7 research outputs found
COVID-19 infodemic and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic respiratory diseases: A multicentre, observational study
No full textBackground: The explosion of information, misinformation and disinformation (the "infodemic") related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on digital and social media is reported to affect mental health and quality of life. However, reports assessing the COVID-19 infodemic on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with chronic diseases are scarce. In this study, we investigated the associations between the infodemic and HRQL in uninfected individuals with pre-existing chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other CRDs. Methods: We conducted a multi-national, cross-sectional, observational study in Canada, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom where we distributed a set of digitised questionnaires among 1018 participants with chronic respiratory diseases who were not infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus at least three months prior to the study. We collected information about the infodemic such as news watching or social media use more than usual during the pandemic. HRQL was assessed using the short form of the chronic respiratory questionnaire (SF-CRQ). Demographic information, comorbidities, compliance, mental health, behavioural function, and social support were also recorded. We analysed the direct and indirect relationships between infodemic and HRQL using structural equation models (SEM). Results: Of all participants, 54% were females and had a mean (standard deviation (SD)) age of 53 (17) years. We found that higher infodemic was associated with worse emotional function (regression coefficient β = -0.08; 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.14 to -0.01), which means a one SD change of the higher infodemic latent variable was associated with a 0.08 SD change of emotional function level. The association between higher infodemic and worse emotional function was mediated by worse mental health and behavioural functions but is marginally ameliorated by improved social support. In stratification analysis, we found significant disease and country-wise variations in the associations between infodemic and SF-CRQ domain scores. Conclusions: These results provide new evidence that the COVID-19 infodemic significantly influences the HRQL in patients with CRDs through a complex interplay between mental health, behavioural function, and social support. This new dimension of research also opens avenues for further research on infodemic-related health effects in other chronic diseases
Less social deprivation is associated with better health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in asthma and is mediated by less anxiety and better sleep quality
No full textBackground Previous studies on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in asthma have mainly focused on clinical and environmental determinants. Little is known about the role of social determinants on HRQoL in asthma. Objectives We aimed to investigate the association between social deprivation and HRQoL in asthma. Methods 691 adult asthmatics from Canada, India, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom were administered a digital questionnaire containing demographic information, and questions about social and psychological attributes, sleep disturbances, and alcohol abuse. HRQoL was measured using the short-form chronic respiratory disease questionnaire (SF-CRQ). We analyzed the direct and indirect relationships between social deprivation and HRQoL using structural equation models with social deprivation as a latent variable. We tested for mediation via anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and alcohol abuse. Results We found that less social deprivation (latent variable) was directly associated with better SF-CRQ domain scores such as dyspnea (β: 0.33; 95%CI: 0.07 to 0.58), fatigue (β: 0.39; 95%CI: 0.14 to 0.64), and emotional function (β: 0.37; 95%CI: 0.11 to 0.62), but with worse mastery score (β: -0.29; 95%CI: -0.55 to -0.03); however, those associations varied across participating countries. We also observed that among all individual social deprivation indicators, education, companionship, emotional support, instrumental support, and social isolation were directly associated with HRQoL and the relationship between social deprivation and HRQoL was mediated through anxiety and sleep disturbances. Conclusions Our results demonstrated that less social deprivation was directly, and indirectly through less anxiety and better sleep quality, associated with better HRQoL in asthma
Parent – Adolescent Communication and Delinquency: A Comparative study in Kolkata, India.
No full textThe present study assessed the impact of one of the dimension of parenting practices, that is, parent- adolescent communication and its influence on the development of delinquent behavior. The data was collected from 200 adolescents (100 delinquents and 100 non- delinquents) aged 11- 18 years. Results indicated that there exists a significant difference between delinquent and non- delinquent adolescents, in their perception of satisfactory parental communication. Further analyses revealed that both mother’s and father’s separate communication as well as their interaction effect was linked to the development of delinquent behavior. It was further noted that a satisfactory mother- adolescent communication was much more important compared to the father- adolescent communication in the present context. Furthermore, age of the adolescent was also related to delinquency and it was observed that early adolescence was a richer breeding ground of delinquency, although a satisfactory parental communication was crucial all throughout the adolescent period to serve as a protective factor against delinquency. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed
Parenting Behavior and Juvenile Delinquency Among Low-Income Families
No full textIt is widely known that parenting behavior has an impact on the development of delinquent behavior among adolescents. However, there is paucity of studies focusing on parenting behavior and its relation to juvenile delinquency among low-income families from India. The authors examined a wide range of parenting behavior and its relationship to juvenile delinquency in low-income families among Indians. Data were collected from 27 juvenile delinquent boys who were residing temporarily in an observation home in Kolkata (West Bengal, India) and 100 matched control (with respect to their socioeconomic status) juvenile boys, 11–18 years old, also from the same city. The overall findings revealed that there were higher levels of permissive parenting in the families of delinquent adolescents. It may be because low-income families have many family members that initiated the adolescents to take up some jobs to increase the family income, and this in turn affected their parents’ parenting behavior
Selina Hossain\u27s novel \u27Nil Mayurer Jouban\u27: The Reconstruction of Charyapad and the Struggle for Self-Establishment of the Common Man/ সেলিনা হোসেনের ‘নীল ময়ূরের যৌবন’ উপন্যাস : চর্যাপদের পুনর্নির্মাণ ও সাধারণ মানুষের আত্মপ্রতিষ্ঠার লড়াই
No full textThe novel ‘Neel Mayurer Jauban’ written by Selina Hossain. In this novel, the author has reconstructed the events of Charyapad. Charyapad- a symbol of the ancient Bengali language. The language movement in Bangladesh took place in 1952. Then in 1971, a movement was held to form an independent state. Bangladesh separated from the Pakistani state and declared itself as an independent state on December 16, 1971. The author has expressed this language movement and independence movement in Bangladesh on the basis of Charyapad. She has compared the social system of Bengal during Charyapad\u27s time with the social situation of the present Bengali country. Just as the common people of Bangladesh stood against the power structure and formed an independent Bangladesh, the characters in Charyapad also dream of their own separate and independent territory. This awakening and struggle of the common people has been analyzed in this article
The Influence of Artificial Light at Night on Asthma and Allergy, Mental Health, and Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Scoping Review Protocol
No full textArtificial light at night (ALAN) exposure is associated with the disruption of human circadian processes. Through numerous pathophysiological mechanisms such as melatonin dysregulation, it is hypothesised that ALAN exposure is involved in asthma and allergy, mental illness, and cancer outcomes. There are numerous existing studies considering these relationships; however, a critical appraisal of available evidence on health outcomes has not been completed. Due to the prevalence of ALAN exposure and these outcomes in society, it is critical that current evidence of their association is understood. Therefore, this systematic scoping review will aim to assess the association between ALAN exposure and asthma and allergy, mental health, and cancer outcomes. This systematic scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. We will search bibliographic databases, registries, and references. We will include studies that have described potential sources of ALAN exposure (such as shift work or indoor and outdoor exposure to artificial light); have demonstrated associations with either allergic conditions (including asthma), mental health, or cancer-related outcomes; and are published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We will conduct a comprehensive literature search, title and abstract screening, full-text review, and data collection and analysis for each outcome separately
