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Objective: To assess rates of traversing barriers to care to access optimal clinical outcomes in people with migraine internationally. Background: People in need of medical care for migraine should consult a health care professional knowledgeable in migraine management, obtain an accurate diagnosis, and receive an individualized treatment plan, which includes scientific society guideline-recommended treatments where appropriate. Methods: The Chronic Migraine Epidemiology and Outcomes-International (CaMEO-I) Study was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted from July 2021 through March 2022 in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States (US). Respondents who met modified International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition, criteria for migraine and had Migraine Disability Assessment Scale (MIDAS) scores of ≥ 6 (i.e., mild, moderate, or severe disability) were deemed to need medical care and were included in this analysis. Minimally effective treatment required that participants were currently consulting a health care professional for headache (barrier 1), reported an accurate diagnosis (barrier 2), and reported use of minimally appropriate pharmacologic treatment (barrier 3; based on American Headache Society 2021 Consensus Statement recommendations). Proportions of respondents who successfully traversed each barrier were calculated, and chi-square tests were used to assess overall difference among countries. Results: Among 14,492 respondents with migraine, 8,330 had MIDAS scores of ≥ 6, were deemed in need of medical care, and were included in this analysis. Current headache consultation was reported by 35.1% (2926/8330) of respondents. Compared with the US, consultation rates and diagnosis rates were statistically significantly lower in all other countries except France where they were statistically significantly higher. Total appropriate treatment rates were also statistically significantly lower in all other countries compared with the US except France, which did not differ from the US. All 3 barriers were traversed by only 11.5% (955/8330) of respondents, with differences among countries (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Of people with migraine in need of medical care for migraine, less than 15% traverse all 3 barriers to care. Although rates of consultation, diagnosis, and treatment differed among countries, improvements are needed in all countries studied to reduce the global burden of migraine. Trial registration: NA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Educators require focused training to foster the development of intercultural competence in nurses. Training programs for educators need to be based on a comprehensive profile with a focus on intercultural learning. This study aims to define and validate a profile of the Intercultural Nursing Educator (INE). Method: The Delphi method was used with an iterative, multi-stage process to transform opinions into group consensus. A total of 46 European, African, and American experts from the nursing and intercultural field participated. Inclusion criteria required English at a level of B2, expertise in the field of intercultural competence, experience in teaching intercultural competence in the nursing context, and publications focused on intercultural topics. Results: The INE profile was developed and all 126 competencies were validated. Discussion and conclusion: The profile is freely available on the project website and provides the basis for curricula, training programs and assessment of the required competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Seven Years' War worked as a catalyst of mutations already present before the hostilities. The case is particularly palpable when we consider the transformation of American, British, and French political culture between 1756 and 1763. In America, William Pitt's colonial policy based on partnership led after the peace to a huge disappointment in America and a growing tension with London. Eventually, it paved the way for the revolt of the Sons of Liberty. In Great Britain, the ideological and political consequences of the war were no less dramatic. Pitt's patriot policy, which was in many respects a mirror of the colonists' political culture based on the same republican principles, brought a decisive contribution to the birth of radicalism after the peace. Last but not least, French political culture was deeply affected by the conflict. A new conception of the political role of the French people emerged during the war, leading to the transformation of the subjects of Louis XV into self-proclaimed citizens willing to offer spontaneously their services for the common weal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the politics of welfare, citizens often prioritize natives over immigrants. What conditions reduce welfare discrimination against immigrants? Original survey experiments from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy reveal that the divide between natives and immigrants remains the fundamental cleavage in the politics of welfare. All immigrants face welfare penalties, including immigrants from Western countries. Even young, progressive, highly educated, and economically secure native citizens strongly penalize immigrants. Although immigrants never fully overcome identity barriers, the welfare support gap between natives and immigrants decreases when immigrants have a long work history. A