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The proportion of the population vaccinated in Israel against COVID-19 in 2021 was significantly higher than that of the annual uptake rates of the influenza vaccine over time. Understanding the reasons behind the high vaccination rate may facilitate maintaining these rates if annual COVID-19 vaccination is required. Using a mixed-methods design, we characterized the individuals who were vaccinated and studied their attitudes toward vaccines and motivators for the COVID-19 vaccine. The first part was a cross-sectional study of adults aged 65 and over who were vaccinated against COVID-19. We stratified them according to their annual influenza vaccination patterns, and compared variables such as age, gender, health status, and timing of COVID-19 vaccination. The second part consisted of a questionnaire administered to a subsample of the above population, inquiring about vaccine hesitancy, motivators for vaccination, and intention to be vaccinated in the future. We found that motivating factors for COVID-19 vaccination are similar between those who regularly vaccinate against influenza and those who don’t. Internal motivators such as perceived vaccine effectiveness and the desire to protect others were stronger than external rewards or sanctions. High adherence to annual influenza vaccine recommendations was associated with earlier COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Respondents with lower adherence to influenza vaccines were more likely to demonstrate higher levels of vaccine hesitancy. These factors should be addressed in future vaccination campaigns.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of the Play Nicely brief intervention in diminishing both the utilization of physical punishment and the beliefs that endorse such behavior among a sample of Colombian parents with children aged 2 to 6. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the research included pretest and posttest evaluations and involved both an intervention group (n = 37) and a control group (n = 29). The assessment tools used were a scale to measure beliefs about the positive impacts of physical punishment and the Physical Assault subscale of the Spanish version of the Conflict Tactics Scale Parent–Child (CTSPC). Parents participated in a single online session, which offered eight interactive options and lasted 10 min. The results highlighted a high prevalence of physical punishment within the sample (81.8%) and established statistically significant correlations between the justification of physical punishment and its actual use. Approximately one month following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the employment of physical punishment among the intervention group (p = 0.009), and a notable decrease in the belief that “Punishment is the best alternative to control children’s behavior” (p = 0.010) was observed. Consequently, the Play Nicely intervention proved effective in curtailing the use of physical punishment among parents of young children, demonstrating both efficacy and cost-effectiveness within a brief timeframe.

Riordan, S. (2019). Cyberdiplomacy: managing security and governance online. MA. Polity Press. Berridge, G. (2015). Diplomacy: Theory and practice 5th edition. Palgrave Macmillan. Pigman, G. (2010). Contemporary diplomacy. Polity Press. Freeman, C. (1997). Arts of power: statecraft and diplomacy. United States Institute of Peace.

Reusing reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAPs) provides economic, social, and environmental benefits. To improve the performance of these materials, rejuvenating agents such as waste cooking oil (WCO) have been implemented. The annual amounts of RAP and WCO available in the Área Metropolitana de Bucaramanga (AMB) were calculated to be 32 thousand and 22 thousand tons per year, respectively. Subsequently, international standards were reviewed and compared with Colombian regulations to establish a methodology to determine the appropriate percentage of WCO to add to RAP for hot asphalt mix preparation. The authors suggest investigating WCO levels from 3% to 6% and selecting the percentage that reestablishes the penetration grade (INV-E-706-13), softening point (INV-E-712-13), and viscosity (INV-E-717 -13) of asphalt binder. For hot asphalt mix preparation, the authors propose using the Marshall method and determining the appropriate percentage of asphalt according to stability and flow tests (INV-E-748-13), percent air voids (INV-E-736-13), and bulk density (INV-E-733-13).3).

