Search

Youli Jiang, Yao Xiong, Yue Chi, Fu Lin, Qingshi Zhao, Yanfeng Li Department of Neurology, People’s Hospital of Longhua, Shenzhen, 518109, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qingshi Zhao; Yanfeng Li, Email 66327285@qq.com; 308114251@qq.comPurpose: Timely medical attention is crucial for patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS), as delays can significantly impact therapeutic outcomes. These delays are influenced by a combination of socio-cultural, educational, and clinical factors.Patients and Methods: An in-depth analysis was conducted to assess the prevalence and median duration of healthcare-seeking delays in AIS patients. The study specifically investigated the independent impacts of sociocultural and clinical determinants on these delays, with a focus on immigrant status, gender disparities, and educational levels. Multivariate regression analysis was employed to identify these independent effects while controlling for potential confounding factors.Results: Among 1419 AIS patients, 82.52% (n = 1171) experienced delays exceeding 2 hours from symptom onset of symptoms to hospital arrival. The median delay was 12.3 hours. Immigrant populations encountering longer delays compared to native groups. Younger males (< 45 years) and elderly females were more prone to delay in healthcare-seeking. Identified independent risk factors for delay included male gender (OR = 1.65 [95% CI:1.14− 2.48]), self-acknowledged diabetes (OR = 2.50 [95% CI:1.21– 5.17]), small vessel (OR = 2.07 [95% CI:1.27– 3.36]), and wake stroke (OR = 7.04 [95% CI:3.69– 13.44]). Educational background (high school and above), GCS score with 3– 8 points (OR = 0.52 [95% CI:0.09– 0.69]), understanding stroke-related knowledge (OR = 0.26 [95% CI:0.09– 0.44]), conscious disturbance (OR = 0.25 [95% CI:0.10– 0.62]) and limb weakness (OR=0.21[95% CI:0.21– 0.49]) are protective factors for timely treatment.Conclusion: Immigrant populations experienced longer delays from symptom onset to hospital arrival. The crucial roles of education and knowledge about stroke underscore the need for enhanced health literacy campaigns and public awareness, with a targeted focus on younger males and elderly females.Keywords: healthcare-seeking behavior, immigrant population, educational disparity, pre-hospital delay, AIS

Background: Whether older immigrant populations from the Mediterranean region, continue to follow the MD long after they immigrated is not known. Aim: Compare adherence to the MD and successful aging levels between Greeks living in Greece (GG) and Greeks living abroad (GA). Methods: Anthropometrical, clinical, psychological, sociodemographic, dietary and lifestyle parameters were assessed in a cross-sectional manner in a sample of 252 GG and 252 GA. Mediterranean Diet Score (MedDietScore range 0-55) was used to assess adherence to the MD. Successful aging was evaluated with the validated successful aging index (SAI range 0-10). Results: GA presented higher adherence to MD (p < 0.001); they were consuming significantly more cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits compared to GG. GG consumed significantly more dairy (3.8 ± 2.9 vs. 1.9 ± 2.2, p < 0.001) and potatoes (2.4 ± 1.6 vs. 1.9 ± 1.5, p < 0.001) compared to GA. Meat (p = 0.27), poultry (p = 0.72), fish (p = 0.68), olive oil (p = 0.16) and alcohol consumption (p = 0.05) were comparable between the two groups (all p's > 0.05). MedDietScore was positively associated with SAI among both groups after adjusting for possible confounders (0.041 ± 0.014, p = 0.003 GG and 0.153 ± 0.035, p < 0.001 GA). Also, legumes, cereals, fruits and vegetables were found to be beneficial for successful aging. Conclusion: Adherence to the MD is associated with higher levels of successful aging among people of the same genetic background living in different environments. However, traditional dietary habits are gradually abandoned in their native countries, when, at the same time, are considered cultural heritage and preserved accordingly among immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the socio-occupational integration of the immigrant population in Spain for a time span that, for the first time, includes the post-crisis period. Using the Spanish Labour Force Survey and conducting a socio-occupational analysis, we predict the probability that a migrant would be employed in one socio-occupational class over another in three periods: before, during and after the crisis. Our main research questions are as follows: (1) To what extent do migrants tend to be located in certain socio-occupational classes? (2) To what extent does the likelihood of belonging to a certain socio-occupational class differ according to immigrants' places of origin? (3) Can differences be found in the likelihood of belonging to a certain socio-occupational class according to the places of origin before, during and after the Great Recession? The results show a very unequal distribution of immigrants in the socio-occupational structure according to their origin. While immigrants from Schengen Europe and North America are better located in the occupational structure, those from Eastern Europe and Africa are over-represented in the lower socio-occupational classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Swedish register data include a number of variables related to individuals’ educational level. In contrast to many other countries, the registers even include information on the education obtained by immigrants outside Sweden. For studies on immigrants’ labour market integration, this is an important asset. However, the quality of data in terms of the source and extent of data coverage