Public disclosures of mental health problems on social media and audiences' self-reported anti-stigma effects.

Public disclosures of mental health problems on social media represent a potentially powerful informal avenue for increasing mental health literacy and reducing public stigma in relation to people with mental health problems. We investigated whether the audience reported any reduction in their own stigma toward people with mental health problems after exposure to disclosures. We also examined whether self-reported stigma reduction was associated with the characteristics of audience members, the disclosers and the disclosure messages.

Trends in functional limitations among middle-aged and older adults in the Asia-Pacific: survey evidence from 778,507 observations across six countries.

Background: There are few studies comparing health status trends among middle-aged and older adults in countries currently experiencing a rapid demographic and economic transition in the Asia-Pacific, relative to their high-income regional counterparts. This study investigates trends in functional limitations among individuals aged 45 years and above in six major Asia-Pacific countries, ranging from middle- to high-income, from 2001 to 2019 and examines disparities across socioeconomic and demographic sub-groups.

Methods: Data on 778,507 individuals from seven surveys in three high-income countries (Australia, Japan, South Korea) and three middle-income countries (China, Indonesia, and India) were used.

Inequalities in ownership and availability of home-based vaccination records in 82 low- and middle-income countries.

Introduction: Home-based records (HBRs) are widely used for recording health information including child immunisations. We studied levels and inequalities in HBR ownership in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) using data from national surveys conducted since 2010.

Methods: We used data from national household surveys (Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)) from 82 LMICs.

Does caesarean section have an impact on exclusive breastfeeding? Evidence from four Southeast Asian countries.

Background: The effect of caesarean section (CS) on breastfeeding initiation has been extensively studied, but its influence on exclusive breastfeeding practices remains inconclusive. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of CS on exclusive breastfeeding using evidence from four countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used secondary data obtained from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted between 2016 and 2022 in four countries within the Southeast Asian Region.

Health systems responsiveness towards needs of pregnant women in Vietnam.

Background: Health systems that are responsive to maternal mental health recognise the importance of integrating mental health services into maternal care. Studies from Vietnam have reported particularly high rates of common perinatal mental health disorders (CPMDs) in both rural and urban areas of the country. Despite the increasing burden of maternal mental health conditions, there is currently no guidance on the screening for CPMDs within maternal care, both antenatal and postnatal.

Effects of activities participation on frailty of older adults in China.

Objective: Frailty represents a significant health challenge among older adults, necessitating effective interventions to enhance their overall wellbeing. This study aims to investigate the impact of various types of activity participation on frailty in older adults and to elucidate their intrinsic associations, thereby providing a basis for targeted interventions.

Methods: This study constructed a classification of activities based on the framework proposed by the WHO regarding functional ability in healthy aging, innovatively dividing activities into five categories: physical activity, social activity, economic activity, information activity and sleep activity.

Conceptualising maternal mental health in rural Ghana: A realist qualitative analysis.

In low-and-middle income countries, maternal mental health needs remain neglected, and common mental disorders during pregnancy and after birth are routinely associated with hormonal changes. The psycho-social, and spiritual components of childbirth are often downplayed. A qualitative study was conducted as part of a wider realist evaluation on health systems responsiveness to examine the interrelationships between pregnant and postnatal women, their families, and their environment, and how these influence women's interactions with healthcare providers in Ghana.

Disease Burden in the Context of Disasters: Insights from Over 6.7 million Respondents in the Bangladesh Disaster-Related Statistics of 2021.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore the burden of disasters and adverse health outcomes during and following disasters in Bangladesh.

Methods: We analyzed 6 788 947 respondents' data from a cross-sectional and nationally representative 2021 Bangladesh Disaster-related Statistics (BDRS). The key explanatory variables were the types of disasters respondents faced, while the outcome variables were the disease burden during and following disasters.

Child undernutrition and its association with household environmental conditions in Bangladesh.

Objective: Undernutrition among children under the age of five years is a prevalent global issue, especially in Bangladesh. This study aimed to explore the relationships of household environmental conditions (HECs) with child undernutrition in Bangladesh, with a specific focus on rural-urban variations.

Design: We analysed children's data from the 2017/18 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey.

