Social relations and health in an ethnically diverse social housing area selected for large structural changes compared to municipal levels: a Danish survey study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to describe demographics, social relations and health in an ethnically diverse social housing area selected to undergo large structural changes and compare it to the surrounding municipality. Furthermore, to explore the association between social relations and self-rated health (SRH) and the interaction with country of origin in both populations. METHODS: Data sources include a multilingual interviewer-driven survey study in a social housing area (N = 209) and a municipal health survey (N = 1,638) among residents aged 45 + years. Information on social relations include contact frequency with and support from family, friends, and neighbors. Descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, and country of origin are presented, as well as joint effect analyses of social relations and country of origin on SRH. RESULTS: In the social housing area, 38.8% of the respondents reported poor SRH compared to 19.5% in the municipality. In both study populations low contact frequency was associated with poor SRH, however insignificantly in the social housing area compared to the municipality sample, OR = 1.50 (0.65-3.46) vs. OR = 2.42 (1.70-3.45). Joint exposure to having non-Western background and low contact frequency was strongly associated with poor SRH in the social housing area, OR = 6.28 (1.80-21.89) but less so in the municipality, OR = 3.67 (1.55-8.69). The same tendency was seen regarding low support from social relations. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight to a population that is generally underrepresented in survey studies. In the social housing area, approximately twice as many reported poor SRH compared to the municipality data. In both populations, low contact frequency and low support were associated with poor SRH. Residents with weak social relations and non-Western origin simultaneously were more likely to report poor SRH in the social housing area specifically but less so in the municipality, indicating a higher vulnerability among the residents in the social housing area.

Exploring motivations, attitudes and experiences of oocyte donors: A qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: The demand for fertility treatment with donated oocytes is increasing in many European countries. In order to offer oocyte donors an attractive treatment, it is necessary to understand the views of the donors. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore how women who donate oocytes describe their motives and attitudes towards oocyte donation, as well as their experiences with oocyte donation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative study based on individual face-to-face interviews with 12 oocyte donors with a donor identity as either anonymous or open. Oocyte donors who had donated oocytes at least once were recruited from the fertility clinic at Herlev University Hospital, Denmark. Data were collected using a piloted, semi-structured interview guide and were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis was handled in NVIVO 11 PRO. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in three themes: (1) helping others, (2) the treatment, and (3) being an oocyte donor. The financial compensation had varying degrees of importance for the oocyte donors but was always secondary to the desire to help others. All participants were interested in knowing whether their donation had resulted in pregnancy or birth of a child. Many donors had not gained a full understanding of the realistic outcomes of their donation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that oocyte donors are mainly motivated by altruism, and financial compensation was found to be a secondary motive. Further, political awareness could be directed toward particularly open donors and the need to provide information about the outcome of their donation. Finally, it seems that future oocyte donors, in a treatment with a high need for information, can benefit from clinicians giving more exact information in relation to the probability of the birth of a donor child.