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Social sustainability has increasingly become a goal for urban policy and planning, and for local and regional developmental strategies. Neighbourhoods are a common spatial scale for studying social sustainability and there is a growing focus on social sustainability in urban neighbourhoods for both researchers and policymakers. This paper is based on a qualitative case study of a neighbourhood defined by the municipality as at-risk of negative social development in a municipality in northern Sweden. The aim is to describe the perceived threats and promoters for social sustainable development in a neighbourhood defined as at-risk, and to analyse these in relation to a perspective of spatial scale. The study is based on data from interviews with municipal representatives, local professionals and residents, representing different experiences and perspectives in the neighbourhood. Four themes illustrating threats to socially sustainable development were identified: crime, unrest and unsafety; segregation and social exclusion; reputation and stigmatisation; and low involvement in municipal processes. The promoters for socially sustainable development identified in the respondents’ stories reflect four themes: strong community spirit; safety and low criminality; lively civic society and well-functioning public services. Our results show that neighbourhood social sustainability cannot be studied or acted upon without being put in a context of spatial scale and an understanding that processes occurring at a particular scale only can be adequately understood when considered in relation to other scales, i.e. the development in the neighbourhood can only be understood in relation to the development in the city and at national level. There is also a need for an awareness of how different aspects of socially sustainable development relate to each other, by strengthening or counteracting each other.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension remains a problem of public health across various socioeconomic groups, despite its high prevalence. However, few studies account for geographical variation in examining socioeconomic inequalities and hypertension in Indonesia. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the burden of hypertension in Indonesia based on prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among adults; and assess whether or not the burdens vary according to geographical variation and socioeconomic status. METHODS: In Wave 5 of the Indonesian Family Life Survey in 2015, 32,034 individuals aged 15 and over participated in the study. Concentration Curves (CC) and Concentration Indexes (CI) were used to analyse socioeconomic inequality. We used multilevel logistic regression to assess biological, geographical variation, and socioeconomic factors associated with the burden of hypertension, adjusting for potential covariates. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension in Indonesia was 26.1%, and only 26.9% of those with hypertension were aware of their condition. Approximately 22.5% of hypertensive patients received treatment, but only 28.2% had controlled blood pressure and reached the therapeutic goal. Low socioeconomic groups were more prone to hypertension (CI = -0.047 in urban and CI = -0.075 in rural). In contrast, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were more concentrated in higher socioeconomic groups. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of hypertension, low awareness of the condition, poor compliance with treatment, and poor control of the condition, as well as the existing socioeconomic inequality, make this a significant determinant of public health issue in Indonesia. There is a need for effective programs for the prevention of hypertension and better management of hypertensive patients.

Fredrik Nyberg,1 Stefan Franzén,1,2 Magnus Lindh,3,4 Lowie Vanfleteren,5,6 Niklas Hammar,7 Björn Wettermark,8 Johan Sundström,9,10 Ailiana Santosa,1 Staffan Björck,11 Magnus Gisslén3,12 1School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 2National Diabetes Register, Centre of Registers Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden; 3Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 4Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; 5COPD Center, Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; 6Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 7Unit of Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden; 8Pharmacoepidemiology & Social Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; 9Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; 10The George Institute for Global Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; 11Centre of Registers Västra Götaland, Gothenburg, Sweden; 12Region Västra Götaland, Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, SwedenCorrespondence: Fredrik NybergSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, Gothenburg, 405 30, SwedenTel +46 31 7866289; +46 76 6186289Email Fredrik.Nyberg.2@gu.seBackground: In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we designed and initiated a nationwide linked multi-register, regularly updated, observational study for timely response to urgent scientific questions.Aim: To describe the SCIFI-PEARL (Swedish Covid-19 Investigation for Future Insights – a Population Epidemiology Approach using Register Linkage) linked database encompassing essentially all known diagnosed Swedish Covid-19 patients plus a large general population comparison cohort and outline its utility in the current and future phases of the pandemic.Methods: Individuals with Covid-19 from the entire country are identified on a regularly updated basis, from different sources: all individuals from SmiNet, the national database of notifiable diseases, with positive SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results; patients identified in the healthcare system by condition (ICD-10) or procedure codes in the National Patient Register or Cause-of-Death Register; patients identified through several disease-specific national quality registers (NQRs); and in two regions additionally patients identified in primary care. A comparison population was obtained by stratified random sampling from Swedish national population registers. Data from all these registers plus the National Prescribed Drug Register, the Cancer Register, national sociodemographic registers, some additional NQRs, the National Vaccination Register, and further data sources, are then linked to all study subjects (Covid-19 cases and population cohort). New cases in the study population and all data for all subjects are updated every few months, as required.Conclusion and Utility: The SCIFI-PEARL study cohort captures Swedish residents with Covid-19 on an ongoing basis, includes a representative general population comparison cohort, and links to a broad range of national and regional healthcare data for a comprehensive longitudinal view of the Covid-19 pandemic. By combining high-quality national registers with short time delay and continuous repeated linkage and updating, the project brings timely and internationally relevant data for epidemiological research on SARS-CoV-2. Our efforts provide an example and important learnings for similar efforts internationally in the future.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, population cohort, data updates, observational research, longitudinal