf 80 statistische Bezirke in Bielefeld. Kleinräumige Daten wurden anhand von lokalen Lärmkarten, dem Emissionskataster, Google Street View und dem Melderegister erhoben.
Zur Quantifizierung des Einflusses kleinräumiger Merkmale wurde eine lineare Mehrebenenanalyse mit einer Zwei-Ebenen-Struktur (Individuen, die in statistische Bezirke eingebettet sind) durchgeführt.
Ergebnisse: Insgesamt sind die Auswirkungen der ausgewählten kleinräumigen Merkmale gering bis nicht existent, es zeigen sich keine signifikanten Effekten für niedriges Geburtsgewicht. Tendenziell weisen Neugeborene aus ästhetisch weniger ansprechenden und subjektiv unsicher wahrgenommenen Stadtteilen einen höheren Anteil an niedrigem Geburtsgewicht auf.
Schlussfolgerungen: Die Analyse liefert keine eindeutigen Hinweise auf negative Auswirkungen kleinräumiger Faktoren auf ein niedriges Geburtsgewicht. Auf methodischer Seite bestätigt die Studie, dass ein angemessener Stichprobenumfang, eine zuverlässige Expositionsabschätzung und die Operationalisierung des kleinräumigen Kontextes mit Blick auf die verfügbaren Daten die zentralen Herausforderungen des Forschungsfeldes darstellen.
Research suggests that children of low-educated parents face greater health burdens during the passage from adolescence to young adulthood, as they are more likely to become low-educated themselves, establish behavioural and psychosocial disadvantages, or being exposed to unhealthy working conditions. However, studies examining the development and drivers of health inequalities during this particular life stage are limited in number and have produced varied results. This study investigates trajectories of self-rated health and overweight from 14 to 25 years of age, stratified by parental education, and explores the role of potential mediators (educational achievement, health behaviours, psychosocial factors, working conditions). We rely on prospective cohort data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), a representative sample of 14,981 German ninth graders interviewed yearly from 2011 to 2021 (n = 90,096 person-years). First, we estimated random-effects growth curves for self-rated health and overweight over participants’ age and calculated the average marginal effect of high versus low parental education. Second, a series of simulation-based mediation analyses were
performed to test how much of health inequalities were explained by children’s educational attainment (years of school education, years in university), health behaviours (smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity), psychosocial factors (number of grade repetitions, years in unemployment, chronic stress, self-esteem) and working conditions (physical and psychosocial job demands). We accounted for potential confounding by controlling for age, sex, migration background, residential area, household composition, and interview mode. Results show that higher parental education was related to higher self-rated health and lower probabilities of being overweight. Interaction between parental education and age indicated that, after some equalisation in late adolescence, health inequalities increased in young adulthood. Furthermore, educational attainment, health behaviours, psychosocial factors, and early-career working conditions played a significant role in mediating health inequalities. Of the variables examined, the level of school education and years spent in university were particular strong mediating factors. School education accounted for around one-third of the inequalities in self-rated health and one-fifth of the differences in overweight among individuals. Results support the idea that the transition to adulthood is a sensitive period in life and that early socio-economic adversity increases the likelihood to accumulate health disadvantages in multiple dimensions. In Germany, a country with comparatively low educational mobility, intergenerational continuities in class location seem to play a key role in the explanation of health inequalities in
youth.
Background: Besides macrolevel characteristics of a health care system, mesolevel access characteristics can exert influence on socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare use. These reflect access to healthcare, which is shaped on a smaller scale than the national level, by the institutions and establishments of a health system that individuals interact with on a regular basis. This scoping review maps the existing evidence about the influence of mesolevel access characteristics and socioeconomic position on healthcare use. Furthermore, it summarizes the evidence on the interaction between mesolevel access characteristics and socioeconomic inequalities in healthcare use.
Methods: We used the databases MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO and followed the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR)' recommendations. The included quantitative studies used a measure of socioeconomic position, a mesolevel access characteristic, and a measure of individual healthcare utilisation. Studies published between 2000 and 2020 in high income countries were considered.
Results: Of the 9501 potentially eligible manuscripts, 158 studies were included after a two-stage screening process. The included studies contained a wide spectrum of outcomes and were thus summarised to the overarching categories: use of preventive services, use of curative services, and potentially avoidable service use. Exemplary outcomes were screening uptake, physician visits and avoidable hospitalisations. Access variables included healthcare system characteristics such as physician density or distance to physician. The effects of socioeconomic position on healthcare use as well as of mesolevel access characteristics were investigated by most studies. The results show that socioeconomic and access factors play a crucial role in healthcare use. However, the interaction between socioeconomic position and mesolevel access characteristics is addressed in only few studies.
