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The purpose of this paper is to explore perceived barriers to accessing and using adolescent health services in Ghana.

The study was a qualitative study adopting a case study design. In total, 24 adolescents were recruited from four adolescent health facilities in Tema, a suburb of Ghana, using convenient sampling. In-depth interviews with respondents were conducted coupled with the taking of field notes and personal observations. Data collection took place between January and May 2017. Data were transcribed, managed and coded for themes. Thematic analysis was guided by Braun and Clarke’s (2006) Framework.

The findings of this study revealed that majority of the respondents were females (54 percent) older adolescents (above 15 years (60 percent), students (79 percent)), had junior high school education and stayed with their biological parent(s) (70 percent). Adolescents in this study perceived four main barriers that restrict their access to or use of adolescent health services. The barriers were found at the facility level, provider level, community level and personal level.

The findings of this study provide evidence-based information for planning adolescent health care interventions that would improve adolescents’ access to and use of health services in Ghana.

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) from Somalia are one of the largest groups of UASC in Europe and Sweden. The current study is a follow-up of a Swedish study conducted in 1999, where unaccompanied asylum-seeking girls (UASG) from Somalia were interviewed. In 2013, UASG from the 1999 study were interviewed again, as adults who have settled and found a new life in Sweden. The purpose of this paper is to explore how these women experienced their transition into the Swedish society.

A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews was adopted for this descriptive study. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

UASG need support from different groups of adults, ranging from the staff at the group homes to community members, including countrymen, to establish a good life in their new country. The UASG need understanding and knowledgeable staff that can support them through the initial period, when they do not have their parents close to them. All actors in the supporter network need more knowledge about the difficulties in war situations. Former UASC can assist newcomers as well as being informants to authorities in a new country. Both parties involved need to be open and willing to learn from each other.

UASG who consider themselves successful in being integrated into the Swedish society were interviewed and, therefore, the study mainly describes aspects that promote integration.

There are limited follow-up studies on how UASG have experienced their life after almost two decades in the new country.

This is an opinion piece on the practice of early child marriage in Iran, with a brief review of the causes and consequences of this practice. This piece critically looks at the blanket policies, such as minimum age at marriage, that criminalise early child marriage and discusses why such policies may do more harm than good when they are not compatible with the social norms of the societies in which they are implemented.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the sexual risk behavior and sexual harassment among female beer promoters in Chiang Mai, Thailand and analyze the associations among demographic data, sexual activities, sexual orientation, attitudes and working conditions based on the level of sexual harassment.

This study is a cross-sectional study that approached 184 Thai female beer promoters in Chiang Mai by a snowball sampling technique. Data were collected through a self-administrative questionnaire to find demographic data, sexual activities, sexual orientation, attitudes, sexual risk behavior and sexual harassment while working as a beer promoter. Descriptive, Pearson’s χ² and Fisher exact tests were performed to describe and determine the associations.

The findings highlight that sexual risk behaviors and sexual harassment are found among female beer promoters. In total, 62.5 percent of them ever had sexual intercourse and 25.2 percent did not use condom. For sexual harassment, most of respondents had experienced a medium level harassment especially verbal harassment (73.9 percent). It associated with currently student status (p=0.038), having sexual intercourse experience (p=0.024), and type of job (p=0.002).

This paper explores the sexual risk behaviors and sexual harassment among female beer promoters in the northern part of Thailand, containing the information on how common are the types of sexual risk behavior and sexual harassment experiences among a specific and hard-to-reach population.

Price promotions are a common tool used by retailers to increase sales. This study aims to investigate the effect of consumer's numerical skills and other demographic characteristics on their ability to determine the best deal when conducting a grocery shop (referred to as deal competency).

A consumer survey (n = 308) was conducted online, collecting information about respondent's demographics and grocery shopping behaviours, numerical literacy using the subjective numeracy scale (SNS), and deal competency (a novel measure). Multiple regression analysis and Pearson's correlations were conducted using SPSSv26.

Overall, the mean SNS score for the total sample was 31.47 (SD = 8.27), and the mean sample deal competency score was 13.5 (SD = 2.3). Spearman's correlation analysis identified a moderate significant positive relationship between numerical skills and deal competency, r_s(303) = 0.360, p < 0.001. Regression analysis found significant positive relationships between numerical skills and being male, and with mathematical achievement; and between deal competency and age, mathematical achievement and educational achievement. Regarding buying behaviour, correlation analyses identified only one significant relationship between numerical skills (SNS score) and deal competency and variables relating to buying behaviour, namely a negative relationship between deal competency and amount spent on promotional food items in top up grocery shops.

This study contributes to the gap in literature regarding consumer ability to work out the best deal on promotions, presents a novel scale for describing consumer deal competency, and considers the comparative usefulness of using objective and subjective scales in similar studies.

This paper aims to explore mixed emotions experienced by parents and children on holiday, how they are dealt with and how they influence the way “family” is “staged” and “done”.

This paper draws on 24 qualitative interviews with Danish parents and a questionnaire study reporting answers from 66 Danish children (11-15-year-old).

Problems external and internal to the family are identified and the latter are associated with more unease particularly among parents. This paper shows that parents invest significant narrative efforts in transcending gaps between ideals and practices. Also children are aware of the gaps between ideals and practices; they seem more matter-of-fact, however, regarding critical aspects of holidays.

The informants of the study solely represent two-parent hetero-sexual families of Danish origin, and so inclusion of a wider range of families would have added interesting perspectives. Furthermore, children’s perspectives on critical holiday incidents need further research.

Creators of family holiday products and marketing should present a more nuanced imagery taking a more diverse approach to what “family” on holiday looks like. They could take up the challenge of depicting a broader range of family situations, also showing less harmonious moments, using humour, and showing opportunities for some “alone time” for both parents and children should relational overload happen. Also occasional “wifi-free” moments seem to be much appreciated by all family members, and development of offline family experiences would seem to strike a chord.

The contemporary paradigm of intensive parenting along with strong ideals for family holidays make it essential for parents to narratively deal with and legitimize and transform less happy moments. To take pressure off contemporary families, it is important to bring to the fore the less glossy aspects of family holidays.

The originality of this paper is to illustrate the strong efforts applied by families to keep up a certain front to be the family that “ought to be” by nurturing and narrating positive emotions in relation to family holidays. The inclusion of children’s voices gives insights into children’s annoyance with parents’ rowing, relational overload and parents’ occasional lack of attention to children, for example through parental use of mobile phones during holiday togetherness.

In Bangladesh, as elsewhere, menstruation is surrounded by stigma, silence, and shame. Despite being a critical part of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), it remains significantly under-researched and addressed. However, the focus on menstrual health (MH) programming is growing globally, with increased awareness of the importance of holistic and rights-based approaches. This case study aims to examine and reflect upon the MH landscape and programming in Bangladesh, assessing the progress, challenges, and potential ways forward.

This case study is based on a non-systematic review of recent global and national literature, eight semi-structured interviews, a review of national television adverts and the authors’ experiences of MH research and programming in Bangladesh.

Hygiene-based education delivered through schools is a common entry point for MH programming in Bangladesh, with limited activities conducted in communities (including with men and boys) and through media. The focus of MH programming has tended to be narrow, with insufficient recognition of the wider gender equality and health implications of menstruation. There are growing efforts to coordinate MH work by different agencies and to collectively advocate for increased government engagement. While significant progress has been made, this case study identifies several gaps and tensions that reflect the complexity of addressing MH.

This case study presents an overview of recent MH experiences and programming in Bangladesh. It recognises the different sectors, sites and stakeholders involved, and includes experiences and perspectives of practitioners, academics, and programme participants.