Worry and Bother: Factors in Rural Women’s Health Decision Making

This exploratory study examined older rural women’s health decision making. Thirty-three rural women were recruited to participate in semistructured qualitative interviews. Major themes emerged that focused on rural women’s comments regarding their concerns about not worrying or bothering their children with personal health matters. Themes were discussed in the context of an ethic of care. Results suggest that it is important for mental health professionals, family physicians, social workers, and other practitioners to be aware of the sense of worry and concern for others that older rural women bring to bear in decision making about personal health issues.     

Eastern Visayas: profile of the region's volunteer outreach worker

Volunteer outreach workers in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) who tend to remain in the Philippine Population Program are able to plan for the welfare of the family, are seriously concerned about the welfare of the community, are traditional in their beliefs about family decision making, are moderately innovative, and are relatively dissatisfied with community life. The research report submitted to the regional office of the Commission on Population (Popcom) by the Regional Research Center for Population, Leyte State College, indicated that Popcom recognizes the importance of community based fieldworkers in the delivery of its services. The study was conducted in line with efforts to improve the system of recruiting volunteer workers and to develop a more effective service delivery scheme. The researchers randomly selected a representative sample of volunteer workers--265 active and 86 inactive--from the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar, Western Samar and Northern Samar, the subprovince of Biliran, and the cities of Tacloban, Ormoc, and Calbayog. The active volunteer worker of Eastern Visayas is female, between 36-40 years old, married, and the mother of 3-5 children. She also considers the size of her family to be "just right." The volunteer worker believes the father is the prinicipal decision maker in the family and that parents should always be consulted on matters concerning their children. The inactive volunteer worker is also female, in the same age bracket, married, and with 3-5 children, and she also does not want to have additional children. She is more innovative and more receptive to change than the active volunteer worker. She is more satisfied with community life, is modern in her beliefs as to who is the authority in the family, and believes that children also should have a part in making family decisions. Mobility in terms of residence is an important factor in the decision of the volunteer worker to remain in or drop out of the program.     

Toward a general theory of fertility: A causal modeling approach

A general theory of fertility is derived hypothesizing that the demand for children is primarily an outcome of social psychological processes within the family, subject to certain socioeconomic constraints. Two broad social psychological processes are posited as determinants of fertility. The first suggests that the attitudes or tastes of family members influence the demand for children. The second maintains that the nature of the husband-wife interaction (in terms of power, conflict, decision making, and marital satisfaction) determines family size. Socioeconomic variables, in the form of the normative social structure and social stratification, and economic constraints, such as income and price, are hypothesized to influence fertility through their impact on social psychological processes within the family. The overall theory is tested on two independent samples—one in Ankara, Turkey, the second in Mexico City, Mexico—using a structural equation methodology.     

Industrialization,family and fertility: A structural-psychological analysis of the Brazilian case

This paper addresses itself to some linkages between macro-social structure (industrialization, social class), social psychological variables (husband-wife decision making), psychological variables (attitudes), and fertility. A total of 726 currently mated women with proven fertility in five Brazilian communities were interviewed to determine various attitudes, their work experience, their participation in family decisions, their fertility ideals, and actual fertility. The five communities were selected along a rural-urban-industrialization continuum to include a village, two non-industrial cities, and two industrial cities (one of which was Sao Paulo). Family size in the industrial cities was small in all social strata, while in the non-industrial cities family size was large in the lower strata and declined in the upper strata. Further analysis revealed that smaller family size is associated with generally higher levels of status among women—higher educational levels, greater social contacts and more skilled employment, and equality in family decision making. Our analysis supports the hypotheses that industrialization influences fertility through shifts in the social status of women, both in their work and at home. New education and work opportunities facilitate the emergence of modern conceptions of the role of women in society and egalitarian decision making in the family. These attitudes and patterns of husband-wife interaction are related to smaller family size ideals and lower fertility.     

All in the Family: How Do Social Capital and Material Wellbeing Affect Relational Wellbeing?

