<p>According to the salutogenic theory put forth by Antonovsky, an individual’s sense of coherence (SOC) is central for maintaining health. The present study used data from middle-aged women being part of a longitudinal research program to investigate how SOC relates to health status (in terms of self-rated health and medicine consumption) and a set of lifestyle factors (physical exercise, alcohol consumption, nicotine consumption and dietary habits). Women with a strong SOC were hypothesized to exhibit better health profiles, consume less medication, and lead a healthier lifestyle than women with a weak SOC. The findings partly confirmed the hypotheses in showing that women with a strong SOC had better self-rated overall health, better psychological well-being, fewer self-reported diseases and lower medicine consumption. Contrary to the hypothesis, women with stronger SOC had more self-reported psychological and physical symptoms. Of the lifestyle factors, only dietary habits were significantly associated with SOC. The study shows that SOC is related to differences in health and medicine consumption in a homogeneous group of middle-aged women, while the association between SOC and lifestyle was found to be less prominent.</p>

According to the salutogenic theory put forth by Antonovsky, an individual’s sense of coherence (SOC) is central for maintaining health. The present study used data from middle-aged women being part of a longitudinal research program to investigate how SOC relates to health status (in terms of self-rated health and medicine consumption) and a set of lifestyle factors (physical exercise, alcohol consumption, nicotine consumption and dietary habits). Women with a strong SOC were hypothesized to exhibit better health profiles, consume less medication, and lead a healthier lifestyle than women with a weak SOC. The findings partly confirmed the hypotheses in showing that women with a strong SOC had better self-rated overall health, better psychological well-being, fewer self-reported diseases and lower medicine consumption. Contrary to the hypothesis, women with stronger SOC had more self-reported psychological and physical symptoms. Of the lifestyle factors, only dietary habits were significantly associated with SOC. The study shows that SOC is related to differences in health and medicine consumption in a homogeneous group of middle-aged women, while the association between SOC and lifestyle was found to be less prominent.

School feeding is a tool which, today, effectively enables many millions of poor children worldwide to attend school in developed and developing countries alike. This study evaluated the perceptions of learners on the school feeding programme in one circuit in a district of Limpopo Province. It describes the benefits of school feeding and how this well-proven tool can be improved and specifically targeted to address some of the key constraints to universal secondary school completion. The findings suggest that school feeding programmes contribute to the education and well-being of children as hungry children do not grow; cannot learn; and face many health risks. School feeding can bring children into school and out of hunger; providing food for children at school can relieve immediate short-term hunger which is very beneficial for learning to take place. Alleviating short-term hunger among children at school helps to improve their performance in school tests and to promote a normal progression from grade to grade in completing their basic education. The study used individual interviews, document analysis and observation to obtain data from selected participants from two schools in the Nzhelele East Circuit in the Vhembe District. Responses to questions were analysed and a statistical analysis provided positive answers which revealed that the school feeding programme was effective; that more should be done to improve its delivery; that there should be a stable infrastructure and that the geographical location of the community should be taken into consideration when it comes to menu options. A number of recommendations are made to improve the implementation of the school feeding programme. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

A crescente epidemia de obesidade tem incentivado profissionais da saúde a procurar por intervenções que possam atingir um grande número de indivíduos de maneira custo-efetiva. Os Programas de Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho vêm sendo apontados como ferramentas importantes para a promoção da saúde e qualidade de vida. Neste contexto, o Coaching em Saúde e Bem Estar vem despontando como um componente promissor nas intervenções desenvolvidas nestes programas, de modo a atingir resultados positivos e permanentes para mudança de comportamento para um estilo de vida saudável. Desta forma, o propósito desta revisão é verificar o efeito do Coaching em Saúde e Bem Estar sobre o peso corporal, nível de atividade física e consumo de frutas, legumes e vegetais de trabalhadores. Para tanto, foi conduzida uma busca nas bases de dados PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, LILACS e Cochrane Library. Onze ensaios clínicos randomizados atenderam aos critérios de elegibilidade, aos quais foi aplicado o instrumento de avaliação de risco de viés da Colaboração Cochrane e extraídas as informações relevantes de cada estudo. Encontrou-se associação de efeito na direção esperada para peso corporal, atividade física e consumo de frutas, legumes e vegetais. No entanto, 72,7% dos estudos (n=8) apresentaram