Social prescribing in the metaverse:a new frontier for primary care practice

The advent of immersive technologies such as the metaverse,extended reality,artificial intelligence,and blockchain offers novel possibilities to transform healthcare services.These innovations coincide with clinicians'aspirations to deliver more comprehensive,patient-centered care tailored to individuals singular needs and preferences.Integration of these emerging tools may confer opportunities for providers to engage patients through new modalities and expand their role.However,responsible implementation necessitates deliberation of ethical implications and steadfast adherence to foundational principles of compassion and interpersonal connection underpinning the profession.While the metaverse introduces new channels for social prescribing,this perspective advocates that its ultimate purpose should be strengthening,not supplanting,human relationships.We propose an ethical framework centered on respect for patients'dignity to guide integration of metaverse platforms into medical practice.This framework serves both to harness their potential benefits and mitigate risks of dehumanization or uncompassionate care.Our analysis maps the developing topology of metaverse-enabled care while upholding moral imperatives for medicine to promote healing relationships and human flourishing.

Psychosocial interventions for infertile couples:A scoping review

Objective:To bring out current evidence regarding psycho-social interventions for infertility care,and identify the best practices in clinical care.Methods:An in-depth literature review on infertility care intervention was conducted using data from multiple databases:PubMed,EMBASE,Google Scholar,and PsycINFO.The relevant articles selected were between 2008 and 2022.Results:A literature search turned up 1798 citations,of which 25 studies were included after rigorous analysis.Various intervention categories have been constantly utilised to provide support and promote mental health,of which acceptance and commitment therapy(ACT)and cognitive behaviour therapy(CBT)were used most frequently.The interventions exhibited diversity in both content and composition,and addressed a wide range of issues.Conclusions:The review emphasizes that psycho-social interventions have a positive effect on psychological issues,relationships,and pregnancies among couples and can be incorporated into fertility-care practices.

Social Enterprises’Institutional Rationale and Its Inspirations for the Modern Market Economy

This study analyzes the ways in which social enterprises contribute to society’s goals.In the new era of human development,many social problems cannot be resolved without the participation of social enterprises(SEs).The study on these enterprises is of great significance for theoretical research and practical observation.In a modern market economy,SEs have pro-social market vitality and compatibility with the market economy;their action gives a glimpse into the truth of human development.As can be seen from the socio-economic reality,numerous entrepreneurs nurture a desire to run SEs at a certain stage of their career development.The tendency of some entrepreneurs to run SEs is of great significance for this study.Social enterprises are hybrid enterprises as opposed to for-profit enterprises and SEs must address complex problems through organizational and institutional innovations.State owned enterprises(SOEs)and SEs share many topics of research and have much to learn from each other,and a key question for SOE reform is what makes SOEs efficient quasi-social enterprises.Both SOEs and SEs assume a social mandate,and their fulfillment of social responsibilities is underpinned by their economic efficiency(market competitiveness).The theoretical rationale and institutional mechanism of SEs-not least their innovation practice and formation of rules-stem from the relationship and coordination between economic and social exchanges under market-based conditions.Social enterprises focus on altruistic social exchange but need to be supported by a certain economic exchange to finance their operations.The biggest social problem for China is its failure to balance economic and social exchanges,as well as the method of reward.Research on SEs should promote the understanding of these questions and the quest for their solutions.Social enterprises may inspire more enterprises to pursue pro-social innovation and development.

Social interactions in periodic urban markets and their contributions to sustainable livelihoods:Evidence from Ghana

Periodic markets are an important aspect of local economies,providing a platform for farmers(producers),wholesalers,retailers,and consumers to interact face-to-face and exchange goods and services.These markets have been increasing in urban areas in Africa,Asia,and South America because of urbanization.The increase of periodic urban markets(PUMs)in urban areas is observed as an index of modernization,reflecting a response to transition process.However,there are limited studies on how social interactions in PUMs contribute to sustainable livelihoods.This study investigated the types of social interactions occurring in PUMs in Ghana,the benefits of social interactions for participants of PUMs,and how social interactions contribute to sustainable livelihoods.This research interviewed 162 participants,comprising 27 farmers(farmers were regarded as producers in this study),61 retailers,47 wholesalers from 9 selected PUMs across Ghana,and 27 officers from government institutions and non-governmental market associations to obtain their opinions.We analyzed the interview data using the NVivo software.The results showed that there are seven kinds of social interactions in PUMs,including(i)producer-wholesaler relationship,(ii)producer-consumer relationship,(iii)wholesaler-retailer relationship,(iv)retailer-consumer relationship,(v)trader-driver relationship,(vi)trader-institution relationship,and(vii)trader-international buyer relationship.We found that these social interactions in PUMs enhance sustainable livelihoods by supporting human,social,financial,natural,and physical assets of traders(traders refer to producers,wholesalers,and retailers in this study).Therefore,we concluded that the development of policies to improve PUMs could strengthen social interactions,enabling the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries.