Conclusions: Socioeconomic position and mesolevel access characteristics are important when examining variation in healthcare use. Additionally, studies provide initial evidence that moderation effects exist between the two factors, although research on this topic is sparse. Further research is needed to investigate whether adapting access characteristics at the mesolevel can reduce socioeconomic inequity in health care use.
Background: In Germany, more than 4.65 million people are currently living with a cancer diagnosis. Patients can benefit from a healthy lifestyle both during and after therapy. In order to provide patients with practical and scientifically based information on health behavior, the authors developed “Aktiv leben mit Krebs” (ALMIK) using participatory program planning.
Methods: A non-blinded randomized controlled trial with intervention (IG) and wait list control group (WCG) was conducted at NCT/UCC Dresden and UCCSH in Kiel in 2022/2023 with a convenience sample of n=227 patients during and after therapy (65.7 years ± 11.7, 54.2% male). IG and WCG received a questionnaire at baseline and after 1 month. IG received the ALMIK brochure and a link to the website with videos. Changes in health literacy (HLS-EU Q) and acceptance were assessed.
Result: Acceptance of ALMIK in IG was high: 94.1% of all n=109 patients in the IG reported having used the brochure. 40.4% had visited the website. Videos were used by 36.7%. Almost all patients rated the brochure as understandable (97.8%), relevant (90.3%) and clearly presented (98.9%).
Patients also rated the website as well-structured (95.6%) and attractively designed (97.6%), and the videos as understandable (93.0%) and relevant (79.1%). Overall, 97.8% were satisfied with the program and 98.9% would recommend it to others. Patients of IG did not achieve higher HLS-score
in comparison to WCG (p=0.75).
Discussion: The brochure was used by many patients and was very well accepted. The website and videos were used less frequently, but overall by more than one-third of patients, who were also satisfied with them. Health literacy was not increased by ALMIK, which may be due to the low
intervention strength.
Conclusion: The high number of participants who used ALMIK indicates a high need for health behavior information for cancer patients. Patient involvement has proven to be an important component in creating well accepted program materials
Objectives:
Mothers of young children have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to explore how occupational, psychosocial and partnership-related factors were associated with their self-reported mental well-being during the first COVID-19 wave.
Methods:
Five hundred fifty participants of the BaBi cohort study (est. 2013, Bielefeld, North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany) were invited to complete an online survey and to take part in email interviews (April–May 2020). With survey data, we assessed self-reported mental well-being through validated instruments (eight-item Patient Health Questionnaire; short version of the Symptom Checklist) and ran linear regression models for occupational, psychosocial and partnership-related factors. We performed content analysis on the interviews’ data to further understand the determinants of the women’s mental well-being.
Results:
One hundred twenty-four women participated in the survey; of which 17 also participated in the interviews. A perceived lack of support in childcare was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, while having a higher internal locus of control was associated with lower levels. Psychological distress was higher in those reporting lack of emotional or childcare support. Interviews confirmed the interplay of potential stressors and highlighted the difficulties to reconcile different expectations of motherhood.
Discussion:
Occupational, psychosocial and partner-related factors can act (to varying degree) both as resources and stressors to the self-reported mental well-being of mothers of young children. These impacts took different forms and created opportunities or challenges, depending on specific life circumstances, such as work or family situations, relationships and own psychosocial resources. Although not representative, our study contributes to building the COVID-19 evidence base, delineating the mental health toll of the pandemic on mothers of young children and the factors that contribute to it.
Namensbasierte Identifizierung von Fällen mit türkischer Herkunft im Kinderkrebsregister Mainz
(2006)
The economic and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic pose a particular threat to vulnerable groups, such as migrants, particularly forcibly displaced populations. The aim of this review is (i) to synthesise the evidence on risk of infection and transmission among migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced populations, and (ii) the effect of lockdown measures on these populations. We searched MEDLINE and WOS, preprint servers, and pertinent websites between 1st December 2019 and 26th June 2020. The included studies showed a high heterogeneity in study design, population, outcome and quality. The incidence risk of SARS-CoV-2 varied from 0•12% to 2•08% in non-outbreak settings and from 5•64% to 21•15% in outbreak settings. Migrants showed a lower hospitalisation rate compared to non-migrants. Negative impacts on mental health due to lockdown measures were found across respective studies. However, findings show a tenuous and heterogeneous data situation, showing the need for more robust and comparative study designs.
