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Atsuko Kawakami, Subi Gandhi, Derek Lehman and Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld
The disparities of COVID-19 vaccination rates between the rural and urban areas have become apparent during this pandemic. There is a need to understand the root causes of vaccine…
Abstract
Purpose
The disparities of COVID-19 vaccination rates between the rural and urban areas have become apparent during this pandemic. There is a need to understand the root causes of vaccine hesitancy demonstrated by the rural population to increase coverage and to contain the disease spread throughout the United States. This study aimed to explore other factors influencing vaccine hesitancy among rural dwellers besides the geography-related barriers such as poor health care access and individuals having no or suboptimal insurance coverage.
Methodology/Approach
By reviewing existing data and literature about vaccination, health literacy, and behaviors, and prevailing ideologies, we discuss the potential causes of vaccine hesitancy in rural areas that could create barriers for successful public health efforts related to vaccine coverage and provide suggestions to ameliorate the situation.
Findings
Geography-related barriers, health literacy, and preconceived notions are key determinants of adopting healthy behaviors and complying with public health authorities' recommendations among rural individuals during a public-health crisis. We argue that ideology, which is much deeper than preconception or misconception on vaccination, should be incorporated as a key factor to redefine the term “vulnerable populations” in public health research.
Research Limitations/Implications
The limitation of our study is that we have not found an effective way to encourage the populations who hold conservative religious and political ideologies to join the efforts for public health. Even though geography-related barriers may strongly impact the rural dwellers in achieving optimal health, the various forms of ideologies they have toward certain health behaviors cannot be discounted to understand and address vaccine-related disparities in rural areas. There is a need to redefine the term “vulnerable population” particularly as it relates to rural areas in the United States. During large-scale public health disasters, scholars and public health authorities should consider the ideologies of individuals, in addition to other factors such as race/ethnicity, area of residence (rural vs. urban), and socioeconomic factors influencing the existing vulnerabilities and health disparities.
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Sarah-Anne Munoz, Jane Farmer, Rachel Winterton and Jo Barraket
The purpose of this paper is to present an Australian case study and to explore how social enterprises may be conceptualised as spaces of well-being, that is the ways in which…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present an Australian case study and to explore how social enterprises may be conceptualised as spaces of well-being, that is the ways in which social enterprises, not explicitly delivering health services, may be producing health and well-being benefits for those who come into contact with them.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study in Australia is used to explore in depth the mechanisms of well-being production. Data were collected using ethnographic observation, focus groups and walking interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, GIS and the lens of therapeutic assemblage.
Findings
The case study social enterprise produces well-being as integration, capability, security and therapy. The social enterprise acts as a therapeutic assemblage with well-being “spoken”, “practiced” and “felt” within the social enterprise. The ways in which well-being is generated are often linked to the productive element of enterprise – and have the potential to contribute to tackling several contemporary health challenges and inequalities relating to, for example, a lack of physical activity and levels of social isolation.
Research limitations/implications
This paper draws on a single Australian case study but points to the need for further in-depth work in the area of social enterprise and health.
Originality/value
The paper advances our understanding of how social enterprises may be linked to health and well-being. It goes beyond quantification of, for example, number of clients helped, to consider the wider experience of well-being for those who come into contact with social enterprises.
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Tuula Nygård, Noora Hirvonen, Sari Räisänen and Riitta-Liisa Korkeamäki
This article describes how Finnish health education teachers verbalise and construct their teacher identity based on their lifestyle, subject area and relationships with their…
Abstract
Purpose
This article describes how Finnish health education teachers verbalise and construct their teacher identity based on their lifestyle, subject area and relationships with their students.
Design/methodology/approach
Narrative interviews were conducted amongst eight secondary and upper secondary school teachers. The nexus analysis was used to analyse teachers' methods of teaching students information-seeking, evaluation and critical thinking skills.
Findings
The teachers' historical bodies – their skills, interests, information-seeking habits and familiar sources – impacted the chosen teaching methods. The results indicate that teacher identity is constructed along different paths and is constantly performed and transformed in the classroom through interactions with students.
Originality/value
The study illustrates the reconstruction of teacher identity through interaction in interviews. Teachers act as role models, information gatekeepers and trustees who guide students to choose credible health information sources.
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Ian Yates, Guy Holmes and Helena Priest
This paper seeks to discuss recent research concerning the subjective experience of recovery from severe mental health difficulties, with the aim of appraising the extent to which…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to discuss recent research concerning the subjective experience of recovery from severe mental health difficulties, with the aim of appraising the extent to which this literature has attended to the role of environmental and social conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Following an overview of research focusing on environmental and social conditions and mental health generally, a focused literature review was undertaken to analyse gaps within the recovery literature, specifically in relation to the importance of environmental or social contexts. Thematic analysis was used to derive salient themes from this literature. Research methodologies are appraised with regards to the extent to which they are congruent with an examination of the context of recovery.
Findings
A total of 11 papers relating to the impact of place or context on recovery were reviewed. Key themes identified were: the relationship between place, social context, and identity; safety and security; social connectedness; and contradictory impacts of the mental health system. The authors argue that recent qualitative research has over emphasised the subjective experience of recovery at the expense of a rich description of the place in which research is conducted. This approach dislocates recovery from its geographical location and the wider political and economic system in which it occurs.
Originality/value
A gap is identified within the current literature concerning recovery from severe mental health difficulties. In order to better understand the environmental factors that contribute to recovery, research needs to include rich descriptions of place, i.e. the physical and social environment as situated within the wider political and economic context.
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Sarah Curtis and Anne‐Cecile Hoyez
This review arises from a series of multidisciplinary Franco‐British workshops which were supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Agence…
Abstract
This review arises from a series of multidisciplinary Franco‐British workshops which were supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR). More than 30 participants from a range of institutions and agencies were involved in compiling the material in this review (Appendix I). The workshops offered an opportunity to exchange ideas from research on the relationships between migration, health and well‐being in Britain and France. In the following discussion we compare and contrast experiences in the two countries, with the aim of assessing the importance of international, national and local contexts, in their various cultural, social and political dimensions, for the relationships of interest. Drawing on these ideas, we suggest the definition of a future international research agenda.
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