for different migrant groups is less well-known. This explorative paper investigates the sources of information for immigrants’ educational levels, and examines the time taken until their education is registered for different migrant groups. Employing register data on immigrants who arrived in Sweden in the period 2000–2016, the methods include a descriptive analysis of the main sources of educational attainment, and event history analysis to estimate survival rates for not being in the educational registers. The results indicate that the ‘survey of foreign-born’ and the Swedish Public Employment Service are the two major sources of information regarding immigrants’ educational attainment in their year of arrival. However, the survey’s non-response rate is high. Results from the event history analysis show that as the length of stay in the country increases, the share of immigrants with missing educational information decreases substantially, especially after 2 years, with rather large differences for groups of immigrants. For the majority of refugees and family migrants, 2 years after arrival their educational levels are registered, while the educational levels of many Nordic migrants remained unregistered even after 10 years. In addition, attained education of women and younger immigrants is more often registered. Measuring the educational level of refugees and family migrants from 2 years after arrival can provide a reasonable representation of their educational characteristics at the time of migration, while it is questionable to use Nordic migrants’ educational level at any time.

An important aspect of genetic counseling is the recognition of and adaptation to the socio-cultural uniqueness of the different populations that a genetics clinic serves. The Central Valley of California is home to a large population from Mexico, with a significant proportion of indigenous ancestry originating from the state of Oaxaca. We report on our experience with two families of this community-one extended family with an early lethal inborn error of metabolism and the other with a chronic disfiguring form of ichthyosis. We identified multiple important factors that needed to be considered, including the matching of language dialects, adaptation to different social interaction conventions, acknowledgement of traditional medicine beliefs, and effective transmission of genetic terms and concepts, all of which should be incorporated into the interactions with these families when aiming to provide comprehensive genetic counseling.

The study explores the impacts of the bi-demographic structure on the current account and gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Using structural vector autoregressive modeling (SVAR), we track the dynamic impacts on these underlying variables. New insights about the dynamic interrelation between bi-population age dependency rate, current account, and GDP growth have been developed. In the short and medium terms, the reactions of GDP growth to both shocks of native and immigrant working-age populations move unsteadily in opposite directions. However, in the long run, both effects become moderately positive. Additionally, the positive long-run contribution of immigrant workers to the current account growth largely compensates for the negative contribution of the native population. We find a negative hump-shaped reaction of Saudi Age Dependency Rate to immigration policy shocks during a generation. When the shocks emanate from immigrants' working age, there is a complex mechanism from the complementarity process to the substitutability process between immigrants and the Saudi workforce. In the short and medium term, the immigrant workers are more complement than substitutes for native workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major global health issue disproportionately affecting Asian Americans and other immigrant populations in the United States. Despite the high risk of morbid complications from CHB, the majority of individuals with CHB do not access healthcare due to a complex of barriers. These barriers influence health literacy which may affect behaviors linked to hepatitis B care. We aimed to identify and evaluate various sociocultural factors and how they interact with health literacy to impact CHB care and health seeking in a Korean American population. Methods A total of 28 Korean American individuals with CHB were divided into 5 different focus discussion groups. This study investigated the participants’ sociocultural backgrounds as well as their awareness and utilization of the healthcare system that could influence their health literacy and behaviors in accessing care. Results Our analysis identified and concentrated on three themes that emerged from these discussions: low risk perception and knowledge of CHB and its complications; language, immigrant status, and stigma; and financial and institutional barriers. The participants’ overall awareness of the disease and prevention methods demonstrated poor understanding of important characteristics and potential outcomes of the disease. Additionally, differences in cultural expectations and a lack of understanding and utilization of healthcare systems affected health literacy in further limiting participants’ motivation to seek care. Conclusions The present study suggests that there are culture-specific barriers to health literacy governing individuals’ health behavior in accessing hepatitis B care. These findings may inform strategies for developing culturally tailored resources and programs and for facilitating the implementation of community-wide hepatitis B education and screening initiatives in immigrant communities.

