Public Health Institute Journal (LJMU)
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Do free-to-play sports gambling predictor games influence online sports betting behaviours for men in the UK
No full textBackground: Globally, gambling is increasingly being identified as a public health concern, associated with poorer health and well-being. Research has characterised gambling inducements as increasing riskier gambling behaviours and having links to problem gambling. However, no prior research has examined sports gambling predictor games whereby monetary prizes can be won by making free predictions on sporting events. This study aimed to describe associations between playing predictor games and riskier online sports betting behaviours, problem gambling, and between intensity of playing predictor games and problem gambling.
Methods: An online survey using a convenience sample was completed by males aged 18+ years, living in the United Kingdom who had participated in any gambling activity in the last year (n=384). The survey asked questions about sociodemographics, gambling behaviours, and predictor game playing behaviours. The Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) tool was used to determine existence and severity of at-risk and problem gambling. Bivariate analyses were undertaken using chi-squared and multivariate analyses using binary logistic regressions, controlling for sociodemographics.
Results: Overall, 45.8% (n=176) of all participants played predictor games. In multivariate analyses, predictor game playing was more likely among younger males compared to older (AOR 2.38, p0.017), those with problem gambling compared to non-problem gambling (AOR 6.92,p<0.001), higher frequency of online sports gambling compared to low (AOR 3.21,p<0.001), higher frequency of in-play betting compared to never placing in-play bets (AOR 3.9,p0.004), medium monthly gambling expenditure compared to low (AOR 2.16,p0.003). Playing predictor games was also associated with a greater mean number of gambling activities (M=5.79, SD=3.30) compared to not playing predictor games (M=3.81, SD=2.45, p<0.001). There was a moderate strength, positive correlation between intensity of playing predictor games and PGSI score (r=0.41).
Conclusions: This study suggests there may be links between playing predictor games and gambling harms, particularly amongst already vulnerable groups (younger males, and those with problem gambling). Policy options which limit access to the most harmful inducements – one of which being predictor games, must be considered to protect against gambling harms
A quantitative study into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with food allergy, food intolerances and food preferences
No full textCoronavirus (COVID-19) emerged in the UK during early 2020 and became a global pandemic in February 2020, causing the UK government to introduce a national lockdown in March. People were requested to stay home to try and control the spread of the virus and only to leave home for essential purposes, such as work or essential shopping. This saw supermarkets stripped of essential items overnight due to a high percentage of people panic buying. The media was in a frenzy reporting and social media posts went viral showing empty shelves which increased the perceived threat, not only from the virus, but of being access essential food and supplies. The number of people with a food allergy within the UK is an estimated 2 million and represents around 1-2% of the population with 1 in 100 intolerant to gluten. A national study undertaken by Wycombe Health Authority found that just over 20% of the population stated they had a food intolerance. Food preference diets are also increasing in prevalence with vegetarian diets accounting for 6% and vegan 3% of the population. People with food allergy, food intolerance or food preference require “free from” food of some description. The allergic community highlighted to campaigners that they were struggling to access food to meet their “free from” needs during the pandemic. This was caused by a lack of basic staple foods within supermarkets causing people to buy alternatives from the “free from” section. Increased signage asking shoppers not to buy from this range and leave it for those who needed it was put into stores. Requests were also made for consideration for the severely allergic to be placed within a vulnerable group for prioritised access. This online quantitative survey was created to explore the impact that COVID-19 has had on people with a food allergy, food intolerance or food preference with regards to their health and eating behaviour during the first national lockdown (March-June 2020). 72 people agreed to anonymously participate. Research findings show that before the pandemic there were no concerns around food accessibility. During the lockdown, accessibility started to become an issue for people with a food allergy, food intolerance or food preference with 53% stating that they found it harder to purchase foods to meet their needs. 63% agreed to trying different brands of food and 60% were willing to compromise their needs. 40% agreed that their variety of food decreased during the lockdown. And 71% disagreed to buying more food but did agree that people panic buying did make it harder to purchase foods to meet their needs. Behaviours around panic buying were observed through these results. The survey respondents perceived a threat from the fear of scarcity, uncertainty and coped by buying more food in case of future shortages with people panic buying impacting their decision to do this