alto risco de viés. Assim, conclui-se que as evidências para responder à pergunta desta revisão são limitadas e, portanto, sugere-se que mais estudos sejam realizados, considerando-se a transparência no relato das evidências e o rigor metodológico recomendado para sua execução. / The expanding outbreak of obesity has stimulated health professionals to search for interventions capable to encompass a large number of individuals in a cost-effective manner. Worksite Wellness Programs have been pointed out as important tools for the promotion of workers\' health and quality of life. In this context, Health and Wellness Coaching is emerging as a promising component of the interventions developed in such programs, leveraging achievement of positive and permanent results on behavior change for a healthy lifestyle. Under such perspective the purpose of this review is to verify the effect of Health and Wellness Coaching on workers\' body weight, physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, a survey was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, LILACS and Cochrane Library databases. Eleven studies met the selection criteria of this research. The risk of bias analysis tool developed by Cochrane collaboration was applied, and the relevant data were extracted from each study The analysis of results of such studies demonstrated association of positive effect for the increase of workers\' physical activity, body weight and fruits and vegetables intake. Nevertheless, 72,8% of the studies (n=8) showed a high risk of bias. So the conclusion is that the evidences found are not enough to answer the proposed question. Further studies are necessary in order to gather consistent data raised with the required methodological rigor.

Racial/ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by obesity and other risk factors for chronic diseases. African immigrants are an increasing segment of the U.S. population at greater risk for obesity than other immigrants living in the United States. Public health organizations that aid immigrants could benefit from information about changing dietary patterns. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between dietary acculturation and obesity among African immigrant adults living in the United States, controlling for length of stay, English proficiency, region of residence, and other sociodemographic factors. Acculturation theory guided this study. The research design was quantitative cross-sectional with secondary data from 798 adult immigrants of African origin who completed the New Immigrant Survey. Forward stepwise logistic regression analyses indicated that when controlling for sociodemographic factors, dietary acculturation was a significant predictor of obesity. Language proficiency, income, marital status, childhood living environment, and age were statistically significant predictors of obesity. Findings may be used by clinicians, dieticians, and other health care professionals to develop obesity prevention and control strategies that specifically serve African immigrants to prevent obesity and its associated deadly complications.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur besöksfrekvensen på Odontologiska fakulteten på Malmö Universitet påverkats under COVID-19 pandemin. Material och metod: Registerdata från Odontologiska fakultetens journalsystem T4 analyserades. Samtliga patienter som återfanns i utcheckningslistan och därmed hade besökt Odontologiska fakulteten under perioden januari 2019 till och med december 2021 inkluderades. Fördjupade analyser av tandvårdsbesöken vid avdelningen Oral diagnostik utfördes, där variablerna kön och ålder undersöktes. Resultat: Antalet patientbesök på Odontologiska fakulteten var högre 2019 jämfört med 2020 och 2021. Den största minskningen under de tre undersökta åren skedde 2020. Besöksfrekvensen minskade mest för den äldsta åldersgruppen (65+ år) mellan 2019 och 2020, men ökade igen mellan 2020 och 2021. Det var större andel kvinnliga besökare på Oral diagnostik genom alla de undersökta åren. Slutsats: COVID-19 pandemin har påverkat besöksfrekvensen på Odontologiska fakulteten. Hur stor påverkan pandemin har haft på den orala hälsan är fortfarande oklart och fortsatta studier behövs. / Aim: The aim of the study is to investigate how the frequency of visits at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University has been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Material and method: The study analyzed register data from the faculty’s journal system T4. All patients that had visited the faculty’s clinic and hence were found in the check-out list during the period January 2019 to December 2021 were included. In-depth analyses of the dental care visits at the Oral Diagnosis department were performed, where the variables gender and age were investigated. Data were compiled and analyzed in tables and charts. Results: The number of patient visits was higher in 2019 compared to 2020 and 2021 at the Faculty of Odontology. The largest decrease during the three examined years occurred in 2020. The largest decrease in frequency of visits was found in the oldest age group (65+ years old) between 2019 and 2020. However, the frequency increased again between 2020 and 2021. There have been more female visitors at Oral Diagnosis through all the investigated years.  Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the frequency of visits in the Faculty of Odontology. How big an impact the pandemic has had on oral health is still unclear and further studies are needed.

