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Pakistan ranks third globally in terms of newborn deaths occuring within the first 24 hours of life. With a neonatal mortality rate of 42.0%, it carries the highest burden compared to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh (17%), India (22.7%) and Afghanistan (37%). While there has been a decline in neonatal mortality rates in Pakistan, the pace of this decline is slower than that of other countries in the region. Hence, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive examination of the risk factors contributing to neonatal mortality in Pakistan over an extended period. This study aims to analyze the trends and determinants of neonatal mortality in Pakistan over three decades, providing valuable insights into this persistent issue.

The study focused on neonatal mortality as the response variable, which is defined as the death of a live-born child within 28 days of birth. Neonates who passed away during this period were categorized as “cases,” while those who survived beyond a specific timeframe were referred to as “noncases.” To conduct a pooled analysis of neonatal mortality, birth records of 39,976 children born in the five years preceding the survey were extracted from four waves (1990–2018) of the Pakistan Demographic and Household Survey. The relationship between risk factors and the response variable was examined using the Cox Proportional Hazard Model. Neonatal mortality rates were calculated through the direct method using the “syncmrates” package in Stata 15.

During the extended period in Pakistan, several critical protective factors against neonatal mortality were identified, including a large family size, improved toilet facilities, middle-aged and educated mothers, female children, singleton live births, large size at birth and longer birth intervals. These factors were found to reduce the risk of neonatal mortality significantly.

This study makes the first attempt to analyze the trends and patterns of potential risk factors associated with neonatal mortality in Pakistan. By examining a large dataset spanning several years, the study provides valuable insights into the factors influencing neonatal mortality.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2022-0604

This paper aims to analyse residents’ perceptions of tourism growth in Porto prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, aiming to determine the most appropriate strategies to mitigate negative tourism impacts. Studies on resident perceptions of tourism impacts are still scarce, particularly the ones addressing the topic in the context of Portuguese urban tourism areas.

Data was collected through an online survey, focusing on three categories of impacts: (i) economic, (ii) sociocultural (iii) and spatial-environmental, and the respective mitigation strategies, analysed from the perspective of Porto’s residents. Descriptive and bivariate statistics – T-test and Eta correlation – were used to analyse the collected data.

Respondents who live in the city centre experience specific tourism impacts more negatively, when compared to those living outside the inner-city area. Furthermore, no strong correlation is found between the said impacts and the respective mitigation strategies. However, creating awareness among tourists about acceptable behaviour in shared spaces is the strategy that stands out, as it has a medium correlation with all three impact categories. Most impact-strategy associations are weak, meaning that the defined strategies are not the most case-appropriate, which is something that policymakers should address.

To the best of the author’s/authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to adopt this approach in tackling the negative impacts of rapid tourism growth in Porto.

The study explored how information institutions can support the resilience of parents of adolescents affected by the Russia–Ukraine war. Ukrainian parents are facing major challenges of supporting their teenagers through a difficult developmental phase while also “buffering” their war-related hardships. By supporting parents, information institutions can also support children.

Fifteen parents were interviewed about mental health challenges and resources that are helpful and/or missing from their support systems. Recordings of participant narratives were analyzed using the qualitative thematic analysis technique.

The findings indicate that both teens and parents rely on internal resilience skills, family, friends and community resources to support themselves. However, a number of additional resources could be offered by information institutions, including content for (1) teens on developing skills in communication, interpersonal relationships, problem solving and academic pursuits; (2) parents on child development and opportunities in their host countries; both groups on (3) both groups on mental health first aid and safe spaces to meet peers. The study recommendations will be of interest to information professionals working with families, especially families affected by disasters.

The study relied on a small convenience sample of participants.

Study recommendations would be of interest to information professionals who develop and provide services to families affected by natural and manmade disasters.

Study recommendations improve understanding of the (potential) role of information institutions and libraries in strengthening family and community resilience.

The study offers a rare insight into experiences of war-affect families and provides evidence-driven recommendations for information institutions to support family and community resilience.

This study aims to analyze to what extent distance education is feasible and efficient with the limited technological infrastructure in Egypt. The study answers this question from the perspective of households' preparedness level regarding possessing information and communication technologies (ICTs). In addition, it assesses whether the pattern of students' ICT ownership is influenced by disability- and socioeconomic-based inequality in education and whether the pattern of ICT ownership exacerbates such biases.

