Migration and maternal health services utilization in rural Guatemala

This article examines the relationship between migration and the use of formal maternal health-care services among rural women in Guatemala. We identify assimilation, diffusion, and remittances as three potential pathways through which migration can affect health-care service utilization in rural areas. Using data from the 1995 Guatemalan Survey of Family Health and multi-level regression models, we estimate the impact of migration experience at the individual, household, and community level on the use of formal prenatal care and delivery assistance. We find that urban migration experience and having relatives abroad are associated with a greater likelihood of formal prenatal care utilization, after taking account of background characteristics and enabling resources. Migration experience at all levels is also strongly associated with formal delivery assistance; however, this association operates primarily through the positive association between migration and enabling resources. The differential effects of out-migration on maternal health-care service utilization reflect the different barriers to service use that exist for formal prenatal care and delivery assistance. Financial cost and geographic access are the most important barriers to formal delivery assistance, whereas awareness and acceptance remain as important barriers to the use of formal prenatal care in rural Guatemala. Urban migration experience and social ties to urban and international migrants lower the barriers to formal maternal health-care utilization through the acquisition and diffusion of new ideas and practices, and the return flow of financial resources.     

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in three rural communities in Guatemala.

A systematic, house-based serological survey for Trypanosoma cruzi seroreactivity was conducted in three contiguous communities in Olopa municipality, Chiquimula Department, Guatemala. Blood samples from a total of 292 individuals in 63 households were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The seropositive rate ranged from 0% to 20.8% for the three communities, with a mean of 15.1%. Log-linear models showed that seroprevalence was significantly related to age (P < 0.005) but not to sex. However, when the age group with the lowest prevalence (1-9 years) was excluded from the analysis, age was not a significant factor (P = 0.55). Data from a stratified sample collected at the same time were combined with those of the systematic sample to analyze the relationship between seropositivity and possible explanatory variables. Log-linear models, based on 586 individuals in 129 households from the two surveys, revealed a significant positive association between seropositivity and thatched roofs (P = 0.01).     

Early childhood nutrition, education and fertility milestones in Guatemala

Data on fertility milestones were collected in 1994 and linked to information collected in a trial conducted in eastern Guatemala between 1969 and 1977, to examine whether early childhood nutrition was associated with the timing of fertility milestones. In the original trial, two pairs of villages were randomly allocated to receive either a high energy, high protein supplement (Atole) or a low energy, no-protein supplement (Fresco). Mean age at follow-up was 23.47 y (n = 240). About 62% of women had experienced first birth (median age at first birth = 19.83 y). The median intervals from menarche to first intercourse and from first intercourse to first birth were 5.67 and 0.95 y; they were 1.68 and 0.06 y shorter, respectively, for the Atole group than for the Fresco group. Women who had received Atole in utero and/or during early childhood experienced earlier milestones even after adjusting for socioeconomic status (SES), education and age at the prior event. Median age at first birth was 1.17 y earlier for the Atole group. Better growth during early childhood (not severely stunted) led to earlier milestones (median age at first birth was 1.04 y earlier), primarily among women with illiterate fathers. Completion of primary school significantly delayed fertility milestones; the median age at first birth was 4.27 y later for those who completed primary school compared with those who did not (P < 0.05). In sum, improved nutrition during early childhood results in earlier fertility milestones, but the effects of schooling in delaying fertility milestones are greater in magnitude. Intervention programs that improve early childhood nutrition should be accompanied by investments in education that ensure that girls complete primary school.     

