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Background: Since 2013, City of Denpasar government has adopted a smoke-free law. Implementation of the law faces several obstacles, partly due to the high social acceptability of smoking in the city, where cigarette and smoking has been deeply engrained within social life and become part of hospitality. This study aims to assess the smoke-free law compliance and to explore the social norms that may affect the compliance. Design and Methods: The study was a mix of cross-sectional compliance survey and qualitative exploration conducted in Denpasar in 2019. Survey included 538 samples, which were selected using stratified random sampling and a walking protocol. The qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in four sub-districts of Denpasar. Results: Of the 538 venues, 32.9% complied with the seven compliance indicators. The university has the highest compliance (83.3%), while public places including worship places have a low compliance. The three most common violations were the absence of no-smoking signage (58.6%), provision of ashtray (17.5%), and smell of tobacco smoke (15.8%). The poor compliance was related to the lack of awareness of the regulation, and the fact that smoking is highly acceptable and part of the culture. The informants highlighted the essential role of public figures and potency of local policy as social disapproval of smoking. Conclusions: Compliance to the smoke-free law in Denpasar remains low, continuous education, socialization and improved supervision are crucial. Meanwhile, social and cultural acceptance of smoking is considered as an essential factor that hampers the implementation of the smoke free law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Indonesia shoulders a significant tobacco burden, with almost two million cases of tobacco-related illnesses and more than two hundred thousand tobacco-related deaths annually. Indonesian tobacco control is progressing but lags behind other countries. Our study evaluates factors that contribute to the slow progress of tobacco policy change in Indonesia from the perspective of tobacco control experts (TCEs).Method: We conducted qualitative interviews with four international and ten national TCEs, who have been active in tobacco control for at least 5 years. Our interview guideline included questions on the current tobacco control situation in Indonesia and explored reasons why tobacco control is progressing so slowly. The interviews were conducted either in English or Bahasa Indonesia, recorded and then transcribed verbatim. We conducted a thematic analysis based on five core causal factors for policy adoption: institutions, networks, socio-economic factors, agendas and ideas.Results: The multistage delay of tobacco policy adoption is principally due to political structures and policy hierarchy, complex bureaucracy, unclear roles and responsibilities, and a high degree of corruption. The low bargaining position and lack of respect for the Ministry of Health also contributes. There are contrasting frames of tobacco as a strategic economic asset and tobacco control as a sovereignty threat. There is an imbalance of power and influence between well entrenched and resourced tobacco industry networks compared to relatively young and less established tobacco control networks. The policy agenda is likely influenced by the privileged position of tobacco in Indonesia as a socially acceptable product with high consumption. There are constraints on transferring ideas and evidence to successful policy adoption.Conclusion: Tobacco companies have substantially influenced both policy decisions and public perceptions, signifying a power imbalance within the government system and broader networks. Acceding to and enforcing the World Health Organization- Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC) would enable the Indonesian government to shift the power imbalance towards public health stakeholders. Tobacco control advocates must enhance their network cohesion and embrace other community groups to improve engagement and communication with policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of developing pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) disease. Therefore, pulmonary TB screening among DM patients is essential. This study aimed to identify factors associated with participation of DM type II patients in pulmonary TB screening using chest X-ray. This was a cross-sectional analytic study and was part of TB-DM screening study in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. The sample consisted of 365 DM type II patients selected by quota sampling among DM type II patients joining the screening program from January until March 2016 in 11 public health centres in Denpasar. Data were collected via structured interviews. The contributing factors were determined by modified Poisson regression test for cross-sectional data. From the findings, less than half (45.48%) of DM type II patients participated in chest X-ray examination for TB. Factors associated with participation in pulmonary TB screening were having a higher educational level [APR = 1.34, 95% CI (1.07–1.67)], having family member who developed pulmonary TB disease [APR = 1.47, 95% CI (1.12–1.93)], the travel time to referral hospital for screening being ≤ 15 minutes [APR = 1.6, 95% CI (1.26–2.03)], having health insurance [APR = 2.69, 95% CI (1.10–6.56)], and receiving good support from health provider [APR = 1.35, 95% CI (1.06–1.70)]. Therefore, training for health provider on providing counselling, involvement of family members in screening process, and improving the health insurance coverage and referral system are worth considering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The city of Denpasar has implemented the smoke-free law for five years. However, the compliance remains low. Smoking remains highly accepted in society, and the provision of cigarettes in several religious and customary events. Hence, this study aims to assess how social smoking norms affect compliance with smoke-free laws. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study located in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. This study was conducted from December 2019 until February 2020. The sample size was 192 and was selected using multistage random sampling. Data were collected through interviews using a structured questionnaire then analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results: Descriptive norms of smoking affected the compliance in worship places (standardized coefficient beta of 0.175 and p=0.01). Moreover, the effect of descriptive norms to compliance was significantly moderated by perceived of injunctive norms (standardized coefficient beta of 0.216; p<0.01); benefits to one-self (standardized coefficient beta of 0.199; p<0.01); benefits to others (standardized coefficient beta of 0.164; p=0.02); anticipatory socialization (standardized coefficient beta of 0.146; p=0.03); similarity (standardized coefficient beta of 0.141; p=0.04); aspiration (standardized coefficient beta of 0.131; p=0.06); and local leader role (standardized coefficient beta of 0.129; p=0.06). Conclusion: The social norms of smoking remain an important predictor of compliance with the smoke-free law, particularly in countries with strong cultural characteristics. However, its effect could be moderated using appropriate culture-sensitive strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the current rabies outbreaks in Indonesia, particularly in popular tourist destinations. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia reported a high number of rabid animal bites and deaths annually. However, during the pandemic, the number of rabies exposures decreased but rebounded rapidly in 2022. Limited access to post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) has been a challenge, with only 69% of cases receiving treatment. Efforts are being made to improve PEP coverage, but there are still issues with equitable access to vaccines and immunoglobulin. The article emphasizes the importance of promoting rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for travelers and implementing strategies to enhance PrEP and PEP uptake. Additionally, broader preventative measures, such as mass vaccination programs for dog populations and awareness campaigns, are crucial for rabies elimination in tourist destinations. [Extracted from the article]

Background: This study aimed to investigate gender differences in social environmental factors of psychological distress among Indonesian adolescents.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using the data from the 2015 Indonesia Global School-based Student Health Survey. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the influences of main independent variables - social environmental factors (i.e., peer support, having close friends, bullying victimisation, physical fight, physical attack, parental supervision, connectedness, bonding), demographic characteristics, and health-related behaviours on the measures of psychological distress (loneliness, anxiety-induced sleep disturbance, and a combination of both measures as psychological distress).Results: The prevalence of psychological distress measured as loneliness, anxiety-induced sleep disturbance, and combined psychological distress was 6.12%, 4.52%, and 8.04%, respectively. Findings from multivariate analyses indicated that bullying victimisation, physical attack, experience of hunger (a proxy of socioeconomic status), and sedentary behaviour were associated with all measures of psychological distress. Meanwhile, age, gender, drug use, parental connectedness and bonding, and having no close friends were correlates of one or two measures of psychological distress. Based on gender-stratified analyses, experience of hunger, sedentary behaviour, bullying victimisation, and having no close friends were consistently associated with measures of psychological distress among both girls and boys. In addition, the influence of some social environmental factors, such as parental connectedness, peer support, and physical attack, were more salient among girls.Conclusions: The findings suggest that social environmental factors, demographic characteristics, and health-related behaviours were associated with psychological distress, and the associations appeared to differ by gender. Interventions that include improving positive social environmental factors (e.g., reducing interpersonal violence, encouraging positive relationships with parents and peers) and promoting healthy behaviours (e.g., less sedentary behaviour, preventing substance use) might help reduce the risk of psychological distress among Indonesian adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Indonesia is one of the countries with the highest number of tobacco advertisements, promotion, and sponsorship (TAPS) across the globe, which play a significant role in increasing smoking prevalence. Since 2019, Klungkung District has adopted a TAPS ban at point of sale (PoS). Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate compliance with the total TAPS ban at PoS in Klungkung and the factors associated. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Klungkung district from August to October 2021. The survey involved 200 samples of PoS and also the managers, which selected using stratified simple random sampling for registered PoS and a walking protocol for unregistered PoS. Data was collected through observation using a checklist and interview using a structured questionnaire by eight well-trained enumerators. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The study successfully observed 200 PoS and also interviewed 200 PoS managers. The result showed the compliance was 72.5%. Of 9 factors analyzed using regression analysis, it was found that factors associated with the compliance were knowledge and attitude PoS manager toward TAPS ban (OR=11.3; CI:1.233-103.414; p=0.008), perceived of socio-economic impact factor (OR=8.1; CI:3.584-18.400; p<0.01), and tobacco industry interference (OR=2.8; CI:1.441-5.594; p=0,003). Conclusions: Compliance with the TAPS ban at PoS remain sufficient, even though it has not reached the target. Factors mainly associated with the compliance were the attitude of PoS manager, and tobacco industry interference. Hence, socialization and enforcement should be improved and sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]