Institutions matter: The role of institutions in the relationship between decision-making power and contraceptive autonomy.

Several academic papers have shown that the distribution of household decision-making power has a positive influence on women's contraceptive autonomy. This paper considers the role of the social or institutional environment (as captured by place of residence) in ameliorating or contributing to this relationship. Our study focuses on the context of Nigeria, a country with diverse gender norms and religious practices, often determined by geographic location.

Heterogeneous gender gaps in mental wellbeing: Do women with low economic status face the biggest gender gaps?

Gender differences in depression are globally documented across a wide range of studies that analyse self-reports of depressive symptoms or clinical diagnoses. Extensive research fails to identify any single reason for this finding but given systematic variation in depressive symptomatology across social groups, gender differences must derive at least partly from environmental or social factors. Among the social factors that are considered most important are those relating to gender differences in socio-economic status and the underlying gender division of labor.

Mental distress, COVID19 vaccine distrust and vaccine hesitancy in South Africa: A causal mediation regression analysis.

Aim: Within the context of increasing mental distress noted since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, the study aims at analysing the relationship between mental health, vaccine distrust and vaccine hesitancy in South Africa.

Subject And Methods: The study uses nationally representative panel data of 3241 individuals interviewed prior to and during the COVID19 pandemic. The study uses a range of regression techniques including logit, mediation and gradient-boosted causal mediation models to identify the causal relationship while accounting for selection bias.

Does noncompliance with COVID-19 regulations impact the depressive symptoms of others?

Before vaccines became commonly available, compliance with nonpharmaceutical only preventive measures offered protection against COVID-19 infection. Compliance is therefore expected to have physical health implications for the individual and others. Moreover, in the context of the highly contagious coronavirus, perceived noncompliance can increase the subjective risk assessment of contracting the virus and, as a result, increase psychological distress.

Health indicators and poor health dynamics during COVID-19 pandemic.

It is expected that the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate inequality in wellbeing compared to the pre-pandemic situation. However, there are theories (e.g.

Food insecurity and health outcomes during the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa: a longitudinal study.

Background: Given that South Africa experienced significant food insecurity even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising that the pandemic would result in even greater food insecurity in the country. This paper provides additional evidence on the relationship between food insecurity and health.

Methods: Data came from the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, a longitudinal survey of adult South Africans.

COVID-19 risk perceptions and depressive symptoms in South Africa: Causal evidence in a longitudinal and nationally representative sample.

Background: Studies worldwide have highlighted the acute and long-term depressive impacts of psychosocial stressors due to the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Among the wide range of risk factors for depression that transpired during pandemic, greater perceptions of individual vulnerability to the COVID-19 have emerged as a major predictor of increased depressive risk and severity in adults.

Methods: We estimated the extent to which COVID-19 risk perceptions affected adult depressive symptoms in a longitudinal, nationally representative sample in South Africa.

Does Socioeconomic status mediate the relationship between income loss and depression scores? Evidence from South Africa.

This paper examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in mediating the effect of job and household income loss on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. We note that even though job loss will invariably reduce household income, the relationship between these factors and mental health may be mediated by SES. Specifically, in the context of COVID-19 induced shock, job loss may not be a threat to survival for an individual with relatively high SES, while this is not the case for individuals with low SES.

COVID19 vaccine intentions in South Africa: health communication strategy to address vaccine hesitancy.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy is emerging as a significant challenge in many parts of the world in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic. The continued infection amongst the unvaccinated can lead to a heightened risk of further virus mutation, exposing even those vaccinated to new virus strains. Therefore, there are social benefits in minimising vaccine hesitancy.

Behavioural response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Background: Given the economic and social divide that exists in South Africa, it is critical to manage the health response of its residents to the Covid-19 pandemic within the different socio-economic contexts that define the lived realities of individuals.

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyse the Covid-19 preventive behaviour and the socio-economic drivers behind the health-response behaviour.

Data: The study employs data from waves 1 and 2 of South Africa's nationally representative National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS)-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (CRAM).

Job loss and mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown: Evidence from South Africa.

Objectives: Existing literature on how employment loss affects depression has struggled to address potential endogeneity bias caused by reverse causality. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a unique natural experiment because the source of unemployment is very likely to be exogenous to the individual. This study assessed the effect of job loss and job furlough on the mental health of individuals in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Income-related health inequalities associated with the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa: A decomposition analysis.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an enormous dislocation of society especially in South Africa. The South African government has imposed a number of measures aimed at controlling the pandemic, chief being a nationwide lockdown. This has resulted in income loss for individuals and firms, with vulnerable populations (low earners, those in informal and precarious employment, etc.