GatherTweet: A Python Package for Collecting Social Media Data on Online Events

Social media plays a crucial role in the organization of massive social movements. However, the sheer quantity of data generated by the events as well as the data collection restrictions that researchers encounter, leads to a series of challenges for researchers who want to analyze dynamic public discourse and opinion in response to and in the creation of world events. In this paper we present gatherTweet, a Python package that helps researchers efficiently collect social media data for events that are composed of many decentralized actions (across both space and time). The package is useful for studies that require analysis of the organizational or baseline messaging before an action, the action itself, and the effects of the action on subsequent public discourse. By capturing these aspects of world events gatherTweet enables the study of events and actions like protests, natural disasters, and elections.

Sanitary Evacuations at the Maternity Unit of the Social Hygiene Institute (IHS) in Dakar in 2020

Objective: Determine the frequency of evacuations, specify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the evacuees, evaluate the data of the evacuation, the management and the maternal-fetal prognosis. Methods: Prospective and descriptive retrospective study concerning obstetrical evacuations received at the maternity ward of the Hospital of the Institute of Social Hygiene in Dakar between January 1 and December 31, 2020, i.e. a period of 12 months. Results: During the study period, we collected 1156 evacuees out of a total of 3507 patients treated in the Service, i.e. a frequency of 33%. The average age of the patients was 27.07 years with extremes of 14 and 46 years. Patients aged between 20 and 29 were the most represented (51.73%). The average parity was 1.6 with extremes of 0 and 10 pares. The nulliparous (46.37%) were the majority. The majority of evacuated patients (99.6%) resided in the Dakar region, including 58% in the suburbs and 42% in the city center. The patients received had performed an average of 3 prenatal consultations with extremes ranging from 0 to 9 CPN. They most often came from health centers (55.05%) or hospitals (29.09%). The reasons for evacuations were dominated by dystocia (21.54%) followed by premature rupture of membranes (17.21%) and premature deliveries (16.35%). On admission, only 176 patients (15.2%) had an evacuation sheet. Patients transited on average through two health structures (extremes ranging from 0 to 7 structures) before reaching the reception structure. The evacuation was most often done with a private vehicle on the patient’s own means (91.96%). The outcome of the evacuees was most often vaginal delivery or hospitalization (72.79%). The majority of patients (99.4%) had evolved favorably but we deplore one maternal death (0.09%) linked to a late puerperal infection. We recorded 74 perinatal deaths and 1041 live births, i.e. a stillbirth rate of 71.1‰ live births. The causes of death were dominated by prematurity (24.7%). Conclusion: Obstetrical evacuations are frequent in our practice but they should be better organized to improve the maternal-fetal prognosis.

Occupational,environmental and psychosocial factors impacting reproductive health of women working in manufacturing sector in India:a systematic review

Background:Women working in manufacturing are exposed to harmful chemicals and gases;environmental and psychosocial factors such as stress,anxiety,and burnout severely affect their reproductive health.Like physiological factors,psychosocial factors equality disrupts women’s reproductive health who are working in such aversive circumstances.Method:The current study is a systematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis checklist.The primary sources of articles were central databases such as SCOPUS,Web of Science,PubMed,and others.Cambridge Quality Checklist was used to measure the quality of the review articles.Result:A total of 14 articles were found eligible for the review;5 studies were on occupational health in general,3 studies addressed menstrual distress,3 studies on pregnancy,and 3 on menopausal issues.Pandemic experiences increase the health risk with the rise in food and financial insecurity among manufacturing workers.Conclusion:Psychosocial factors such as stress,anxiety,loneliness,discrimination,and depression are associated with a risk to reproductive health.The uncertainty caused by the pandemic was a major stressor for the manufacturing workers in India.The findings would represent significant challenges and factors affecting women’s reproductive health.Proper interventions and measures could be taken to regulate health risks.