Understanding ethnic variation in pregnancy-related care in rural Guatemala

Objectives. This study examines the relatively low use of modern pregnancy-related care in Guatemala, especially among indigenous women, and explores the role of socioeconomic status, social and cultural variables, and access to biomedical health facilities in accounting for ethnic differences in care. Methods. The data for the analysis come from the Guatemalan Survey of Family Healtha population-based survey of rural women that contains detailed data on care received during pregnancy and delivery along with extensive background information. Binomial and multinomial logit models are used to identify the variables that affect the likelihood of receiving different types of care during pregnancy and delivering in a medical facility and the extent to which sociocultural factors and measures of access account for the observed ethnic differences. Results: The estimates not only confirm previous findings of a large ethnic difference in the use of modern pregnancy-related care, but also extend them by identifying a gradient within the indigenous population. The analysis demonstrates that, in general, sociocultural variables are more strongly associated with modern pregnancy-related care than are measures of access and that the former variables explain more of the ethnic variation in care than the latter. The results also demonstrate that pregnant women, especially indigenous women, are more likely to seek biomedical care in conjunction with traditional midwifery care rather than to rely solely on the former. Conclusion. The findings suggest that midwives are likely to continue to be key providers of pregnancy-related care in the future, even as access to modern health facilities improves. Current efforts directed toward the training and integration of midwives into the formal health system are likely to be much more effective at improving pregnancy-related care than the replacement of midwives with biomedical providers.     

Choices about treatment for ARI and diarrhea in rural Guatemala

This paper uses the 1995 Guatemalan Survey of Family Health (EGSF) to analyze the relationship between child illness and health seeking behavior. The EGSF contains detailed calendar data on the nature and timing of illness and treatment behavior for children age five and below; extensive information about the characteristics of mothers, families and communities; and data on the accessibility of traditional and biomedical providers within and near the community. The analysis is based on 870 children who began a diarrheal or respiratory illness during a 2-week period prior to interview. Estimates are derived from a multinomial logit model of the probability of seeing a specific type of provider on a given day of illness, as a function of characteristics of the illness, child, mother, and community. The results indicate that modern medical care plays a major role in the treatment of infectious illness among children in rural Guatemala. The symptoms associated with the illness, their perceived severity, and mother's beliefs about their causes are important determinants of whether a child is brought to a provider and the type of provider visited. Poverty is a serious constraint on a family's choices about how to treat children's illnesses, whereas education and ethnicity have little effect on treatment behavior when income is held constant. In addition, the availability of modern health facilities within the community-both government-sponsored facilities and private doctors-has a substantial impact on the type of providers sought to treat children's illnesses.     

Birth weight and exposure to kitchen wood smoke during pregnancy in rural Guatemala.

In this study, we aimed to establish whether domestic use of wood fuel is associated with reduced birth weight, independent of key maternal, social, and economic confounding factors. We studied 1,717 women and newborn children in rural and urban communities in rural Guatemala. We identified subjects through home births reported by traditional birth attendants in six rural districts (n = 572) and all public hospital births in Quetzaltenango city during the study period (n = 1,145). All were seen within 72 hr of delivery, and data were collected on the type of household fuel used, fire type, and socioeconomic and other confounding factors. Smoking among women in the study community was negligible. Children born to mothers habitually cooking on open fires (n = 861) had the lowest mean birth weight of 2,819 g [95% confidence interval (CI), 2,790-2,848]; those using a chimney stove (n = 490) had an intermediate mean of 2,863 g (95% CI, 2,824-2,902); and those using the cleanest fuels (electricity or gas, n = 365) had the highest mean of 2,948 g (95% CI, 2,898-2,998) (p< 0.0001). The percentage of low birth weights (< 500 g) in these three groups was 19.9% (open fire), 16.8% (chimney stove), and 16.0% (electricity/gas), (trend (p = 0.08). Confounding factors were strongly associated with fuel type, but after adjustment wood users still had a birth weight 63 g lower (p = 0.05; 95% CI, 0.4-126). This is the first report of an association between biofuel use and reduced birth weight in a human population. Although there is potential for residual confounding despite adjustment, the better-documented evidence on passive smoking and a feasible mechanism through carbon monoxide exposure suggest this association may be real. Because two-thirds of households in developing countries still rely on biofuels and women of childbearing age perform most cooking tasks, the attributable risk arising from this association, if confirmed, could be substantial.     

