Publications by authors named "Hales S"

Background: Landscape fire-sourced (LFS) air pollution is an increasing public health concern in the context of climate change. However, little is known about the attributable global, regional, and national mortality burden related to LFS air pollution.

Methods: We calculated country-specific population-weighted average daily and annual LFS fine particulate matter (PM) and surface ozone (O) during 2000-19 from a validated dataset.

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Article Synopsis
  • Non-optimum temperatures contribute significantly to premature deaths and labor productivity losses, with a focus on quantifying these impacts across several countries.
  • The study, which analyzed mortality data from 1,066 locations, found a U-shaped relationship between temperature and productivity-adjusted life-years (PALY) lost, with cold-related deaths having a more profound effect on older age groups and heat-related deaths affecting younger individuals.
  • Results indicated that socioeconomically vulnerable communities experience greater productivity losses due to non-optimal temperatures, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these impacts.
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The influence of global climate change on temperature-related health outcomes among vulnerable populations, particularly young children, is underexplored. Using a case time series design, we analysed 647,000 hospital admissions of children aged under five years old in New Zealand, born between 2000 and 2019. We explored the relationship between daily maximum temperatures and hospital admissions across 2139 statistical areas.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how tropical cyclones impact hospitalisations due to infectious diseases across six countries from 2000 to 2019.
  • Researchers used hospitalisation records and a specific model to assess the link between days with significant tropical cyclone winds and rates of infectious disease hospitalisation.
  • Findings indicate that there is a notable increase in hospitalisations for various infectious diseases following tropical cyclones, with risks peaking around two months post-exposure.
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Background: Precipitation could affect the transmission of diarrheal diseases. The diverse precipitation patterns across different climates might influence the degree of diarrheal risk from precipitation. This study determined the associations between precipitation and diarrheal mortality in tropical, temperate, and arid climate regions.

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Objective: To evaluate associations of wildfire fine particulate matter ≤2.5 mm in diameter (PM2.5) with diabetes across multiple countries and territories.

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Objectives: Intrusive mental imagery is associated with anxiety in bipolar disorder (BD) and presents a novel treatment target. Imagery-based treatments show promise in targeting anxiety and improving mood instability. This qualitative study explored experiences of receiving up to 12 sessions of a brief structured psychological intervention: Image-Based Emotion Regulation (IBER), which targets maladaptive mental imagery in the context of BD with an aim to modify the emotional impact of these images.

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Objectives: Research on links between social, geographic, and cultural determinants of health has been thwarted by inadequate measures of culture. The purpose of this study was to improve the measurement of community culture, defined as shared patterns of attitudes and behaviors among people within a neighborhood that distinguish it from others, and to examine dimensions of culture, independent of socioeconomic and demographic factors, and their relationships with health.

Study Design: A survey research design with correlational analyses was used.

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Background: The association between nonoptimal temperatures and cardiovascular mortality risk is recognized. However, a comprehensive global assessment of this burden is lacking.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to assess global cardiovascular mortality burden attributable to nonoptimal temperatures and investigate spatiotemporal trends.

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Background: Legalization of assisted dying is progressively expanding worldwide. In Canada, the Medical Assistance in Dying Act became law in 2016. As assisted dying regulations evolve worldwide, comprehending its subjective impact and broader consequences, especially on family members, becomes pivotal for shaping practice, policy, and training.

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Occurrence of cryptosporidiosis has been associated with weather conditions in many settings internationally. We explored statistical clusters of human cryptosporidiosis and their relationship with severe weather events in New Zealand (NZ). Notified cases of cryptosporidiosis from 1997 to 2015 were obtained from the national surveillance system.

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Background: The acute health effects of short-term (hours to days) exposure to fine particulate matter (PM) have been well documented; however, the global mortality burden attributable to this exposure has not been estimated. We aimed to estimate the global, regional, and urban mortality burden associated with short-term exposure to PM and the spatiotemporal variations in this burden from 2000 to 2019.

Methods: We combined estimated global daily PM concentrations, annual population counts, country-level mortality rates, and epidemiologically derived exposure-response functions to estimate the mortality attributable to short-term PM exposure from 2000 to 2019, in the continental regions and in 13 189 urban centres worldwide at a spatial resolution of 0·1° × 0·1°.