Introduction: Poor sleep health has been widely associated with chronic illnesses, and immigrant populations in the United States do not experience optimal sleep, putting them at increased risk of such illnesses. The purpose of this scoping review was to synthesize published literature on the influence of acculturation and acculturative stress on the sleep health of immigrant populations in the United States. Method: This scoping review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline, and 16 research articles were included in its synthesis of results. Results: Findings indicated that immigrants in the United States have poor sleep health and that acculturation and acculturative stress may be major influencing factors. In addition, demographic and socio-contextual factors such as gender, economic status, education, and employment characteristics influenced immigrants' sleep. Race and ethnicity were additional factors influencing sleep, but the limited number of studies in this area precludes determination of which groups are most affected. Chronic stress, depressive symptoms, and language influenced immigrants' sleep health, but mixed results were observed for generational status. Discussion: Future sleep studies should include vulnerable and understudied immigrant groups and consider all socio-contextual and psychological factors potentially affecting sleep health. In health settings serving immigrant groups, nurses should emphasize screening for these factors. Also, comparative studies are needed to identify specific factors that may affect sleep health in particular immigrant ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chinese immigrants bear a high diabetes burden and face significant barriers to accessing diabetes self-management education (DSME) and counseling programs. Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability and to pilot test the potential efficacy of a social media–based DSME intervention among low-income Chinese immigrants with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in New York City. Methods: This was a single group pretest and posttest study in 30 Chinese immigrants with T2D. The intervention included 24 culturally and linguistically tailored DSME videos, focusing on diabetes education and behavioral counseling techniques. Over 12 weeks, participants received 2 brief videos each week via WeChat, a free social media app popular among Chinese immigrants. Primary outcomes included the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Feasibility was evaluated by recruitment processes, retention rates, and the video watch rate. Acceptability was assessed via a satisfaction survey at 3 months. Secondary outcomes, that is, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), self-efficacy, dietary intake, and physical activity, were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Descriptive statistics and paired 2-sided t tests were used to summarize the baseline characteristics and changes before and after the intervention. Results: The sample population (N=30) consisted of mostly females (21/30, 70%) who were married (19/30, 63%), with limited English proficiency (30/30, 100%), and the mean age was 61 (SD 7) years. Most reported an annual household income of 1c level was 7.3% (SD 1.3%), and this level declined by 0.5% (95% CI –0.8% to –0.2%; P=.003) at 6 months. The mean satisfaction score was 9.9 (SD 0.6) out of 10, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the program. All strongly agreed or agreed that they preferred this video-based DSME over face-to-face visits. Compared to baseline, there were significant improvements in self-efficacy, dietary, and physical activity behaviors at 6 months. Conclusions: This pilot study demonstrated that a social media–based DSME intervention is feasible, acceptable, and potentially efficacious in a low-income Chinese immigrant population with T2D. Future studies need to examine the efficacy in an adequately powered clinical trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Swedish register data include a number of variables related to individuals' educational level. In contrast to many other countries, the registers even include information on the education obtained by immigrants outside Sweden. For studies on immigrants' labour market integration, this is an important asset. However, the quality of data in terms of the source and extent of data coverage for different migrant groups is less well-known. This explorative paper investigates the sources of information for immigrants' educational levels, and examines the time taken until their education is registered for different migrant groups. Employing register data on immigrants who arrived in Sweden in the period 2000–2016, the methods include a descriptive analysis of the main sources of educational attainment, and event history analysis to estimate survival rates for not being in the educational registers. The results indicate that the 'survey of foreign-born' and the Swedish Public Employment Service are the two major sources of information regarding immigrants' educational attainment in their year of arrival. However, the survey's non-response rate is high. Results from the event history analysis show that as the length of stay in the country increases, the share of immigrants with missing educational information decreases substantially, especially after 2 years, with rather large differences for groups of immigrants. For the majority of refugees and family migrants, 2 years after arrival their educational levels are registered, while the educational levels of many Nordic migrants remained unregistered even after 10 years. In addition, attained education of women and younger immigrants is more often registered. Measuring the educational level of refugees and family migrants from 2 years after arrival can provide a reasonable representation of their educational characteristics