Exploring global recognition of quality midwifery education: Vision or fiction?

Background

Midwifery education is the foundation for preparing competent midwives to provide a high standard of safe, evidence-based care for women and their newborns. Global competencies and standards for midwifery education have been defined as benchmarks for establishing quality midwifery education and practice worldwide. However, wide variations in type and nature of midwifery education programs exist.

Immigration Provisions in the Violence Against Women Act: Implications for Asian Indian Marriage Migrants

We explore the perspectives of 26 domestic violence advocates from 14 nonprofit organizations on gaps in the immigration-related provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as these relate to the intersectional needs and experiences of Asian Indian marriage migrants. Findings indicate that, based on immigration status and other intersectional locations, policy provisions differentially affect this population. In addition, because agencies focus on broadly defined populations (immigrants or women), but victims’ locations are intersectional, intersectional policy analysis and coordination between and across agencies formulating and administering policies are required to meet the needs of abused Asian Indian marriage migrants.     

Elder mistreatment in underserved populations: Opportunities and challenges to developing a contemporary program of research

ABSTRACT

This article provides an overview of the status of research on elder mistreatment among underserved populations in the United States, including gaps in our current knowledge base and scientific and structural barriers to growing research on the exploitation, neglect, and abuse of older people from diverse and disadvantaged ethnic/racial, geographic, sexual identity, and socioeconomic groups. High-priority areas in need of new elder mistreatment research with underserved populations are identified, and suggestions are given for how this research can be facilitated by researchers, university institutional review boards, and funding agencies.     

Beyond the bubble that is Robodebt: How governments that lose integrity threaten democracy

Robodebt describes the automated process of matching the Australian Taxation Office's income data with social welfare recipients' reports of income to Centrelink. Discrepancies signalling benefit overpayment trigger debt notices. The scheme has been criticised for inaccurate assessment, illegality, shifting the onus of proof of debt onto welfare recipients, poor support and communication, and coercive debt collection. Beyond immediate concerns of citizen harm, Robodebt harms democratic governance. Through persisting with Robodebt, the government is launching a regulatory assault on its own integrity. Two Senate inquiries reveal government endorsing (1) incoherence and inconsistency in public engagement, (2) unsound purposes and processes and (3) disregard for citizens. Such actions destroy trustworthiness. Citizens keep their distance and as a result, cooperation falters. At particular risk is the tax system. Citizens harmed by government turn to alternative authorities for help and opportunity, not always along legitimate pathways. The underground economy provides one such opportunity for fearful welfare recipients.     

Whatever Happened to Social Indicators in Africa? Whatever Happened Indeed! A Developing World Perspective on the Kenneth C. Land and Alex C. Michalos Report on ‘Fifty Years After the Social Indicators Movement’

Africa is a latecomer to the Social Indicators Movement. The first social indicators for Third World countries were developed by outsiders and covered almost exclusively topics related to basic needs and development. In response to Kenneth Land’s and Alex Michalos’ historical assessment and their agenda for future ‘social indicators/quality of life/well-being’ research, the commentary traces how South Africa and sub-Saharan countries—with a little help from many friends who are pioneers in the movement—have succeeded in developing their own home-grown social indicators movement. Addressing some of the themes outlined in the agenda that Land and Michalos set for future research, the commentary discusses the importance of monitoring social change occurring in African society in a ‘post-industrialized and much more globalized, and digitized-computerized-roboticized’ era: How will new values and norms impact on the quality of life of future generations of African people?     

Heat and adult health in China

Given projected increases in the frequency of precipitation and temperature extremes in China, we examine the extent adults may be vulnerable to climate anomalies. We link nutrition, health, and economic data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (1989–2011) to gridded climate data to identify which socioeconomic outcomes are particularly susceptible, including adult underweight incidence, body mass index, dietary intake, physical activity, illness, income, and food prices. We find warm temperatures augment the probability of being underweight among adults, with a particularly large impact for the elderly (ages >?60). Extremely dry and warm conditions produce a 3.3-percentage point increase in underweight status for this group. Consequences on nutrition coincide with changes in illness rather than dietary, income, or purchasing power shifts. Social protection targeting areas prone to excessive heat may consider supplementing bundles of goods with a suite of health care provisions catering to the elderly.