Search

In Australia, surveillance data establish that there are higher rates of late HIV diagnoses among heterosexual migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men (GBM) from Southeast and Northeast Asia and Latin America. Together, these groups are identified as priority migrant communities in current efforts to eliminate HIV transmissions. HIV health literacy is recognised as a key means of improving access to services and health outcomes. This qualitative paper explores critical HIV health literacy among priority migrant communities in Queensland, Australia. To foreground community voices, peer researchers from priority migrant communities participated in the project design, data collection and analysis, with 20 interviews completed. The findings demonstrate how participants' engagement with HIV health information and services is highly relational and situated within the framework of sexual health and wellbeing. Participants strategically selected where to seek information and who they trusted to help them appraise this information. They further demonstrated reflective capacities in identifying the contextual barriers that inhibit the development of their HIV health literacy. The findings highlight the need for HIV health promotion strategies that embrace a sex positive approach, promote cultural change, and involve collaboration with general practitioners (GPs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the statistical reporting of UK Music, the umbrella organization that provides a collective voice for British music industry trade bodies. It documents changes in methodology from the organization's earliest reports, which provide financial data for each industry sector and use the prosperity of the business as a platform from which to lobby, to the reports for the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, which turn away sectoral information to argue that the industry is an ecosystem and music is beneficial for national well-being. In the process, UK Music submerges evidence that record companies and music publishers fared well during the pandemic while music creators and live music industry workers suffered greatly. As well as uncovering this information, this article considers why it has been neglected. It has enabled UK Music to lobby for actions that work across the industry and sidestep arguments that music creators should receive a greater share of remuneration. It has also helped to keep UK Music intact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate health literacy learning modules designed specifically for physiotherapists in private practice. Mixed-method design was used, evaluating pre-post physiotherapist health literacy knowledge and competencies using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. One rural and one metropolitan private physiotherapy practice were recruited. Clients, physiotherapists, and other clinic staff. The OPHELIA (Optimizing Health Literacy and Access) process was applied to identify the health literacy needs of clients; co-design interventions; and implement and evaluate the interventions. The health literacy learning modules were co-designed with the physiotherapists and included one 3-h face-to-face workshop, followed by two 1-h videoconference workshops. Health literacy knowledge (rated 1–5 for 10 items, max score 50) and skills (rated 1–5 for 5 items, max score 25) were assessed before and after the workshops. Data were analyzed by paired t-test. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Health literacy knowledge of 19 health professionals improved after the workshop by 63% (pre 26.0 (7.5), post 41.0 (2.7), p <.001). Health literacy skills improved by 65% (pre 4.2 (3.3), post 21.8 (2.3), p <.001). We identified three themes from interview data: 1) 'the multi-faceted nature of health literacy requires multiple strategies'; 2) 'changing practice to promote understanding'; and 3) 'reflection on roles of multidisciplinary private practice.' Improvements in health literacy knowledge and skills are possible through post-graduate professional development. Workshops changed physiotherapists' understanding of their role in promoting health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian women enter the informal workforce for a range of reasons. Women food vendors tend to dominate low-income, low-skill activities, such as selling perishable food items. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of women food vendors in India. Twenty-four women were interviewed in 2015 and 2016 about financial matters, livelihoods, family, and housing, and the experience of vending. Findings indicate that women vendors are financially vulnerable, need greater access to education, better work and living conditions, and greater financial management options. Policies and programmes aimed at informal sector workers must recognise gender-specific vulnerabilities facing women vendors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health literacy is the capacity to understand, access, and effectively utilize health information and healthcare to make informed health decisions. This cross-sectional study uses the multi-dimensional Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLQ) to investigate associations between demographic characteristics, self-rated health and health literacy among students (n = 932) in two Australian universities. We used Pearson's chi-square to determine differences in self-rated health between demographic groups, Cohen's defect Sizeto measure differences in HLQ scale scores between demographic groups, and logistic regression to determine associations between HLQ scores and self-rated health. A clear association was found between self-rated health and health literacy: as health literacy increased, so did self-rated health. Findings also demonstrate lower health literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and those studying Arts compared to Health degrees. Lower self-rated health was correlated with HLQ scales including being less active in managing one's own health, having less social support for one's health, possessing insufficient health information and lower confidence in navigating the healthcare system. This study provides a comprehensive picture of potentially vulnerable students and identifies