A survey-based study to discover the attitudes and awareness of social media users towards the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry
No full textFast fashion refers to the cheap, disposable, mass produced fashion collections sold in high street stores such as H&M and Zara. The processes used to make this clothing requires intensive labour which contributes to carbon dioxide emissions and high-water consumption. Harsh chemicals are added to fabrics to treat them, dye them, or create new ones. The health and wellbeing of textile factory workers remains compromised through poor health and safety and low wages. Sustainable fashion conversely is fashion designed from more sustainable processes including the fair treatment of its employees. Sustainable fashion is about adapting to change so fashion is adapted for longevity. Increased internet access has allowed social media to be used as a promotional tool for the apparel industry reaching millions globally and this coupled with the increase in smart phone ownership has given rise to online clothing marketing. Fashion influencers on social media apps, such as Instagram, market fast fashion brands to their thousands of followers promoting mass consumption of cheap clothing with just a couple of clicks. This study aims to discover social media user’s attitudes and awareness of the impacts of fast fashion and investigate if they believe fashion influencers should be morally responsible for the promotion of sustainable fashion. Using convenience sampling, 49 participants were recruited via social media to an online survey. Their responses were analysed and then compared alongside other research to discover the similarities and differences of the issue. The dissonance between purchasing fashion and an awareness of its impacts was evident. At the core people were more concerned by cost than sustainability of clothing reflecting an intention-behaviour gap evident in areas of ethical consuming. Participants care about the welfare of factory workers more than they care about the environmental issues but despite this it is still not enough to change behaviours in consumer purchasing. The majority of participants believe fashion influencers should promote sustainable fashion indicating social media has significant influence on consumer purchases and could be used as a tool to change behaviours in the future
A Systematic Review on the Effect of E-Cigarette use in pregnant women and pregnancy outcomes
No full textIntroduction: This systematic review aims to examine the impact of e-cigarette usage in pregnant women. The review will explore e-cigarette usage in pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes associated with a negative impact on the foetus followed by various comorbid conditions and potential outcomes, especially with the usage of e-cigarettes.
Methods: A deductive method to identify patterns and trends of e-cigarette smoking in various targets and different countries was used to analyse the impact of e-cigarette use on pregnant women. The secondary research method used in this systematic review was intended to collect published information and evidence and compare it with existing results.
Results: A total of 19 articles (10 human and 9 animal-based) were chosen for this research. The researcher selected peer-reviewed articles and ensured that these research findings were published and reviewed by the researcher and healthcare professionals. Articles suspected of being false, invalid or unreliable are excluded to overcome the risk of lack of overall research results.
Conclusions: The obtained results highlighted harmful effects of e-cigarettes and smoking in pregnant women, smoking and prenatal exposure to e-cigarettes, effects of e-cigarettes on the foetus, and smoking cessation interventions in pregnancy
A qualitative study exploring the attitudes of gay men towards physical activity and how they were influenced by experiences during physical education at secondary school
No full textBackground: Physical activity is essential to maintaining good physical and mental health. The health needs of gay men are poorly recorded, but some studies have suggested that gay men experience specific barriers to participation in physical activity. Similarly, it is documented that gay adolescents also experience barriers to participation during physical education at school. Despite these observations, no studies have explored these phenomena together to see if negative experiences in physical education at secondary school impact on gay men’s attitudes towards physical activity in adulthood.
Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was used to conduct the research, using semi-structured online interviews. A sample of ten participants was obtained using a snowball sampling method. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: The study findings showed that gay adolescents face several barriers to participation in physical education. Changing rooms were a particular area of concern for participants as they experienced significant homophobia. This was also experienced during team sports which they expressed a desire to avoid. The study also revealed that they found gender segregated lessons and lack of confidence in their ability to be barriers to participation. In adulthood, gay men were found to experience barriers associated with a homophobic culture within sport and negative stereotyping of gay men. The study also revealed the existence of a gay sub-culture that promotes physical activity as a way to appear more attractive, although participants preferred to diet rather than exercise to maintain a healthy weight.
