Issues in Public Health
Micro-environment and Health in Slums
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Mayank Mathur
Research was undertaken to study the micro-environment and health of the inhabitants. The primary survey was done to gather information on socio-economic characteristics and spaces etc. Subsequently, interviews and focused group discussions with the workers were made to explore the process of manufacturing at household level in slums, Interviews with professionals such as Medical Private Practitioners practicing close to these settlement areas revealed about the health conditions of these inhabitants. It was envisaged that the poor health of these inhabitants may be due to the unhealthy micro-environment. Finally, a scientific survey was also conducted to explore the quality of the micro-environment in these areas, with the help of scientific instruments and the laboratory analysis at Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi. The findings of research are as follows: Head of the family imparted training to family members and the manufacturing trade progressed from father to son. Women workers involved in such home-based working combined work with their domestic responsibilities. Incidence of child labour is significant, although head of the family provides less hazardous work to their children. The survey revealed that the workers in the family had severe respiratory problems and therefore an indoor air quality assessment was conducted. The pollution level was found to be quite alarming in case of CO, NO2, SO2 and Suspended Particulate Matter. Issues of health and micro-environment need to be addressed urgently to take care of the existing settlements and in subsequent developments where such target group are expected to come.
Mapping Twitter Connections Centered on HIV/AIDS in the African-American Community
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sasha Arum
Although accounting for 13% of the American population, in 2017, African-Americans made up 44% and 46.8% of newly reported HIV and AIDS cases in the US respectively. Racial disparities in HIV/AIDS are a complex consequence of contextual, socio-economic, and cultural factors that act as barriers to the prevention and care continuum. Today, social media are being increasingly integrated into HIV prevention and care initiatives aimed at reaching populations most affected. Considering its popularity among African-American internet users, the social media platform Twitter has the potential to foster two-way discussion, information exchange, and community building around HIV/AIDS for people of color – an underexplored dynamic. Through mixed-methods, the present study maps the connections and exchanges within the African-American HIV/AIDS Twitter network. Online snowball sampling was used to identify a network of Tweeters with a joint interest in HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. Coding of network members profiles biography data reveal a diversity of healthcare roles from practitioners and sexual health educators to advocacy organizations and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Social network analysis was used to map comradery (who follows who) and discussions (who tweets who) of the network. Additionally, the tweets, replies, and retweets of the network actors were collected over a 6-month period for content analysis so as to provide insight into the context and common themes of the discussions over time. A preliminary overview of this data will be presented. Findings from the study will help better align Twitter-based health education and promotion strategies tailored towards African-Americans.