strategies for supporting their health endeavors while studying at university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British musicians receive “equitable remuneration” when their recordings are played in public or are broadcast. Performers’ rights are weaker than those of songwriters, however. This is largely because songwriters are the first owners of their copyrights, whereas performers rarely own the copyright in their sound recordings. This article concerns the remuneration of musicians’ labor. It looks at the legislative evolution of performers’ rights in the UK and addresses the influence that songwriters, record companies, and the Musicians’ Union have had on this area of copyright law. It argues that performers will only achieve legislative parity with songwriters if the ownership and conceptualization of sound recording copyright are reconfigured. This copyright should be awarded to performers for their creative labor, rather than to record companies for their financial and administrative endeavors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Individuals with a lower education level frequently have unhealthier behaviors than individuals with a higher education level, but the pathway is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate whether health literacy mediates the association between educational attainment and health behavior (smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet) and obesity. The study included respondents ages 25 years or older drawn from a large population-based survey conducted in 2013 (N = 29,473). Two scales from the Health Literacy Questionnaire were used: (a) Understanding health information well enough to know what to do and (b) Ability to actively engage with health care providers. Multiple mediation analyses were conducted using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method. The study showed that health literacy in general and the ability to understand health information in particular mediated the relationship between educational attainment and health behavior, especially in relation to being physically inactive (accounting for 20% of the variance), having a poor diet (accounting for 13% of the variance), and being obese (accounting for 16% of the variance). These findings suggest that strategies for improving health behavior and reducing health inequalities may benefit from adopting a stronger focus on health literacy within prevention, patient education, and other public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the popularity of the Sex Pistols' song “Friggin' in the Riggin'” and its parent albumThe Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle. It argues that in 1979 the Sex Pistols attracted a new and younger audience, one that has been neglected in previous studies of the band, which tend instead to focus on the years 1976 and 1977 and the band's original coterie of followers. This article locates the teenage appeal of “Friggin' in the Riggin'” in its themes of swearing, sex, and piracy. It also explores the media infrastructure that enabled young adolescents to access this music. Following on from this, the article charts the triumph of Johnny Rotten's Sex Pistols' narrative over that of Malcolm McLaren.The Great Rock‘n’Roll Swindlefell prey to notions of authenticity, coherence, and the canonical tastes of young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Health literacy, defined as an individual's capacity to process health information in order to make appropriate health decisions, is the focus of increasing attention in medical fields due to growing awareness that suboptimal health literacy is associated with poorer health outcomes. To explore this issue, a number of instruments, reported to have high internal consistency and strong correlations with general literacy tests, have been developed. However, their validity as measures of the target construct is seldom explored using multiple sources of evidence. The current study, involving collaboration between health professionals and language specialists, set out to assess the validity of the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM), which describes itself as a “reading recognition” test that measures ability to pronounce common medical and lay terms. Drawing on a sample of 310 respondents, including both native and non-native speakers of English, investigations were undertaken to probe the REALM's validity as a measure of understanding the selected terms and to consider associations between scores on this widely used test and those derived from other recognized health literacy tests. Results suggest that the REALM is underrepresenting the health literacy construct and that the test may also be biased against non-native speakers of English. The study points to an expanded role for language testers, working in collaboration with experts from medical disciplines, in developing and evaluating health literacy tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handedness has been shown to be related to a numberof systematic asymmetries in body dimensions, dermatoglyphic patterns andcerebral morphology. The aim here was to compare linear and angular toothcrown asymmetries of the permanent molars in healthy right-handed and left-handedsubjects. The material comprised 27 children with recorded concordant left-side dominance of hand, eye and foot. The controls were an age- and sex-matchedgroup with right side dominance. The material is based on the CollaborativePerinatal Project where detailed medical records and the dentitions, includingaccurate dental impressions, of over two thousand American children wereexamined in the USA in the sixties. Machine vision technique was used toobtain accurate three-dimensional information from the occlusal surfaces ofthe first permanent upper and lower molars. The directional asymmetry valuesof angular measurements of mandibular first molars showed evidence of asymmetry of opposite direction between the two examined groups. The results indicatethat occlusal morphology of first permanent molars may be affected by handedness,and this tendency is most evident in the angular measurements of the mandibularmolars. Fluctuating asymmetry did not differ significantly between the examinedgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]