SDG3 - Good Health and Wellbeing: Re-Calibrating the SDG Agendawill explore topics surrounding the contemporary discussions concerning the implementation of the goal. It will cover concepts and ...concerns, and include practical case studies of how SDG3 has been implemented in different regions of the world.
The sustainability of school-based health interventions after external funds and/or other resources end has been relatively unexplored in comparison to health care. If effective interventions ...discontinue, new practices cannot reach wider student populations and investment in implementation is wasted. This review asked: What evidence exists about the sustainability of school-based public health interventions? Do schools sustain public health interventions once start-up funds end? What are the barriers and facilitators affecting the sustainability of public health interventions in schools in high-income countries?
Seven bibliographic databases and 15 websites were searched. References and citations of included studies were searched, and experts and authors were contacted to identify relevant studies. We included reports published from 1996 onwards. References were screened on title/abstract, and those included were screened on full report. We conducted data extraction and appraisal using an existing tool. Extracted data were qualitatively synthesised for common themes, using May's General Theory of Implementation (2013) as a conceptual framework.
Of the 9677 unique references identified through database searching and other search strategies, 24 studies of 18 interventions were included in the review. No interventions were sustained in their entirety; all had some components that were sustained by some schools or staff, bar one that was completely discontinued. No discernible relationship was found between evidence of effectiveness and sustainability. Key facilitators included commitment/support from senior leaders, staff observing a positive impact on students' engagement and wellbeing, and staff confidence in delivering health promotion and belief in its value. Important contextual barriers emerged: the norm of prioritising educational outcomes under time and resource constraints, insufficient funding/resources, staff turnover and a lack of ongoing training. Adaptation of the intervention to existing routines and changing contexts appeared to be part of the sustainability process.
Existing evidence suggests that sustainability depends upon schools developing and retaining senior leaders and staff that are knowledgeable, skilled and motivated to continue delivering health promotion through ever-changing circumstances. Evidence of effectiveness did not appear to be an influential factor. However, methodologically stronger primary research, informed by theory, is needed.
The review was registered on PROSPERO: CRD42017076320, Sep. 2017.
Multinational corporations often are multilingual entities, yet surprisingly little is known about how foreign-language competencies in their foreign subsidiaries are related to local employees’ ...career success outcomes. This paper uses human capital and upward mobility theories to link local employees’ English language competencies through career encouragement and internal social capital development behavior to job promotions, wage increases, and career satisfaction in two independent studies conducted in foreign subsidiaries in Japan. Study 1’s findings are derived from 499 local employees at three points in time over 12 months in 376 foreign subsidiaries. These findings suggest that career encouragement mediates the positive relationships between English language competence and job promotions, wage increases, and career satisfaction. Study 2’s findings are from a sample derived from 448 local employees in 265 foreign subsidiaries with a similar time-lagged research design. These findings provide further support for the direct relationship of English language competencies to job promotions, wage increases, and career satisfaction, and that social capital development mediates the positive relationships between English language competencies and job promotions and career satisfaction. This paper contributes to the literature on international business by highlighting the importance of English language competencies to local employees’ career success outcomes in foreign subsidiaries operating in non-English-speaking countries.
The literature and practice of place promotion, place marketing and place branding lack a common understanding of what these three concepts mean and through what kind of policies they can be ...implemented. Although scholars have provided several theoretical frameworks and definitions, both scholars and practitioners (advisors, civil servants, public and private stakeholders, and politicians) often use them synonymously. This paper argues that recent developments in both theory and practice – with respect to place promotion, place marketing and place branding – provide an opportunity to address this conceptual confusion. In the academic debate, a common understanding is slowly emerging and in practice, a more integral approach is gaining ground. To contribute to these advances, we present the outline of a framework to help distinguish between place promotion, place marketing and place branding, along with a discussion on why we believe these differences (should) matter to practitioners.
