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Despite the recognized benefits of physical activity (PA) for children and adolescents with disabilities (CAWD), collective information on this is lacking in Lithuania. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current "state of the nation" PA levels of CAWD, based on the 10 indicators from the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance Global Matrix 4.0 methodology. Scientific articles, practical reports, and published theses related to the 10 indicators from the Global Matrix 4.0 on CAWD age 6–19 years were reviewed, and data were converted to grades from A to F. (A) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis was carried out to interpret the grades by four experts. Data on organized sport participation (F), school (D), community & environment (D), and government (C) were available. Data on other indicators are largely missing yet are needed for policymakers and researchers to be aware of the current state of PA among CAWD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is a country member of the Para Report Card, and Brazilian researchers have frequently published information on physical activity of children and adolescents. The current study aimed to analyze the policies for the promotion of adapted physical activity to Brazilian children and adolescents with disabilities. Official government information on adapted physical activity was analyzed from the official websites. Policies were analyzed based on the Para Report Card benchmarks, and after that we used the principles of SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to analyze the information. Adapted physical activity is not the main focus of any of the many policies to promote physical activity for children and adolescents. Based on the Para Report Card initiative, the score for this indicator in Brazil is D. Brazil needs to develop specific policies to promote physical activity adapted to the pediatric population with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is an overview of the results from 14 countries or jurisdictions in a Global Matrix of Para Report Cards on physical activity (PA) of children and adolescents with disabilities. The methodology was based on the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance's Global Matrix 4.0. Data were aligned with 10 indicators (Overall PA, Organized Sport, Active Play, Active Transport, Physical Fitness, Sedentary Behavior, Family & Peers, Schools, Community & Environment, and Government) to produce Para Report Cards. Subsequently, there were 139 grades; 45% were incomplete, particularly for Active Play, Physical Fitness, and Family & Peers. Collectively, Overall PA was graded the lowest (F), with Schools and Government the highest (C). Disability-specific surveillance and research gaps in PA were apparent in 14 countries or jurisdictions around the world. More coverage of PA data in Para Report Cards is needed to serve as an advocacy tool to promote PA among children and adolescents with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the lack of access to ethics resources in long-term care facilities, which leads to challenges in managing ethical conflicts, particularly regarding end-of-life care and the need for clearer policies and training to respect patient wishes while avoiding risk management issues.

Policymakers in the defense community should approach bureaucracy as a sixth domain of warfare because, in doing so, they can successfully handle its processes and procedures. Part one of this two-part article discusses the first three (of 10) fundamentals these professionals must develop to navigate the bureaucratic domain and address and balance the complexities of the policy-making process for the overall benefit of US national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Oman, limited access to adequately prepared healthcare providers in primary healthcare threatens the provision of quality care to patients and families and access to healthcare services. Nurse practitioners (NP) are in an excellent position to address safety issues and ensure quality healthcare with their advanced nursing skills, knowledge, and acumen for acceptable cultural and religious practices. Aims: To explain Oman's national strategic plans, processes, challenges, opportunities, and both regional and global implications for the facilitation of NP role implementation and policies. Sources of evidence: The Nursing and Midwifery Human Resources framework guided the NP implementation project. Guided by the framework, the World Health Organization and the Omani Ministry of Health conducted multiple situational analyses (2004–2016). Later, the NP role was planned and implemented in Oman. During and after implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the NP role implementation were continuously conducted using multiple focus groups, individual interviews, and field visits. Discussion: The NP role implementation revealed multiple challenges and opportunities that either hinder or support NP role implementation. Additionally, the NP implementation project revealed various lessons learned. Implications for nursing and health policy: National and global nursing leaders and health policymakers should collaborate to discuss NP issues, especially NP role sustainability, legal approval and recognition, prescriptive authority, title protection, practice acts, and professional regulation. Conclusion: This paper informs nursing leaders and policymakers in the Middle East and other countries in the global community about Oman's experience regarding NP role implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To describe the expectations, acceptability, and challenges identified by nurses and key healthcare stakeholders regarding the implementation of advanced practice nursing in Gabon. Background: Advanced practice nursing presents an opportunity to address the epidemiological transition and the shortage of healthcare professionals in Africa. In anticipation of establishing a master's degree program in advanced practice nursing and its subsequent implementation, it is important to understand Gabon's specific needs and characteristics. Design: This study used a multicenter cross‐sectional mixed‐method design. Methods: From April to May 2022, a total of 187 healthcare professionals were included from two hospitals and two universities in Gabon. Data were collected through questionnaires and complemented by focus group discussions, guided by the existing literature, the PEPPA framework, and Hamric's model. Results: The implementation of advanced practice nursing was generally well accepted. Factors influencing acceptability included being female, awareness of advanced practice nursing, and supporting the role of advanced practice nurses in diagnosing chronic diseases. Barriers to implementation included the absence of a legal framework for the profession and a lack of recognition of nursing skills by both nurses and doctors. Facilitators included the establishment of a master's degree program, formalization of a legal framework, raising awareness, providing training to medical doctors and other healthcare professionals about advanced practice nursing, and the development of nursing leadership. Implications for nursing: Advanced practice nursing can play a crucial role in addressing healthcare resource shortages and the dual burden of chronic and infectious diseases in Gabon, as well as in other African countries. Implications for nursing policy: To successfully implement advanced practice nursing in Gabon and French‐speaking Africa, it is essential to regulate the nursing and advanced nursing professions by creating a legal framework and establishing nursing councils. An effective implementation strategy for advanced practice nurses should be based on the specific needs of the country. Guidelines: COREQ, STROBE [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on eight waves of the Schools and Staffing Survey and the National Teacher and Principal Survey, we used a difference-in-differences research design to examine special education teachers' (SETs) responses to No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the subsequent reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA was associated with decreases in the proportion of SETs with special education as a field of study and graduate degrees, an increase in co-teaching, and a decrease in the proportion of SETs working in a resource delivery model, with no evidence that NCLB influenced these outcomes. Little consistent evidence was found to indicate these federal policies influenced SETs' job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction). We identified differences in these associations based on school poverty status and grade level. These findings help to better understand the status and challenges of the current SET workforce and the unintended consequences of federal reform policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Masks