at the time of migration, while it is questionable to use Nordic migrants' educational level at any time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Venezuelan migratory movement is one of the greatest human mobility phenomena in Latin America. The object of the study is to reveal the desires of the Venezuelan population that is in immigrant status between Cúcuta and Villa del Rosario in the Department of Norte de Santander, Colombia. The methodology used focused on qualitative research through the application of semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the information was carried out with grounded theory and the Atlas. Ti software. Among the findings, four categories emerged: yearning for security, documents and identity, social yearnings and yearning for mobility. These results contributed to constructing a profile for this group of immigrants. In conclusion, it was possible to characterize immigrants’ desires as an input for designing public policies that allows to satisfy human needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) students at all levels struggle with having the confidence to communicate in the classroom. This can have a greater impact on students with lower English language proficiency. In the landscape of remote learning, a lack of digital literacy skills can create even more barriers. Briya Public Charter School has identified a technology tool and a scaffolded learning process that facilitates learner persistence, creativity, motivation, perseverance, and confidence for lower level ESOL learners. Screencastify Submit allows teachers to easily create video assignments and demystifies the process of recording a video for students. The simplicity of the tool, combined with the opportunities it provides for student output and feedback, has helped students to flourish in remote learning. It allows students to express themselves in new ways using English and embeds a deep sense of pride in their work. Briya plans to continue utilizing Screencastify Submit as it transitions to a hybrid model for the upcoming school year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the local language training aimed at the unemployed in Estonia during 2015–2016. The impact of training on employment probability and labour income is estimated by combining propensity score matching with coarsened exact matching. The impact on the probability of being employed is found to be positive after the end of the lock-in effect. Two years after the start of the language training the effect is around 8 pp. The initial lock-in effect is smaller for more flexible and shorter courses, for those with lower initial level of language skills and for those living outside of the capital region. The long-term effect is higher for those with lower level of initial language skills and does not differ by the course type or region. The results indicate that the local language training helps the unemployed non-natives to find employment, but does not give them access to higher-paying positions.

Few studies explored factors influencing breast cancer screening and early detection behaviors among immigrant Iranian women residing in the USA. Using a cross-sectional survey, a convenience sample of 319 Iranian American women was selected to investigate the impact of breast cancer knowledge and attitude on screening. A self-administered questionnaire assessed breast cancer screening knowledge, attitude, and mammography use (ever, previous year, and future intention). 79 % of the women in the study reported ever receiving at least one mammogram and 74 % received a mammogram in the past year. Personal attitude had an independent significant effect on: mammography use in the last year, ever use of mammography, and future intention to screen. Knowledge and morality-induced attitude influenced screening behavior but not significantly. Interventions targeting breast cancer screening among immigrant Iranian women in the USA should focus on enhancing personal attitudes in order to influence actual screening behavior.

Few studies have examined the differences between immigrant and native‐born homeless populations. Our aim was to conduct an exploratory study to examine the differences in health status, health behaviour and healthcare utilisation in a sample of Spanish immigrant and native homeless people. Study was conducted in eight different temporary accommodations in the Valencia region in August 2018. Overall, 86 participants were included in the analysis who answered questionnaires concerning socio‐demographic characteristics, immigration status, health status and behaviour, healthcare utilisation and experienced discrimination in healthcare and health literacy. In total, 76.7% were men with a mean age of 41.91 (14.17) years, with 60.4% having immigration background with an average of 4.8 (4.2) years since arrival in Spain. No differences were found in the subjective health status, however, native homeless participants reported significantly higher prevalence of heart disease (87.5% vs. 12.5%), hypertension (84.6% vs. 15.4%), psychological illness (63.6% vs. 36.4%) and were also more often smokers (73.5% vs. 28.8%), reported smoking more cigarettes per day (12.0 vs. 7.4) and were more often illegal drug users (17.6% vs. 2.0%). Immigrant participants were significantly more often not insured, reported more problems in healthcare access and had lower rates of visits to general practitioners and less hospital admissions. Differences were also observed in social status with the native homeless more often reporting receiving income, and living in less crowded accommodations. Our results show a variety of issues that the immigrant homeless population in Spain is confronted with that also prevents adequate social inclusion and achieving good health. However, the immigrant population engaged less often in risky health behaviour. More, and continuous, monitoring