High Blood Pressure and Pregnancy: Epidemiological, Diagnostic, Therapeutic and Prognostic Aspects at the Maternity Unit of the Institute of Social Hygiene of Dakar (Senegal)

Objectives: To specify the epidemiological and clinical profile of the patients, to determine the methods of management and to evaluate the maternal and perinatal prognosis in the association of arterial hypertension and pregnancy (HTA) at the Institute of Social Hygiene of Dakar. Material and Methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study on the management of the association of hypertension and pregnancy in the maternity ward of the Institute of Social Hygiene of Dakar between January 1st, 2019 and on December 31st, 2020. Results: During the study period, we recorded 326 cases of hypertension associated with pregnancy among the 4290 pregnant women, i.e. a frequency of 7.6%. The epidemiological profile of the patients was that of a woman with an average age of 29, nulliparous (48.2%), married (99.1%), at a low socioeconomic level (61.3%) and with a personal history preeclampsia (14.4%). Most patients (83.1%) were evacuated or referred with pre-ec- lampsia as the main reason (40.8%). The average gestational age was 37 weeks of amenorrhea (SA) with extremes of 20 SA 6 days and 41 SA 5 days. Term pregnancies were the most represented (76.7%). Prenatal follow-up (CPN) was carried out in 319 patients (97.8%) with an average number of CPN of 3 and extremes of 1 and 9. Severe diastolic and severe systolic hypertension concerned respectively 19.3% and 16, 9% of patients. One hundred and eighty patients (55.2%) presented with oliguria. Strip albuminuria was performed in 235 patients (72.1%). It found 3 or more crosses in 38.3% of cases. We recorded 53 cases of anemia (16.3%), 16 cases of significant proteinuria (5%), hepatic cytolysis in 22 patients (6.7%), thrombocytopenia in 37 patients (11.3%), and 43 cases of hyperuricaemia (13.2%). Obstetric ultrasound found 36 cases of severe oligohydramnios (11%), 8 twin pregnancies (2.4%) and an umbilical Doppler anomaly in 10 patients (3.1%). Pre-eclampsia was the most common clinical form (70.5%), followed by chronic hypertension (15.1%) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (14.4%). In our study, 32 patients (9.8%) had received resuscitation. The most used anti-hypertensives were alpha methyl-dopa (46.1%) and nicardipine (24.5%). The obstetrical treatment consisted of uterine evacuation which was most often done by caesarean section (63.1%). Maternal complications were dominated by retroplacental hematoma (16.3%) followed by eclampsia (7.4%) and HELLP syndrome (6.7%). We have not recorded any maternal deaths. Prematurity (19.3%) and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (16.3%) were the most common perinatal complications. Severe and moderate neonatal asphyxia concerned respectively 14.8% and 14.4% of newborns. The birth weight was on average 2400 grams with extremes of 400 and 4500 grams. Low birth weight accounted for 49.5% of the sample. One hundred and twelve newborns (34.4%) were referred to neonatology most often for neonatal asphyxia (29.2%). We recorded 37 fetal deaths in utero (11.3%) and 10 neonatal deaths (3.1%), representing a perinatal mortality of 168.5 per 1000 live births. During the postnatal follow-up, we noted a normalization of the blood pressure figures in 98.8% of the patients. Contraception was instituted in 150 patients (46.1%). These were most often progestogen implants (32.2%) or intrauterine device (IUD) (11.7%). The choice of delivery route was significantly associated with the clinical form. Indeed, caesarean section was more frequent in case of preeclampsia compared to pregnancy-induced hypertension (p = 0.03). Maternal and perinatal complications such as HELLP syndrome (86.4%), PRH (64.2%), eclampsia (79.2%) and UFID (23.6%) were more frequent in cases severe preeclampsia (p = 0.028, p = 0.0001). Conclusion: The association of hypertension and pregnancy is frequent in our practice. Its prognosis is marked by the risk of prematurity, IUGR and maternal complications.

Cultural Duplicity:The Social Poetic Nature of Folk Songs and Their Discourse

There is a close relationship between the folk songs and the earth bound society in China,bearing functions of load transfer,expression,dissemination of information,and beauty aspiration,etc.Folk songs are mainly presented through voice and thus possess powerful cultural duplicity,which rightly represents the social poetic quality that both the local residents and the nation-state need to take advantage of.A flexible space of co-existence is thus provided with for both of them.