Conclusions: Despite some similarities in participant experiences during school-based physical education and physical activity in adulthood, the study was unable to find any conclusive relationship between the two experiences. Despite all participants expressing avoidance behaviours in physical education, almost all participants currently engage in some form of physical activity in adulthood
A mixed-methods study to understand how organising a work-based learning placement affected students undertaking an environmental health/public health degree module
No full textThe mental wellbeing of UK University students has been highly publicised in recent years with 80% reporting symptoms of stress and anxiety. Low wellbeing is associated with university discontinuation with a survey of 4,000 students reporting that 42% considered leaving university due to mental health issues. It is therefore in the interest of universities to understand some of the stressors experienced by students. This mixed-methods study sought to identify if students undertaking a second-year, undergraduate work-based learning module suffered stress when planning their placement. It considered the factors which may have influenced their symptoms and support they felt could have improved their experience. From a target group of 18 environmental and 6 public health students, 20 chose to participate (12 females and 8 males). Quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire. From the questionnaire sample, 2 male and 3 female students agreed to undertake a semi-structure interview to provide a deeper understanding of the subject. Participants were given an opportunity to share ideas they believed would have reduced their stress levels during the placement planning process. The study found the characteristics of those experiencing the highest symptoms of stress included being male, single, younger, unemployed, without dependents, a pre-existing stress condition or having no car. Other influencing factors were the time it took participants to find a placement, personal contacts in the professions and the response rate from the organisations they approached. The study, however, was limited by the small sample size and did not seek to measure the intensity, longevity or positive aspects of the participants’ stress. It is anticipated the findings from this study might help inform the development of future work-based learning modules. An awareness of potential stress factors, and the practical suggestions offered by participants could aid tutors seeking to offer timely and targeted support to their students. 
The impact of the Euro 2020 Football championships on domestic violence in the UK - a content analysis of print media
No full textBackground: This research aims to review print media related to domestic violence and the contributing role sporting events have in increasing the prevalence of this form of violence. The scope of this work focuses on sporting events worldwide with particular emphasis on football tournaments at both club and national levels.
Methods: In order to identify if a rise in domestic violence occurs during sporting events, this study focuses on the Euros 2020 football tournament in the United Kingdom, over a four-week period from the 11th June to 11th July 2021. Analysis of 15 online British newspaper articles was conducted to gain insight and information of the problem and scale of domestic violence and its links to football. Articles were found using the terms ‘domestic violence ‘and ‘Euro 2020’ ‘football’ and were selected using the Factiva database.
Results: Key themes were identified 1) Alcohol, 2) Weather, and 3) Masculinity, which were all reported to contribute to a climate in which domestic violence incidents could rise.
Conclusions: The relationship between sport and domestic violence is an emerging theme for researchers, academics, and practitioners within the field of violence. As shown through evidence and theoretical frameworks, men\u27s perpetration of domestic violence appears to have a root cause of alcohol, and toxic masculinity. Although the research suggests an increase of domestic violence around certain sports and sporting events i.e., football, one cannot generalise the association to all sports, spectators and athletes. Thus, future research is needed to explore the context in which sport related violence is portrayed within the medi
A quantitative study of the impact of COVID-19 social restrictions on the health and well-being of Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) students
No full textBackground: The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) social restrictions, including the movement to online learning, has disturbed students\u27 well-being. Their living situations were among the factors that led to this. Well-being is a vital public health issue. The initial review for this study indicated that previous studies on the topic did not differentiate between students based on their living conditions. Therefore, this study aimed to examine if the effect of the restrictions on students\u27 well-being differed if they lived with their families or otherwise.
Methods: An online questionnaire was created and filled out by LJMU students. Questions about well-being, stress, life satisfaction, general health, social isolation and learning environment were asked using standard scales. Mann-Whitney U tests were then carried out to investigate the significant differences between two groups of students, students living with their families and students living otherwise.
Results: The study had 37 participants, 64.9% were living with their families and 35.1% were living otherwise. The impact of the restrictions on overall well-being was found to be higher among students living otherwise. Nevertheless, the impact of the restrictions on stress, life satisfaction, and general health and the impact of moving to remote learning on well-being and social isolation was higher for students living with their families. The effect of the learning environment on the transition to online learning was higher on those who live otherwise. However, the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant.
