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Experiences of time and risk during the COVID-19 pandemic were volatile; exacerbated by lockdowns resulting in working from home, social distancing and home schooling. This article explores embodied temporalities of risk before and during the pandemic in relation to alcohol consumption and breast cancer for a small, non-probability sample of Australian women pre-midlife (aged 25–44). Layered inferential analyses of our data, collected at four timepoints pre- and during- the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled an illumination of the horizons of risk in women's lives (broadly construed) and the ways these were recalibrated during the pandemic to manage its gendered stressors. Findings from this longitudinal study suggest that future risks of breast cancer were often discounted or faded from view, as new risks with more immediate consequences emerged: including viral transmission and surviving the (gendered) emotional/relational labours of lockdown. The immediacy of alcohol's effects, both positive and negative, stayed in view however for women and served as a source of reflection around 'health' and 'wellbeing', with psychosocial wellbeing elevated over physical health. Examining the multiple time-framings of risk which co-existed on the horizons for women in pre-midlife helped us to elucidate challenges to decreasing future breast cancer burden at population levels via alcohol reduction alone. These insights advance scholarship on how gendered temporalities of risk are reflexively embodied in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted and exacerbated inequities in health for structurally marginalised Canadians. Their location on society's hierarchies constrained their ability to access healthcare and follow recommended health behaviours. The aim of this article is to identify, from the perspective of marginalised populations, factors influencing the acceptance or rejection of COVID-19 countermeasures by structurally marginalised Canadians. Interviews were conducted with Canadians 18 + who identified as Black (n = 8), First Nations, Métis, or Inuit (n = 7) and low-income (<40,000 annual household income) (n = 8) between August and December 2021. Measures were said to impact well-being and interfere with revenue generating activities. Longstanding unfavourable living and environmental conditions as they relate to structural marginalisation was said to fuel anger toward the government and lead to a greater reluctance to accept countermeasures. Participants described concerns about government decisions being made without considering their unique contexts, or knowledge of the experiences of the population for whom these decisions were being made. Effective proactive action from government is important to foster trust with marginalised populations to support acceptance of health information and address growing inequities. Action that demonstrates government competence and commitment to the interests of marginalised populations is critical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although recent research has highlighted the importance of understanding the structural social processes through which stigma is produced and maintained, educational approaches to stigma-reduction have not yet engaged with this concept. Recognising that critical pedagogies have been used in other contexts to help learners better understand and challenge structural social processes of marginalisation, we conducted a review of educational interventions that were informed by critical pedagogies and delivered within settings of health and social care. A systematic search was performed on academic and grey literature databases between January 1970 and 17 May 2017 to identify all literature reporting on the learning outcomes of educational interventions informed by frameworks of critical consciousness development. Articles were selected following a two-stage screening process and an assessment of methodological quality. Of the 9,674 articles identified from the systematic search, 33 were found to satisfy the inclusion criteria and were of sufficient quality to be considered within this review. Two major findings emerged from the analysis of interventional studies. Firstly, it was found that learners consistently articulated a sociostructural understanding of oppressive social relations and their position within it, based upon an understanding of their own group identity. Secondly, and despite the sociostructural content of reflection, individual actions tended to focus on the modification of interpersonal interactions. Although educational interventions informed by a critical pedagogy appear to support a structural analysis of social marginalisation or disadvantage, there is limited evidence to suggest how these structural processes might be challenged following this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey data from men who have sex with men (MSM) in Asian cities indicate drastic increases in HIV prevalence. It is unknown which factors are most important in driving these epidemics. The objective of this study was to identify patterns of condom use among MSM Internet users living in Viet Nam, as well as risk factors associated with inconsistent condom use and non-condom use. A national Internet-based survey of sexual behaviours was administered in 2011. Results showed that 44.9% of MSM reported not using a condom during their last anal sex encounter with a male partner. MSM were less likely to report condom use during anal sex with long-term partners than with casual partners. Twenty-three and a half per cent of MSM surveyed had ever taken an HIV test and received the results. Study findings highlight the urgent need for targeted strategies focused on increasing the rate of consistent condom use during anal sex with male partners among MSM in Viet Nam. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this article we examine how and why the media construct food risks, from the perspective of ‘media actors’ (people involved in different types of media) using data from 30 interviews conducted in 2013 with media actors from Australia and the United Kingdom. In modern society, many risks are invisible and are brought to the attention of the public through representations in the mass media. This is particularly relevant for food safety, where the widening gap between producers and consumers in the developed world has increased the need for consumer trust in the food supply. We show the importance of newsworthiness in construction of media stories about food risk using Beck’s ideas on cosmopolitan risk to interpret the data. We note the ways in which the strategies that media actors use to construct stories about food risk amplify the risk posed potentially creating consumer anxiety about the safety of the food system. It is important for food regulators and public health professionals to be aware of this anxiety when presenting information about a food incident so that they can target their message accordingly to decrease anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]