Compliance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Examination Requests at the Diagnostic Center of the National Social Security Fund of Conakry

Introduction: MRI is a rapidly growing technique with more and more indica-tions and requests in the Republic of Guinea. Its correct prescription is a guar-antee for the satisfaction of the actors, both prescribers, radiologists and pa-tients. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the compliance of MRI examination requests at the Diagnostic Center of the National Social Se-curity Fund (CNSS) in Conakry. Material and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of MRI prescription forms sent to the MRI unit of the CNSS Diagnostic Center from February 1 to May 1, 2021. The 8 compliance criteria established by the French High Authority for Health were used to evaluate the compliance of the examination requests. Results: A total of 7003 examination forms were sent to the facility, including 7% (n = 468) of MRIs. 56.2% of MRI requests were performed by specialists. We observed an overall compliance of 10%. Administrative and clinical compliance were missing in 24% and 38%, respectively. More specifically, the purpose of the examination was not mentioned in 60%, followed by the requesting department in 48.1% and the patient’s age in 35.1%. Conclusion: This study allowed us to highlight the gaps in establishing MRI requests. It would be important to organize an awareness campaign for prescribers on the usefulness of correctly filling an MRI request and to design templates to be filled out by prescribers.

Biopsychosocial impact of discrimination on cancer risk and outcome: A conceptual review

Discrimination,a major social factor influencing health,can influence both the risk and course of cancer.The medical and psychological mechanisms through which discrimination can impact the onset and spread of cancer are explored in depth in this conceptual evaluation.In addition to investigating the ethical aspects of discrimination in cancer research,it also studies the effects of bias on cancer detection and therapy.In addition,this review provides suggestions for reducing the effect of discrimination on cancer risk and outcomes.Discrimination,in particular,can trigger the growth and spread of cancer via various pathways,including stress,inflammation,and changes in epigenetic patterns.It can also affect the immune system,making the body more vulnerable to the proliferation of cancerous cells.Discrimination can result in hindrances or delays in the process of cancer screening and treatment,and it can influence the quality of care for individuals suffering from cancer.This can contribute to the presence of disparities in terms of cancer vulnerability,occurrence,mortality,and survival rates among different demographic groups.Various measures can be implemented to mitigate the impact of discrimination on cancer vulnerability and outcomes.These measures address the underlying causes of discrimination,ensure that all individuals have access to exceptional cancer care,promote the acquisition of cultural proficiency and anti-bias training by healthcare providers,and develop and implement interventions to reduce discrimination’s impact on cancer vulnerability,screening,and treatment.

Spatial-temporal Coupling Analysis of Economic Development-Social Development-Government Governance in Xinjiang, China

High-quality development of ethnic minority areas is a key issue in China’s economic and social transformation.In order to explore the development trend and optimization path of high-quality development in ethnic minority areas,this study constructed a systematic evaluation index system of economic development,social development and government governance.The coupled coordination model was adopted to quantitatively analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of economic development,social development and government governance in Xinjiang from 2013 to 2020.The influencing factors of coupling coordination development of the three systems were identified by grey correlation analysis.The spatial-temporal pattern analysis results show that the coupling coordination degree of Xinjiang increased steadily,but the regional differences gradually expanded.The coupling coordination degree shows a stable structure with high center and low periphery,and a spatial pattern of low in southern Xinjiang and high in northern Xinjiang.The results of grey correlation analysis show that the grey correlation degree among economic development,social development and government governance in Xinjiang is above 0.78.The three systems of economic development,social development and government governance interact with each other,forming a complex system of high-quality development in ethnic minority areas.To promote highquality development in Xinjiang,it should take social stability and long-term stability as the overall goal,improve the quality of the production and living environment on the basis of economic development,enhance regional economic competitiveness,and take government governance as a means to optimize the environment for regional development.