We use a unique dataset from Italy to investigate the impact of socioeconomic characteristics and social capital on family wellbeing and satisfaction. We assess wellbeing using four dimensions of satisfaction with family life: satisfaction with decision making processes, with relationships with partner and children, and with time spent with children. Social capital is measured through information about membership in organizations, trust, and interactions with others. We find that while socioeconomic characteristics in general do not have strong effects on family wellbeing, social capital matters for family life satisfaction.

     

Cross-National Comparison on Family Satisfaction: Super-Specialization Versus Super-Equality

Research has documented that women still assume the main burden of domestic tasks and childcare within the household, despite the recent changes towards a greater equality. This division of labor has clear implications in satisfaction with family life. However, little research has combined other domestic responsibilities, such as decision making and care of dependent relatives with housework to study satisfaction, from a comparative perspective. In this article, data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)-2012 are used to explore the effects of a proposed index on balance in the couple, for women and men separately, through different multilevel models. The results suggest that the empowerment that could be assumed from a leading role in decision making does not improve satisfaction and that super-equality is the option yielding the highest levels of satisfaction, regardless their hours of paid-work. Differences by countries persist after controlling for individual and contextual variables, with the Latin American countries being those with the most satisfied populations.

     

澳门独居老人的养老来源分析

本文旨在探讨澳门独居老人的养老来源。并分析影响因素。作为有关当局制定安老政策的参考依据。本文数据来源为澳门社工局委托澳门镜湖护理学院于2004年进行的“澳门长者长期照顾服务需求评估”研究的数据库。结果显示家人是独居老人养老资源的主要提供者,特别是女性、没有工作的独居老人对家人的依赖程度较高。但老年人对社区服务的需求则未获满足。因此政府必须协调各长者服务机构。共同完善现有的社区支援服务或按需要而开展新服务。以协助家人共同照顾独居老人,并加强对无依老人的关顾,才能延长老年人在家生活的时间。     

Development of Indicators for Family Well-Being in Malaysia

This study was carried out to develop a set of indicators for measuring and reporting the state of family well-being in Malaysia, and subsequently, to produce an Index of Family Well-Being. To build the set of indicators, domains of family well-being and relevant indicators were identified from past studies. Focus group discussions with families, professional groups and NGOs helped to refine the indicators prior to the main study. Using a stratified random sampling design, 2,808 households were identified (a parent and a child aged at least 13 years), making a total sample of 5,616 respondents. Results indicated ten key indicators that can predict family well-being—resiliency, safety, savings, healthy lifestyle, time with family, work-family balance, importance of religion, number of bedrooms at home, debt and child care—supporting the notion of family well-being being multi-dimensional and interconnected. On the basis of the results, a model of family well-being was hypothesized. This model was used to guide the development of the Index of Family Well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the fit of the model to data. Five domains of family well-being were identified—family relationships, economic situation, health and safety, community relationship and religion/spirituality. The Index of Family Well-Being was calculated using the equal weighting strategy to each of these five domains. This index showed that the current family well-being of Malaysians is relatively high at 7.95 (SD = 1.38) on a 0–10 Likert response format. The findings suggest that family well-being is multifaceted, made up not only of the immediate family relationships and health and safety of its members, but include having adequate income to meet the demands of a minimum standard of living. Currently, the Index that is developed is only in the form of a numerical value reflecting the state of family well-being, but in future, it can be used to track changes in the family from time to time.     