history of employment provides evidence of reciprocity through past contributions and signals immigrants' commitment to the community. Other immigrants' characteristics, such as higher education and proactive work attitude, fail to decrease the gap. This article contributes to the study of solidarity in diverse societies and the impact of immigration on the welfare state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/objectives: Sedentary behavior (SB), defined as sitting (nonexercising), reclining, and lying down (posture), or by low energy expenditure, is a public health risk independent to physical activity. The objective of this systematic literature review was to synthesize the available evidence on amount of SB reported by and measured in older adults. Data source: Studies published between 1981 and 2014 were identified from electronic databases and manual searching. Large-scale population studies/surveys reporting the amount of SB (objective/ subjective) in older adults aged ≥ 60 years of age were included. Appraisal and synthesis was completed using MOOSE guidelines. Results: 349,698 adults aged ≥ 60 within 22 studies (10 countries and 1 EU-wide) were included. Objective measurement of SB shows that older adults spend an average of 9.4 hr a day sedentary, equating to 65-80% of their waking day. Self-report of SB is lower, with average weighted self-reports being 5.3 hr daily. Within specific domains of SB, older adults report 3.3 hr in leisure sitting time and 3.3 hr watching TV. There is an association with more time spent in SB as age advances and a trend for older men to spend more time in SB than women. Conclusion/ implications: Time spent sedentary ranges from 5.3-9.4 hr per waking day in older adults. With recent studies suggesting a link between SB, health, and well-being, independent of physical activity, this is an area important for successful aging. Limitations: Different methodologies of measurement and different reporting methods of SB made synthesis difficult. Estimated SB time from self-report is half of that measured objectively; suggesting that most self-report surveys of SB will vastly underestimate the actual time spent in SB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The guidelines of brain death determination vary across countries. Our aim was to compare diagnostic procedures of brain death determination in adults among five countries. Consecutive comatose patients who received brain death determination from June 2018 to June 2020 were included. The technical specifications, completion rates and positive rates of brain death determination according to criteria of different countries were compared. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of each ancillary test for the identification of brain death diagnosed according to different criteria were investigated. One hundred and ninety nine patients were included in this study. One hundred and thirty one (65.8%) patients were diagnosed with brain death according to French criteria, 132 (66.3%) according to Chinese criteria, and 135 (67.7%) according to criteria of USA, UK and Germany. The sensitivity and PPV of electroencephalogram (92.2% – 92.3%) and somatosensory evoked potential (95.5% – 98.5%) were higher than transcranial Doppler (84.3% – 86.0%). The criteria of brain death in China and France are comparatively stricter than in USA, UK and Germany. The discrepancy in brain death determination between clinical assessments and additional confirmation of ancillary tests is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online survey of 691 clinicians who use hypnosis was conducted in 31 countries to gain a broad real-world picture of current practices, views, and experiences in clinical hypnosis. Among 36 common clinical uses, stress reduction, wellbeing and self-esteem-enhancement, surgery preparations, anxiety interventions, mindfulness facilitation, and labor and childbirth applications were the most frequently rated as highly effective (each by ≥70% of raters) in the clinicians' own experience. Adverse hypnosis-associated effects had been encountered by 55% of clinicians but were generally short-lived and very rarely judged as serious. The most common hypnosis approaches used were Ericksonian (71%), hypnotic relaxation therapy (55%), and traditional hypnosis (50%). Almost all respondents reported regularly using other therapeutic modalities alongside hypnosis. Among a range of client variables potentially affecting therapy, most clinicians rated hypnotist-client rapport (88%) and client motivation (75%) as very or extremely important factors for successful hypnotherapy. The majority of respondents had conducted hypnosis treatment via teletherapy, and 54% of those estimated it to be as effective as in-person treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the outbreak of a disease caused by a pathogen with unknown characteristics, the uncertainty of its progression parameters can be reduced by devising methods that, based on rational assumptions, exploit available information to provide actionable insights. In this study, performed a few (~6) weeks into the outbreak of COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2), one of the most important disease parameters, the average time-to-recovery, was calculated using data publicly available on the internet (daily reported cases of confirmed infections, deaths, and recoveries), and fed into an algorithm that matches confirmed cases with deaths and recoveries. Unmatched cases were