A three-stage probit model with double sample selection (PMDSS) was applied to estimate the factors likely to influence ICT possession, considering the selection process for school enrollment and education continuation. The authors utilized nationally representative data from the Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey 2018.

About 40% of students aged 12–25 did not have ICTs. Most socioeconomically poor households, particularly those living in Upper Egypt, were the least likely to obtain ICTs and rely on distance education. In addition, female students, particularly those with disabilities, had the lowest chance of benefitting from distance learning.

The persistent structural deprivation of school enrollment and educational progression has led to the positive selection of well-off children in education, which is extended to ICT possession and internet use. Without addressing these structural biases, the study suggests that distance education will likely exacerbate educational inequalities.

The study analyzed the extent to which Egyptian families were prepared in 2018 regarding ICT possessions for distance education for their children, particularly those with disabilities. Furthermore, it investigated whether access to distance learning was influenced by disability- and socioeconomic-based inequalities in education.

Despite a reduction in poverty the global population in 2015, the incidence of poverty remains very high in Sub-Saharan African countries. Most of the countries in the region are agrarian, with most of their population residing in rural areas, and a majority of the poor in the region are found in Nigeria. This study examined the nexus between participation in nonfarm enterprises (NFEs) and poverty among rural farm households in Nigeria and across the six geopolitical zones.

The Nigerian Living Standard Survey (NLSS) conducted in 2018–2019 by the National Bureau of Statistics was used. We made use of 13,440 farm households with useful information for the purpose of this study. The sample comprises 6,885 households that participated in NFEs and 6,555 nonparticipating households. The data were analyzed with Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (FGT) (1984) metrics, probit, and fractional probit models at p = 0.05.

The incidence of poverty was lower among the participating households than in the nonparticipating households. Participation in NFEs had a mitigating effect on poverty. We also established that zonal differentials in poverty rates exist among households in all the analyses. Participation in NFEs was influenced by individual, household, and institutional factors and was also able to explain the depth of poverty among the respondents.

It is suggested that poverty alleviation policies should be targeted at improving access to nonfarm economic activities by rural farm households residing in vulnerable geopolitical zones.

This study is the first attempt to profile household poverty based on the type of NFEs they are involved in. The study also provides an insight into the effect of the state of residence on zonal poverty models, which is expedient if the country must achieve Sustainable Development Goal 1 on the eradication of poverty everywhere.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0493

This paper examines the relationships between bank switching and both customer vulnerability and consumer-oriented policies (financial education and disclosure practices).

The analysis employs microdata from the Special Eurobarometer on Financial Products and Services, for 24 European nations. It carries out a probit estimation on the factors explaining propensity of bank switching, focusing on three characteristics associated with customer vulnerability: an advanced age, low educational attainment and residence in a rural or a relatively poor region.

The authors report that the probability of bank switching is significantly lower for three groups of vulnerable customers: the elderly, the less educated and those living in deprived regions. Further the authors identify that national financial education policies and disclosure practices have no significant effects on bank switching.

Based on these results, the authors propose more targeted policies recognising customers' heterogeneity are required to increase bank switching behaviour.

This paper exploits a unique source of information on bank switching behaviour and customer characteristics across European nations. These data are complemented with information about consumer financial education policies and disclosure practices from the World Bank and geographical, market and regulatory factors at the regional and national levels. The paper contributes to two academic areas. First, it presents further evidence on heterogeneity of bank customer switching behaviour, addressed at improving the understanding of customer vulnerability in banking services. Second, it examines the efficacy of consumer-oriented policies (financial literacy and disclosure practices) in encouraging bank switching.

Many refugees and asylum seekers in Germany experience a high disease burden and low health literacy. The current study aims to focus on assessing these issues among African refugees and asylum seekers in Bavaria, Germany. The authors evaluated their self-perceived health status and health literacy, and identified barriers and gaps in health care utilization, intending to improve health care services for this group.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study involving 69 refugees and asylum seekers from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Nigeria. The authors performed descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses.

The authors found a substantial disease burden in the early stages of resettlement in Germany, particularly mental health symptoms (53.6%) and musculoskeletal problems (47.8%). Challenges in health literacy were observed, such as difficulties in understanding health information and managing emergency situations. Access to interpreters was limited, and understanding treatment certificates was more challenging than using electronic health cards, with 18.2% of participants reporting denial of medical treatment.