Conclusions: The indications of this study could be used to guide local well-being interventions for students. Even so, the implications could be limited due to the small sample size. There is a need for more research on the same topic to be applied to a larger sample. The time in which the study was conducted could have also been a factor that influenced the indications. More research is needed to compare the impact of the three lockdowns on students. Further, more studies are required to examine students\u27 family relationships and their impact on students\u27 well-being
A scoping review to assess what we know about the consumption of processed meat and chronic diseases in adult populations residing in high income countries located within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
No full textBackground: Processed meats are meats that undergo treatment to improve the shelf-life and taste of the product. Consumption of processed meat has increased worldwide, with more economically developed countries consuming higher levels. The MENA region of the world is increasingly becoming more developed, with their gross domestic product (GPD) rising rapidly. Alongside the rise in GDP, processed meat consumption has also been increasing, with the region experiencing a nutrition transition. With an increase in processed meat consumption comes an increase in chronic disease, and research shows that consumption of processed meat can be linked to an increased risk of various chronic diseases. However, many professionals believe that more research is needed on the topic, as results are often contradictory. The aim of this study is to conduct a scoping review on extant literature pertaining to processed meat consumption and levels of chronic diseases in adult populations residing in high income countries located within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Methods: A scoping review of studies conducted between 2010-2021 based on processed meat consumption and any chronic diseases of adults within HICs in the MENA region was carried out using seven databases. The scoping review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework, allowing for the research to be collated and summarised.
Results: After the searching and screening process, 8 studies remained and were included in the review. The following chronic diseases were focused on in the studies: chronic refractory cough (CRC), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), non-fatty liver disease (NAFLD and IR), dysglycemia and common mental disorder (CMD). Four of the studies found a positive relationship between processed meat consumption and chronic diseases, two found no association, and two had inconclusive results.
Conclusions: However, the small sample size has meant that clear conclusions on the topic cannot be drawn. Overall, more primary studies must be conducted on the topic in order to completely understand whether there is a relationship between increased intake of processed meat consumption and risk of chronic diseases
How have pandemics exacerbated inequalities, stigmatised certain groups, and prompted social change historically?
No full textThis literature review presents a historical analysis of pandemics. The Black Death, The ‘Spanish Flu’ and COVID-19 are explored to identify patterns of discrimination linked to marginalised minority groups. This dissertation aims to investigate how inequalities experienced by minority groups were exacerbated by the pandemics selected. It hopes to determine the impact on social change as measured by a) shifts in attitudes and behaviour in society, and b) changes in measures imposed by governmental bodies. Chapter One entails a detailed review of The Black Death and the massacres, Anti-Semitism and scapegoating Jewish communities faced at the time. Chapter Two examines racist ideology and segregation policies to understand how these pre-existing inequalities were exacerbated because of The ‘Spanish Flu’. In Chapter Three, COVID-19 is explored to understand how unequal consequences of the pandemic have been experienced by ethnic minorities. Social change is considered throughout these chapters. Learning from history is important in public health. It is hoped that such learning is used to inform policies that might protect populations that are, because of their position in society, more vulnerable during a pandemic. An analysis of the historical literature was chosen in favour of an empirical study as it allowed a comprehensive review of the experiences of minority groups across history and into the present day. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken (using electronic databases). Researching in a comprehensive and systematic manner ensured that literature found was appropriate and as unbiased as possible. Papers were critiqued against inclusion criteria as detailed further within the review. This was to ensure that reliable and credible literature was used. Themes arising from the review were analysed. The review of the literature found that history has repeated itself. COVID-19, like previous pandemics, has exacerbated health inequalities and stigma among ethnic minority group. The review found extensive patterns of stigma and discrimination across all groups analysed. Stigma was found to act as a rationale for racist, discriminatory, and violent behaviour towards marginalised groups. It was also a recurrent finding that, pre-existing inequalities (e.g. racial discrimination and poverty) were exacerbated during the pandemics studied. These issues went on to significantly disadvantage minority groups through higher rates of morbidity and mortality. When analysing social change, the review found little evidence of change in The Black Death or The ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic. However, there were some indications of societal awakening and increased support of Black Lives Matter groups during COVID-19. Recommendations emerging from the dissertation include the need to address inequalities and stigma, by giving the necessary support and aid to relevant communities. This would significantly benefit both minority groups and society as a whole
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