The impact of height-adjustable desks and classroom prompts on classroom sitting time,social,and motivational factors among adolescents

Purpose:This quasi-experimental study examined the impact of height-adjustable desks in combination with prompts to break up prolonged sitting time during class time and identified social and motivational factors associated with breaking up sitting time among adolescents.Teachers’perceptions of strategies were also examined.Methods:Over 17 weeks,1 classroom in a government secondary school in Melbourne,Australia,was equipped with 27 height-adjustable desks and prompts(posters and desk stickers)to break up classroom sitting time.Teachers received professional development in the use of the desks and prompts.One group of adolescents(n=55)had 2-5 lessons/week using the height-adjustable desks in an intervention classroom,and a comparison group matched by year level and subject(n=50)was taught in traditional“seated”classrooms.Adolescents wore an activPAL monitor at baseline(T0),4 weeks(T1),and 17 weeks(T2)and completed a survey at T0 and T2.Six teachers participated in interviews at T2.Effect sizes were calculated(d).Results:Linear mixed models found that,compared to the traditional“seated”classrooms,the adolescents in the intervention classroom had significantly lower sitting time(T1:-9.7 min/lesson,d=-0.96;T2:-6.7 min/lesson,d=-0.70)and time spent in sitting bouts>15 min(T2:-11.2 min/lesson,d=-0.62),and had significantly higher standing time(T1:7.3 min/lesson,d=0.84;T2:5.8 min/lesson,d=0.91),number of breaks from sitting(T1:1.3 breaks/lesson,d=0.49;T2:1.8 breaks/lesson,d=0.67),and stepping time(T1:2.5 min/lesson,d=0.66).Intervention classroom adolescents reported greater habit strength(d=0.58),self-efficacy for breaking up sitting time(d=0.75),and indicated that having a teacher/classmate remind them to stand as helpful(d=0.50).Conclusion:This intervention shows promise for targeting sitting behaviors in the classroom and indicates that incorporating social and motivational strategies may further enhance outcomes.

Socialization, Traffic Distribution and E-Commerce Trends:An Interpretation of the “Pinduoduo” Phenomenon

The article takes China’s e-commerce as the research object.Starting from the macro level of e-commerce development and taking the rapid rise of“Pinduoduo”as an example,it discusses the“traffic dilemma”and its influence in the traditional e-commerce platform.This discovers the internal mechanism of mobile e-commerce to solve the problem of traffic distribution mechanism by socialization.After that,this study compares the difference between traditional e-commerce and social-commerce systematically,and concludes that traditional e-commerce platform is a necessary process of the development of social-commerce.Socialization is an important trend of the development of traditional e-commerce and social-commerce will promote the realization of C2B model.

Insights into the Social Determinants of Health in Older Adults

In this paper, we review the social determinants of health in older adults and their complex interrelationship with medical diseases. Also, we provide recommendations to address these determinants in the integrated healthcare plan. The social determinants in older adults and its influence in health outcomes have been studied for decades. There is solid evidence for the interrelationship between social factors and the health of individuals and populations;however, these studies are unable to define their complex interrelatedness. Health is quite variable and depends on multiple biological and social factors such as genetics, country of origin, migrant status, etc. On the other hand, health status can affect social factors such as job or education. Addressing social determinants of health in the integrated healthcare plan is important for improving health outcomes and decreasing existing disparities in older adult health. We recommend a person-centered approach in which individualized interventions should be adopted by organizations to improve the health status of older adults at the national and global level. Some of our practical recommendations to better address the social determinants of health in clinical practice are EHR documentation strategies, screening tools, and the development of linkages to the world outside of the clinic and health system, including social services, community activities, collaborative work, and roles for insurance companies.

Five Years after the Entry of Force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights: Some Observations

The optional Protocol to the international covenant on economic, Social and cultural Right was adopted in 2008 and entered into force in 2013? During the five years after its entry into force, 23 States have ratified the optional Protocol, and 23 individual communications have been submitted to the committee on economic,Social and cultural Rights? comparing with the acceptance of individual communication procedures under other core international human rights treaties, the record of ratification of the optional Protocol is not satisfactory? in its examination of individual communications,the committee on economic, Social and cultural Rights has made detailed reasoning, extensively referred to its previous general comments, and in case of violations found, suggested both specific and general remedies? in its practice of examining individual communications, the committee on economic, Social and cultural Rights needs to clarify and define the rights under the covenant and their corresponding obligations, while maintaining its nature and role as a supervisory body, without expanding its competence to an unacceptable extent?

