Child support grant expansion and cognitive function among women in rural South Africa: Findings from a natural experiment in the HAALSI cohort.

Background: Cash transfers are a promising but understudied intervention that may protect cognitive function in adults. Although South Africa has a rapidly ageing population, little is known about the nature of association between cash transfers and cognitive function in this setting.

Objectives: We leveraged age-eligibility expansions to South Africa's Child Support Grant (CSG) to investigate the association between duration of CSG eligibility and cognitive function of biological mothers of child beneficiaries in South Africa.

Purpose in Life and Its Association to Parkinsonism.

Objectives: Purpose in life has been associated with diverse health outcomes; however, few studies have examined its associations with progressive motor decline in older adults. We tested if higher purpose would be associated with lower likelihood of incident parkinsonism as well as with lower levels and slower rates of increase in parkinsonian signs.

Methods: Participants were 2,626 older adults from the Rush Memory and Aging Project and Minority Aging Research Study followed for an average of 7.

Subnational estimates of vitamin A supplementation coverage in children: a geospatial analysis of 45 low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: Vitamin A supplementation (VAS) can protect children from the adverse health consequences of vitamin A deficiency. Granular data on VAS coverage can guide global and national efforts to achieve universal VAS coverage. To provide geographically precise targeting of VAS programs and to monitor progress in reducing geographic disparities, we aimed to create high-resolution (5 × 5 km) maps of VAS coverage in children under 5 years across VAS priority countries.

Corrigendum to-"Food deprivation among adults in India: an analysis of specific food-categories, 2016-2021" [eClinical medicine 66(2023) 102313].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.

Prevalence, trend, and inequality of prolonged exclusive breastfeeding among children aged 6-23 months old in India from 1992-2021: A cross-sectional study of nationally representative, individual-level data.

Background: Prolonged exclusive breastfeeding (PEB) for children older than six months old is a threat to appropriate complementary feeding practices. This study aims to examine the trend of PEB among children aged 6-23 months in India.

Methods: We adopted five waves of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data between 1992-93 and 2019-21.

How economic development affects healthcare access for people with disabilities: A multilevel study in China.

Meeting the healthcare needs of people with disabilities is an important challenge in achieving the central promise of "leave no one behind" during the Sustainable Development Goals era. In this study, we describe the accessibility of healthcare for people living with disabilities, as well as the potential influences of individuals' socioeconomic status and regional economic development. Our data covered 324 prefectural cities in China in 2019 and captured the access to healthcare services for people with disabilities.

Disclosing Recovery: A pilot randomized controlled trial of a patient decision aid to improve disclosure processes for people in treatment for opioid use disorder.

Introduction: People engaged in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) report struggling with whether and how to disclose, or share information about their OUD history and/or treatment with others. Yet, disclosure can act as a gateway to re-establishing social connection and support during recovery. The current study describes a pilot randomized controlled trial of Disclosing Recovery: A Decision Aid and Toolkit, a patient decision aid designed to facilitate disclosure decisions and build disclosure skills.

Associations between cohort derived dementia and COVID-19 serological diagnosis among older Black adults in rural South Africa.

Objectives: This study investigates the association between cohort derived dementia and serologically confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, an underexplored phenomena in low-and middle-income countries. Examining this relationship in a rural South African community setting offers insights applicable to broader healthcare contexts.

Methods: Data were collected from Black South Africans in the Mpumalanga province who participated in the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa.

Impact of a post-partum family planning intervention on contraception and fertility in Tanzania: two-year follow-up of a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

Purpose: We evaluate contraceptive use and pregnancy two years following an intervention in Tanzania, which provided antenatal post-partum family planning counselling and post-partum intrauterine device (PPIUD) services following delivery.

Methods: We analyse data from five hospitals in Tanzania using a difference-in-difference cluster randomised design, with randomisation at the hospital level. We use women-level data collected at the index birth and a follow-up survey two years later among 6,410 women.

Inequalities in Mortality in the Asia-Pacific: A Cross-National Comparison of Socioeconomic Gradients.

Objectives: Social inequalities in mortality are poorly studied in much of the Asia-Pacific. Using data from harmonized nationally representative longitudinal health and aging surveys our study systematically assesses mortality disparities across 3 standardized measures of socioeconomic status in 7 Asia-Pacific countries.

Methods: We used data from multiple waves of 7 representative sample surveys: the Health, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, the Indonesian Family Life Survey, the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement survey, the Korean Longitudinal Study on Ageing and the Health, Aging and Retirement in Thailand survey, and the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement.