No description available.

Ethnic food markets and restaurants are the main source of immigrants’ traditional foods in South Africa. Despite this, the actual availability and accessibility of ethnic foods from the ethnic food markets and restaurants has not been investigated. Furthermore, factors that influence the role of ethnic foods in the diets of immigrants, like perceptions of Sub-Saharan Immigrants towards South Africa food culture, and the safety of ethnic foods have not been established. Although a number of studies have been conducted on the identification of microbial hazards of cooked food in the informal sector, none have been conducted on ethnic foods of Sub-Saharan Immigrants. Aim and objectives The aim of this study was to assess the availability and accessibility of Sub-Saharan African immigrants’ traditional food from ethnic food markets, shops and restaurants, establish immigrants’ perceptions towards South African’s food culture, and determine predictors of contamination of selected cooked food sold in the ethnic food markets, and restaurants. From this aim, eight objectives were formulated as follows: (i) describe the immigrants’ perceptions towards South Africa’s food culture, (ii) investigate the contribution of the ethnic food markets on the dietary patterns of immigrants, (iii) investigate the availability, and accessibility of the ethnic foods available in the ethnic food markets, and restaurants, (iv) document coping strategies adopted by immigrants when faced with shortage of their traditional foods or ingredients in South Africa (v) identify factors associated with a move away from their ethnic foods and adoption of South African foods, (vi) investigate the microbiological quality of selected cooked foods found in the ethnic food markets and restaurants, and (vii) investigate predictors of contamination of ethnic foods bought from the restaurants and markets. A cross-sectional research design using a mixed methods approach was adopted to achieve the objectives of this study. The mixed method employed three instruments, namely: questionnaire, checklist, and laboratory microbial analysis. The study was conducted in Tshwane and Johannesburg metropolitan municipalities. The study focused on two study populations: (i) immigrant households from West, East and Central Africa regions, and ii) entrepreneurs selling Sub-Saharan ethnic ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. The snowball sampling method was adopted to sample both study populations. A total of one hundred and ninety four (n=194) women and forty (n=40) entrepreneurs who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate were included in the study. A checklist was employed to assess restaurants and vending sites. Two samples of RTE ethnic foods were collected from each entrepreneur and submitted to the microbiology laboratory at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Data obtained from the questionnaire, checklist and microbial analysis were analysed, and descriptive statistics were presented as tables and figures. Multivariable and binary logistic regression models were fitted to the data to assess predictors of adoption and contamination respectively. Results Ethnic foods still featured prominently in the diets of immigrants, with only 7.7 % (n=15) indicating that they strictly followed a South African diet. Ethnic food markets are the main sources of ethnic foods for immigrants living in Gauteng. Efforts to maintain ethnic diets by Sub-Saharan immigrants resident in South Africa are hindered by factors such as unaffordability (39.2%;n=76) and unavailability (25.3%; n=49) of their ethnic foods. Meanwhile, relying on less preferred food (38.7%; n=75) and replacing unavailable ingredients with similar ingredients (37.6%; n=73%) were identified as two main coping strategies that are adopted by immigrants when facing unavailability of their traditional food ingredients. Four patterns of dietary acculturation were identified, namely, strict continuity with traditional foods (21.6%; n=42), very limited adoption (21.1 %; n=39), limited adoption (50.5%; n=98) and complete adoption (7.7%; n=15) of South African foods. The following were the most common food items that the respondents tended to adopt: pap (84.5%; n=164); fried potato chips (43.8%; n=85); cold drinks (42.8%; n=83); fast foods (37.6%; n=73); sphathlo (30.9%; n=60); and vetkoek (30.4%; n=59). Four factors that were associated with adoption of South African foods included:  spending R2500-R3499 (OR 3.34; p=0.017) and 3500-4500 (OR 3.99; p=0.030) on food,  residing in the country between 3-6 years (OR 5.16; p=0.001),  earning between 5000-10 000 (OR 0.52; p=0.040) and >R11 000 (OR 0.380; p=0.057), and  being in part-time/temporary employment (OR 5.85; p=0.025). The majority of the ethnic food entrepreneurs were West Africans (70%; n=28), belonging mainly to the 30-49 years old age group (88%; n=35). Over 35%% (n=14) of the entrepreneurs indicated that they had completed high school education, while 42.5% (n=17) had tertiary education. The majority (80%, n= 34) of vendors of ethnic foods did not have a certificate in food handling or hygiene practices. The majority (95%, n=38) of entrepreneurs operated in permanent structures with ceilings and walls. A majority (95%; n=38) also had access to tap water and flushing toilets. However, ownership of appliances such as thermometers (0%, n=0), microwaves (55%, n=22), and freezers (37.5%, n=15) was very low. There was also low adherence with regards to the following aspects: wearing of protective clothing such as caps (40%; n=24), apron (62.5%, n=25) and gloves (0%, n=0); not wearing jewellery (50%; n=20); keeping fingernails short and clean; and proper reheating of food. Samples contaminated with total viable counts above the threshold of satisfactory counts (<10⁵ CFU/g) was very high (71.3% , n=57). Over twenty percent (22.5%; n=18) of the food samples had unsatisfactory levels of coliforms (>10 ³ CFU/g), and 17.5% (n=14) had unsatisfactory levels (>3 CFU/g) of E. coli. Salmonella was observed in only 3.8 % (n=3) food samples. Being new in business (OR=0.010, p=.033), owning a freezer (OR .477; p= .052), not owning a microwave (OR .013, p=.074), and reheating per serving (OR .187, p=.048) were identified as significant drivers of contamination. Conclusion In the two metropolitans that were investigated only 40 vendors of ethnic foods could be identified. This number is too low to be able to supply the whole immigrant community with ethnic foods. Thus their role as a contributor to household food security is limited. As a result, although the majority of immigrants attempt to preserve their traditional diets, high ethnic food prices and unavailability of traditional ingredients forces them into bicultural eating patterns. Although bicultural eating patterns are supposed to protect against food insecurity, the adoption of unhealthy dietary habits and could render them vulnerable to food insecurity. Lack of knowledge of South Africa foods results in poor food choices. In the long run these unhealthy eating patterns could have negative implications choices. In the long run these unhealthy eating patterns could have negative implications on the nutritional health of immigrants and the health system of South Africa. Therefore, studies to identify foods with similar taste and nutritious ingredients could aid prevention of obesity and lifestyle diseases and inform culture-specific nutrition education programmes. The high number of entrepreneurs without training on food hygiene and handling practices limits the role of the ethnic restaurants in the food security of immigrants living in Gauteng, and food quality is thus compromised. Therefore, there is a need for targeted training programmes which cater for the unique needs of the ethnic entrepreneurs to enable them to play a meaningful role in ensuring that immigrants who want to maintain their food culture are food secure. These programmes should also address the poor handling and hygiene practices that were observed in this study. This could be done by emphasising the World Health Organization’s (WHO) five keys to safer food. Results of the food contamination indicate that entrepreneurs are able to produce safe food, (as supported by only moderate contamination levels of coliforms and E. coli, which also suggests low risk of environmental and enteric contaminants). However, if these concerns are not addressed immediately by proper training and monitoring, they could further compromise the role played by ethnic food markets in food security. Training and monitoring programmes should place more emphasis on the four factors that were identified as drivers of contamination / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / Ph. D. (Agriculture)