have been widely used as a preventative tool during the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, the use of masks by children has been controversial, with international guidelines recommending a risk‐based approach to national policymakers. Aims and objectives: We aimed to conduct a systematic review that explores children's experiences of mask‐wearing, drawing on an evidence base that describes mask‐wearing in different contexts including air pollution, and to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO in June 2021, with repeat searches in August 2022 and January 2024, for primary research studies exploring children's experiences of masks. Included studies reported on participants between 4 and 14 years (inclusive), with no restrictions on language where an English translation was available. Two reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts and reviewed full texts, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. We used the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for quality appraisal and narrative synthesis to identify key findings. We also conducted stakeholder consultation (Patient and Public Involvement (PPI)) with nine children, where they submitted annotated drawings of their preferred masks to complement our review findings. Results: We screened 982 titles and abstracts and reviewed 94 full texts. 45 studies were included in the synthesis. Children's experiences of mask‐wearing were influenced by their perceived necessity, social norms around their use and parental attitudes. Challenges related to mask‐wearing were described, including difficulty reading facial expressions and physical discomfort. Children found it easier to wear masks when sitting and in cooler environments, and they benefited from unmasking during outdoor break time at school. As part of the PPI consultation, children highlighted the importance of mask design and the environmental impact of masks. Conclusion: Children's experiences of mask‐wearing were varied and context‐dependent, with several mask‐design challenges raised. Future policy on mask‐wearing needs to consider the context in which mask‐wearing would be most beneficial, and how local adaptations to policy can respond to children's needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined the determinants of out-of-pocket health expenditure among older adults in Nigeria. The data came from the Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018–19. We employed a two-part model involving logistic regression and a generalized linear model to identify factors associated with out-of-pocket health expenditures among older adults. Analyses were performed using STATA version 14.2 software. The findings indicated that 79.49% of older adults made out-of-pocket payments for health care. The mean monthly out-of-pocket health expenditure among older adults was 3,498.14 naira (US$9.72). Having health insurance significantly reduced the risk of incurring out-of-pocket health expenditure, while larger household sizes, primary education, tertiary education, and being from a poorer household significantly increased the risk of incurring out-of-pocket health expenditure among older adults. The study concludes that a high proportion of older adults incur out-of-pocket health expenditures. This implies that older adults are not protected from the financial hardship of out-of-pocket health expenditures by the Nigerian health care system. Policymakers should target the factors that increase the likelihood of incurring out-of-pocket health expenditures in the design of health financing policies aimed at reducing OOP health expenditures for older adults. The finding that health insurance reduces the likelihood of incurring out-of-pocket health expenditures indicates that it is important to design and implement a social health protection scheme for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food Recommender Systems (RecSys) are innovative knowledge systems that inform consumers of food choices according to criteria, including nutritional content, health concerns, production method, carbon footprint or other social and ethical considerations. They raise important questions at the intersection of technology accuracy and today evolving consumers' knowledge seeking behaviours, which implies to unpack the epistemic value of food RecSys. This study investigates the drivers of the perceived value of food RSs consumption by proposing a model that establishes via PLS-SEM (n = 253) a positive relationship between the Yuka company's food RecSys' epistemic value and its perceived value. The model demonstrates that Yuka RecSys' epistemic value relies on the disciplinary drivers of compatibility, self-confidence, and consumer innovativeness, and the problematising drivers of memory and learning, which come from using the application. The perceived value of food RecSys is found to relate to RecSys epistemic value beyond the functional accuracy aspects of recommendation algorithms. Results highlight the importance of developing a refined understanding of epistemic value considering the consumption of RecSys. RecSys' developers, retailers, food manufacturers and policy makers must work on better mapping and adjusting information through consumers socialised RecSys' usage to shape the design of the next generation RecSys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children faced many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the school closure policies that were implemented to combat it. When justifying closures, governments had to decide how to frame children's vulnerability, as their decisions protected children from some harms while forcing them to endure others. Children are typically framed as vulnerable to justify implementing protective policies but given that these protective policies came with severe consequences for children, it was not an inherently appropriate framing in this case. This study compares the press releases about school closures produced by the Victorian and New South Wales state governments to examine how they framed children's vulnerability and how this positioned their obligation to protect children. It concludes that even though school closures were protective policies, neither government framed children as particularly vulnerable. This is likely explained by the fact that many of the consequences of school closures were harmful to children, so emphasising their vulnerability may have made it harder to retain public support for these policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Services are important for many individuals with autism to achieve meaningful post-school outcomes. To understand how to improve service access, it is important to measure services in ways that capture whether an individual's needs are truly being met. Yet, most measures of service access are simplistic, without fully taking into account the vast heterogeneity among those on the autism spectrum. In this manuscript, we highlight the key issues, challenges, and considerations in measuring service access. We provide ways a service access measure can address some of these issues while also suggesting further ways to improve the measurement of services. We conclude with implications for research, policy, and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the preferences of old-age adults for their long-term caregivers can improve person-centred health care and the quality of long-term care (LTC). This study examines Chinese older adults' preferences for long-term caregivers. This is a cross-sectional study. A national representative discrete choice experiment (DCE) surveyed 2031 adults aged 50–70 across 12 provinces in China. Each DCE scenario described five attributes: type of caregivers, place of LTC, contents of LTC, out-of-pocket payments, and quality of life (QoL). Preferences and the marginal willingness to pay (WTP) were derived using mixed-logit and latent class models. Older adults displayed higher preferences for long-term caregivers who improve their QoL, incur lower out-of-pocket payments, and provide medical LTC services at home, with the maximum WTP of $22.832 per month. QoL was rated as the most important LTC factor, followed by the place of LTC and the type of caregivers. When the level of QoL improved from poor to good, respondents would be willing to pay $18.375 per month more (95% confidence interval: 16.858 to 20.137), and the uptake rate increased by 76.47%. There was preference heterogeneity among older people with different sex, education, family size, and knowledge of LTC insurance. QoL was the most important factor in older Chinese adults' preference for caregivers. Home care and medical care from formal caregivers was preferred by older adults. We recommend training family caregivers, raising older people's awareness of LTC insurance, and guiding policymakers in developing people-oriented LTC and a multi-level LTC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Return on investment (ROI) has become part of