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Wicked problems and the recovery of meaning: critical systems thinking for injury care in low- and middle-income countries
No full textExploring the experiences and challenges in managing type 2 diabetes among adults in Harare, Zimbabwe - a grounded theory study
Full text linkBackground: The global increase in type 2 diabetes is particularly pronounced in low-income countries such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the consequences are more severe. Fragile healthcare systems, shortages of healthcare workers, and poor patient disease management aggravate this trend. Understanding patients' experiences and difficulties is essential for developing evidence-based, patient-centered interventions from their perspective. This study aims to explore the experiences and challenges faced by patients with type 2 diabetes who are receiving care at community pharmacies in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Method: Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with type 2 diabetes who were recruited from community pharmacies using purposive and theoretical sampling. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed by the main researcher.
Results: The study highlighted three main themes reflecting participants’ experiences with managing type 2 diabetes: striving to adjust; receiving social support; and feeling a loss of self-identity. Participants also pointed out the difficulties of living with the condition, including facing financial constraints, encountering societal stigma, and enduring negative emotions. For many, these emotional and financial struggles deeply challenged their resolve to manage the disease.
Conclusion: Understanding the experiences and challenges faced by patients with type 2 diabetes from their perspective helps healthcare providers better grasp their needs, concerns, and fears. This understanding enables more person-centred support for self-management. Given that socioeconomic status greatly influences diabetes management, urgent policy changes are needed to lessen financial burdens, especially for low-income populations at greater risk as diabetes prevalence rises
Relationship between self-control, impulsivity, reinforcement sensitivity, shopping characteristics and problematic shopping among female and male emerging adults
Full text linkproblematic shopping impulsivity self-control reinforcement sensitivity consumer behavior Problematic shopping, also known as compulsive buying or shopping addiction in its most extreme form, is a growing concern in modern consumer behavior. The present study examined the relationships between self-control, impulsivity, reinforcement sensitivity, shopping characteristics, and problematic shopping among emerging adult females and males. A sample comprising 1,075 Polish participants (835 females, 240 males), aged 18-30 years, was surveyed. The key variables (i.e., problematic shopping, impulsivity, self-control, and reinforcement sensitivity) were assessed with validated psychometric instruments. Path models were applied to evaluate the relationships between variables and gender differences. Problematic shopping was positively associated with motor and attentional impulsivity among females, while goal maintenance was negatively associated with problematic shopping among males. Among females, paying attention to product brands and credit/loan use was significantly associated with problematic shopping, while there was a negative association with paying attention to price. In both groups, problematic shopping was associated with increased online and offline shopping time. Results also indicated that reinforcement sensitivity (behavioral activation system-reward interest) was negatively associated with problematic shopping among females. The results suggested that motor impulsivity was more important in problematic shopping among females than males. The present study highlights the importance of impulsivity, self-control deficits, and shopping characteristics in developing problematic shopping behaviors. Gender differences indicate distinct mechanisms underlying problematic shopping tendencies. The findings contribute to a better understanding of problematic shopping and offer insights for targeted prevention and intervention strategies
Crafting social entrepreneuring: intra-sectional possibilities in responding to GBV
No full textThe intersectional nature of gender-based violence (GBV) makes it unlikely that survivors can escape the socio-economic precarity that perpetuates this social ill. Current conceptualizations of the entrepreneurial process do not sufficiently account for the material constraints GBV survivors face in developing countries and/or in contexts of poverty, and as such, may not fully grasp their capacities to engage in social entrepreneuring. We develop a theoretical model, drawing on new materialist thinking, to enable a better grasp of the intra-organizational conditions and agency that may allow GBV survivors to engage in social entrepreneuring. More specifically, our interpretation of the materiality involved in craft-based social entrepreneuring in Watville allows us to conceptualize entrepreneurial becoming as an intra-sectional response to GBV. The study´s unique contribution is that we offer a new-materialist processual conceptualization of the emergence of social entrepreneuring amongst GBV survivors with intergenerational histories of trauma, inequality and poverty that perpetuate the social and economic precarity in South Africa post Covid-19. This enables a more precise grasp of the agency and intra-sectionality at work in the empirical realities of women engaging in craft-based social entrepreneurship, with implications for processual and new materialist research beyond this case
Does the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales–Youth version (DASS-Y) remain consistent across time and diverse school-aged youth?
Full text linkBackground: The recently developed Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales–Youth Version (DASS-Y) shows promise as a tool for assessing youth mental health, but its consistency across timepoints and diverse ages remains underexplored. The present study evaluated whether the DASS-Y reliably measured depression, anxiety, and stress among school-aged youth (aged 9–18 years) across distinct time periods and educational stages.
Methods: Two studies were conducted. Study 1 examined consistency over three months using data from 736 Central Chinese high school students who completed surveys at both timepoints. Study 2 tested consistency across educational levels among 2321 primary and 1676 middle school students. Traditional confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), and Rasch analysis were employed to assess the scale’s construct validity and measurement invariance.
Results: Rasch analysis indicated acceptable DASS-Y item fit (infit/outfit statistics = 0.50–1.50) and moderate test-retest reliability (ICCs = 0.64–0.69). The ESEM approach demonstrated superior model fit compared to CFA, achieving a good RMSEA (0.056–0.062) and lower latent factor correlations (r = 0.40–0.60), supporting longitudinal scalar invariance. Across educational levels, measurement invariance was supported, with only a small number of items exhibiting differential item functioning (DIF).
Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that the DASS-Y is a reliable tool for assessing emotional health among non-clinical school-aged youth, offering educators a validated measure to monitor psychological well-being across developmental stages and time, thereby informing strategies to support youth mental health in community and educational settings. Future research among clinical populations is needed to extend its utility for diagnostic purposes