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Though contemporary evidence suggests that upwards of one-in-nine UK male university students engage in sexually violent behaviors (Hales and Gannon in Sexual Abuse 34:744-770, 2022), few evidence-based primary prevention strategies have been developed to prevent their perpetration. To help contribute to this evidence gap, this study evaluated the short and longer-term effectiveness of a novel psychoeducation-based online self-help intervention for university male sexual aggression called The Pathways Programme. Designed around current empirical understanding of university-based sexual harm in the UK, the program contains six modules that correspond with known risk factors for perpetration.

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Objective: Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) is a brief, evidence-based psychotherapy tailored for patients with advanced cancer that has not yet been implemented routinely in Dutch cancer care. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, sustainability and effectiveness of CALM in different clinical settings in the Netherlands.

Methods: In 2019 and 2020 a multi-center, intervention-only study was performed in three Dutch cancer care settings.

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Background: More intense tropical cyclones (TCs) are expected in the future under a warming climate scenario, but little is known about their mortality effect pattern across countries and over decades. We aim to evaluate the TC-specific mortality risks, periods of concern (POC) and characterize the spatiotemporal pattern and exposure-response (ER) relationships on a multicountry scale.

Methods And Findings: Daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality among the general population were collected from 494 locations in 18 countries or territories during 1980 to 2019.

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Recent extreme weather events attributable to climate change have major implications for policy. Here we summarize and evaluate the current state of climate change adaptation policy, from a health perspective, for Aotearoa New Zealand, based on government sources. Legislation relating to both environmental management and health are currently subject to major reforms.

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Objectives: Minimal information is available about the quality of dying and death in Uganda and Kenya, which are African leaders in palliative care. We investigated the quality of dying and death in patients with advanced cancer who had received hospice care in Uganda or Kenya.

Methods: Observational study with bereaved caregivers of decedents (Uganda:  = 202; Kenya:  = 127) with advanced cancer who had received care from participating hospices in Uganda or Kenya.

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Objectives: Psychological interventions for advanced cancer patients are effective in decreasing distress but are not well integrated into cancer care. Oncology nurses are well positioned to deliver such interventions, and their participation may enhance professional satisfaction and wellbeing. Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) is an evidence-based psychotherapy supporting advanced cancer patients.

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Background: The global spatiotemporal pattern of mortality risk and burden attributable to tropical cyclones is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the global short-term mortality risk and burden associated with tropical cyclones from 1980 to 2019.

Methods: The wind speed associated with cyclones from 1980 to 2019 was estimated globally through a parametric wind field model at a grid resolution of 0·5° × 0·5°.

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Purpose: Patients with ovarian cancer and their spousal caregivers report similarities in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and experiences throughout the cancer process. Previous research has reflected these shared experiences, demonstrating caregivers' capacity to accurately rate their patient-partner's HRQoL as a proxy. In response, this study examines associations between caregivers' perceptions of their patient-partner's HRQoL and their own caregiving responsibilities, consequences to well-being, and desired assistance from the healthcare system.

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We agree with Kratina et al. (2023) that the problem of psychological suffering at the end of life deserves attention from a policy standpoint and that psychedelic therapies show promise in this clinical context. However, we argue the following in this rejoinder: (1) disproportionate attention to psychedelics may overstate the current evidence base, potentially diverting resources away from existing evidence-based programs; (2) a more pressing policy priority related to this public health problem is to address population-level inequities in accessing high-quality, early and holistic palliative care, including psychosocial care; and (3) discussions about expanded access to psychedelics must also foreground equity issues.

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Background: Intrusive mental imagery is associated with anxiety and mood instability within bipolar disorder and therefore represents a novel treatment target. Imagery Based Emotion Regulation (IBER) is a brief structured psychological intervention developed to enable people to use the skills required to regulate the emotional impact of these images.

Methods: Participants aged 18 and over with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and at least a mild level of anxiety were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive IBER plus treatment as usual (IBER + TAU) or treatment as usual alone (TAU).

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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and its containment measures have drastically impacted end-of-life and grief experiences globally, including those related to medical assistance in dying (MAiD). No known qualitative studies to date have examined the MAiD experience during the pandemic. This qualitative study aimed to understand how the pandemic impacted the MAiD experience in hospital of persons requesting MAiD (patients) and their loved ones (caregivers) in Canada.

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