adjusted based on the matched cases calculation. The mean time-to-recovery, calculated from all globally reported cases, was found to be 18.01 days (SD 3.31 days) for the matched cases and 18.29 days (SD 2.73 days) taking into consideration the adjusted unmatched cases as well. The proposed method used limited data and provided experimental results in the same region as clinical studies published several months later. This indicates that the proposed method, combined with expert knowledge and informed calculated assumptions, could provide a meaningful calculated average time-to-recovery figure, which can be used as an evidence-based estimation to support containment and mitigation policy decisions, even at the very early stages of an outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse the conditions under which the COVID‐19 pandemic will lead either to social order (adherence to measures put in place by authorities to control the pandemic) or to social disorder (resistance to such measures and the emergence of open conflict). Using examples from different countries (principally the United Kingdom, the United States, and France), we first isolate three factors which determine whether people accept or reject control measures. These are the historical context of state‐public relations, the nature of leadership during the pandemic and procedural justice in the development and operation of these measures. Second, we analyse the way the crisis is policed and how forms of policing determine whether dissent will escalate into open conflict. We conclude by considering the prospects for order/disorder as the pandemic unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the political implications of a subject not always thought of as directly political, but which has an important ideological component: child-rearing advice. The period after 1945 offers an important example of how this topic can interact with developments in political ideology. This article takes the example of France, with substantial comparative reference to the US and Britain. It argues that the mid-twentieth century was characterized by a move from a hygienist and behaviourist approach to child rearing to a more liberal, humanist approach informed by Freudian psychoanalysis. This occurred significantly later in France – in the 1970s – than in Britain or the US, where it is associated with the years immediately after World War II. Through a comparison of two celebrated childcare experts who epitomized the change – Françoise Dolto in France, Benjamin Spock in the US – the paper explores the reasons for this temporal discrepancy. It shows that Anglo-American experts believed that the widespread application of psychoanalytic theory would help produce democratic citizens and ward off the dangers of authoritarian personalities. In France, psychoanalytic approaches became allied with conservative Catholic views of the family and women's roles, with implications for family policy into the twenty-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Social engagement is an important active aging strategy to promote older adults' mental health. The purposes of this study were to compare social engagement in older populations around the world and explore associations with mental health outcomes. Materials and methods: An international cross‐sectional survey was conducted from 2017 to 2019. Data were retrieved from The International Social Survey Programme for a secondary data analysis across 30 countries. This study applied the Taxonomy of Social Activities and its six levels as operational definitions for a consistent concept of social engagement for international comparisons. Results: In total, 9403 older adults with a mean age of 72.85 ± 6.40 years responded. The highest levels of older adults' social engagement were found in Switzerland, Thailand, and New Zealand. Older adults of a higher age, with a lower educational level, who were permanently sick or disabled, who had no partner, who were widowed or whose civil partner had died, who lived alone, and who had lower self‐placement in society had significantly lower social engagement than did their counterparts. In the regression model, older adults' social engagement positively predicted general health, self‐accomplishment, and life satisfaction, but negatively predicted loneliness and depression. Conclusions: In aging societies worldwide, encouraging older adults' social engagement would be beneficial to promote mental health. Implications for nursing practice and health policies: Community professional nurses can develop strategies of social engagement based on the needs and sociodemographic factors of older adults to improve their mental health. Developing efficient strategies and local policies by learning from successful experiences in other countries is important to promote social engagement in aging societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the climatic influence on COVID-19 transmission risks in 228 cities globally across three climatic zones. The results, based on the application of a Boosted Regression Tree algorithm method, show that average temperature and average relative humidity explain significant variations in COVID-19 transmission across temperate and subtropical regions, whereas in the tropical region, the average diurnal temperature range and temperature seasonality significantly predict the infection outbreak. The number of positive cases showed a decrease sharply above an average temperature of 10°C in