Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Social Protection”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 757 records · Page 42Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Social relationships, social support, and patterns of cognitive aging in healthy, high-functioning older adults: MacArthur studies of successful aging.

This study examines the relationship of social ties and support to patterns of cognitive aging in the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging (see L. F. Berkman et al., 1993), a cohort study of 1,189 initially high-functioning older adults. Baseline and longitudinal data provide information on initial levels as well as changes in cognitive performance over a 7.5-year period. Linear regression analyses revealed that participants receiving more emotional support had better baseline performance, as did those who were unmarried and those reporting greater conflict with network members. Greater baseline emotional support was also a significant predictor of better cognitive function at the 7.5-year follow-up, controlling for baseline cognitive function and known sociodemographic, behavioral, psychological, and health status predictors of cognitive aging. The findings suggest the potential value of further research on the role of the social environment in protecting against cognitive declines at older ages.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Prevention of sexual aggression: Sociocultural risk and protective factors.

Physiological, cognitive, affective, and developmental sociocultural risk factors for perpetrating sexual aggression are identified. Feminine and multicultural socialization may serve as protective factors against these risk factors because both forms of socialization emphasize empathy and sexuality in the context of committed relationships. It is proposed that feminist and multicultural education across the developmental span may constitute methods of reducing and preventing the development of sexually aggressive behavior. However, feminist and multicultural approaches may have limited impact without greater acceptance within societal power structures, including psychology. The authors call for psychologists interested in reducing sexually aggressive behavior to become better informed and experienced with feminist and multicultural approaches. They also suggest that it may be time for all persons in society to become competent in multiple domains.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Adolescents who experienced sexual abuse: fears, needs and impediments to disclosure.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding the impediments that prevented sexually abused adolescents from disclosure to their family or to professionals, and analyzing the responses they received when they did disclose. METHODS: In depth anonymous interviews were conducted in Italy through a toll-free telephone line with 36 young people who experienced sexual abuse in adolescence. A qualitative analysis was carried out of the adolescents' feelings, fears and needs, and of the help received, if any. RESULTS: The main impediments to disclose to a family member were fear of not being believed, shame, and fear of causing trouble to the family. The main impediments for not seeking services were ignorance of the existence/functioning of protective agencies, wish to keep the secret, lack of awareness of being abused, mistrust of adults and professionals, and fear of the consequences of disclosure. When they did disclose to professionals, the teens received very limited support. CONCLUSION: Adolescents need to receive proper information about the risk of being sexually abused and about the help they can receive from their social network and protective agencies. There is a crucial need for appropriate training of professionals.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Child maltreatment and the use of social services.

A secondary analysis of 100 cases histories selected from social service records in a county department of social services (DSS) was conducted to examine the amount and kind of social services that persons identified as having maltreated a child received. Other objectives of the analysis were to observe the pattern of social service utilization over time and to discover what, if any, factors were associated with receiving social services. To accomplish these study objectives, two groups were selected for analysis: a target group of 50 families that had been reported to the county DSS for child maltreatment and a group of 50 families that had never been so reported. Both groups were composed mainly of young and socioeconomically deprived families that were characterized by poor incomes, little education, and low occupational levels. Analyses revealed significant differences in the amount and type of social services used by families in the target group and the comparison group. Although family structure was found to be related to the total amount of social service utilization, the degree of social disorganization within the family did not correlate with utilization. The study results indicate that the level of social services that protective service clients need and the level that they are actually getting should be re-examined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

[Foreign minors in the protection system of the Autonomous Community of Aragón (Spain)].

