Lawpreston3065
Results from the project will be valuable in the process of reaching knowledge-based recommendations for successful settlement of URMs.
Measures against COVID-19 potentially impact quality of life in different ways. The capability approach by Amartya Sen with a broad and consistent framework for measuring quality of life is suited to capture the various consequences. We aimed to examine (a) whether individuals experienced change in 10 capability dimensions during the first half of 2020, (b) which dimensions were affected most, and (c) whether changes were unequally distributed in terms of gender, education, income, geography, housing, living situation and place of birth.
We assessed self-reported capability change in Sweden in 10 capability dimensions in a cross-sectional online survey among 500 participants on a five-item Likert scale. We analysed the distribution of answers by comparing the balance of positive and negative perceived changes and used mixed effects logistic regression to examine associations with background characteristics of the participants.
Reported perceived negative changes outweighed positive changes, and a higher proportion stated negative perceived changes if they also stated having low capability in the same dimension. In the capabilities of financial situation, political resources and health, the proportions of perceived negative change were highest. Odds for perceived negative change compared to no or positive change were higher for lower incomes, living in smaller municipalities compared to living in medium-sized municipalities, being born outside Europe, living in the south of Sweden, and renting instead of owning housing.
Self-reported negative capability change, and associated inequalities related to socioeconomic position, place of birth and regional residence should be of concern for policymakers.
Self-reported negative capability change, and associated inequalities related to socioeconomic position, place of birth and regional residence should be of concern for policymakers.
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden registered a high level of excess deaths. Non-pharmaceutical interventions adopted by Sweden have been milder compared to those implemented in Denmark. Moreover, Sweden might have started the pandemic with a large proportion of vulnerable elderly with a high mortality risk. This study aimed to clarify whether excess mortality in Sweden can be explained by a large stock of 'dry tinder' instead of being attributed to faulty lockdown policies.
We analysed weekly death counts in Sweden and Denmark from July 2007 to June 2020. We used a novel method for short-term mortality forecasting to estimate expected and excess deaths during the first COVID-19 wave in Sweden and Denmark.
In the first part of the epiyear 2019-2020, deaths were low in both Sweden and Denmark. In the absence of COVID-19, a relatively low level of death would be expected for the later part of the epiyear. The registered deaths were, however, way above the upper bound of the prediction interval in Sweden and within the range in Denmark.
'Dry tinder' can only account for a modest fraction of excess Swedish mortality. The risk of death during the first COVID-19 wave rose significantly for Swedish women aged >85 but only slightly for Danish women aged >85. The risk discrepancy seems more likely to result from differences between Sweden and Denmark in how care and housing for the elderly are organised, coupled with a less successful Swedish strategy of shielding the elderly.
85. The risk discrepancy seems more likely to result from differences between Sweden and Denmark in how care and housing for the elderly are organised, coupled with a less successful Swedish strategy of shielding the elderly.This research explores whether environmental scientists perceive their male and female peers differently when making statements in the media including policy advocacy. Environmental scientists in the United Kingdom were provided with a media statement by a fictitious scientist containing a mixture of scientific information and advocacy, and asked to rate the statement against various attributes. TGFbeta inhibitor Attributes were designed to represent stereotypes associated with male and female tendencies, and with science (impartial objectivity) and the media (dramatic narrative). The statements were randomly assigned to one of two male and two female scientists. Where the statements were attributed to a female scientist, male environmental scientists rated the fictitious scientist as significantly more 'dramatic' and 'biased' than their female counterparts did. These gendered attributes are typically held as contrary to the norms of science, suggesting an implicit bias among male scientists when reviewing their female peers' media statements.This study examined differences in the associations between food insecurity and serious psychological distress (SPD) by key sociodemographic factors in a population-based sample of low-income adults from the 2017 California Health Interview Survey (n = 6266). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, low food security, and very low food security were both positively associated with SPD among all low-income adults. Upon stratification, these associations were most pronounced among adults under age 50, males, and in adults with children. Understanding disparities in the associations between food insecurity and psychological distress is critical in developing effective programs or policies to target the most vulnerable sub-groups.
The COVID-19 containment strategy in Sweden uses public health recommendations relying on personal responsibility for compliance. Universities were one of few public institutions subject to strict closure, meaning that students had to adapt overnight to online teaching. This study investigates the prevalence of self-reported recommendation compliance and associations with self-reported symptoms of contagion, self-experienced effects on mental health and academic self-efficacy among university students in Sweden in May-June 2020.
This was a cross-sectional 23 question online survey in which data were analysed by multinomial regression, taking a Bayesian analysis approach complemented by null hypothesis testing.
A total of 4495 students consented to respond. Recommendation compliance ranged between 70% and 96%. Women and older students reported higher compliance than did men and younger students. Mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms were reported by 30%, severe symptoms by fewer than 2%; 15% reported being uncertain and half of the participants reported no symptoms.