the cities of France, Turkey, the US, the UK, and Germany. Among the tropical countries, COVID-19 in Indian cities is most affected by mean diurnal temperature, and those in Brazil by temperature seasonality. The findings have implications on public health interventions, and contribute to the ongoing scientific and policy discourse on the complex interplay of climatic factors determining the risks of COVID-19 transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus, being a rare cancer, requires national and international collaborations, networking, organizational proficiency and leadership to overcome barriers towards the implementation of clinical trials to establish improved standards of care treatment strategies and the conduction of translational research projects to shed light into its biology and molecular characterization. The purpose of the present study is to obtain a global frame of the scientific literature related to anal cancer, through a bibliometric analysis of the published articles during the last 20 years (2000–2020), exploring trends and common patterns in research, tracking collaboration and networks to foresee future directions in basic and clinical research. Squamous-cell carcinoma of the anus (ASCC) is a rare disease. Barriers have been encountered to conduct clinical and translational research in this setting. Despite this, ASCC has been a prime example of collaboration amongst researchers. We performed a bibliometric analysis of ASCC-related literature of the last 20 years, exploring common patterns in research, tracking collaboration and identifying gaps. The electronic Scopus database was searched using the keywords "anal cancer", to include manuscripts published in English, between 2000 and 2020. Data analysis was performed using R-Studio 0.98.1091 software. A machine-learning bibliometric method was applied. The bibliometrix R package was used. A total of 2322 scientific documents was found. The average annual growth rate in publication was around 40% during 2000–2020. The five most productive countries were United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), France, Italy and Australia. The USA and UK had the greatest link strength of international collaboration (22.6% and 19.0%). Two main clusters of keywords for published research were identified: (a) prevention and screening and (b) overall management. Emerging topics included imaging, biomarkers and patient-reported outcomes. Further efforts are required to increase collaboration and funding to sustain future research in the setting of ASCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study examines the extent to which retracted articles pertaining to COVID-19 have been shared via social and mass media based on altmetric scores. Methods: Seventy-one retracted articles related to COVID-19 were identified from relevant databases, of which thirty-nine had an Altmetric Attention Score obtained using the Altmetrics Bookmarklet. Data extracted from the articles include overall attention score and demographics of sharers (e.g., geographic location, professional affiliation). Results: Retracted articles related to COVID-19 were shared tens of thousands of times to an audience of potentially hundreds of millions of readers and followers. Twitter was the largest medium for sharing these articles, and the United States was the country with the most sharers. While general members of the public were the largest proportion of sharers, researchers and professionals were not immune to sharing these articles on social media and on websites, blogs, or news media. Conclusions: These findings have potential implications for better understanding the spread of misleading or false information perpetuated in retracted scholarly publications. They emphasize the importance of quality peer review and research ethics among journals and responsibility among individuals who wish to share research findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governments of Britain, France, and the United States are seeking to promote renewed investment in nuclear power through metagovernance. Metagovernance describes the way governments can leverage state power and resources to shape the behavior of networked actors to advance policy goals. To metagovern, governments use a variety of policy tools but the factors shaping the design of these policy tools remains unclear. Grid-group cultural theory is used to show that the design of the policy tools used in metagovernance reflects both an underlying cultural bias within government and prevailing institutional circumstances. The paper demonstrates the utility of cultural theory in the study of metagovernance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we apply wavelet analysis to study the dynamics of long-term movements in wholesale prices for the USA, the UK and France over the period 1791-2012. The application of wavelet analysis to long-term historical price series allows us to detect long waves in prices whose periodization is remarkably similar to those provided in the literature for the pre-World War II period. Moreover, we find evidence on the existence of long waves in prices also after World War II, a period in which long waves are generally difficult to detect because of the positive trend displayed by prices. The comparison between the long wave components extracted through wavelets and the Christiano-Fitzgerald band-pass filter suggests that wavelets provide a reliable and straightforward technique for analyzing long