the policymaking toolkit, particularly pertinent for activities like school-based career guidance deemed optional by some policymakers. There are institutions supporting ideal ROI methods alongside an academic critique, but little research on how ROI has been applied in practice in a guidance setting. In this systematic review, we document 32 ROI studies across nine countries that address either school-based guidance or one of three congruent fields: widening participation in education, behaviour in schools and adult career guidance. We find the corpus highly heterogenous in methods and quality, leading to problems in comparability. We argue for a pragmatic approach to improving consistency and the importance of policymakers' capacity for critically reading ROI studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death and dying are woven throughout the work of home care aides, and yet the care they provide at the end of life (EOL) remains poorly understood. This is due in part to the multiple circumstances under which aides provide EOL care. In this paper, we elucidate the EOL care experiences of aides working in home care agencies in New York City. We conducted in-depth interviews with 29 home care aides, and we analyzed these data using inductive, team-based methods. Our findings show that aides may not be aware of or accept a client's EOL status, and they may avoid EOL care. These conditions shape EOL care, and we detail the committed forms of care aides provide when they are aware and accepting. We recommend improved training, support systems, and policy change to enhance aides' contributions to EOL care, while protecting aides' health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to deepen understanding of educators' daily practices in the Northern ECEC through the lenses of culturally responsive teaching. The research material consists of two-staged peer interviews with 10 educators, which were selected from the whole research material for detailed analysis. The main finding of this study is ethical balancing, which permeates the work of educators in the culturally diverse North. Ethical balancing is presented through four dimensions: (1) educators' struggles between equality and cultural diversity in everyday ECEC life, (2) educators' values confronting the requirements of culturally responsive teaching and diverse educational communities, (3) educators balancing between diverse perspectives in collaboration with families and (4) educators' experiences of inadequacy in culturally diverse settings. In addition to new empirical knowledge, the study provides a new methodological approach to the ECEC research field. The peer interview method has the potential to support educators with the dilemmas of everyday practice, and the method can also be extended to teacher education to support student teachers during their studies. The study challenges educators, education providers and policymakers to engage more deeply with the aims and practices of culturally responsive teaching to respond better to the needs of a diversifying society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching is a stressful profession, and rates of departure are high. We examined whether teachers' levels of psychological capital (PsyCap), a concept integrating four positive psychological resources (hope, self-efficacy, resilience, optimism), affects their job satisfaction and burnout. Israeli schools are now required to be inclusive; consequently, teachers in standard educational settings teach children with special needs, despite a lack of training. Our sample comprised 123 Israeli teachers: 56 from special education schools and 67 from standard education system. As hypothesised, higher levels of PsyCap were correlated with higher job satisfaction and lower burnout among all teachers. Also as hypothesised, there were differences in job satisfaction and burnout: special education teachers reported more job satisfaction and less burnout. Both groups had similar levels of PsyCap, thus not supporting our hypothesis. The findings suggest the need to rethink working conditions for teachers in standard education when classes are required to be inclusive. As it is possible to improve PsyCap through intervention programmes, researchers and policymakers may consider designing and testing interventions for teachers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have often argued that European Union (EU) policymaking should be less technocratic and more political. However, it remains unclear whether the politicisation of policy-making processes by the European Commission will strengthen its legitimacy. Some authors view the EU and its institutions as its most effective outside of political strife. Others suggest that more politicisation will increase EU legitimacy as it can lead to debates where European Integration objectives can be redefined. This study argues that the impact of politicisation on the Commission's legitimacy ultimately depends on the endorsement of novel interpretations of an EU law or policy issue. Here, two state aid policy decisions are compared using a claims-making analysis. The study finds that new legal interpretations made by the Commission led to a politicisation surrounded by questions about the EU's authority. However, if the European Commission follows pre-established rules, then politicisation can strengthen the EU's legitimacy communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral health of the older population has long been overlooked in global healthcare agenda. Limited access to oral healthcare for dependent older adults results in poor oral health, negatively impacting their quality of life, nutrition and overall well‐being. Especially for nations experiencing rapid ageing population, efforts must be urgently made to integrate oral healthcare services into the current healthcare system and policy. Singapore stands out as one of the most rapidly ageing nations in Southeast Asia, achieving remarkable progress in the healthcare field, as well as advancements in social modernization and economic growth. It now faces the growing burden of the dependent older population and is required to respond to the complex challenges associated with providing holistic eldercare services and ensuring the well‐being of its ageing population. This narrative review offers an overview of Singapore's current healthcare policy and system development for the older population, with a specific focus on oral healthcare. The goal is to shed light on this underexplored area, highlighting the challenges that need to be tackled to improve the accessibility of oral health services for dependent older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore registered nurses' perspectives on challenges and facilitators to implementing a telephone‐based self‐management support (SMS) intervention (Proactive Health Support) as an everyday healthcare practice, during the early stages of implementation. Design: Data were collected using a qualitative research design involving focus‐group interviews and participant observations. Methods: We conducted participant observation following nine nurses and four focus group interviews with 14 nurses. Data were analysed using thematic analyses. Results: Proactive Health Support was implemented in units organized independently of the existing organizational units within healthcare services. This independent organization, along with the intervention's generic (non‐disease specific) design, empowered nurses to become autonomous practitioners capable of prioritizing the operationalization of SMS as an everyday healthcare practice. However, unlearning already embedded medical practices and establishing new nursing roles necessary to accommodate the intervention in practice was experienced a challenge. Education and supervision were identified as valuable tools for successful implementation. Conclusion: Our study highlights the significance of organizational context and autonomy in successful SMS implementation. Balancing external factors like organizational context, priority and time is vital, but navigating the internal shift in professional practice is equally crucial. Role transition processes can constitute challenges demanding accommodation. Implications for the Profession: From a nursing perspective, this study highlights that practising SMS requires substantial training and education. Generic SMS interventions can introduce higher levels of contingency due to their versatile nature. Thus, equipping nurses with competencies that enable them to navigate this unpredictability flexibly is crucial. Impact: Policymakers and administrators should allocate resources and support implementation processes in ways that accommodate both internal and external conditions to facilitate nurses in delivering effective SMS. Reporting Method: This study adheres to the SRQR guideline. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a challenge trial, research subjects are purposefully exposed to some pathogen in a controlled setting, in order to test the efficacy of a vaccine or other experimental treatment. This is an example of medical effective altruism (MEA), where individuals volunteer to risk harms for the public good. Many bioethicists rejected challenge trials in the context of Covid‐19 vaccine research on ethical grounds. After considering various grounds of this objection, I conclude that the crucial question is how much harm research subjects can permissibly risk. But we lack a satisfying way of making this judgment that does not appeal simply to the intuitions of doctors or bioethicists. I consider one recent and structurally plausible approach to critically evaluating the harm question. Alex London defends a social consistency test for research risks: we should compare the risks undertaken by research subjects to relevantly similar risks which are accepted in other spheres of society. I argue there is no good reason not to consider volunteer military service as a relevant social comparison. This implies there is essentially no cap on acceptable risks on the social consistency rationale. In short, if soldiers can be heroes, why can't research volunteers? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health conditions including substance use disorder are the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. Unfortunately, fears of child protective services' involvement interfere with maternal self-disclosure of substance use in pregnancy. Seeking to identify more mothers with substance use disorder in pregnancy or at delivery, and responsive to changes to the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), Connecticut requires hospital personnel to submit a deidentified notification to CPS for all newborns with prenatal substance exposure. However, it is unknown whether this approach aligns with maternal self-report on substance use. For the present study, we compared population parameters derived from CAPTA notifications submitted between March-December 2019 with parameters derived from self-report data on substance use in pregnancy from mothers who gave birth during the same timeframe. Results revealed that three times as many mothers self-reported any alcohol or drug use in pregnancy compared to the rate measured with CAPTA notifications. Compared to mothers who self-reported drug use in the third trimester, CAPTA notifications were made for statistically similar rates of Black mothers but half the self-reported rate of White and Hispanic mothers. This disparity reflects that CAPTA notifications were made for twice as many Black mothers as White or Hispanic. Although CAPTA notifications are not punitive in nature, this disparity reveals that the public health aims of this policy are not yet achieved. Significance: Accurate and equitable identification of infants with prenatal substance exposure and their mothers, coupled with non-stigmatized, non-punitive intervention is central to any public health response.The current study relies on 2019 data from Connecticut to understand accuracy and equity in identification of these infants by comparing hospital-based notifications to self-report substance use in pregnancy. We found that hospital approaches to detecting prenatal substance exposure identified twice as many Black mothers as White or Hispanic mothers. Compared to self-reported substance use in pregnancy, which detected equivalent rates of substance use across race groups, White and Hispanic mothers' substance use in pregnancy was under-identified in hospital settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ex-post benefit-cost analyses (BCAs) can improve the accuracy of future ex-ante BCAs and strengthen accountability for policy implementation. However, benefits and costs are usually analyzed prior to policymaking, not after. The rare ex-post BCAs available consider road and rail projects and often face methodological challenges such as difficulties describing what would have occurred in the absence of a project (the counterfactual situation). Earlier studies also mention the problem of projects being evaluated too soon after implementation. Our case study evaluates benefits and costs of a Dutch waterway project more than 10 years after its implementation, including the counterfactual situation, and compare results of the ex-post BCA with those of the ex-ante BCA. The outcome of the ex-post BCA is negative. This is in contrast with the positive outcome of the ex-ante BCA. The difference between the ex-post BCA and the ex-ante BCA is decomposed by changing assumptions step-by-step. This enables us to isolate forecasting errors of the ex-ante BCA from other potential sources of differences, such as methodological differences resulting from changes in guidelines occurring in the period between the ex-ante and ex-post BCA. As far as we know, this approach has not been attempted before in ex-ante/ex-post comparisons of BCA's for transport projects. Ex-post BCAs that explicitly define the counterfactual situation, use up-to-date insights into economic developments and check changes in the methodologies applied should accordingly be carried out more often. Ex-ante / ex-post comparisons are useful tools to improve the accuracy of BCAs, especially when they decompose of sources of difference. • Benefit-cost analyses (BCAs) are key instruments for policymaking on infrastructure projects in many countries. • Ex-post BCAs can improve ex-ante BCAs but have only rarely been undertaken and often face methodological challenges. • Our study addresses the methodological challenges and decomposes sources of difference between ex-ante and ex-post BCAs. • For the Burgemeester Delen Canal case, we have isolated assessment errors from other sources of differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Media messaging matters for public opinion and policy, and analyzing patterns of campaign strategy can provide important windows into policy priorities. Methods: The authors used content analysis supplemented with keyword-based text analysis to assess the volume, proportion, and distribution of media attention to race-related issues in comparison to gender-related issues during the general election period of the 2022 midterm campaigns for federal office in the United States. Findings: Race-related mentions in campaign advertising were overwhelmingly focused on crime and law and order, with very little attention to racism, racial injustice, and the structural barriers that lead to widespread inequities. In stark contrast to mentions of gender, racial appeals were less identity focused and were competitively contested between the parties in their messaging, but they were much more likely to be led by Republicans. Conclusions: The results suggest that discussions of race and gender were highly polarized, with consequences for public understanding of and belief in disparities and policies important to population health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was a central issue dividing Republicans and Democrats for the decade following its 2010 enactment. As such, it offers key lessons about policy making and public opinion during a highly polarized political period. The author draws out some of those lessons from his 2023 book Stable Condition: Elites' Limited Influence on Health Care Attitudes, detailing how polarization shaped both the elite- and mass-level politics of the ACA. At the elite level, polarization and nationalization within the federal and state governments laid the groundwork for a highly complex law that was a patchwork of policies experienced very differently by different Americans. At the mass level, polarization and nationalization contributed to a remarkable level of stability in public opinion, so much so that even direct beneficiaries of the law did not typically become markedly more positive toward it. Elite efforts at opinion leadership through policy making and messaging were largely unsuccessful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Medicaid is the largest health insurance program by enrollment in the United States. The program varies across states and across a variety of dimensions, including what it is called; some states use state-specific naming conventions, for example, MassHealth in Massachusetts. Methods: In a preregistered online survey experiment (N = 5,807), the authors tested whether public opinion shifted in response to the use of state-specific Medicaid program names for the provision of information about program enrollment. Findings: Replacing "Medicaid" with a state-specific name resulted in a large increase in the share of respondents reporting that they "haven't heard enough to say" how they felt about the program. This corresponded to a decrease in both favorable and unfavorable attitudes toward the program. Although confusion increased among all partisan groups, there is evidence that state-specific names may also strengthen positive perceptions among Republicans. Providing enrollment information generally did not affect public opinion. Conclusions: These findings offer suggestive evidence that state-specific program names may muddle understanding of the program as a government-provided benefit. Policy makers seeking to bolster support for the program or claim credit for expanding or improving it may be better served by simply referring to it as "Medicaid." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies demonstrate gender and partisan differences among Americans in COVID-19 socioeconomic consequences, attitudes, and behaviors. The authors of this study use six waves of panel survey data to explore the intersection of gender and party across COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, concerns, and policy preferences. The authors observe small gender gaps on several measures; however, partisan differences are larger than gender differences when considering the interaction between gender and partisanship. Democratic women are more similar to Democratic men on these measures than to Republican women. On virtually all measures, Republican women report lower levels of mitigation behaviors, worries, and support for expansive government policies compared to Democratic women and men. Analyzing the interaction of gender and partisanship illuminates how individuals navigated the pandemic with respect to identity factors that often pull in different directions. These findings suggest that one's partisan identity is more consequential than gender when it comes to COVID behaviors, concerns, and policy preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article sketches how the interaction between partisanship and polarization shapes health policy in the U.S. Topics discussed include partisan struggles over health care laws such as the Affordable Care Act, American Rescue Plan Act and Inflation Reduction Act, influence of partisan conflict on a law's implementation and post-enactment political trajectory, expansion of conflict across institutions and issues, effect of partisanship on health behaviors, outcomes, and state health policies.

Background: Globally, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are increasingly the primary cause of mortality and morbidity among women. Like many developing countries, Bangladesh also faces a growing burden of NCDs. The "Multisectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, 2018–2025" signifies Bangladesh's commitment to comprehensively combating the rising burden of NCDs. This study investigates the perceptions of those involved in developing the action plan and if/how a gender lens was incorporated into its implementation. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 key individuals involved in a high-level committee to develop and implement Bangladesh's multisectoral action plan to address the burden of NCDs. Data were collected between July and November 2021, and thematic analysis was conducted. Results: The findings revealed that interviewees believed the multisectoral action plan adopted a population-wide approach without considering gender-specific needs. This study presents the explanations for this inattention under five themes: (1) A population-level approach to NCD prevention; (2) Understanding women's health beyond reproductive health; (3) Absence of gender-specific programs; (4) Lack of consideration of gender constraints on physical activity; and (5) Lack of collaborative efforts to address NCDs beyond the health ministry. Conclusion: In conclusion, governments in countries like Bangladesh can develop more effective strategies to reduce the disease burden of NCDs among women by recognizing and addressing the gendered nature of preventive health. This can be achieved by promoting gender-responsive research, programs, and policy initiatives that consider women's specific health concerns, ultimately leading to better health outcomes for all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Career maturity is a crucial indicator of career preparedness and unpreparedness can cause the turnover of new nurses. Considerable empirical work demonstrates the potential associations between specialty identity, self-efficacy, study engagement, and career maturity. This study aimed to explore the mediation role of self-efficacy and study engagement on the relationships between specialty identity and career maturity among Chinese nursing students. Methods: Four hundred twenty-six Chinese nursing students were recruited between September 11 and October 30, 2022. The online survey was conducted following the CHERRIES checklist. Electronic questionnaires assessed their perceived specialty identity, self-efficacy, study engagement, and career maturity. The descriptive analysis, Harman single-factor analysis, Pearson correlation tests, structural equation modeling, and the bootstrap method were employed in data analysis. Results: Bivariate correlation analysis identified a positive correlation between specialty identity, self-efficacy, study engagement, and career maturity (r = 0.276–0.440, P < 0.001). Self-efficacy and study engagement partially mediated the relationship between specialty identity and career maturity. Self-efficacy and study engagement played a chain mediating role between specialty identity and career maturity. Conclusions: The underlying mechanism can explain the relationships between specialty identity and career maturity: a direct predictor and an indirect effect through self-efficacy and study engagement. Policymakers and educators should emphasize the importance of specialty identity and provide tailored strategies for improving care maturity depending on nursing students' specialty identity, self-efficacy, study engagement in the early stages of career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Solo medical practices in primary healthcare delivery have been abandoned in favor of interdisciplinary teamwork in most Western countries. Dynamics in interdisciplinary teams might however be particularly difficult when two or more autonomous health professionals develop similar roles at the practice level. This is the case of family physicians (FPs) and nurse practitioners (NPs), due to the fact that the latter might accomplish not only the traditional role proper to a nurse, but also several medical activities such as requesting diagnostic exams and prescribing medical treatments. The tensions that this overlap might generate and their implications in regard of the development of professional identities, and consequently of the quality of health care delivered, have been suggested, but rarely examined empirically. The goal of this study is to examine identity work, i.e., the processes of (re)construction of professional identities, of NPs and FPs working together in primary care interdisciplinary teams. Methods: A longitudinal, interpretive, and comparative multiple (n = 2) case study is proposed. Identity work theory in organizations is adopted as theoretical perspective. Cases are urban primary care multidisciplinary teams from two different Canadian provinces: Quebec and Ontario. Participants are NPs, FPs, managers, and patients. Data gathering involves audio-diaries, individual semi-structured and focus group interviews, observations, and archival material. Narrative and metaphor techniques are adopted for analyzing data collected. Within- and cross-case analysis will be performed. Discussion: For practice, the results of this investigation will: (a) be instrumental for clinicians, primary care managers, and policy decision-makers responsible for the implementation of interdisciplinary teamwork in primary healthcare delivery to improve decision-making processes and primary care team performance over time; (b) inform continuing interdisciplinary professional development educational initiatives that support competency in health professionals' identity construction in interdisciplinary primary care organizations. For research, the project will contribute to enriching theory about identity construction dynamics in health professions, both in the fields of health services and primary care education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While ethnobiology is a discipline that focuses on the local, it has an outstanding, but not yet fully realized potential to address global issues. Part of this unrealized potential is that universalistic approaches often do not fully recognize culturally grounded perspectives and there are multiple challenges with scaling up place-based research. However, scalability is paramount to ensure that the intimate and context-specific diversity of human–environmental relationships and understandings are recognized in global-scale planning and policy development. Here, we identify four pathways to enable the scalability of place-based ethnobiological research from the ground up: local-to-global dialogues, aggregation of published data, multi-sited studies, and geospatial analyses. We also discuss some major challenges and consideration to encourage continuous reflexivity in these endeavours and to ensure that scalability does not contribute