Pflege türkischer Migranten
(2008)
Obwohl die Bevölkerungsgruppe mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund in Deutschland zur Zeit noch ein vergleichsweise niedriges Durchschnittsalter aufweist,
wächst der Anteil älterer Menschen unter den türkischen Migrantinnen und Migranten. Vor diesem Hintergrund gewinnen Fragen zur Pflegeversorgung dieser Bevölkerungsgruppe stark an Bedeutung, über die bisher in Deutschland kaum wissenschaftlich abgesicherte Erkenntnisse existieren. Das folgende Kapitel beschreibt die besondere Situation von Menschen mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund, die in Deutschland leben, und gibt so erste Einblicke in dieses noch junge aber wichtige Forschungsfeld und stellt einen Einstieg in die weitere Forschung zu diesem Thema dar.
Arbeitsunfälle, Berufskrankheiten und Erwerbsminderung bei Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund
(2013)
Migration und Gesundheit
(2016)
Deutschland ist ein Zuwanderungsland. Hier lebende Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund sollten den gleichen Zugang zu gesundheitsbezogenen Leistungen haben wie die gesamte Bevölkerung. Es bestehen jedoch noch Zugangshindernisse sowie Unterschiede im Nutzungsverhalten und bei den gesundheitlichen Ergebnissen. Diversity Management wird als eine Strategie diskutiert, um unterschiedliche Bedarfe und Bedürfnisse zu berücksichtigen und gesundheitliche Chancengleichheit zu erreichen.
Background
Claims for self-determined childbirth (SDC) have gained increasing scientific, political and societal attention. However, research on SDC is limited. This study analyzes and compares midwives’ experiences and perspectives on factors that promote or limit SDC in hospitals, birthing centers and during home births in Germany. We argue that these insights are essential in order to foster self-determination and to avoid its violation.
Methods
A qualitative case study was conducted based on semi-structured face-to-face interviews with midwives working in hospitals, birthing centers, and offering home births in Germany. In total, nine interviews were conducted in 2021 and have been audiotaped, transcribed, anonymized and analyzed by use of Thematic Analysis.
Results
The results indicate eight inter-related categories, each of which imply promoting and limiting factors: 1) Structural/ legal conditions; 2) Perception of birth (e. g. as natural or medical process; required competence and control); 3) Trust and atmosphere; 4) Getting acquainted/relationship building; 5) Birthing person’s socioeconomic position; 6) Birthing person’s preparation/ education; 7) Birthing person’s capability of decision making and expression; and 8) Behavior of accompanying persons. Moreover, we identified midwives’ strategies to extend possibilities of choice. Several factors clearly differ depending on the birth setting.
Conclusions
The opportunities for SDC seem to differ according to the setting (e.g. institutional routines), inter-personal relations (e.g. getting acquainted, trust), and individual factors (e.g. socioeconomic position, capabilities). Hence, political, institutional and individual strategies may support SDC in consideration of the above factors. Measures may, among others, include the improvement of information processes, the reduction of economic barriers, relationship building before and during birth as well as respective structural adjustments.
Do regional characteristics predict developmental delay? Analyses of German school entry examination
(2022)
Background
Children's health and development are strongly linked to their living situation, including their family's socioeconomic position (SEP) and living region. However, research on the impact of the living region on children's development beyond family SEP is scarce. This study evaluated whether rurality and regional socioeconomic deprivation (DEP) are associated with children's development independently of family SEP.
Methods
The study used population-based data of 5-6.5 years old children (n = 22,801) from mandatory school entry examinations (SEE) in the German federal state of Brandenburg, which were examined in 2018/2019. The SEE data have been linked with data on i. rurality that was defined by an inverted population density and ii. regional DEP that were provided by the German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation. By binary multilevel models, the predictive values of rurality and regional DEP for global developmental delay (GDD) were evaluated, while adjusting for family SEP.
Results
Children with high family SEP showed reduced odds for GDD compared to medium family SEP (female: OR = 4.26, CI95=3.14-5.79, male: OR = 3.46, CI95=2.83-4.22) and low family SEP (female: OR = 16.58, CI95=11.90-23.09, male: OR = 12.79, CI95=10.13-16.16). Regional DEP additionally predicted GDD, with higher odds for children from more deprived regions (female: OR = 1.35, CI95=1.13-1.62, male: OR = 1.20, CI95=1.05-1.39). Rurality did not predict GDD beyond family SEP and regional DEP.