The Future Healthy Countdown 2030 consensus statement: core policy actions and measures to achieve improvements in the health and wellbeing of children, young people and future generations.

Introduction: This consensus statement recommends eight high-level trackable policy actions most likely to significantly improve health and wellbeing for children and young people by 2030. These policy actions include an overarching policy action and span seven interconnected domains that need to be adequately resourced for every young person to thrive: Material basics; Valued, loved and safe; Positive sense of identity and culture; Learning and employment pathways; Healthy; Participating; and Environments and sustainable futures.

Main Recommendations: Provide financial support to invest in families with young children and address poverty and material deprivation in the first 2000 days of life.

A scoping review of transmission models for soil-transmitted helminth infections to underpin the development of a transmission model for .

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections afflict people worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. is distinctive from other STH nematodes by its complex life cycle features of autoinfection, parthenogenesis, and environmental reproduction. This scoping review aims to identify the structures, features, and techniques employed in existing STH models, emphasizing their potential application in describing infection dynamics.

Analysing premature cardiovascular disease mortality in the United States by obesity status and educational attainment.

Background: In the United States (US), premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates (35-74 years) have exhibited increases in recent years, particularly in younger adults, and large differentials by educational attainment. This trend has occurred concurrently with high and increasing obesity prevalence, which also show significant differences by education. This study aims to jointly model premature CVD mortality trends in the US according to obesity status and educational attainment.

Towards an agenda of action and research for making health systems responsive to the needs of people with disabilities.

Ensuring health systems responsiveness is crucial for health equity and outcomes of all individuals, particularly disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities. However, attention to and discussions on health system responsiveness for people with disabilities remains lacking. This viewpoint highlights the pervasive issues within health systems rooted in ableism and proposes an agenda to tackle ableism, aiming to make health systems responsive to the needs of people with disabilities.

Pandemic-related resilience in HPV vaccination programmes - Perspectives from selected countries in Africa on what it will take to vaccinate 90 % of girls by 2030.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in widespread disruptions to primary health care and other sectors, halting the majority of routine immunisation services and particularly impacting newer, less routinized HPV vaccine programmes. We present a series of five country case studies, drawing directly from frontline experiences in Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Zambia, and Senegal to explore potential barriers and enablers of national HPV vaccine programme resiliency in the aftermath of a pandemic. A series of common themes emerged, articulating common challenges to maintaining HPV vaccine programmes, common factors that supported programme resilience, and common themes of resource needs to rebuild stronger routine immunisation programmes to face future threats.

Head circumference and intelligence, schooling, employment, and income: a systematic review.

Background: No consensus exists about the role of head circumference in identifying children at risk of suboptimal development. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between head circumference and intelligence, schooling, employment, and income. The review 1) summarizes the overall evidence and 2) restricts the evidence to a subset of articles that met minimum quality criteria.

Global Disparities of Cancer and Its Projected Burden in 2050.

Importance: Cancer prevention and care efforts have been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts, resulting in a decline in the global Human Development Index (HDI), particularly in low- and middle-income countries. These challenges and subsequent shifts in health care priorities underscore the need to continuously monitor cancer outcome disparities and statistics globally to ensure delivery of equitable and optimal cancer prevention and care in uncertain times.

Objective: To measure the global burden of 36 cancers in 2022 by sex, age, and geographic location and to project future trends by 2050.

How well do different COVID-19 vaccines protect against different viral variants? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

While the efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has been evaluated in numerous trials, comprehensive evidence on how protection by different vaccines has varied over time remains limited. We aimed to compare protective effects of different vaccines against different viral variants. To achieve this, we searched Medline, Cochrane Library and Embase for randomized controlled trials assessing the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

A critical review of literature and a conceptual framework for organising and researching urban health and community health services in low- and middle-income countries.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are rapidly urbanizing, and in response to this, there is an expansion in the body of scholarship and significant policy interest in urban healthcare provision. The idea and the reality of 'urban advantage' has meant that health research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has disproportionately focused on health and healthcare provision in rural contexts and is yet to sufficiently engage with urban health as actively. We contend that this research and practice can benefit from a more explicit engagement with the rich conceptual understandings that have emerged in other disciplines around the urban condition.