to unnecessarily decontextualizing, co-opting, or overwriting the epistemologies of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. As ethnobiology navigates multiple scales of time and space and seeks to increase its breadth, this study shows that the use of deliberately global approaches, when carefully nested within rich field-based and ecological and ethnographically grounded data, can contribute to: (1) upscaling case-specific insights to unveil global patterns and dynamics in the biocultural contexts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities; (2) bringing ethnobiological knowledge into resolutions that can influence global environmental research and policy agendas; and (3) enriching ethnobiology's field-based ethos with a deliberate global analytical focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, considerable progress has been made in the control, elimination, and eradication of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Despite these advances, most NTD programs have recently experienced important setbacks; for example, NTD interventions were some of the most frequently and severely impacted by service disruptions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Mathematical modeling can help inform selection of interventions to meet the targets set out in the NTD road map 2021–2030, and such studies should prioritize questions that are relevant for decision-makers, especially those designing, implementing, and evaluating national and subnational programs. In September 2022, the World Health Organization hosted a stakeholder meeting to identify such priority modeling questions across a range of NTDs and to consider how modeling could inform local decision making. Here, we summarize the outputs of the meeting, highlight common themes in the questions being asked, and discuss how quantitative modeling can support programmatic decisions that may accelerate progress towards the 2030 targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization roadmap for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) sets out ambitious targets for disease control and elimination by 2030, including 90% fewer people requiring interventions against NTDs and the elimination of at least 1 NTD in 100 countries. Mathematical models are an important tool for understanding NTD dynamics, optimizing interventions, assessing the efficacy of new tools, and estimating the economic costs associated with control programs. As NTD control shifts to increased country ownership and programs progress toward disease elimination, tailored models that better incorporate local context and can help to address questions that are important for decision-making at the national level are gaining importance. In this introduction to the supplement, New Tools and Nuanced Interventions to Accelerate Achievement of the 2030 Roadmap for Neglected Tropical Diseases, we discuss current challenges in generating more locally relevant models and summarize how the articles in this supplement present novel ways in which NTD modeling can help to accelerate achievement and sustainability of the 2030 targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Considering the severe and sudden changes in the job conditions of nurses during the covid-19 pandemic, the increase in job tensions during this critical period and its consequences on the quantity and quality of nursing care, this study aims to investigate the job stress of nurses during the covid-19 pandemic and its predictors in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 400 nurses in 'Kashan', Iran, who were randomly selected using stratified sampling. Data were collected using two questionnaires on occupational stress and potential related factors. The data were analyzed in SPSS version 16. Results: The results showed that the occupational stress of nurses in Iran was at a medium to high level with a mean and standard deviation of 103.773 ± 15.742 (scale of 34–136). Factors such as satisfaction with physical health, quality of work life, satisfaction with the availability of facilities, sense of coherence, education level, work experience, job burnout, male gender, being native, and workplace were predictors of occupational stress and explained 23.3% of the variance in occupational stress score. The highest contribution was related to satisfaction with physical health. Conclusion: Considering the consequences of occupational stress for nurses, it is crucial for health and nursing authorities to take these factors into consideration in policy-making and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental illness poses a substantial global public health challenge, including in Thailand, where exploration of access to mental health services is limited. The spatial and temporal dimensions of mental illness in the country are not extensively studied, despite the recognized association between poor mental health and socioeconomic inequalities. Gaining insights into these dimensions is crucial for effective public health interventions and resource allocation. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed mental health service utilization data in Thailand from 2015 to 2023. Temporal trends in annual numbers of individuals visiting mental health services by diagnosis were examined, while spatial pattern analysis employed Moran's I statistics to assess autocorrelation, identify small-area clustering, and hotspots. The implications of our findings for mental health resource allocation and policy were discussed. Results: Between 2015 and 2023, mental health facilities documented a total of 13,793,884 visits. The study found anxiety, schizophrenia, and depression emerged as the top three illnesses for mental health visits, with an increase in patient attendance following the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. Spatial analysis identified areas of significance for various disorders across different regions of Thailand. Positive correlations between certain disorder pairs were found in specific regions, suggesting shared risk factors or comorbidities. Conclusions: This study highlights spatial and temporal variations in individuals visiting services for different mental disorders in Thailand, shedding light on service gaps and socioeconomic issues. Addressing these disparities requires increased attention to mental health, the development of appropriate interventions, and overcoming barriers to accessibility. The findings provide a baseline for policymakers and stakeholders to allocate resources and implement culturally responsive interventions to improve mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India is the world's largest edible oil importer, and soybean oil accounts for a major portion of those imports, with implications for the Indian economy. Despite being the 4th largest globally in terms of harvested soybean area and 5th largest in terms of production, India is still heavily dependent on imports to meet the vegetable oil requirement for its population. It is therefore imperative to understand the dynamics and trends in India's soybean production to help the country achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils. This study provides the first spatially explicit analysis of soybean in India, using long-term spatial and temporal statistics at national and subnational levels, using spatial and temporal statistical analysis models to examine the historical trends and its future prospects. Our analysis details the overall soybean expansion across the country and the increase in production but we also note that the annual growth rate has declined in each consecutive decade even though the area continues to expand. The average national yield has been stagnant at around 1 T/Ha but for some of the low-producing districts, a higher yield of more than 3 T/ha is reported. For most major producing districts, soybean yields are below 1.5 T/Ha. The state of Madhya Pradesh which was the major soybean producer is now matched by the state of Maharashtra in terms of production, however, Madhya Pradesh still has the largest area under soybean. We analyzed soybean hotspot expansion in India and found that the mean center of the soybean area and production has shifted approximately 93 km towards the south and 24 km to the west as the crop is rapidly being adopted in the southern and western parts of India expanding the hotspot in these parts. District-level analysis showed that the total number of districts constituting hotspots of soybean cultivation in India has increased from 29 to 42 in three decades. Furthermore, analysis of soybean oil and meal consumption with respect to the national population, import, export, domestic production, GDP per capita, and price of soybean oil and meal suggests that soybean oil and meal are highly correlated with GDP per capita and population, indicating that consumption of soybean oil and meal is likely to increase as GDP per capita increases, and future demand is expected to rise with the anticipated