Conclusions
In addition to family SEP, the regional DEP has an effect on children's developmental delay. Hence, Public Health should take into account regional socioeconomic conditions as determinant of health over the life course in addition to family SEP.
Elevated stress during pregnancy in women of Turkish origin: Results from a prospective cohort study
(2022)
Background
Ethnic health disparities exist in the context of pregnancy and childbirth, suggesting that women of Turkish origin (i.e., they or their parents born in Turkey) in Germany have higher risks for some adverse maternal health and child developmental outcomes. Stress is believed to be a relevant pathway by which migration may be associated with these risks. In this study, we tested associations of Turkish origin with stress biology and psychological stress experiences during pregnancy.
Methods
140 pregnant women (33 of Turkish/26 of other origin) participated in a prospective cohort study that was carried out in Bielefeld and Berlin (Spallek et al., 2020). Inflammatory markers CRP and IL-6 from venous blood samples and diurnal cortisol profiles from salivary cortisol samples were derived and participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) at two study visits during pregnancy (T1: 20-25 weeks of gestation, T2: 30-35 weeks of gestation). Multilevel models were conducted to account for the nested data structure due to repeated measurements.
Results
Compared to non-migrant women, women of Turkish origin had significantly higher inflammatory levels (b = 0.28, SE = 0.14, p=.052) (Spallek et al., 2021), a blunted cortisol awakening response (b=-0.21, CI=-0.38–0.03, p<.05), a flatter diurnal cortisol slope (b = 0.02, CI = 0.00-0.04, p<.05), and higher PSS (b = 0.46, SE = 0.13, p< .001) and CESD scores (b = 0.29, SE = 0.08, p<.001) during pregnancy after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.
Conclusions
The results of our study suggest higher stress at the biological and psychological level in pregnant women of Turkish origin. Stress is a risk factor for pregnancy complications and poor birth and child developmental outcomes. To reduce such unequally distributed risks, interventions for stress reduction are needed that are tailored to women of Turkish origin.
Socioeconomic position and self-rated health among adolescents: the mediating role of the family
(2022)
Background
Although health inequalities in adolescence are well documented, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Few studies have examined the role of the family in explaining adolescents’ health inequalities. The study aimed to explore whether the association between socioeconomic position and self-rated health (SRH) was mediated by familial determinants.
Methods
Using data from wave 2 of the KiGGS study (1,838 female and 1,718 male 11- to 17-year-olds), linear regression analyses were conducted to decompose the total effects of parents’ education, occupation, income, socioeconomic position index, and adolescents’ subjective social status on SRH into direct effects and indirect effects through familial determinants (family cohesion, parenting styles, parental well-being, stress, obesity, smoking and sporting activity).
Results
A significant total effect of all socioeconomic position indicators on SRH was found, except for income in male adolescents. In female adolescents, more than 70% of the total effects of each socioeconomic position indicator were explained by familial mediators, whereas no significant direct effects remained. The most important mediator was parental well-being, followed by family cohesion, parental smoking and sporting activity. In male adolescents, the associations of parental education, the socioeconomic position index and subjective social status with SRH were also mediated by familial determinants (family cohesion, parental smoking and obesity). However, a significant direct effect of subjective social status remained.
Conclusions
The family appears to play an important role in explaining health inequalities, particularly in female adolescents. Reducing health inequalities in adolescence requires policy interventions, community-based strategies, as well as programs to improve parenting and family functioning.
Research on the psychosocial care (PSC) of unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) has mainly taken a socioepidemiological approach and has focused on the perspectives of experts in the field. In contrast, the knowledge concerning the differing context factors and the underlying mechanisms of current PSC which could inform policy recommendations is scant. The study aims at unravelling the contexts, mechanisms and outcomes of PSC for UMRs. For a realist review (RR), scientific evidence and gray literature were synthesised consistent with the RAMESES publication standards for realist synthesis. Based on an iterative keyword search in electronic databases (e.g., PubMed) and screening, 34 works from 2005 to 2019 were included in a realist synthesis. Theory-informed context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOs) were extracted, to explain underlying processes and mechanisms. Characterised by their interrelatedness, the dominant CMOs included the UMRs' intersections of transitions (e.g., adolescence and migration), their needs for culture-, and gender-sensitive PSC, and the undersupply of PSC. These contexts and outcomes are mediated by pre-, peri- and post-migratory stressors as well as care structures and are moreover influenced by overarching discourses and concepts. They comprise adverse and beneficial mechanisms in the PSC of UMRs. The existing literature grasps the PSC of UMRs by different disciplines and approaches but does not offer a comprehensive overview on micro-macro intersections and included discourses. The inclusion of lay perspectives and an intersectional approach could inform health service research. The reflection of UMR-related categorical constructs of resilience and vulnerability, discourses of othering, as well as restrictive health policies may guide policy recommendations.