of social, mental and physical health of the homeless population is necessary. Public health interventions aiming at health promotion in the immigrant homeless populations need to focus on increasing overall social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the number of Chinese immigrants moving to South Korea has increased in the past decade Koreans still hold negative attitudes toward China and the Chinese populace. To discover whether this prejudice can be reduced, we examined the effect of direct contact with Chinese people on Koreans' explicit and implicit attitudes toward China and Chinese people. Participants in our study were 91 Korean university students who were divided into two groups based on their contact experience with people from China. The contact group (n = 43) and the noncontact group (n = 48) both completed a cultural experience questionnaire, the Explicit Attitude Questionnaire, and the Implicit Association Test. According to the results, the contact group displayed more positive explicit and implicit attitudes toward China and Chinese people than did the noncontact group. These findings suggest that it may be possible to improve Koreans' perception of China and relations with Chinese people by increasing direct contact experience between the two communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major global health issue disproportionately affecting Asian Americans and other immigrant populations in the United States. Despite the high risk of morbid complications from CHB, the majority of individuals with CHB do not access healthcare due to a complex of barriers. These barriers influence health literacy which may affect behaviors linked to hepatitis B care. We aimed to identify and evaluate various sociocultural factors and how they interact with health literacy to impact CHB care and health seeking in a Korean American population.Methods: A total of 28 Korean American individuals with CHB were divided into 5 different focus discussion groups. This study investigated the participants' sociocultural backgrounds as well as their awareness and utilization of the healthcare system that could influence their health literacy and behaviors in accessing care.Results: Our analysis identified and concentrated on three themes that emerged from these discussions: low risk perception and knowledge of CHB and its complications; language, immigrant status, and stigma; and financial and institutional barriers. The participants' overall awareness of the disease and prevention methods demonstrated poor understanding of important characteristics and potential outcomes of the disease. Additionally, differences in cultural expectations and a lack of understanding and utilization of healthcare systems affected health literacy in further limiting participants' motivation to seek care.Conclusions: The present study suggests that there are culture-specific barriers to health literacy governing individuals' health behavior in accessing hepatitis B care. These findings may inform strategies for developing culturally tailored resources and programs and for facilitating the implementation of community-wide hepatitis B education and screening initiatives in immigrant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in preschool children in an immigrant population. Possible risk factors for ASD and individual needs for the children and their families are described, as well as implications for health care. The estimated minimum prevalence for ASD in the area was 3.66% for children aged 2–5 years. Multiple risk factors and extensive individual needs for the children and their families were observed. The high prevalence of ASD and the plethora of needs in immigrant communities pose challenges for health care. A coordinated health care system is necessary to meet the many and individual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International migrants are often a major force reshaping settlement geography. However, their role in urbanisation processes has predominantly been explored in more established immigration countries, whereas such knowledge remains limited in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper investigates trends in participation of different groups of foreign residents in urbanisation processes in Czechia, which has recently become a new immigration destination. Using a longitudinal dataset of the Czech migration registers (2005–2017), it assesses the extent of participation in urbanisation processes. It also evaluates the strength of sociodemographic and place‐based factors contributing to suburbanisation, a process which makes the Czech suburbs the settlement type with highest net migration and to which both the Czech majority and the immigrant population contribute. The paper finds similarities between the internal migration of different immigrant groups and that of the Czech majority, indicating the predominance of suburbanisation of affluence, notably in culturally and economically well‐off groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Taxi and for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers, a largely male, immigrant and medically underserved population, are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, in part due to the nature of their work. This study examined demographic and lifestyle predictors of hypertension diagnosis awareness, objectively measured blood pressure (hypertensive-range vs non-hypertensive-range readings), medication use, and hypertension control. A cross-sectional assessment was conducted with 983 male taxi/FHV drivers who attended health fairs in New York City from 2010 to 2017. Twenty-three percent self-reported a hypertension history and 46% had hypertensive-range BP readings. Approximately, half the drivers lacked health insurance (47%) and a usual care source (46%). Thirty percent did not self-report hypertension and had hypertensive-range