•A classification of place promotion, place marketing, and place branding respectively as instruments for urban policy;•A conceptual reframing, highlighting and incorporating the differences between these three instruments;•Insights into how the current conceptual confusion causes asymmetries in both theory and practice.
Abstract Objective An automated health counselor agent was designed to promote both physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption through a series of simulated conversations with users on ...their home computers. Methods The agent was evaluated in a 4-arm randomized trial of a two-month daily contact intervention comparing: (a) physical activity; (b) fruit and vegetable consumption; (c) both interventions; and (d) a non-intervention control. Physical activity was assessed using daily pedometer steps. Daily servings of fruit and vegetables were assessed using the NIH/NCI self-report Fruit and Vegetable Scan. Results Participants in the physical activity intervention increased their walking on average compared to the control group, while those in the fruit and vegetable intervention and combined intervention decreased walking. Participants in the fruit and vegetable intervention group consumed significantly more servings per day compared to those in the control group, and those in the combined intervention reported consuming more compared to those in the control group. Conclusion Automated health intervention software designed for efficient re-use is effective at changing health behavior. Practice implications Automated health behavior change interventions can be designed to facilitate translation and adaptation across multiple behaviors.
IntroductionThe growing population of the elderly, the rising costs of medical care and the low use of preventive services are three factors that highlight the importance of using preventive health ...care services in the Iranian population. This study aimed to determine the status of the use of preventive care services and its associated socio-demographic factors in the elderly referred to health centers. MethodsIn this analytical cross-sectional study, a number of 160 elderly people referred to health centers in East Guilan, Iran was selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. Data were obtained from May to September, 2021 using a questionnaire containing utilization of preventive care services (9 items) and socio-demographic characteristics. ResultsThe highest and the lowest utilization rates of preventive care services among study participants were related to the blood pressure test (96.9%) and colonoscopy (17.5%), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that only income had a significant association with performing fasting blood sugar test (p = 0.004), blood lipid test (p = 0.004), and blood pressure test (p = 0.013). Also, the associations between having an underlying disease and performing fasting blood sugar test (p = 0.032) and blood pressure test (p = 0.002), the association between gender and performing the bone mineral density test (p < 0.001), and the association between occupation and performing Pap-smear test (p = 0.011), were statistically significant. ConclusionsThe utilization rates of screening tests for most cancers, including gastrointestinal cancers, were low. Since, there were a significant association between income, disease, gender and occupation with the utilization of some preventive care services, considering them in health centers' preventive care program design might be useful.
Uncontrolled hypertension is a major problem among non-Hispanic black men, who are underrepresented in pharmacist intervention trials in traditional health care settings.
We enrolled a cohort of 319 ...black male patrons with systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or more from 52 black-owned barbershops (nontraditional health care setting) in a cluster-randomized trial in which barbershops were assigned to a pharmacist-led intervention (in which barbers encouraged meetings in barbershops with specialty-trained pharmacists who prescribed drug therapy under a collaborative practice agreement with the participants’ doctors) or to an active control approach (in which barbers encouraged lifestyle modification and doctor appointments). The primary outcome was reduction in systolic blood pressure at 6 months.
At baseline, the mean systolic blood pressure was 152.8 mm Hg in the intervention group and 154.6 mm Hg in the control group. At 6 months, the mean systolic blood pressure fell by 27.0 mm Hg (to 125.8 mm Hg) in the intervention group and by 9.3 mm Hg (to 145.4 mm Hg) in the control group; the mean reduction was 21.6 mm Hg greater with the intervention (95% confidence interval, 14.7 to 28.4; P<0.001). A blood-pressure level of less than 130/80 mm Hg was achieved among 63.6% of the participants in the intervention group versus 11.7% of the participants in the control group (P<0.001). In the intervention group, the rate of cohort retention was 95%, and there were few adverse events (three cases of acute kidney injury).
Among black male barbershop patrons with uncontrolled hypertension, health promotion by barbers resulted in larger blood-pressure reduction when coupled with medication management in barbershops by specialty-trained pharmacists. (Funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02321618 .).
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