The German government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been predominantly considered wellfounded. Still, the practice of mass quarantine in reception centres and asylum camps has been criticised for its discrimination of refugees and asylum seekers. Building on the concept of othering, this article argues that processes of othering are structurally anchored in German asylum regulations and they have further pervaded public health measures against COVID-19. The practice of mass quarantine made the negative consequences of exclusionary othering for public health particularly noticeable. In the light of recent data indicating this measure to be epidemiologically, legally and ethically insufficient, we apply the concept of othering to public health and discuss (1) exclusionary, (2) inclusionary and (3) diversity-sensitive approaches to public health. We finally conclude that a shift of perspective from exclusion to inclusion, from subordination to empowerment and from silencing to participation is urgently required.
Background
Immigrants from Turkey experience health disadvantages relative to non-immigrant populations in Germany that are manifest from the earliest stages of the lifespan onwards and are perpetuated across generations. Chronic stress and perturbations of stress-responsive physiological systems, including the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis, are believed to in part mediate this relationship. Cortisol plays an important role in the association between maternal stress during pregnancy and many pregnancy-, birth- and offspring-related outcomes. We therefore examined whether maternal migrant background is associated with diurnal cortisol variation during pregnancy.
Methods
109 pregnant women (incl. n = 32 Turkish origin women) that participated in a multi-site prospective cohort study in Germany collected saliva samples across the day on two consecutive days around 24 and 32 weeks gestation. Hierarchical linear models were applied to quantify associations between migrant background and diurnal cortisol variation across pregnancy.
Results
Women of Turkish origin exhibited a significantly lower cortisol awakening response (CAR) and a flatter diurnal cortisol slope (DCS) compared to non-migrant women after adjusting for household income. These relationships between migrant status and diurnal cortisol variation were mainly driven by 2nd generation migrants.
Discussion
A potential HPA axis dysregulation of Turkish-origin pregnant women may contribute to the intergenerational transmission of health disadvantages in this group.
Migration und Geschlecht
(2015)
Sozialepidemiologie
(2012)
Migration und Gesundheit
(2015)
Wie gesund sind Migranten? Erkenntnisse und Zusammenhänge am Beispiel der Zuwanderer in Deutschland
(2009)
Background
Midwifery care is increasingly discussed in terms of its ability to promote a self-determined childbirth. The degree of self-determination (SD) depends on the extent to which women's preferences are negotiated and implemented. From the perspective of midwives in different obstetric settings in Germany, this study answered the research question: “How do midwives deal with women's preferences during birth?”.
Methods
11 semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with active midwives. The sample showed a high variance in terms of obstetric settings (clinics, birth centers, home births), regions, and participants’ characteristics (e. g. experience, age). All interviews were recorded, transcribed, anonymized, and analyzed using the Grounded Theory Methodology (Strauss/Corbin, 1994).
Results
A model consisting of 7 steps was developed: 1) Interpret the situation; 2) Prioritize relevant parameters; 3) Determine a frame of possibilities; 4) Match the preference(s) to the frame of possibilities; 5) Negotiate preference(s); 6) Continuously monitor contextual/situational changes; 7) Adjust the frame of possibilities. The actions are related to contextual conditions (structural; interpersonal; personal; health situation; course of birth; understanding of birth). The model shows how midwives can promote SD even if prior preferences are discarded or modified at birth.
Conclusions
The model describes how midwives in Germany deal with women's preferences during birth, which factors they consider decisive in doing so, and how SD may be promoted despite of discarded or modified preferences. Further research should examine the role of relationship building, test the model with regard to its generalizability, and use it to analyze and support person-centered midwifery care.
Key messages
• The model describes how midwives in different obstetric settings in Germany deal with women’s preferences during birth and, thereby, influence self-determination.
• Midwives can promote self-determination also if prior preferences are discarded, modified, or redeveloped at birth.