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Research in sub-Saharan Africa has indicated that polygamous arrangements can detrimentally affect married women's access to various healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive healthcare services. However, despite the pivotal role of breast cancer examination in a comprehensive campaign dedicated to early detection, very little attention has been devoted in the literature to the potential impact of family structure on access to breast cancer screening among married women in Tanzania. Using the 2022 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey, we addressed this void in the literature. We found that only 6% of married women have undergone breast cancer screening at the national level. Moreover, findings from multivariate logit regression analysis indicate that married women from monogamous marriages were more likely to have undergone breast cancer screening compared to their polygamous counterparts, even after accounting for demographic, socioeconomic, and healthcare characteristics (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.24, 2.64). Based on these findings, we discussed potential implications for policymakers as well as directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Canada is undergoing a demographic shift, with projections indicating that over 25% of the country's population will be 65 years or older by 2063. While this has raised critical concerns about Canada's preparedness to meet the social and healthcare needs of an aging population, the increasing incidence of food insecurity is particularly affecting vulnerable groups, such as older Canadians, with implications for their healthcare service utilization. Despite this observation, there are nascent studies examining the role of household food insecurity status on unmet health-care needs among older people in Canada. The main objective of our study is to assess the association between household food insecurity and unmet health-care needs among older Canadians. Methods We used data from a selected sample of 21,178 participants as part of the 2017--18 Canadian Community Health Survey and applied logistic regression analysis. Results Our findings indicate that older people experiencing any type of food insecurity, that is, either moderate (OR=3.07, p<.01) or severe (OR=4.09, p<.01) were more likely to have reported unmet health-care needs compared to their counterparts in food secure households, even after controlling for a range of demographic, socioeconomic, and health and health-care variables. Our finding is concerning, considering that older people in Canada who are in most need of health-care services due to their food insecurity status are instead reporting unmet health-care needs. Conclusion This revelation calls for urgent policy attention to reduce the episodes of household food insecurity among older people in Canada. Specifically, to improve their access to health-care services, providing them with periodic grocery rebates as part of the social protection package for seniors in Canada would help mitigate the problem of food insecurity among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Older adults in Ghana have been disproportionately affected by oral health issues such as caries and periodontitis. This situation calls for comprehensive attention within health and healthcare policies, due to the established connections between oral health and other aspects of health and well‐being in high‐income countries, including physical and mental health. However, there is a significant gap in the literature when it comes to exploring the association of oral health with physical and mental health in resource‐constrained settings like Ghana. Methods: To address this void, we collected a cross‐sectional sample comprising older adults aged 60 and above (n = 1073) and analyzed self‐rated health measures to investigate the relationship between oral health and general and mental health in Ghana. Results: The results of our logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association: older adults who reported poor oral health were more likely to rate their general (OR = 5.10; p <.001) and mental health (OR = 4.78, p <.001) as poor, compared to those with good oral health, even after accounting for demographic and socioeconomic variables. Conclusions: Based on these findings, we discuss the policy implications of our findings, especially in the context of advancing Sustainable Development Goal 3 in Ghana and other resource‐constrained settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an extensive body of literature that explores potential mechanisms explaining the factors associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by women, very few studies have studied the association of food security status with women's experience of IPV in sub-Saharan Africa countries, including Cameroon. Using data from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey (n = 4,690), we explore the association between food security status and three distinct forms of IPV (i.e., emotional, sexual, and physical IPV) among ever-married women in Cameroon. Adjusting for socioeconomic, demographic, and attitudinal and behavioral characteristics, we found that women with severe (odds ratio [ OR ] = 2.09, p <.01), moderate (OR = 1.88, p <.05), and mild (OR = 1.76, p <.05) food insecurity were more likely to experience sexual IPV, compared to those without any food insecurity, whereas women with severe food insecurity were more likely to experience physical IPV (OR = 1.89, p <.001). Although women with severe (OR = 1.51, p <.01) and moderate (OR = 1.67, p <.001) food insecurity had a higher likelihood of experiencing emotional IPV at a bivariate level, we found that these associations became no longer significant in our adjusted model. These findings suggest that food insecurity is a critical risk factor for IPV among ever-married women in Cameroon. Addressing IPV requires a comprehensive strategy that places special emphasis on households experiencing food insecurity. There is also an urgent need to implement educational programs to increase awareness of the interconnection between food insecurity and IPV and to allocate resources to community-based initiatives that empower women both economically and socially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media representation on the mental health of Australians of African descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing the media coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches, particularly focusing on individuals from African backgrounds, the study aims to shed light on how racially