Psychosocial mechanisms for the transmission of somatic symptoms from parents to children

AIM: To examine familial aggregation of irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) via parental reinforcement/modeling of symptoms, coping, psychological distress, and exposure to stress.METHODS:Mothers of children between the ages of8 and 15 years with and without IBS were identified through the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound.Mothers completed questionnaires,including the Child Behavior Checklist(child psychological distress),the Family Inventory of Life Events(family exposure to stress),SCL-90R(mother psychological distress),and the Pain Response Inventory(beliefs about pain).Children were interviewed separately from their parents and completed the Pain Beliefs Questionnaire(beliefs about pain),Pain Response Inventory(coping)and Child Symptom Checklist[gastrointestinal(GI)symptoms].In addition,health care utilization data was obtained from the automated database of Group Health Cooperative.Mothers with IBS(n=207)and their 296 children were compared to 240 control mothers and their 335 children,while controlling for age and education.RESULTS:Hypothesis 1:reinforcement of expression of GI problems is only related to GI symptoms,but not others(cold symptoms)in children.There was no significant correlation between parental reinforcement of symptoms and child expression of GI or other symptoms.Hypothesis 2:modeling of GI symptomsis related to GI but not non-GI symptom reporting in children.Children of parents with IBS reported more non-GI(8.97 vs 6.70,P<0.01)as well as more GI(3.24 vs 2.27,P<0.01)symptoms.Total health care visits made by the mother correlated with visits made by the child(rho=0.35,P<0.001 for cases,rho=0.26,P<0.001 for controls).Hypothesis 3:children learn to share the methods of coping with illness that their mothers exhibit.Methods used by children to cope with stomachaches differed from methods used by their mothers.Only 2/16 scales showed weak but significant correlations(stoicism rho=0.13,P<0.05;acceptance rho=0.13,P<0.05).Hypothesis 4:mothers and children share psychological traits such as anxiety,depression,and somatization.Child psychological distress correlated with mother’s psychological distress(rho=0.41,P<0.001 for cases,rho=0.38,P<0.001 for controls).Hypothesis 5:stress that affects the whole family might explain the similarities between mothers and their children.Family exposure to stress was not a significant predictor of children’s symptom reports.Hypothesis 6:the intergenerational transmission of GI illness behavior may be due to multiple mechanisms.Regression analysis identified multiple independent predictors of the child’s GI complaints,which were similar to the predictors of the child’s non-GI symptoms(mother’s IBS status,child psychological symptoms,child catastrophizing,and child age).CONCLUSION:Multiple factors influence the reporting of children’s gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal symptoms.The clustering of illness within families is best understood using a model that incorporates all these factors.

Overview of Researches on Social Capital,Human Capital and Social Integration of New Generation Migrant Workers

With urbanization and socio-economic development,new generation migrant workers play an increasingly important role in urban construction. However,for a long time,their social integration situation in inflow places is not ideal. Academic circle has done a lot of researches,but no effective strategy is so far put forward. Through analysis of domestic and foreign researches,it is found that social capital and human capital have an important influence on social integration of new generation migrant workers. This paper takes this as starting point,combines characteristics of new generation migrant workers,and overviews theories and empirical researches of domestic and foreign famous scholars,to explore the relationship between social capital and human capital and social integration of new generation migrant workers.

Physical, Psychological, and Social Health Impact of Temperature Rise Due to Urban Heat Island Phenomenon and Its Associated Factors

The Urban Heat Island Effect（UHI）has now become a commonly observed phenomenon worldwide.Indeed,it has become a significant environmental effect of urbanisation.In Malaysia,research results showed that UHI effects are very evident in several cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.UHI effect has long been observed to cause temperature of cities.

Socio-economic and Psychosocial Determinants of Smoking and Passive Smoking in Older Adults

Objective To determine the associations of socio-economic and psychosocial factors with active and passive smoking in older adults. Methods Using a standard interview method, we examined random samples of 6071 people aged 〉 60 years in 5 provinces of China during 2007-2009. Results World age-standardised prevalence for current and former smoking in men was 45.6% and 20.5%, and in women 11.1% and 4.5%. Current smoking reduced with older age but increased with men, low socioeconomic status （SES）, alcohol drinking, being never-married, pessimistic and depressive syndromes. Former smoking was associated with men, secondary school education, a middle-high income, being a businessman, being widowed, less frequencies of visiting children/relatives and friends, and worrying about children. Among 3774 never-smokers, the prevalence of passive smoking was 31.5%, and the risk increased with women, low SES, alcohol drinking, being married, having a religious believe, and daily visiting children/relatives. There were sex differences in the associations, and an interaction effect of education and income on smoking and passive smoking. Conclusion Older Chinese had a higher level of smoking and passive smoking than those in high income countries, reflecting China＇s failures in controlling smoking. The associations with low SES and different psychosocial aspects and sex differences suggest preventative strategies for active and passive smoking.