Exploring an analytic model of urban housing strata

An analytic model of urban housing strata is developed which utilizes housing structure type, housing tenure type, floor size, physical quality, residential area, and number of rooms to calculate a housing deficit for each housing characteristic. The housing norm is subtracted from the actual housing conditions. Each housing deficit value is weighted according to the priority of the 6 variables and then summed as the housing strata score. Negative scores are below the norm and positive ones above. The model is applied to empirical data for Seoul, Korea. The findings were that 66% of the family sample showed negative scores (unsatisfactory housing conditions). Scores range from -22 to =or+ 18. Morris and Winter's "housing adjustment model" is used to explain housing behavior when there is a gap between housing conditions and the norm. Housing behavior is analyzed with multiple regression analysis of housing strata, social strata, and family life stage variables. Findings indicate that the establishment stage in the family life cycle is more likely to be associated with upper housing strata. From the way the model is set up only those in the establishment, childbearing, and child-rearing stage could get a positive deficit housing score. Size of household is not statistically significant, but upper housing strata are reflective of families with 2.5 members. Those with 3-4.5 members may be in the upper middle housing strata. Those with 5 children are in the lower middle housing strata. Housing strata are significantly related to housing structure type, tenure type, and size and number of rooms. The high rise apartment is likely to be in the upper, the row house and multifamily house in the lower housing, and the single detached house is distributed through all 4 strata. Home ownership is highest in the upper strata. The proportion of housing with 18 pyong and 2 rooms is higher in the lower strata, while housing with 19-32 pyong (63-106 sq. ms) and 3 rooms is higher in the middle housing strata. Housing satisfaction is significantly explained by housing strata but not general social strata (r = .13). Propensity to move is explained by family life stage followed by housing strata.     

Women–Family in Quality Perspective

Bringing together women and family in quality perspective bring about interesting discussions in this paper. By integrating previous studies and considering expert opinions, we determinate the variables and dimensions with respect to women’s existence regarding their roles both in the family and at work. Many activities carried out by women represent the consumer aspects of their role. Women undertake these activities to fulfill their needs, which can be classified in the order of preference using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. Women success can be measured based on their ability to perform their roles successfully. We identify women’s performance by using quality approach of Personal Quality Maintenance (PQM), which is widely applied in many organizations in order to maintain the service delivery, which meets the customer satisfaction. The effort to enhance women’s satisfaction for their success in playing the multirole in the family and at work is our main consideration. This study may contribute a new point of view regarding for the women’s welfare and existence.     

Programs for adolescent girls documented in India

This paper documents the innovative strategies from seven governmental and nongovernmental organization programs addressing a range of adolescent issues. The collaborative effort of the Population Council and the local counterparts highlight the diversity of adolescent experience and emphasizes the need to look beyond reproductive health in order to ensure girls? safe transition to adulthood. The review suggests that programs need to focus on developing skills that can be applied to all aspects of the lives of adolescent girls, including self-esteem and confidence enhancement and improving their access to information. Moreover, the assessment also showed that the health needs of adolescent girls, especially the married ones, are often unmet. Considering the importance of an integrated approach, some of the programs evaluated were able to provide a strategy by collaborating with existing local services. It is documented that the strong links with the community were invaluable for the success of these integrated programs. Addressing the needs of other family members, particularly the boys are also emphasized. Experience of the program has shown that targeting boys prior to adolescence is a prudent strategy. Similarly, the training program for staff members is crucial in shaping a girl-friendly environment. Finally, the paper emphasizes the importance of crafting new programs that respond to the needs of specific communities and populations.     

Philippines: Association of Population Correspondents formed in the Philippines

2 major decisions were reached at the December 1979 National Workshop for ESCAP Population Correspondents in the Philippines. The first was to set up an Association of Population Correspondents in order to enhance sharing population information at the national level. A newsletter was identified as a priority. The second decision was to set up a task force under the leadership of the Executive Secretary of the Commission on Population. The task force will be responsible for the preparation of a project proposal to establish a national population information clearing-house. Associated tasks will be the organization of a baseline study of the existing agencies, their capabilities and potential roles in the future national clearing-house. Participants stated specific needs for information. Information is needed from Thailand on community-based family planning programs and Indonesia on community participation and evaluation studies on contraceptive technology. The special needs of each member nation should be identified and then fed back to them for obtaining the required information. Participants requested a list of trainers for community-based programs; listing of specific linkages between private and government agencies involved in population work; and listing of international funding agencies on research and action programs.     

Housing assessment criteria of rural households

This paper is an assessment of factors which influence a household to make decisions in relation to their residential location involves a complex set of variables. The location is an important aspect of quality of life, therefore, a better understanding of the components of residential decision making is essential. This paper explores factors contributing to the ideal housing situation and compares two measurements: congruence and quality score.     