Varias organizaciones en Bogotá sufren de la inequidad laboral especialmente hacia la mujer, durante el desarrollo de este documento se empleó una encuesta a varias personas que trabajan en empresas “a b y c”, con el objetivo de determinar si al haber un tipo de acoso laboral dentro de la organización esta hace que la comunicación se vuelva nula entre sus integrantes. en el estudio que se realizó se evidencio que las mujeres son más propensas a sufrir el acoso laboral debido a que se considera que son el género más débil haciendo que en muchos casos las empresas no tomen las decisiones adecuadas y por lo que se puede decir que al presentarse este tipo de problemas entre empleados y empleadores este puede perjudicar en el rendimiento de toda la organización.

Introducción: Existe un problema en la ciudad de Barranquilla que involucra el tratamiento de los residuos sólidos que son producto de la generación de llantas usadas, junto con su disposición y los efectos ambientales. Hasta diciembre de 2018, fecha en que se desarrolló este proyecto, no hay ningún sistema oficial que se encargue de la regulación de la generación y adecuada disposición de las llantas usadas. Aunque hay leyes que cubren esta problemática y existen estudios preliminares que plantean sistemas para la adecuada colección y disposición de llantas usadas [1], la mayoría de estos no son apropiadamente reforzados o implementados a la fecha, y gran parte de las regulaciones solamente se refieren a los efectos generales de la disposición inadecuada de desechos en el ambiente. Objetivo: Analizar el estado actual de la generación, la disposición y los efectos medioambientales que causan las llantas usadas en la cuidad, enfocándose en las localidades de Riomar y Norte Centro Histórico de la cuidad, ya que allí fueron recolectados los datos debido a la mayor concentración de establecimientos. Este artículo explora las diferentes alternativas y procesos que se usan para el manejo y disposición de las llantas usadas, permitiendo el uso de los materiales y compuestos de su estructura para el aprovechamiento eficiente de este recurso, mientras se disminuyen los efectos nocivos para el medio ambiente. Metodología: El análisis identificará los factores actuales que influencian la generación de llantas usadas, y lo ampliará con un pronóstico de la generación de llantas usadas en los siguientes 5 años, cubriendo el periodo de tiempo desde el 2019 al 2023. Siguiente a la predicción, se destacarán los métodos existentes para el manejo de llantas usadas, junto con los efectos medioambientales que son causados por la disposición inadecuada de este tipo de desecho. Resultados: Se evidencia una relación positiva creciente en los datos históricos respecto a la relación de vehículos registrados y el año. De la misma forma, la encuesta muestra que la mayor concentración de la muestra desecha las llantas usadas en basureros. Conclusión: De acuerdo con los resultados del pronóstico y las encuestas, se resalta la importancia de controlar la disposición de llantas usadas, por ello se establece que la mejor práctica para reducir o eliminar las llantas usadas es el coprocesamiento para hornos cementeros y trituración mecánica por su factor cero emisiones.