BP readings. Medication use was reported by 69% of hypertension-aware drivers, and being older and having health care access (insurance, a usual care source, and seeing a doctor in the past year) was significantly associated with medication use. Hypertension-unaware drivers with hypertensive-range BP readings were less likely to have a usual care source. Over 60% of drivers who were hypertension-aware and on medication had hypertensive-range readings. There is a need for community-based and workplace driver and provider interventions to address BP awareness and management and to provide health care navigation for vulnerable populations such as taxi/FHV vehicle drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective  Our institution is in an area of New York City with a large population of immigrants from Zika virus endemic areas. With the recent Zika virus outbreak, we sought to examine our center's experience with screening for Zika virus and outcomes among patients who tested positive for the disease during pregnancy. Study Design  We performed a chart review of all pregnant patients who tested positive (positive serum or urine polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) or presumed positive (immunoglobulin M [IgM] enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA] positive or IgM ELISA equivocal with positive plaque reduction neutralization test) for Zika virus. All tests were performed by the Department of Health (DOH) and followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in effect at the time of specimen collection. Testing of cord blood, placenta, and/or neonatal blood were/was performed by the DOH for New York County. Prenatal ultrasounds for fetal head size and surveillance for calcifications were performed by maternal–fetal medicine specialists. Infant head ultrasound results were included when available. Results  Between March 2016 and April 2017, 70 pregnant patients were positive or presumed positive for Zika infection during pregnancy. Of those, 16 women had positive urine or serum PCR and the remaining 54 were presumed positive. Among positive cases, five women tested positive via urine PCR only, nine women tested positive via serum PCR only, and two women had both positive urine and serum PCR. Fifteen of 67 infants (22%) born during the study period were born to mothers with positive urine or serum PCR testing. Sixty-five newborns were clinically normal with normal head measurements. Of the intracranial ultrasound performed, one infant had a grade 1 intraventricular hemorrhage, four had incidental choroid plexus cysts, and one had severe ventriculomegaly that was also noted antenatally. There were 2 positive and 15 equivocal infant serum IgM samples and 1 positive placental PCR from these pregnancies. There were four pregnancy terminations and two cases with fetal anomalies in this population that were split evenly between patients who tested positive and those who tested presumed positive for Zika virus during pregnancy. Conclusion  We found no differences in pregnancy or neonatal outcomes between women who tested positive and presumed positive for Zika virus during pregnancy. Testing of infants and placenta tissue after delivery was largely inconclusive. Improvement in testing for Zika virus infection is needed to determine which pregnancies are at risk for congenital anomalies. Further research is still needed to determine which children are at risk for poor neurodevelopmental outcomes related to Zika virus and how to best coordinate care among the immigrant population during a new disease epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the local language training aimed at the unemployed in Estonia during 2015-2016. The impact of training on employment probability and labour income is estimated by combining propensity score matching with coarsened exact matching. The impact on the probability of being employed is found to be positive after the end of the lock-in effect. Two years after the start of the language training the effect is around 8 pp. The initial lock-in effect is smaller for more flexible and shorter courses, for those with lower initial level of language skills and for those living outside of the capital region. The long-term effect is higher for those with lower level of initial language skills and does not differ by the course type or region. The results indicate that the local language training helps the unemployed non-natives to find employment, but does not give them access to higher-paying positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Introduction Aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of HBV, HIV, HCV, tuberculosis and syphilis infection among immigrants assigned to the immigrant centre of the province of Modena. Methods At the time of arrival all immigrant were tested for: HBsAg, HBsAb, HBcAb, Ag p24/HIVAb, HCVAb, RPR, TPPA, Mantoux test (>10 mm diameter of induration was considered to be positive), Chest X-rays. In case of positive samples, second level tests were performed (HbeAg, HBeAb, HDVAb, and baseline management and treatment of the infection detected). Results A total of 304 immigrant people were enrolled in the study. HBsAg positivity was 12.2%, HCVAb 3.3%, HIVAb 1.6%, TPPA + RPR positivity in the 0.7%; 10.2% had a positive Mantoux test; 5.6% had Chest X-rays positive for signs of infection and 6 patients had an active tuberculosis. 83.8% HBsAg were HBeAb positive/HBeAg negative. HDVAb resulted positive in 1 patient (2.7%). Previous HBV infection was detected in 28.6% of cases, isolated HBcAb in 2.3%; 5.6% of patients resulted to be positive to HbsAb alone (probable vaccinated). Conclusion Our study confirms the high prevalence of HBsAg positivity and latent tuberculosis among immigrants, underlying the importance of screening for infections in this special population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]