growth in the Indian population. Increased soybean production can play a significant role in increasing national food security for India and reducing dependence on foreign oil imports and also help the economy with soy meal exports. Understanding the spatiotemporal variability in area and yield will help target interventions to increase production. Given the overall low yields with high variability in production, particularly in recent years primarily due to successive extreme rains and droughts in major producing districts and the overall need to increase production to meet the country's demand, there is a pressing need for government policies and research aimed at narrowing the yield gap and developing soybean varieties that are more productive and resilient to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adolescent sleep problems are a worldwide public health issue. The present study examines factors associated with worry‐related sleep problems among school‐going adolescents. The country of interest is Timor‐Leste, a low‐income country, where studies pertaining to adolescent sleep problems are lacking. Design and Measures: Data were analysed from the Global School‐Based Student Health Survey Timor‐Leste (n = 3455). An ordered probit model was used to assess the effects of demographic, lifestyle, social, and psychological factors on different levels of worry‐related sleep problems (i.e., no, mild and severe sleep problems). Results: School‐going adolescents were more likely to face mild or severe worry‐related sleep problems if they were older, passive smokers, alcohol drinkers and moderately active. School‐going adolescents who sometimes or always went hungry were more likely to experience worry‐related sleep problems than those who did not. Involvement in physical fights, being bullied, and loneliness were positively associated with the probability of having modest or severe worry‐related sleep problems. Conclusion: Age, exposure to second‐hand smoke, alcohol consumption, physical activity, going hungry, physical fights, being bullied and loneliness are the important determining factors of adolescent worry‐related sleep problems. Policymakers should pay special attention to these factors when formulating intervention measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report highlights the 2023-2028 American Association of Nurse Practitioners Research Agenda (AANP-RA), which focuses on the research goals of AANP as an organization and is based on its mission and strategic plan. The purpose of the AANP Research Agenda is to outline research priorities that advance the AANP Strategic Plan and concurrently address gaps in nursing science. American Association of Nurse Practitioners supports research studies that are rigorously designed and conducted using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches, as well as implementation science with the potential to positively impact both NP practice and patient health outcomes. The AANP-RA strategy is guided by the PEARL acronym: examining NP Practice, Education, policy Advocacy, Research, and Leadership. A discussion of each area is presented along with suggested topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conversation elaborates on the latest work of the Paris-based writer, philosopher, translator, mathematician and pianist Andrei Vieru, where he maintains that human freedom is inseparable from the idea of closure. Vieru’s model is rooted in the topological semantics of modal logic and provides valuable epistemological insights for the broader community of scholars (death and grief scholars, social scientists, humanists) as well as for policymakers, civil social actors and, generally, for all existentially concerned individuals in times of eroding democracies and pressing global risks. In this dialogue conducted during 2023 in face-to-face sessions and via email exchanges between Paris and Bucharest, Vieru reflects on what is at stake philosophically, artistically and existentially when humans are confronted with the radical openness of possibilities brought by contemporary challenges like global crises and digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-method study, employing inquiry-based science teaching theory, delves into the interaction of English Medium Instruction (EMI) and scientific inquiry by investigating science teachers' understanding and perceptions of conducting inquiry-based science activities in EMI classrooms. Drawing on a questionnaire of 166 EMI science teachers and in-depth individual interviews with five of them, the findings suggest that these EMI science teachers encountered similar challenges to other science teachers teaching science in their first languages through an inquiry-based approach. They were found to hold a -scientific -method-oriented understanding of inquiry-based science teaching and a conflict between Chinese learning culture and -inquiry-based science learning culture. Furthermore, the findings indicate that EMI science teachers faced additional challenges in inquiry-based science classrooms in the EMI context, including (a) the tension between passive English learning and the mutual learning of scientific inquiry and English, and (b) the contradictory stance between -inquiry-based science teaching and EMI policy. This study has implications for policymakers in terms of the teaching and provision of -inquiry-based science in the EMI classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity poses a serious threat to children's development, but the mechanisms through which food insecurity undermines child development are far less clear. Specifically, food insecurity may influence children through its effect on parents' psychological well-being and parent–child interactions as a result, but past research on the role of parents is correlational and undermined by omitted variable bias. Using a partially rural, low-income sample of parents living in Pennsylvania (N = 272, 90% mother, Mage = 35) and their school-aged children (ages 4–11, 50% female) alongside daily measures of parent-reported food insecurity and parent and child mood and behavior, we examine how daily changes in food insecurity predict daily changes in parent and child well-being, and the extent to which food insecurity operates through parents to affect children. This method not only explores families' daily, lived experiences of food insecurity, but improves upon the methodological issues undermining past research. Findings indicate that food insecurity influences parent and child well-being on a daily basis, but that associations are stronger and sustain longer for parents than children. Further, parent mood and behavior partially explain the association between daily food insecurity and child mood and behavior, but food insecurity is also independently associated with child well-being. This study is the first to examine daily associations between food insecurity and parent and child well-being. Its implications for food assistance programs, policies, and the future of food insecurity research are discussed. Public Significance Statement: Using daily observations, this study finds that food insecurity is associated with decreased well-being for parents and children on daily basis. Associations are stronger and last longer for parents than children, and daily food insecurity partially works through parent well-being to influence children. These results are an important building block in understanding how the well-documented, long-term effects of food insecurity on child outcomes develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyze the correlation between GDP/capita variation, primary and renewable energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions on the one hand, and green taxes on the other. Green taxes are the main instruments used to limit activities that have a negative impact on the environment. These consist of taxes paid by producers and/or consumers for any activity that generates pollution. The results of dynamic regressions, validated by the applied robustness tests, indicate a significant and positive correlation between primary energy consumption and total environmental taxes, respectively energy taxes. At the same time, this shows that variation in GDP/capita significantly and positively influences transport taxes and pollution taxes. In contrast, net greenhouse gas emissions and the supply, transformation and consumption of renewable sources and waste do not significantly influence the total green taxes and their components. This finding is useful to both academic research and government policies for the realistic substantiation of the levels of green tax revenues and for establishing appropriate measures meant to reduce CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Association for Continence Professionals first published their guidance for the provision of absorbent products for adult incontinence in 2017. This consensus document is targeted towards commissioning leads, NHS Trust Boards, Bladder