waves dynamics in time series exhibiting quite complex patterns such as historical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Public health and preventive medicine (PHPM) has been recognized internationally as a physician specialty, but national parallels and differences exist between training contexts. This paper reviews PHPM training and employment in Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the USA. Methods: Information gathered from relevant accreditation bodies and literature searches was used to create descriptive profiles of national training demographics and structure and a narrative outlining trends and challenges facing the specialty. Results: Notable similarities and differences exist between national contexts. Key themes were differences in training strategies and practice scope, specialty stakeholders, certification structure, and funding. Recognition challenges faced the specialty across all six countries. Other challenges included unclear competencies and training strategies and a need for PHPM specialists to highlight their role in combating population health threats. Additional differences existed between comparator countries on the structure of training, funding sources for training programs, availability of training posts, and linkages with other physician specialties. Conclusion: Highlighting these themes is a first step to fostering training collaborations between PHPM specialist physicians to augment transnational action on global public health challenges and also supports PHPM physician educators with innovative solutions from abroad that might address domestic specialty challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic across the world, people have suffered an unexpected setback to their mental health. As psychological support is being provided to patients and healthcare workers, the general population and university students go unnoticed. This review aims to present existing literature that reports the effects of COVID-19 on psychological outcomes of the general population and university students in different countries. Methods: A manual search was conducted on PubMed, Google Scholar and Mendeley from inception to 31st January 2021. Articles were selected based on the predetermined eligibility criteria. Results: During COVID-19 pandemic, relatively high rates of depression (4.5% to 72.3%), anxiety (12.7% to 85.7%) and stress (5% to 90.1%) were reported in the general population as well as in university students, depression (3% to 70.5%), anxiety (9% to 63.3%) and stress (61.5% to 25%) in India, Nepal, Pakistan, China, Spain, US, UK, France, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Risk factors associated include female gender, younger age group (≤40 years), unemployment, student status, and frequent exposure to social media/news concerning COVID-19. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic is associated with highly significant levels of psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety and stress. Alleviating the hazardous effects of COVID-19 on mental health should be given due attention internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible summary Little is known about how the prison environment may impact upon the mental health of adult prisoners., This paper highlights that prisoners perceive that the prison environment has a negative influence upon their mental health. However, a small number regarded prison as a place of respite, which afforded structure and an opportunity to access health services., There is a need for more research in this area specifically relating to the impact the prison climate may have upon those from black and minority ethic groups., Nurses must recognize the aspects of the prison environment that may impact upon the mental health of prisoners and demonstrate innovation and imagination in their application of interventions., Abstract Little is known regarding how the prison environment may affect the mental health of adult prisoners. Consequently, there is a need to investigate how this setting may exacerbate mental distress among this community. This literature review explores how the prison climate influences the mental health of adult prisoners. A thematic synthesis approach was used to elicit data relating to the aspects of the prison climate, which influence the mental health of prisoners. Four primary themes emerged from the synthesis: social, emotional, organizational and physical aspects. Prisoners perceive the prison climate to have a negative influence upon their mental health. However, perceived positively, prison was regarded as a place of respite, which afforded structure and an opportunity to access health services. There is limited research available specifically exploring the potential impact of the prison climate upon those from black and ethnic minorities groups. Nurses must recognize the aspects of the prison environment that may impact upon the mental health of prisoners and demonstrate innovation and imagination in their application of interventions. Additionally nurses need to take an active role in influencing and structuring the political agenda, which governs the clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many countries, health technology assessment (HTA) organizations determine the economic value of new drugs and make recommendations regarding appropriate pricing and coverage in national health systems. In the US, recent policy proposals aimed at reducing drug costs would link drug prices to six countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the UK. We reviewed these countries' methods of HTA and guidance on price and coverage recommendations, analyzing methods and guidance documents for differences in (1) the methodologies HTA organizations use to conduct their evaluations and (2) considerations they use when making recommendations. We found important differences in the methods, interpretations of HTA findings, and condition-specific carve-outs that HTA organizations use to conduct evaluations and make recommendations. These variations have ethical implications because they influence the recommendations of HTA organizations, which affect access to the drug through national insurance and price negotiations with manufacturers. The differences in HTA approaches result from the distinct political, social, and cultural contexts of each organization and its value judgments. New cost-containment policies in the US should consider the ethical implications of the HTA reviews that they are considering relying on to negotiate drug prices and what values should be included in US pricing policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the European attitudes towards nuclear deterrence. Topics include Europeans remain unwilling to renew their thinking on nuclear deterrence, despite growing strategic instability; the UK and France should convert the idea of a European deterrent from mere notion into credible offer, by thickening their bilateral nuclear cooperation; and Europe can no longer count on the United States has been a core element of French security.

Background: The vsMS survey was conducted to better understand the negative effects of fatigue, cognitive impairment, emotional burden, and decreased physical functioning on the personal, professional, and social lives of individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Methods: The vsMS survey was an online survey conducted in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States that assessed the impact of MS on individuals' daily activities, emotional well-being, relationships, and employment. Results: The survey included 1075 participants with relapsing-remitting MS. Almost 42% of participants reported that their ability to perform and manage daily activities had worsened during the previous 2 years. More than 50% reported limitations in daily activities due to fatigue, physical weakness, problems with balance/coordination, heat/cold sensitivity, memory problems, numbness/tingling, trouble concentrating, impaired movement/muscle stiffness, and impaired sleeping. Participants also reported a negative effect on emotional and social factors, including self-esteem, general outlook, well-being, maintaining/ starting relationships, ability to progress in their career/keep their job, and ability to cope with life roles. Conclusions: These data highlight the importance of addressing the impact of MS and the social and emotional disease burdens on daily activities when planning the care of patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nestlé Nutritional Profiling System (NNPS) has been developed to guide food and beverage reformulation. The WHO published guidelines to develop and validate nutrient profiling systems. The objective was to conduct validation tests of the NNPS following principles of the WHO guidelines. French (Individual and National Survey on food Consumption 2006–2007) and the USA (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2011–2012) nationally representative dietary surveys were used. NNPS outcomes (PASS, FAIL, out-of-scope) of foods were compared with the validated UK Ofcom nutrient profiling system outcomes. Contributions of NNPS outcomes to energy intakes were compared between diets nutritional quality classes defined by two methods: based on a food-based quality indicator (Programme National Nutrition Santé Guideline Score in France, Healthy Eating Index 2010 in the USA) or on a combination of three nutrient-based indicators (mean adequacy ratio, mean excess ratio and energy density). In both countries, food items with a NNPS FAIL outcome had a lower nutritional quality according to the UK Ofcom, with an overall agreement between the two systems of 75·7 % in France and 68·8 % in the USA. In both countries, a high (respectively, low) contribution of NNPS PASS (respectively, NNPS FAIL) was positively associated with diet healthiness. Absolute associations were stronger between the contribution of NNPS FAIL products and measures of diet healthiness. Foods and beverages reaching NNPS standards appeared to have a higher nutritional quality and would be more likely to contribute to healthier diets, mainly linked to a reduction of nutrients to limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the height of the Cold War, major democratic arms suppliers have claimed that they take into consideration the human rights records of existing and potential purchasing states. After the Cold War, supplier policies suggested an increased focus on matters of human rights. But do their records match their rhetoric and their formal policies? We examine the arms transfer patterns of the four major democratic suppliers between 1976 and 2009. We argue that, if practice matches policy, then democratic suppliers should not transfer weapons to states violating human rights. However, because the global interests of these suppliers shift over time, we expect some transfers of major weapon systems to states that violate human rights, but not of the types most implicated in human rights abuses. Thus, we build on the existing arms transfer literature by disaggregating exports based on weapons type. The ordered logits we run for each major democratic supplier from 1976 to 2009 show that the major democratic suppliers generally do not account for human rights violations in the importing state, with the one exception being the United States transfer of land weapon systems. This research is important not only to arms and human rights research, but to foreign policy scholars in general. The patterns of supply and the continued preference of states to provide major conventional weapons to states with poor human rights records reveal important policy priorities for these democratic states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