Objective: To explore the views of women, partners, families, health workers and community leaders of potential investigations to determine the cause(s) of stillbirth, in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia., Design: Grounded theory., Setting: Tertiary facilities and community settings in Blantyre, Malawi, Mwanza, Tanzania and Mansa, Zambia., Sample: Purposive and theoretical sampling was used to recruit 124 participants: 33 women, 18 partners, 19 family members, 29 health workers and 25 community leaders, across three countries., Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a topic guide for focus. Analysis was completed using constant comparative analysis. Sampling ceased at data saturation., Results: Women wanted to know the cause of stillbirth, but this was tempered by their fear of the implications of this knowledge; in particular, the potential for them to be blamed for the death of their baby. There were also concerns about the potential consequences of denying tradition and culture. Non-invasive investigations were most likely to be accepted on the basis of causing less 'harm' to the baby. Parents' decision-making was influenced by type of investigation, family and cultural influences and financial cost., Conclusions: Parents want to understand the cause of death, but face emotional, cultural and economic barriers to this. Offering investigations will require these barriers to be addressed, services to be available and a no-blame culture developed to improve outcomes. Community awareness, education and support for parents in making decisions are vital prior to implementing investigations in these settings., (© 2022 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The stillbirth rate in Tanzania remains high. Greater engagement with antenatal care may help to reduce stillbirths. We investigated which characteristics of antenatal care clinics are preferred by pregnant women in Tanzania., Methods: We conducted an unlabelled discrete choice experiment (DCE) with think-aloud interviews. Participants were pregnant women, regardless of parity/gestation, from the Mwanza and Manyara regions of Tanzania. We asked participants to choose which of two hypothetical antenatal clinics they would rather attend. Clinics were described in terms of transport mode, cleanliness, comfort, visit content, and staff attitude. Each participant made 12 choices during the experiment, and a purposively selected sub-set simultaneously verbalised the rationale for their choices. We analysed DCE responses using a multinomial logit model adjusted for study region, and think-aloud data using the Framework approach., Results: We recruited 251 participants split evenly between the 2 geographical regions. Staff attitude was the most important attribute in clinic choice and dominated the think-aloud narratives. Other significant attributes were mode of transport (walking was preferred) and content of clinic visit (preference was stronger with each additional element of care provided). Cleanliness of the clinic was not a significant attribute overall and the think-aloud exercise identified a willingness to trade-off cleanliness and comfort for respectful care., Conclusion: Women would prefer to attend a clinic with kind staff which they can access easily. This study suggests that exploration of barriers to providing respectful care, and enabling staff to deliver it, are important areas for future investment. The DCE shows us what average preferences are; antenatal care that is aligned with identified preferences should increase uptake and engagement versus care which does not acknowledge them., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Strengthening the capacity of midwives and nurses in low- and middle-income countries to lead research is an urgent priority in embedding and sustaining evidence-based practice and better outcomes for women and newborns during childbearing. International and local travel restrictions, and physical distancing resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have compromised the delivery of many existing programmes and challenged international partnerships working in maternal and newborn health to adapt rapidly. In this paper, we share the experiences of a midwife-led research partnership between Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, the UK, Zambia and Zimbabwe in sustaining and enhancing capacity strengthening activities remotely in this period. Whilst considerable challenges arose, and not all were overcome, collectively, we gained new insights and important learning which have shifted perspectives and will impact future design and delivery of learning programmes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Timely intrapartum referral between facilities is pivotal in reducing maternal/neonatal mortality and morbidity but is distressing to women, resource-intensive and likely to cause delays in care provision. We explored the complexities around referrals to gain understanding of the characteristics, experiences and outcomes of those being transferred., Methods: We used a mixed-method parallel convergent design, in Tanzania and Zambia. Quantitative data were collected from a consecutive, retrospective case-note review (target, n = 2000); intrapartum transfers and stillbirths were the outcomes of interest. A grounded theory approach was adopted for the qualitative element; data were collected from semi-structured interviews (n = 85) with women, partners and health providers. Observations (n = 33) of transfer were also conducted. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively, followed by binary logistic regression models, with multiple imputation for missing data. Qualitative data were analysed using Strauss's constant comparative approach., Results: Intrapartum transfer rates were 11% (111/998; 2 unknown) in Tanzania and 37% (373/996; 1 unknown) in Zambia. Main reasons for transfer were prolonged/obstructed labour and pre-eclampsia/eclampsia. Women most likely to be transferred were from Zambia (as opposed to Tanzania), HIV positive, attended antenatal clinic < 4 times and living > 30 min away from the referral hospital. Differences were observed between countries. Of those transferred, delays in care were common and an increase in poor outcomes was observed. Qualitative findings identified three categories: social threats to successful transfer, barriers to timely intrapartum care and reparative interventions which were linked to a core category: journey of vulnerability., Conclusion: Although intrapartum transfers are inevitable, modifiable factors exist with the potential to improve the experience and outcomes for women. Effective transfers rely on adequate resources, effective transport infrastructures, social support and appropriate decision-making. However, women's (and families) vulnerability can be reduced by empathic communication, timely assessment and a positive birth outcome; this can improve women's resilience and influence positive decision-making, for the index and future pregnancy.