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of foreign minors in protection centers, their demographic characteristics, and reasons for entry, as well as the relation with geographic area, family, social and health risk factors, and high-priority health needs. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional study over an 11-year period (1992-2002). The health and socio-familial reports of 1,619 minors who were admitted to protection centers were reviewed and those from a foreign country were included. Compilation of information, definition of concepts, and health assessments were performed according to standard protocols. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-one foreign minors (males 66.4 %) with a mean age (SD) of 11 (3.2) years (adolescents 64.7 %, infants-preschoolers 26.1 %) were admitted during the study period. The prevalence was 4.6 times higher than that expected. Origin: Africa 68.9 % (Maghreb 56.4 %, sub-Saharan 12.5 %), Europe 23.6 % (west 14.5 %, east 9.1 %), Latin-America 5.4 %, and Asia 2.1 %. Reasons for entry, demography and relation with geographic area were as follows: 1. Being an abandoned illegal immigrant 41.1 % (all male adolescents, 98 % from the Maghreb); 2. Maltreatment 33.2 % (passive maltreatment-to-active ratio 2.3:1, no difference by sex, age mode 2 years; Asia 80 %; Europe 61.5 %, west-to-east ratio 4.8:1, gypsy ethnicity from Portugal and Rumania 90.3 %; Latin-America 38.4 %; Africa 21.7 %, no difference by geographic area); 3. Temporary incapacity for their care 18.7 % (female-to-male ratio 1.8:1, age mode 1 year; Latin-America 38.4 %, Africa 18.1 %, Europe 17.5 %); 4. Other causes 7 %. RISK FACTORS: at least one (78.4 %) and more than one (33.6 %); housing problems and especially living in a single parent family. Health disorders: at least one (65.1 %); disabling disease (2.1 %); main problems: dental (36.3 %), immunization (27.6 %), dermatologic (19.1 %), growth and nutrition (13.7 %), and infectious and parasitic diseases (13.3 %). CONCLUSIONS: Being a minor immigrant in a foreign country with problems of documentation, housing or family regrouping and especially if there are language, cultural or racial (ethnic minorities) barriers is a major risk factor for living in a situation of vulnerability, risk or neglect/abandonment that requires social protection measures. Continuous follow-up by the social services of the adoptive community is required for the prevention and early detection of children in need of protection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Abuse, HIV status and health-related quality of life among a sample of HIV positive and HIV negative low income women.

The assessment of a person's quality of life as it relates to health, HIV status and intimate partner violence (IPV) among women has been limited in its scope of investigation. Consequently, little is known about the adjusted and combined effects of IPV and HIV on women's health status and QOL. 445 women (188 HIV + 257 HIV -) residing in an urban low income area were interviewed regarding current IPV experiences (no IPV, IPV more than 1 year ago, IPV in last year), HIV status (positive and negative), use of illicit drugs, and presence of instrumental social support. Health-related QOL (HRQOL) was measured using the MOS-HIV. Stratified bivariate analyses demonstrate that living with HIV or having experienced IPV in the past year was significantly associated with poorer levels of HRQOL. Multiple logistic regression models indicate a robust negative relationship between the experience of IPV in the past year, living with HIV, use of illicit drugs and a protective effect of social support on women's reported HRQOL. The results of the bivariate and multivariate analyses provide evidence that there are independent and adjusted detrimental associations of the experience of IPV and living with HIV with women's HRQOL. As HRQOL is a good indicator of physical and mental health, these findings should alert health care and other service providers to their responsibility to screen and treat women experiencing intimate partner violence and living with HIV.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Maintaining support in people with paralysis: what works?

Social support is a protective factor for well-being in the risk-and-resilience framework, yet people with paralysis report lower levels of support compared to people without paralysis. Rather than examine deficits, in this study, the authors conducted in-depth interviews with individuals who report high levels of social support to examine what sustains this protective factor. Because relationship equity affects social support, the authors also examined this. They selected participants who reported high levels of support from a survey sample of 299 U.S. adults experiencing some form of paralysis. Seventeen participants completed the in-depth interview. The importance of reciprocity, maintaining autonomy, and a positive outlook for sustaining support were themes identified in the content analysis. In their responses, people with high support emphasized that they do all they can to affect their environment positively, so that ideally, the only assistance that they cannot provide themselves is successfully obtained from others.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1998

Perceived social support and abdominal fat distribution in adolescents and young adults: a structural equation analysis of prospective data.

We prospectively examined the relationship between perceived social support and abdominal fat distribution. A 3-year follow-up study of 235 randomly selected healthy adolescents and young adults was used. Abdominal fat distribution was measured by means of the waist to hip circumference ratio (WHR), and social support was measured by the Perceived Social Support Scale-Revised. Data were analysed using structural equation models. Changes in social support were inversely associated with changes in WHR, adjusted for body-mass index, among boys and men. This association was less evident among girls and women. The relationship of social support with WHR was independent of depression and hostility. The findings suggest that social support may protect against abdominal fat accumulation, thereby potentially decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease later in life.

Abdomen↗
PubMed2006

Stigma and discrimination towards people with schizophrenia and their family members. A qualitative study with focus groups.

BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of data regarding the actual stigma and discrimination experienced by schizophrenic patients and their relatives. Those experiences can vary significantly depending on the specific social group involved. We have explored such phenomena in our culture with a qualitative technique. METHODS: We developed a qualitative study with focus groups of clinically stable schizophrenic outpatients (N = 18) and relatives (N = 26). Three groups were performed in each sample. RESULTS: Six categories of stigma and discrimination experiences were extracted from the patients' data: Mental illness vs. Lack of will, Prejudice related to dangerousness, Over-protection-infantilization, Daily social discrimination, Discrimination in health care, Descendants, Avoidance-social isolation. Data from relatives were divided into three sets: discrimination towards the patients witnessed by relatives, discrimination suffered by the relatives themselves and discrimination exerted by the relatives on the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients and relatives describe a great variety of stigma and discrimination experiences in all areas of life, including health care. Isolation and avoidance are common reactions to those experiences. Publicizing these stigma and discrimination experiences could help to reduce stigmatizing attitudes in society and result in healthier reactions from patients, favoring a better course of the illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Family support in general practice.

At a time when social services are overburdened in Britain, family support in general practice offers one way to fill the gap. In the Well Family Project, a 'family support coordinator' worked within a general practice in Hackney, London. In the first eighteen months she saw 113 clients. Evaluation was by semistructured interviews with a sample of these clients and with professional workers. Comments from those interviewed indicate that the family support was valued. The general practice base was convenient and non-stigmatizing. By adopting a proactive approach, the project was able to work with clients who had previously 'slipped through the net'. Some of the professionals interviewed would have liked to provide the same help, but were unable to do so because of time and other constraints. Family support provided through general practice was well received by vulnerable families. Although there was overlap with the remit of health visitors and social workers, the protected time and the independence of the coordinator enabled clients to obtain the help they wanted. The replicability of this strategy now needs to be assessed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The role of life stress and social support in the adjustment of sexually victimized pregnant and parenting minority adolescents.

Associations among sexual victimization and the psychosocial functioning of African American and Latina pregnant and parenting adolescents were examined. Forty-seven (17.7%) of the 265 participants reported histories of sexual victimization, most of which was unwanted sexual intercourse. The victimized adolescents reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and life stress and, although the two groups reported no differences in their levels of social support, support was found to be differentially related to depression and anxiety in the two groups. In particular, victims derived benefits from social support at low levels of stress, but social support provided no protection against depression and anxiety at average or high levels of stress. For nonvictims, social support provided no benefits at low levels of stress, but protected against depression and anxiety at moderate levels of stress and against depression at high levels of stress. Implications of these findings for research, theory, and intervention are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Epidemic of women battering. Recognition and intervention by health care professionals.

Domestic violence impacts every member of society and takes an emotional toll on the victim, her family (especially children), friends, and law enforcement and health professionals called on to assist. It affects the economic system in medical expenses, social services to protect the victim and her children, time lost from work by the victim, and expense to jail and prosecute the abuser.

Absenteeism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Problems of the development of clinical social work as professional activity].

Population health protection is a vast sphere of professional social activity. At the present stage of reformation medicosocial activity acquires the features of professional activity of an intersectoral type aimed at medical rehabilitation, legislative, psychological, pedagogical, and sociocommunal care of clients in order to repair and maintain his or her physical, mental, and social well-being. Such an approach to the solution of interdiscipline problems of subjects finding themselves in difficult situations implies comprehensive research.

Health Services↗
PubMed2006

Comprehensive reform to improve health system performance in Mexico.

Despite having achieved an average life expectancy of 75 years, much the same as that of more developed countries, Mexico entered the 21st century with a health system marred by its failure to offer financial protection in health to more than half of its citizens; this was both a result and a cause of the social inequalities that have marked the development process in Mexico. Several structural limitations have hampered performance and limited the progress of the health system. Conscious that the lack of financial protection was the major bottleneck, Mexico has embarked on a structural reform to improve health system performance by establishing the System of Social Protection in Health (SSPH), which has introduced new financial rules and incentives. The main innovation of the reform has been the Seguro Popular (Popular Health Insurance), the insurance-based component of the SSPH, aimed at funding health care for all those families, most of them poor, who had been previously excluded from social health insurance. The reform has allowed for a substantial increase in public investment in health while realigning incentives towards better technical and interpersonal quality. This paper describes the main features and initial results of the Mexican reform effort, and derives lessons for other countries considering health-system transformations under similarly challenging circumstances.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1987

Depressive disorder associated with physical illness. The impact of stroke.

