Search

There is a global recognition that the homeless in different clusters are isolated social groups. They are highly susceptible to loneliness and related psycho‐physical health outcomes owing to their less supportive and fragmented social networks. The conditions are worse in the case of chronic or lifetime homelessness. Beyond this popular notion, other critical perspectives are also there. This paper attempts to analyse the differences in inter‐personal social networks between the chronic and the non‐chronic homeless groups at a railway junction in India. The data have been collected through structured and semi‐structured questionnaires from 28 homeless people (15 chronically and 13 non‐chronically homeless) of Burdwan Railway Junction – a vital railway junction of West Bengal, India. The chronically homeless group displays more supportive and compact inter‐personal networks in this study than the non‐chronic homeless group. Living in the station area for a long time, they have formed a society of their own. Barring some psychological stress and social abuse, the livelihood scenario of these people is relatively stress‐free and social networks relations are more intensive and supportive. Considering the outcomes, instead of the housing‐first approach of rehabilitation, we favour the development of community shelters with minimum basic amenities close to their present location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The incidents of elder victimisation and cases of victimisation, in general, are increasing fast in the society. These incidents have had negative impact on the sense of well-being and way of life of the older people. Therefore, fear of crime is being considered as a most concerning psycho-social problem amongst the older people in contemporary time. The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of crime rate on the well-being of the older people and examine the linkage between psychological factors and fear of crime amongst the older people. Design/methodology/approach: The present study is based on the mixed method approach and an exploratory research designed applied to conduct the study. The field survey has been done from October 2012 to January 2013 on a sample of 220 older people of rural and urban areas of Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh through purposive sampling. For the study, researcher has interviewed 137 male older people and 83 female older people through interview schedules and case studies. The data have been analysed through descriptive and narrative analysis. Findings: The study finds that those older people have direct or indirect experience of victimisation, they have anxiety and feel insecurity that someone can victimise them. The study also finds that the happiness of older people is more affected due to anxiety and phobia and have higher level of feeling of fear of crime in their neighbourhood and home. The study also finds whenever anti-social elements are active in the neighbourhood and they commit crimes, fear of crime and anxiety grasp the older people to a large extent causing a fracture in their psychological well-being. Originality/value: This work is the original work of researcher. This paper is related to the researcher's PhD dissertation work. This paper talks about how the psychological well-being of older people affects due to nature of crime in neighbourhood, phobia of crime and anxiety due to criminal activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fear of crime is an emerging social problem in Indian society that has a significant impact on the quality of life of the elderly. In the view of this fact, the purpose of this paper is to examine the factors such as (prior victimisation, vulnerability and incivility) which contribute their role in bringing fear of crime among the elderly. Design/methodology/approach: Mixed method approach has been applied in this paper. This study has been designed as an exploratory lead-in to a planned wider study into rural–urban context as possible factors in shaping the victimisation experience. The study has been conducted from October 2012 to January 2013 on a sample of 220 elderly living in both rural and urban areas of Lucknow in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Findings: The study found that elderly have been victimised by known persons as compared to unknown persons. Further, the study found that immediate neighbourhood was swarming with loiters, unruly teenagers, gangs, beggars and alcoholic people walk in the society which have significantly impact on the elderly and give threat in neighbourhood. Originality/value: This is an original work of researcher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antenatal morbidities and associated malpractices are quite prevalent in slums of Delhi. This paper aims to highlight the relationship between calories intake, seasonality and gravida. It also draws attention towards inter-related aspects of antenatal practices and morbidity among women. Survey of 400 women conducted in the slums of Delhi indicated high occurrence of antenatal and post-natal malpractices. The findings indicated that discrepancies in the advice given by the medical practitioners and traditional birth attendants (TBAs). This was seen to adversely impact a majority of expectant mothers. The finding support a strong direct relationship between calories intake, seasonality morbidity and mortality patterns among women as well as their children. Although ample research has been done on homebirths and their challenges, the perspectives of TBAs (who assist in the majority of homebirths) remain unexamined. The present study sought to add to this knowledge base by uncovering various practices prevalent in low income households of a cosmopolitan city like Delhi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A deficient data is among the biggest obstacle facing planners and policy makers. Health data collection in the developing world is often hampered by the high costs and inefficiencies of traditional large-scale paper-based surveys. mHealth using Epi-Info is most appropriate tool to create, share, deploy health surveys and for strengthening of health systems. The program runs on free and open software, is easy to use, and can be downloaded to handheld devices to be used by workers in the field. Objectives: To find out the usefulness and limitations of data collection for mHealth by use of Epi Info™ software. Material and Methods: The devices used Epi Info 7.1.5 (Android version), which has been modeled as a database with variables of the traditional form. A cross sectional survey among adolescents regarding their health needs was carried out in a sample of 200 adolescents (purposive sampling) of rural hilly (Jaunpur block of Tehri Garhwal district) and plain (Doiwala block of Dehradun district) areas of Uttarakhand by the use of Android tablets with Epi Info™. Results: It was found that adolescent questionnaire tool developed in Epi Info™ android tablet application is a powerful tool for data collection having numerable practical advantages like: Interview Time Tracking (ITT) that gives the reality check in field studies along with cases Geographical presentation by GIS mapping. In addition to this complete filling of data in field so no left over or guessing for data entry operator, paperless, bio-friendly. Despite of Tablet cost, it is cost effective as tablet can be repeatedly used for other surveys. Conclusions: Epi Info™ is a developing open access software for primary data collection and analyzing data from the field, with advantageous benefits of epidemiological surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The risk behaviors of Hong Kong ethnic minority students are understudied. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to explore culturally nuanced factors for the development and prevention of risk behaviors among Pakistani and Indian students in Hong Kong. Method: Twenty-three students participated in four focus groups. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The participants reported bullying, delinquency, gambling, alcohol, cigarette, and drug uses as risk behaviors. Four themes emerged in the development and prevention of risk behaviors: (a) Parental and peer influence, (b) An unsafe community environment were perceived by the participants as essential factors for the development of risk behaviors, (c) Parental monitoring, and (d) Strong religious beliefs were believed as protective factors for the prevention of risk behaviors. Conclusion: Further research and practice may investigate and focus on the factors embedded in the Hong Kong ethnic minorities’ sociocultural contexts to prevent risk behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]