Priorities in Global Assistance for Health,AIDS, and Population

This article makes three points regarding international assistance in health, AIDS, and population. First, despite growing attention in the development policy dialogue, the share of health (broadly considered) in total assistance is actually declining, not increasing, if assistance for the HIV/AIDS crisis is taken out of the picture. Second, interventions financed by international health assistance do not closely correspond to the burden of disease as conventionally calculated. HIV/AIDS receives a share of assistance in excess of its contribution to the global burden of disease, and reasons for this are adduced. Third, despite the emphasis on aligning international assistance to country priorities, a comparison of how health is treated in poverty‐reduction strategies and the nature of health assistance reveals no clear relationship between the two. This suggests that there may be room for improvement in the process of preparing such strategies, the allocation of health assistance, or both.     

Gender, Body Image, and Depressive Symptoms among Low-Income African American Adolescents

The present study tested for gender differences in depression and body image among a sample of 6th–8th grade low-income African American adolescents. Gender differences were found, with adolescent girls more likely to report both depressive symptoms and poor body image. The most frequently endorsed body image concern for both boys and girls was the desire to lose weight, with approximately half of the girls in this sample reporting they would like to lose weight. Results of mediational analyses indicate that poor body image mediates the relation between gender and depression in this sample, suggesting that heightened rates of depression, among girls, are due to heightened rates of poor body image.     

A Bayesian Approach to Integrated Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment for the South River,Virginia Mercury‐Contaminated Site

We conducted a regional‐scale integrated ecological and human health risk assessment by applying the relative risk model with Bayesian networks (BN‐RRM) to a case study of the South River, Virginia mercury‐contaminated site. Risk to four ecological services of the South River (human health, water quality, recreation, and the recreational fishery) was evaluated using a multiple stressor–multiple endpoint approach. These four ecological services were selected as endpoints based on stakeholder feedback and prioritized management goals for the river. The BN‐RRM approach allowed for the calculation of relative risk to 14 biotic, human health, recreation, and water quality endpoints from chemical and ecological stressors in five risk regions of the South River. Results indicated that water quality and the recreational fishery were the ecological services at highest risk in the South River. Human health risk for users of the South River was low relative to the risk to other endpoints. Risk to recreation in the South River was moderate with little spatial variability among the five risk regions. Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis identified stressors and other parameters that influence risk for each endpoint in each risk region. This research demonstrates a probabilistic approach to integrated ecological and human health risk assessment that considers the effects of chemical and ecological stressors across the landscape.