and Bowel leads, among others, and has been updated over the years to ensure that all adults who suffer with continence issues undergo a comprehensive assessment and have access to an equitable service. This article provides an overview of the latest guidelines which were published in February 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global movement for ecosystem restoration has gained momentum in response to the Bonn Challenge (2010) and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (UNDER, 2021–2030). While several science‐based guidelines exist to aid in achieving successful restoration outcomes, significant variation remains in the outcomes of restoration projects. Some of this disparity can be attributed to unexpected responses of ecosystem components to planned interventions.Given the complex nature of ecosystems, we propose that concepts from Complex Systems Science (CSS) that are linked to non‐linearity, such as regime shifts, ecological resilience and ecological feedbacks, should be employed to help explain this variation in restoration outcomes from an ecological perspective.Our framework, Explore Before You Restore, illustrates how these concepts impact restoration outcomes by influencing degradation and recovery trajectories. Additionally, we propose incorporating CSS concepts into the typical restoration project cycle through a CSS assessment phase and suggest that the need for such assessment is explicitly included in the guidelines to improve restoration outcomes.To facilitate this inclusion and make it workable by practitioners, we describe indicators and methods available for restoration teams to answer key questions that should make up such CSS assessment. In doing so, we identify key outstanding science and policy tasks that are needed to further operationalize CSS assessment in restoration.Synthesis and applications. By illustrating how key Complex Systems Science (CSS) concepts linked to non‐linear threshold behaviour can impact restoration outcomes through influencing recovery trajectories, our framework Explore Before You Restore demonstrates the need to incorporate Complex Systems thinking in ecosystem restoration. We argue that inclusion of CSS assessment into restoration project cycles, and more broadly, into international restoration guidelines, may significantly improve restoration outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talk about gender equality in relation to parental leave is pervasive in Sweden. The state encourages families to share parental leave and has recurrently tasked the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) to promote gender equality. As theories and applications of street-level bureaucracy have emphasized, how policy is practically realized in social interaction with clients is an important question, specifically whether gender equality discourse also permeates such encounters. We use conversation analysis to examine how equal sharing of parental leave is raised in interactions between parents and practitioners at the SSIA. The data consist of 300 telephone calls, 378 email exchanges, and 642 Facebook exchanges. Our analysis indicates that the talk of equal sharing is not as omnipresent as previous research might suggest. When parents orient to equal sharing, they tend to describe parental responsibilities, while practitioners connect equality to regulations that in themselves work to promote equal sharing. Equal sharing is also a resource for negotiating the citizen–state relationship, as parents complain about state interference while practitioners in response must balance provision of personalized support with the state imperative to promote sharing. The study highlights the complex work of practitioners in the "feminist welfare state" and sheds light on nuanced notions of equality promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses significant risks to health and health systems, with the greatest impacts in low- and middle-income countries - which are least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The Conference of Parties 28 at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference led to agreement on the need for holistic and equitable financing approaches to address the climate and health crisis. This paper provides an overview of existing climate finance mechanisms - that is, multilateral funds, voluntary market-based mechanisms, taxes, microlevies and adaptive social protection. We discuss these approaches' potential use to promote health, generate additional health sector resources and enhance health system sustainability and resilience, and also explore implementation challenges. We suggest that public health practitioners, policy-makers and researchers seize the opportunity to leverage climate funding for better health and sustainable, climate-resilient health systems. Emphasizing the wider benefits of investing in health for the economy can help prioritize health within climate finance initiatives. Meaningful progress will require the global community acknowledging the underlying political economy challenges that have so far limited the potential of climate finance to address health goals. To address these challenges, we need to restructure financing institutions to empower communities at the frontline of the climate and health crisis and ensure their needs are met. Efforts from global and national level stakeholders should focus on mobilizing a wide range of funding sources, prioritizing co-design and accessibility of financing arrangements. These stakeholders should also invest in rigorous monitoring and evaluation of initiatives to ensure relevant health and well-being outcomes are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased advocacy and investments in mental health systems globally, there has been limited progress in reducing mental disorder prevalence. In this paper, we argue that meaningful advancements in population mental health necessitate addressing the fundamental sources of shared distress. Using a systems perspective, economic structures and policies are identified as the potential cause of causes of mental ill-health. Neoliberal ideologies, prioritizing economic optimization and continuous growth, contribute to the promotion of individualism, job insecurity, increasing demands on workers, parental stress, social disconnection and a broad range of manifestations well-recognized to erode mental health. We emphasize the need for mental health researchers and advocates to increasingly engage with the economic policy discourse to draw attention to mental health and well-being implications. We call for a shift towards a well-being economy to better align commercial interests with collective well-being and social prosperity. The involvement of individuals with lived mental ill-health experiences, practitioners and researchers is needed to mobilize communities for change and influence economic policies to safeguard well-being. Additionally, we call for the establishment of national mental wealth observatories to inform coordinated health, social and economic policies and realize the transition to a more sustainable well-being economy that offers promise for progress on population mental health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy-makers need to rethink the connections between the economy and health. The World Health Organization Council on the Economics of Health for All has called for human and planetary health and well-being to be moved to the core of decision-making to build economies for health. Doing so involves valuing and measuring what matters, more and better health financing, innovation for the common good and rebuilding public sector capacity. We build on this thinking to argue that breastfeeding should be recognized in food and well-being statistics, while investments in breastfeeding should be considered a carbon offset in global financing arrangements for sustainable food, health and economic systems. Breastfeeding women nourish half the world's infants and young children with immense quantities of a highly valuable milk. This care work is not counted in gross domestic product or national food balance sheets, and yet ever-increasing commercial milk formula sales are counted. Achieving global nutrition targets for breastfeeding would realize far greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions than decarbonizing commercial milk formula manufacturing. New metrics and financing mechanisms are needed to achieve the health, sustainability and equity gains from more optimal infant and young child feeding. Properly valuing crucial care and environmental resources in global and national measurement systems would redirect international financial resources away from expanding carbon-emitting activities, and towards what really matters, that is, health for all. Doing so should start with considering breastfeeding as the highest quality, local, sustainable first-food system for generations to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]