charged narratives can contribute to emotional distress and exacerbate feelings of alienation within these communities. The findings highlight the detrimental effects of such portrayals, emphasising the need for more responsible and inclusive media reporting to safeguard the mental well-being of culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed media content analysis to explore representations of Australians of African origin versus the broader Anglo–Australian population during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on racial identity's impact on news coverage of COVID-19 restriction breaches. Researchers classified and distilled extensive textual content, using a diverse sample from various ethnic-racial backgrounds, with an emphasis on African Australians within the CALD community. Data analysis was conducted using NVivo (version 12) software, following an inductive approach. Findings: The findings underscore the consistent portrayal of people from African communities as outsiders and the racial profiling they experience in media coverage of significant issues like COVID-19. Originality/value: There is very limited research that examines the impact of media coverage on African migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV) remain a major barrier to effective HIV prevention. Despite the understanding that the creation of a socially inclusive environment for PLHIV is crucial for the promotion of testing, status disclosure, and treatment uptake, HIV stigma persists. Additionally, evidence suggests the endorsement of HIV stigma may be gender specific. Nonetheless, very little is known about the factors influencing men's discrimination against PLHIV in the Ghanaian context. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, our study fills this void by exploring the factors associated with the endorsement of HIV stigma in Ghana. Methods: Utilizing a nationally representative data from the 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) (N = 7044 men with ages ranging from 15–49 years), and applying logistic regression models, this study examined the factors associated with the endorsement of HIV-related stigma in Ghana. Results: The notion that HIV can be transmitted through the sharing of food with PLHIV was significantly associated with increased odds of stigma endorsement against children with HIV (OR = 3.381; P<0.001) and vendors with HIV (OR = 3.00; P<0.001). On the contrary, knowing that a healthy-looking person can have HIV was significantly associated with decreased odds of endorsement of stigma against children living with HIV (OR = 0.505; P<0.001), and vendors living with HIV (OR = 0.573; P<0.001). Likewise, having knowledge of drugs that help PLHIV to live longer, was significantly associated with decreased odds of stigma endorsement against children living with HIV (OR = 0.768; P<0.001), and vendors living with HIV (OR = 0.719; P<0.001). Moreover, participants with higher educational attainment reported lower odds of stigma endorsement against children living with HIV (OR = 0.255; P<0.01), and vendors living with HIV (OR = 0.327; P<0.01). Furthermore, age was significant and inversely associated with the endorsement of HIV stigma against children living with HIV (OR = 0.951; P<0.05), and vendors living with HIV (OR = 0.961; P<0.05). Also, wealth, ethnicity, and the region of residence significantly predicted endorsement of HIV stigma. Conclusion: For Ghana to achieve UNAIDS target 95-95-95 by 2030, targeted educational campaigns are necessary to dispel misconceptions about HIV and to promote social inclusion for reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Canada’s Health Act enshrines citizens’ access to healthcare regardless of their socioeconomic status, there are concerns that increasing food insecurity in the country could be undermining Canadians’ access to healthcare services. Therefore, our study sought to examine the association between food insecurity status and unmet healthcare needs by using the 2017–18 Canadian Community Health Survey and applying logistic regression analysis. Our findings revealed that Canadians with moderate food insecurity (OR = 1.95, p < 0.001) and severe food insecurity (OR = 2.34, p < 0.001) status were more likely to report unmet healthcare needs compared to their counterparts with food security. Based on our findings, we call for the urgency in addressing the increasing episodes of food insecurity in Canada to increase healthcare utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address high HIV prevalence rates in Haiti, disseminating information about HIV transmission has been emphasized. Yet, after several decades, we do not know how effective HIV information dissemination has been in reducing HIV misconceptions. Using the 2005-06, 2012, and 2016-17 Haiti Demographic and Health Surveys and applying logistic regression, we found nuanced gender dynamics in endorsing HIV misconceptions over time. Among females at the bivariate level, the odds of endorsement of HIV misconceptions in 2012 (OR = 0.87, p < 0.05) and 2016-17 (OR = 0.68, p < 0.001) had declined compared to 2005-06. At the multivariate level, however, we observed that demographic factors suppressed the difference between 2005-06 and 2012, although those in 2016-17 (OR = 0.71, p < 0.001) were still less likely to endorse HIV misconceptions. However, this relationship disappeared once we added behavioral factors (OR = 0.93, p > 0.05). Among males, after controlling for demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors at the multivariate level, those in 2012 (OR = 1.55, p < 0.001) and 2016-17 (OR = 1.24, p < 0.01) were more likely to endorse HIV misconceptions compared to men in 2005-06. We recommend that while improving women's access to HIV services, it is important to incorporate the HIV needs of males into the National HIV policy priority areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HIV-related stigma and discrimination are counterproductive to addressing the HIV epidemic in Malawi. Yet, there are dearth of studies interrogating the predictors of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in Malawi. Using the 2015-2016 Malawi DHS and applying complementary log-log model, we found that 19% of women and 15% of men endorsed HIV-related stigma and discrimination. In addition, HIV-related stigma and discrimination was associated with a set of psychosocial, demographic, and socioeconomic factors. For example, having never been tested for HIV was associated with stigma and discrimination among women (OR=1.51, p<0.001) and men (OR=1.45, p<0.001). We discuss policy implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]