“Health psychology” is a newer sub-discipline whose research methodologies, theories, and practices were borrowed from diverse areas of psychology. It appeared later in France than in the United States or United Kingdom. In 1966, I adopted a perspective between anthropology and psycho-sociology of medicine. I never have self-identified as a “Health Psychologist”, continuing to work outside of disciplinary boundary constraints, but studied health questions moving first from psychology (and anthropology), through social psychology to sociology. By the 1980s, I adopted an even broader multi-disciplinary approach to health, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic urgently challenged health researchers/practitioners, in France and worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we explore systematically the different conceptions of health equity in key national health policy documents in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. We find substantial differences across the three countries in the characterization of group differences (by SES, race/ethnicity, or territory), and the theorized causes of health inequalities (socioeconomic structures versus health care system features). In all three countries, reports throughout the period alluded at least minimally to inequalities in social determinants as the underlying cause of health inequalities. However, even in the reports with the strongest attachment to this causal model, the authors stop well short of advocating the redistribution of power and resources that would likely be necessary to redress these inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal depression can be accounted for one of the most common complications during pregnancy and the postpartum period affecting women all over the world. So far, no detailed map of the worldwide maternal depression research architecture has been constructed, which encompasses aspects of research activity, quality, and also socioeconomic features. Using the NewQIS platform, density-equalizing mapping projections, scientometric techniques, and economic benchmarking procedures were applied to evaluate global maternal depression research for the period between 1900 and 2012. In total, 7330 related publications and 3335 international collaborations were identified. The USA was the most active country concerning collaborations and total research activity. In the socioeconomic analysis of research activity in high-income countries, Australia was ranked first with an average of 412.05 maternal depression-related publications per 1000 billion US$ GDP (Q), followed by the UK (Q = 373.51) and Canada (Q = 306.32). The group of upper-middle-income countries was led by South Africa (Q = 145.67), followed by Turkey (Q = 91.8). China authored 11.95 maternal depression-related publications per 1000 billion US$ GDP. The USA had the highest activity of maternal depression research per GDP in billion US$ per capita (Q = 60.86). When research activity was related to population size (Q = publications per Mio. inhabitants), Australia (Q = 26.44) was leading the field, followed by Norway (Q = 18.48). Gender analysis revealed a relatively high degree of female scientists involved in this field of research with pronounced differences between single subject areas. In summary, we here present the first picture of the global scientific development in maternal depression research over a period of more than 100 years. The research landscape is clearly dominated by North American and Western European countries, with only minor contribution of Asian or South American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: It is well established in the literature that healthier diets cost more than unhealthy diets. Objective: The aim of this review was to examine the contribution of food prices and diet cost to socioeconomic inequalities in diet quality. Data Sources: A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases was performed. Study Selection: Publications linking food prices, dietary quality, and socioeconomic status were selected. Data Extraction: Where possible, review conclusions were illustrated using a French national database of commonly consumed foods and their mean retail prices. Data Synthesis: Foods of lower nutritional value and lower-quality diets generally cost less per calorie and tended to be selected by groups of lower socioeconomic status. A number of nutrient-dense foods were available at low cost but were not always palatable or culturally acceptable to the low-income consumer. Acceptable healthier diets were uniformly associated with higher costs. Food budgets in poverty were insufficient to ensure optimum diets. Conclusions: Socioeconomic