Evaluating the impact of short animated videos on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: An online randomized controlled trial.

Addressing the global challenge of vaccine hesitancy, amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic due to misinformation propagated via social media, necessitates innovative health communication strategies. This investigation scrutinizes the efficacy of Short, Animated, Story-based (SAS) videos in fostering knowledge, behavioral intent, and engagement around COVID-19 vaccination. We conducted an online three-arm parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) involving 792 adult participants (≥18 years, English-speaking) from the United States.

Association of brain arterial diameters with demographic and anatomical factors in a multi-national pooled analysis of cohort studies.

Background And Purpose: Brain arterial diameters are markers of cerebrovascular disease. Demographic and anatomical factors may influence arterial diameters. We hypothesize that age, sex, height, total cranial volume (TCV), and persistent fetal posterior cerebral artery (fPCA) correlate with brain arterial diameters across populations.

In-Person Social Interactions and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Role of Household Size and Virtual Social Contact Among Midlife and Older Black South African Adults.

Objectives: The current study investigates how physical distancing during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with increased anxiety among a cohort of midlife older Black South African adults and the extent to which household size and virtual social contact modify this association for men and women.

Methods: We analyze data from a phone survey conducted from July 2021 to March 2022 as part of Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (n = 2,080). We employ logistic regression to estimate the association between changes in in-person social interactions and anxiety symptoms and examine whether the association is modified by household size and changes in virtual social contact.

Prevalence of girl and boy child marriage across states and Union Territories in India, 1993-2021: a repeated cross-sectional study.

Background: India's success in eliminating child marriage is crucial to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target 5.3. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of child marriage in girls and boys in India and describe its change across 36 states and Union Territories between 1993 and 2021.

Food deprivation among adults in India: an analysis of specific food categories, 2016-2021.

Background: Adult undernourishment remains pervasive throughout India, and often results from food deprivation, which refers to the inadequate consumption of foods with caloric and nutrient significance. Therefore, understanding the extent to which food groups are missing from an individual's diet is essential to understanding the extent to which they are undernourished.

Methods: We used data from two National Family Health Surveys conducted in 2016 and 2021 for this cross-sectional analysis.

The Effect of Family Wealth on Physical Function Among Older Adults in Mpumalanga, South Africa: A Causal Network Analysis.

The aging of the South African population could have profound implications for the independence and overall quality of life of older adults as life expectancy increases. While there is evidence that lifetime socio-economic status shapes risks for later function and disability, it is unclear whether, and how, the wealth of family members shapes these outcomes. We investigated the relationship between outcomes activities of daily living (ADL), grip strength, and gait speed, and the household wealth of non-coresident family members.

Return on investments in the Health Extension Program in Ethiopia.

Background: Since 2003, the government of Ethiopia has trained and deployed more than 42,000 Health Extension Workers across the country to provide primary healthcare services. However, no research has assessed the return on investments into human resources for health in this setting. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the return on investment within the context of the Ethiopian Health Extension Program.

The association of a disability-targeted cash transfer programme with disability status and health-care access: a quasi-experimental study using a nationwide cohort of 4·3 million Chinese adults living with severe disabilities.

Background: Cash transfer is a crucial policy tool to address inequality. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between China's disability-targeted cash transfer programme and disability status, as well as equitable access to rehabilitation and medical services.

Methods: For this quasi-experimental study, we drew data from the nationwide administrative cohort of individuals with disabilities between Jan 1, 2015, and Dec 31, 2019.

Exploring risk factors of drive for muscularity and muscle dysmorphia in male adolescents from a resource-limited setting in Burkina Faso.

In low-income countries, Muscle Dysmorphia (MD) has only been investigated in adult south African amateur-bodybuilders. To date, there is no epidemic study about MD or its cardinal symptom "drive for muscularity" (DFM) and its impact on young men's lives in African low-income settings. We analyzed a population-representative cross-sectional study of 838 adolescent males aged 12-20 in the rural northwestern Burkina Faso.

Decomposition of Differentials in Health Expectancies From Multistate Life Tables: A Research Note.

Multistate modeling is a commonly used method to compute healthy life expectancy. However, there is currently no analytical method to decompose the components of differentials in summary measures calculated from multistate models. In this research note, we propose a derivative-based method to decompose the differentials in population-based health expectancies estimated via a multistate model into two main components: the proportion resulting from differences in initial health structure and the proportion resulting from differences in health transitions.