These findings highlight the need for early and tailored health support for refugees, with a particular focus on mental health. Efforts should be made to reduce language barriers and improve navigational skills within the health-care system, particularly in emergency situations. Addressing the restricted access to health care and bureaucratic obstacles is crucial for improved health outcomes among refugees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to specifically explore the self-reported health status and health literacy of African refugees and asylum seekers in Bavaria, Germany, providing valuable insights into the unique healthcare challenges of this often underrepresented and overlooked population.

Initiator crimes, also known as near-repeat crimes, occur in places with known risk factors and vulnerabilities based on prior crime-related experiences or information. Consequently, the environment in which initiator crimes occur might be different from more general crime environments. This study aimed to analyse the differences between the environments of initiator crimes and general crimes, confirming the need for predicting initiator crimes.

We compared predictive models using data corresponding to initiator crimes and all residential burglaries without considering repetitive crime patterns as dependent variables. Using random forest and gradient boosting, representative ensemble models and predictive models were compared utilising various environmental factor data. Subsequently, we evaluated the performance of each predictive model to derive feature importance and partial dependence based on a highly predictive model.

By analysing environmental factors affecting overall residential burglary and initiator crimes, we observed notable differences in high-importance variables. Further analysis of the partial dependence of total residential burglary and initiator crimes based on these variables revealed distinct impacts on each crime. Moreover, initiator crimes took place in environments consistent with well-known theories in the field of environmental criminology.

Our findings indicate the possibility that results that do not appear through the existing theft crime prediction method will be identified in the initiator crime prediction model. Emphasising the importance of investigating the environments in which initiator crimes occur, this study underscores the potential of artificial intelligence (AI)-based approaches in creating a safe urban environment. By effectively preventing potential crimes, AI-driven prediction of initiator crimes can significantly contribute to enhancing urban safety.

The present study explored the young women's lived experiences of discrimination and othering based on skin tone in two rural localities of Uttarakhand , State of India. The authors used intersectionality as the theoretical lens for this study.

The authors have adopted an interpretive phenomenological study in the conduct of this research. The authors interviewed twelve female participants in person using a semi-structured interview schedule. The data were analysed using the six-stage data analysis process of interpretive phenomenological analysis.

The study's findings underline the experiences of stigma, negative self-concept, marriage is a complex reality, media's influence and skin whitening is the first and last resort. Dark-skinned women experience stressful life events due to their skin tone and society's prejudice favouring white and fair skin tones. The experiences of bullying, social shame, guilt and low esteem were also vivid.

This study reveals women's exposure to negative experiences of skin-tone-based discrimination prevalent in Indian society. This is one of the first kinds of such study in India that captures the dark-hued women's recurrent phenomenon of discrimination in their daily lives. It further shows that skin-tone bias and discrimination are widely prevalent and practised despite the claims that Indian society is free from skin-tone biasedness and subsequent discrimination.

Goal setting is a crucial aspect of client-centered practice in occupational therapy (OT) for mental health conditions. However, it remains to be seen how goal-setting has been delivered in mental health, particularly the OT process. The purpose of this scoping review was to explore the nature and extent of goal setting delivered in mental health and informed OT practice.

The authors followed the guidelines of Arksey and O’Malley (2005) and searched three databases using key search terms: “mental disorder,” “goal setting,” and “occupational therapy” and their synonyms.

After excluding duplicate records, the authors initially screened 883 records and resulted in 20 records in total after the screening process. Most of the identified articles used goal-setting delivered by both a health professional and a client (n = 14), and focused on people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (n = 13), but three interventions were delivered by occupational therapists. Further research needs on goal-setting in mental health OT, exploring the reliability and validity of different goal-setting strategies and investigating the effectiveness of goal-setting for promoting behavior change and client engagement across various mental health conditions and settings.

The scoping review has some limitations, such as not investigating the validity and reliability of goal-setting strategies identified, and excluding conference papers and non-English articles.

This scoping review presents a mapping of how goal-setting has been delivered in mental health and informed OT practice. The findings suggest limited research in OT and highlight the need for more studies to address the evidence gap in individualized client-centered OT.