disparities in diet quality may be explained by the higher cost of healthy diets. Identifying food patterns that are nutrient rich, affordable, and appealing should be a priority to fight social inequalities in nutrition and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Seven Countries Study in the 1960s showed very low mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) in Japan, which was attributed to very low levels of total cholesterol. Studies of migrant Japanese to the USA in the 1970s documented increase in CHD rates, thus CHD mortality in Japan was expected to increase as their lifestyle became Westernized, yet CHD mortality has continued to decline since 1970. This study describes trends in CHD mortality and its risk factors since 1980 in Japan, contrasting those in other selected developed countries.Methods: We selected Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the USA. CHD mortality between 1980 and 2007 was obtained from WHO Statistical Information System. National data on traditional risk factors during the same period were obtained from literature and national surveys.Results: Age-adjusted CHD mortality continuously declined between 1980 and 2007 in all these countries. The decline was accompanied by a constant fall in total cholesterol except Japan where total cholesterol continuously rose. In the birth cohort of individuals currently aged 50-69 years, levels of total cholesterol have been higher in Japan than in the USA, yet CHD mortality in Japan remained the lowest: >67% lower in men and > 75% lower in women compared with the USA. The direction and magnitude of changes in other risk factors were generally similar between Japan and the other countries.Conclusions: Decline in CHD mortality despite a continuous rise in total cholesterol is unique. The observation may suggest some protective factors unique to Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Estimations of life expectancies (LE) in health and ill health are important for planning future health care support. This study aimed at quantifying whether an increased LE is accompanied by an increase in the duration of life with dementia (DemLE) in Hong Kong SAR. Methods: Two parameters from a logistic model were used to fit the overall trend of the weighted prevalence of dementia. Abridged age- and sex-specific life tables and Sullivan's method were used to calculate dementia-free LE (DemFLE) for 1998 and 2013. Results: In 2013, among elderly individuals in Hong Kong aged 65 years, men had lived with dementia for 1.8 years and women for 3.6 years. These values are similar to those for subjects aged ≥85 years, while the proportion of DemLE was much greater at advanced ages. Elderly female individuals tend to experience a greater number of years with dementia than males. Conclusion: Our results indicate although LE has increased for all older age groups over time, the increase in DemFLE has not been greater than the gain in LE, suggesting an absolute expansion of the burden of dementia to the community between 1998 and 2013. The results suggest that more caregiving resources and manpower will be needed in the future as the population ages. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite significant investments to support primary care internationally, income-based inequities in access to quality health care are present in many high-income countries. This study aims to determine whether low- and middle-income groups are more likely to report poor quality of primary care (PC) than high-income groups cross-nationally. Methods: The 2011 Commonwealth Fund Telephone Survey of Sicker Adults is a cross-sectional study across eleven countries. Respondents were recruited from randomly selected households. We used data from surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We identified all questions relating to primary care performance, and categorized these into five dimensions: 1) access to care, 2) coordination 3) patient-centered care, and 4) technical quality of care. We used logistic regression with low and middle-income as the comparison groups and high-income as the referent. Results: Fourteen thousand two hundred sixty-two respondents provided income data. Countries varied considerably in their extent of income disparity. Overall, 24.7% were categorized as low- and 13.9% as high-income. The odds of reporting poor access to care were higher for low- and middle-income than high-income respondents in Canada, New Zealand and the US. Similar results were found for Sweden and Norway on coordination; the opposite trend favoring the low- and middle-income groups was found in New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States. The odds of reporting poor patient-centered care were higher for low-income than high-income respondents in the Netherlands, Norway, and the US; in Australia, this was true for low- and middle-income respondents. On technical quality of care, the odds of reporting poor care were higher for the low- and middle-income comparisons in Canada and Norway; in Germany, the odds were higher for low-income respondents only. The odds of reporting poor technical quality of care were higher for high-income than low-income respondents in the Netherlands. Conclusion: Inequities in quality PC for low and middle income groups exist on at least one dimension in all countries, including some that in theory provide universal access. More research is needed to fully understand equity in the PC sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]