The Effect of Microcredit on Women Empowerment in Welfare and Decisions Making in Malaysia

Microcredit is perceived as an effective tool to empower women, especially those who are deprived of accessing financial services. However, the literature has arrived with contradictory evidence and demonstrates that the effect of microcredit may partially or not empower women. This study intends to examine whether the access to Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) affects several aspects of empowerment in urban Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to 474 old and new clients to examine the effect of microcredit on women empowerment in decision-making process and resource controlling. Based on the propensity score matching, our result shows that the access to AIM microcredit affects positively women’s monthly income. In addition, microcredit empowers women borrowers in a set of household decisions making including mobility, daily expenditure, children school, health expenditure and loan order decision.     

„Jemand kommt zu Dir und sagt bitte“: Eine empirische Studie zur Gewebespende im Krankenhauskontext

During the last decades biomedical research has gained substantial importance in Western societies. Due to the dependence on human biological material in research, an increasing number of people find themselves in a double role of being a patient and a donor of bodily substances. This paper deals with the decision making of hospitalised patients who are asked, through informed consent, to donate skin tissue that will be removed in the course of their scheduled plastic surgery. While bioethical debates often rely on the assumption that patients decide whether or not to consent according to the information provided, I will show on the basis of empirical work, which circumstances and considerations finally lead to their agreement. Mainly I will discuss how patients socially experience informed consent as a request and how such an understanding affects their decision. By that I aim to encourage a conception of informed consent beyond the dominant bioethical discourse of rational decision making.     

Seven measures for population control announced in Guangzhou

On 7 October 1988, the Municipal Government of Guangzhou, China, announced the following Decision: "First, great efforts should be made to strengthen education on the situation and tasks of the family planning programme. Second, family planning work is included in the target responsibility system of leaders at all levels during their terms of office and whether it is good or bad for the fulfillment of their family planning tasks will be considered as one of the criteria for the assessment of cadres in their work to link up with rewards and punishments. Third, the current family planning policies must be resolutely and unswervingly carried out. For those units where family planning policies have not been well carried out and where family planning work has long been stagnant, competent authorities should send capable cadres to help them improve their work within a definite period of time. Fourth, the principle of 'three priorities' (i.e., priority of publicity and education to economic restriction, priority of contraceptive measures to induced abortions, and priority of day-to-day work to shock work) must be adhered to while technical service and work of transforming the backward situation in some places should be done. Fifth, the family planning organizations at all levels must be perfected and ranks of family planning workers be strengthened with the stress on those at the township, town, and street neighbourhood levels. Moreover, the family planning offices should be set up or full-time family planning workers be staffed for enterprises and undertakings in the cities. Sixth, funds for the family planning work must be guaranteed. Seventh, the management of family planning for [the] floating population must be strengthened and a management group for [the] floating population, which consists of representatives from the Municipal Government and departments concerned, must be established."     

国家责任本位的体现——“江村”农民基本养老保险的实践与思考

基于对正在“江村”实施的农村基本养老保险的调查,从国家与“江村”农民在农业税与社会保障的汲取与给付的历时态考察,发现“江村”农民的养老保障经历了集体责任本位、个人责任本位,而目前国家在“江村”农民基本养老保险建设中对农民的供款是农村养老社会保障中国家责任本位的体现。文章还指出实施中的农村基本养老保险制度不应设定一些“株连一家”的规定,从而让国家责任本位体现得更加充分。     

Quality, accessibility, and contraceptive use in rural tanzania

We examine how informants' reports on community perceptions of the quality and accessibility of family planning facilities relate to the use of modern contraceptives by individuals in rural Tanzania. Using information on individual-level contraceptive use in conjunction with community-level information on the accessibility and quality of family planning facilities, we employ two distinct statistical procedures to illustrate the impacts of accessibility and quality on contraceptive use. Both procedures treat the community-level variables as imperfect indicators of characteristics of the facilities, and they yield nearly identical implications. We find that a community-level, subjective perception of a family planning facility's quality has a significant impact on community members' contraceptive use whereas other community measures such as time, distance, and subjective perception of accessibility have trivial and insignificant direct impacts, net of the control variables. Future research that uncovers the determinants of perceptions of both community-level and individual-level quality could provide key insights for developing effective and efficient family planning programs.