Addressing vaccine concerns through the spectrum of vaccine acceptance.

RATIONALE/OBJECTIVE: Several studies have examined attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines, giving prominence to hesitancy and conceptual models that seek to explain its prevalence, mostly in high-income contexts. An alternative conceptual approach that prioritises an understanding of vaccine concerns, the rationality of the questions people have, the political and media ecologies that raise them, will help recommend ways in which such concerns can be addressed. This current study employs the Spectrum of Vaccine Acceptance as a conceptual framework to explain vaccine concerns, in a low-income context. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was designed by drawing on the extant literature on indirect impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. The survey was administered face to face to a stratified random sample of 459 healthcare professionals in Uganda, from 1st to July 31, 2021. Key findings from the survey were explored using focus group interviews. Descriptive analysis was performed to quantify key responses on socio-demographic characteristics, feelings and views about COVID-19 and vaccines. Qualitative themes from the survey and focus groups were explained through the framework of the Spectrum of Vaccine Acceptance. RESULTS: Vaccine acceptance was the most dominant attitude among healthcare professionals, with 74.9% of all respondents (N = 224) having been vaccinated. The findings highlight a relationship between vaccine acceptance, vaccine questioning and vaccine hesitancy, in that nearly 60% (N = 127) of those that were already vaccinated had several concerns about the vaccines they had received, suggesting that questions do not necessarily equate to refusal. This led to a partial reframing of the Spectrum of Vaccine Acceptance. CONCLUSION: Factors which determine and differentiate vaccine concerns among healthcare professionals in a low-income context show that rational concerns far outweigh non-sensical and conspiratorial views. The findings will act as a useful input into the importance of understanding and addressing vaccine concerns, and the role of managing information voids in pandemic management.

The 'Nigerian Diet' and Its Evolution: Review of the Existing Literature and Household Survey Data.

Natural and social science studies have commonly referenced a 'typical' or 'habitual' Nigerian diet, without defining what such a diet entails. Our study, based on a systematic review of the existing literature and an analysis of household-level survey data, describes the general outline of a common Nigerian diet and how it varies based on spatial, demographic, and socio-economic characteristics. We further try to establish whether Nigeria has embarked on a dietary transition common in most modern economies, marked by a greater consumption of processed foods, fats, and sugar at the expense of traditional whole cereals and pulses. We conclude that while a traditional Nigerian diet is still relatively healthy from an international perspective, it has indeed been transitioning, with an increasing inclusion of high-energy, high-fat, and high-sugar processed foods and a related growing incidence of overweight, obesity, and diet-related non-communicable diseases.

The Effects of Local-Level Economic Inequality on Social Capital: Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India.

How do changing levels of local economic inequality affect households' social capital? This article contributes to answering this question by examining the impact of village-level economic inequality in Andhra Pradesh on household levels of bridging and bonding social-network capital, using Two-Stage Least-Squares regressions of data from household surveys conducted between 2002 and 2014 by the Young Lives programme. The results of the study suggest that as local economic inequality rises, households' bridging social capital, measured through participation in efforts to resolve broader communal issues, declines whilst their bonding social capital, measured through membership in relatively demographically and socio-economically homogeneous voluntary associations, increases. Existing research suggests that the consequently growing fragmentation of communities along demographic and socio-economic division lines is likely to contribute to social conflicts.

De quelle façon l'évolution du niveau des inégalités économiques locales affecte-t-elle le capital social des ménages ? Cet article contribue à répondre à cette question en se penchant sur l'impact des inégalités économiques sur le niveau de capital social, en particulier les liens de liaison (bonding) et les liens de relais (bridging) des ménages, à l'échelle d'un village dans l'Andhra Pradesh. Pour ce faire, l'étude utilise des données d'enquêtes sur les ménages menées entre 2002 et 2014 par le programme Young Lives et applique la méthode de régression des moindres carrés en deux étapes. Les résultats de l'étude suggèrent qu'à mesure que les inégalités économiques locales augmentent, le capital social de liaison des ménages diminue, tel qu'il est mesuré par la participation aux efforts visant à résoudre des problèmes communs de façon plus globale, tandis qu'augmente leur capital social de relais, qui est mesuré par l'appartenance à des associations bénévoles relativement homogènes sur le plan démographique et socio-économique. Les études existantes suggèrent que la facture croissante des communautés qui en résulte sur les plans démographiques et socio-économiques est susceptible de contribuer aux conflits sociaux.

The role of complementary feeding in India's high child malnutrition rates: findings from a comprehensive analysis of NFHS IV (2015-2016) data.

Relative to its economic growth and poverty levels, Indian children suffer from higher levels of malnutrition than children in many other low- and middle-income countries. Research presented in this article examined the links between infant and young child feeding practices among Indian children and their rates of stunting, underweight, wasting, and anaemia, with a particular focus on the types of semisolid complementary food consumed. It did so through a comprehensive analysis of data on more than 57,000 6-to-23-month-old children obtained from the nationally representative National Family Health Survey IV (2015-2016). One of the key findings was that especially feeding children animal-sourced and vitamin-A-rich food was associated with lower malnutrition rates. The study further interrogated whether livestock ownership and participation in the Integrated Child Development Services programme could be supportive of better complementary child feeding and concluded that daily food receipts from the programme and poultry ownership were indeed linked with significantly higher rates of children following the recommended feeding practices as well as with somewhat lower children's malnutrition rates. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12571-021-01202-7.