The international Family Affluence Scale (FAS): Charting 25 years of indicator development, evidence produced, and policy impact on adolescent health inequalities.

In the absence of suitable indicators of adolescent socioeconomic status, the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) was first developed in Scotland 25 years ago. Since then, it has been adapted for use in the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study to research inequalities in adolescent health in Europe and North America. FAS has also been used as an indicator of adolescent socioeconomic status in research studies outside of HBSC, worldwide.

Measuring HIV Acquisitions Among Partners of Key Populations: Estimates From HIV Transmission Dynamic Models.

Background: Key populations (KPs), including female sex workers (FSWs), gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), people who inject drugs (PWID), and transgender women (TGW) experience disproportionate risks of HIV acquisition. The UNAIDS Global AIDS 2022 Update reported that one-quarter of all new HIV infections occurred among their non-KP sexual partners. However, this fraction relied on heuristics regarding the ratio of new infections that KPs transmitted to their non-KP partners to the new infections acquired among KPs (herein referred to as "infection ratios").

Comparison of Empirically Derived and Model-Based Estimates of Key Population HIV Incidence and the Distribution of New Infections by Population Group in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: The distribution of new HIV infections among key populations, including female sex workers (FSWs), gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), and people who inject drugs (PWID) are essential information to guide an HIV response, but data are limited in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We analyzed empirically derived and mathematical model-based estimates of HIV incidence among key populations and compared with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimates.

Methods: We estimated HIV incidence among FSW and MSM in SSA by combining meta-analyses of empirical key population HIV incidence relative to the total population incidence with key population size estimates (KPSE) and HIV prevalence.

Hands On Biofilm! A multidisciplinary public engagement event using kombucha tea pellicle as an accessible example of biofilm.

Public engagement with science has become increasingly important for the scientific community. There are many documented public engagement events that focus on aspects of microbiology, but relatively few utilise biofilms as a topic, despite their importance. Kombucha tea pellicles are easy to grow biofilms, facilitating their use within the public domain as examples of these complex communities.

Authority and medical expertise: Arthur Conan Doyle in .

Arthur Conan Doyle's medical and writing careers intertwined and his work has a history of being read in the light of his medical expertise. He wrote at a time when the professionalisation and specialisation of medicine had resulted in an increasing distance between the profession and the public, yet general practitioners relied financially on maintaining good relationships with their patients and popular medical journalism proliferated. A variety of contrasting voices often disseminated narratives of medical science.

Effects of COVID-19 Lockdown on Physical Activity and Dietary Behaviors in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about drastic measures that have significantly altered the norms of daily living. These measures have affected human behaviors in disparate ways. This study seeks to understand the impact of the pandemic on physical activity and dietary behavior among adults living in Kuwait.

Public health programmes to promote mental health in young people: a systematic integrative review protocol.

Introduction: In light of the ever-growing mental health disease burden among young people worldwide, we aim to systematically review the global literature to identify the public health programmes targeted at promoting mental health and well-being in young people, the reported/anticipated mental health-related outcomes of the implemented public health programmes and the reported facilitators and barriers in relation to the implementation of those public health programmes.

Methods And Analysis: A comprehensive literature search will be carried out in the following electronic bibliographic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, Scopus, ASSIA, Web of Science, Global Health, AMED, Health Source and The Cochrane Library. Further, a manual search of the reference lists of eligible studies and reviews will be carried out.

Health Promotion Programs to Reduce Noncommunicable Diseases: A Call for Action in Kuwait.

Most public health issues in Kuwait are related to unhealthy behaviours. Research shows that behaviours are the result not only exclusively of personal choices but also of myriads of other social and environmental factors. Kuwait is one of the leading countries in obesity and tobacco use in the world.

Country-Level Meritocratic Beliefs Moderate the Social Gradient in Adolescent Mental Health: A Multilevel Study in 30 European Countries.

Purpose: Adolescents with higher socioeconomic status (SES) report better mental health. The strength of the association-the "social gradient in adolescent mental health"-varies across countries, with stronger associations in countries with greater income inequality. Country-level meritocratic beliefs (beliefs that people get what they deserve) may also strengthen the social gradient in adolescent mental health; higher SES may be more strongly linked to adolescent's perceptions of capability and respectful treatment.

The practitioners' perspective on the upside and downside of applying social capital concept in therapeutic settings.

Social capital, and more particularly the social networks that define its existence, is said to benefit health and well-being. In individuals recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, social capital accruing from social networks support treatment, recovery and maintenance. Therefore, the concept of social capital is important for public health practitioners working in recovery interventions.

Seatbelt use and risk of major injuries sustained by vehicle occupants during motor-vehicle crashes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies.

Background: In 2004, a World Health Report on road safety called for enforcement of measures such as seatbelt use, effective at minimizing morbidity and mortality caused by road traffic accidents. However, injuries caused by seatbelt use have also been described. Over a decade after publication of the World Health Report on road safety, this study sought to investigate the relationship between seatbelt use and major injuries in belted compared to unbelted passengers.

Sociodemographic and Clinical Predictors of Self-Management among People with Poorly Controlled Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes: The Role of Illness Perceptions and Self-Efficacy.

Self-management is critical if people with diabetes are to minimise their risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications, yet adherence to self-management recommendations is suboptimal. Understanding the predictors of optimal diabetes self-management in specific populations is needed to inform effective interventions. This study investigated the role of demographic and clinical characteristics, illness perceptions, and self-efficacy in explaining adherence to self-management recommendations among people with poorly controlled diabetes in North West of England.