The consultation-liaison psychiatrist is confronted time after time with depression in the context of physical illness, and the link between the two is of practical and theoretical interest. In addressing this topic, current classification systems are ambiguous. The advent of research diagnostic criteria and the primary/secondary depression dichotomy have not clarified the problem as was hoped. The conventional view that physical illness only precipitates depression in the genetically predisposed has been challenged by recent studies in patients with stroke. These studies point to a specific role for factors such as lesion location, severity of disability, and social support. In addition, the process of adjustment to serious physical illness can be understood in terms of personal vulnerability including low self-esteem, conflict within close relationships (particularly marital), and negative experiences in the developmental history. Acting on this vulnerability is the stressful life event (e.g., illness) that can have particular force if "matched" to the subjects existing psychologic conflicts. A modifying factor on the outcome of the adjustment is the influence of social support in protecting the individual from the life event. A list of potential factors influencing the occurrence of depression with physical illness is proposed. Variables likely to have an important place include 1) family history of psychiatric disorder, 2) a past personal history of depression, 3) the premorbid personality, 4) the impact of life events including the illness, 5) the degree of disability from the illness, 6) the presence of brain pathology and neuroendocrine abnormalities, and 7) the quality of social support during the time of illness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A social services-public health partnership in child protection: a rural model.

It is widely recognized that the amelioration of individual and family problems which contribute to child abuse and neglect requires a multidisciplinary effort. Unfortunately, however, these efforts are often sporadic or disjointed. This article is a description of a county social service-public health partnership in rural Minnesota which can serve as a model for other agencies interested in developing more interactive relationships with one another to the benefit of dysfunctional families and vulnerable children. A respect for one another's professional knowledge base and skills, a shared philosophy of intervention, and supportive agency administrators are the key components that make this model successful. Social workers and public health nurses working together--and in cooperation with still other professionals in the community--can identify and help to resolve those unmet social, psychological, and health needs which often are found in dysfunctional families. Public health nurses have many talents and a very diverse knowledge base that can be tapped by legally designated social workers who are charged by State statutes with intervening in cases involving physical or sexual abuse or neglect of children. The Brown County, MN, model is an example of a collaborative strategy that can be replicated nationwide.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Risk factors for reported elder abuse and neglect: a nine-year observational cohort study.

To determine longitudinal risk factors for elder abuse and neglect, an established cohort of community-dwelling older adults (n = 2,812) was linked with elderly protective service records over a 9-year follow-up period. Protective services saw 184 (6.5%) individuals in the cohort for any indication, and 47 cohort members were seen for corroborated elder abuse or neglect for a sampling adjusted 9-year prevalence of 1.6% (95% CI 1.0%, 2.1%). In pooled logistic regression, age, race, poverty, functional disability, and cognitive impairment were identified as risk factors for reported elder mistreatment. Additionally, the onset of new cognitive impairment was also associated with elder abuse and neglect. Because the mechanism of elder mistreatment case-finding in this study was a social welfare system (protective services), the influence of race and poverty as risk factors is likely to be overestimated due to reporting bias.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2005

Social capital and risk for chronic illnesses.

OBJECTIVES: This study used an ecological model of social capital to examine the relationship between social capital and chronic illness. The model hypothesizes that personal social support and collective social capital are related to risk for chronic illnesses. METHODS: Data were taken from the American Changing Lives public use database. Seven hundred and sixty-nine persons meeting inclusion criteria were included. Dependent variables were the reported presence of hypertension and diabetes. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify correlates of these chronic illnesses, including demographic variables, and social capital and social support variables measured at both the personal and collective levels. RESULTS: Significant results were usually consistent with model hypotheses; that is, measures of social capital and social support were related to the presence of diabetes and hypertension in expected ways. However, in other cases, the hypothesized relationships were not statistically significant, due to limitations in the model or data. DISCUSSION: Social support and social capital both serve as protective factors against chronic illness. Development of social capital may proceed from the personal family and social environment to collective measures of trust and engagement, and this suggests that family relationships are the foundation on which to base efforts to build social capital.

Adult↗