Challenges of long-term nutrition intervention studies on cognition: discordance between observational and intervention studies of vitamin B12 and cognition

Conducting long-term nutrition intervention studies on cognition can be challenging. The gaps in current methodology are addressed via a case study of the relationship between vitamin B(12) and cognition in people aged 60 and older. There is robust evidence from many observational studies, both cross-sectional and longitudinal, showing that a deficit of the vitamin is associated with poor or declining cognition in this age group, but supplementation of the vitamin in trials does not bring about improved cognition. The evidence from observational studies as well as clinical trials is reviewed here, and the potential difficulties in conducting long-term nutritional intervention studies in this area are highlighted.     

母亲孕期营养认知与巨大儿发生关系探讨

[目的]探讨母亲孕期营养认知及行为与巨大儿发生关系,以期达到儿章期肥胖在胎儿期预防. [方法]采取随机设营养教育干预组和非干预组作对照研究. [结果]营养教育干预组研究对象在孕期末期或产后对儿童肥胖的危害性及相关营养知识的认知水平明显提高,并且已作出自觉监测控制体重的行为;干预组母亲足月分娩新生儿出生体重≥4 000 g发生率及剖宫产率均较对照组低,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05). [结论]母亲孕期营养认知及行为与巨大儿发生率有关.预防巨大儿、儿童期肥胖发生需从母孕期、胎儿期做起,母亲的营养认知及行为是关键.     

Evaluating rural nurses for preparation in implementing nutrition interventions.

With the increase in wellness programs, earlier hospital discharges, higher health care costs, and more home health care, rural nurses are required to generalize their practices and draw from a more extensive knowledge base. The purpose of this study was to examine nursing interventions, specifically nutrition education practices, based on nutrition knowledge that is used in health promotion. A stratified random sample of rural nurses from hospitals, nursing homes, and community health agencies in North Dakota was invited to participate in this study. Data were obtained via questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of two parts: the first analyzing demographic data and the second analyzing nutrition knowledge. Nutrition information requests were received by 90.9 percent of the practicing registered nurses. The community/public health nurses had the highest nutrition knowledge scores while medical-surgical hospital nurses had the lowest nutrition knowledge scores. With nutrition information and education being a frequently sought intervention by the rural health client, it would seem that registered nurses should be highly prepared and knowledgeable to meet these clients' needs.     

Migration and the diffusion of modern contraceptive knowledge and use in rural Guatemala

This article uses the concept of social networks as it is employed in the research literature on family planning and migration to explore the impact of out-migration on modern contraceptive knowledge and use in rural Guatemala. Data for this study come from the 1995 Guatemalan Survey of Family Health. Results from multilevel regression models indicate that urban migration experience, having migrant kin in urban or international destinations, and living in a community where urban migration is common are all associated with greater contraceptive knowledge. Social ties to urban or international migrants are also associated with a greater likelihood of modern contraceptive use among married women, but this association works primarily through increased contraceptive knowledge. The findings of significant diffusion effects provide support for recent theories of fertility decline that emphasize the role of social interactions.     

2013与2008年广州市消费者食品营养标签认知与应用比较

摘要:目的　了解广州市消费者食品营养标签的认知与应用能力并与2008年调查结果进行比较。方法　于2013年11-12月在广州市各超市,采用匿名问卷方式调查1003名知情同意的消费者,用SPSS20.0进行数据分析。结果　在调查对象中了解什么是食品营养标签的人仅占9.1%,对食品营养标签信息完全能理解的占4.0%。购买食品时经常认真阅读食品营养标签的只有10.7%。认为食品营养标签对食品选购有一些影响的占71.8%,有很大影响的占 5.7%。与2008年调查结果比较,消费者对食品营养标签的了解程度、理解程度、阅读情况以及信任度差异无统计学意义（P＞0.05）。经Logistic回归分析,食品营养标签与食品选购相关因素有:消费者目前的身体状况、阅读情况、理解程度、信任程度、了解愿望（P≤0.05）。结论　从2008年至2013年《预包装食品营养标签通则》的实施,广州市消费者对食品营养标签的认知度及应用能力并无显著提高,必需加强宣教和引导,提高消费者对食品营养标签的认知与应用,充分发挥其作用。