Support services for SMEs (Dimension 5a) in the Western Balkans and Turkey

Abstract.Aim: To assess the association of breakfast skipping with overweight and obesity among children in Albania, a post-communist country in the Western Balkans, which is undergoing a long and difficult political and socioeconomic transition towards a market-oriented economy. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional study was carried out in Albania in 2013 including a representative sample of 5810 children aged 7.0 – 9.9 years (49.5% girls aged 8.4 ± 0.6 years and 51.5% boys aged 8.5 ± 0.6 years; overall response rate: 97%). Children were measured for height and weight, and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Cut-off BMI values of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) were used to define overweight and obesity in children. Demographic data were also collected. Results: Upon adjustment for age, sex, and place of residence, breakfast skipping was positively related to obesity (WHO criteria: OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.3–1.9; IOTF criteria: OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.4–2.5), but not overweight (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.3 and OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.9–1.4, respectively). Furthermore, breakfast skipping was associated with a higher BMI (multivariable-adjusted OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.02–1.07). Conclusions: Our findings point to a strong and consistent positive relationship between breakfast skipping and obesity, but not overweight, among children in this transitional southeastern European population. Future studies in Albania and other transitional settings should prospectively examine the causal role of breakfast skipping in the development of overweight and obesity.

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A Typology of Caregiving Situations and Service Use in Family Carers of Older People in Six European Countries

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000031 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 5-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Mirko Di Rosa ◽

Christopher Kofahl ◽

Kevin McKee ◽

Barbara Bień ◽

Giovanni Lamura ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

Older People ◽

Support Services ◽

Family Caregiving ◽

Service Use ◽

European Countries ◽

Limited Resources ◽

Family Carers ◽

Policy Initiatives ◽

Typology Of Care

This paper presents the EUROFAMCARE study findings, examining a typology of care situations for family carers of older people, and the interplay of carers with social and health services. Despite the complexity of family caregiving situations across Europe, our analyses determined the existence of seven “caregiving situations,” varying on a range of critical indicators. Our study also describes the availability and use of different support services for carers and care receivers, and carers’ preferences for the characteristics of support services. Our findings have relevance for policy initiatives in Europe, where limited resources need to be more equitably distributed and services should be targeted to caregiving situations reflecting the greatest need, and organized to reflect the preferences of family carers.

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Associations Between Informal Caregivers’ Burden and Educational Level

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000199 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 19-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Monika Oedekoven ◽

Katja Amin-Kotb ◽

Paul Gellert ◽

Klaus Balke ◽

Adelheid Kuhlmey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Support Services ◽

Educational Level ◽

Autonomy Support ◽

Population Survey ◽

Multivariate Analyses ◽

Informal Caregivers ◽

Loss Of Self ◽

Perceived Burden ◽

Result Show ◽

Care Situation

Abstract. We investigated the association between the education of informal caregivers’ (IC) and their physical and mental burden. We hypothesized that better-educated IC would have more resources available to manage the care situation and as a result show lower perceived burden. We conducted a population survey of 6,087 German residents aged 18+ years, 966 of whom reported to be IC. Results show that IC felt more often mentally than physically burdened. In the multivariate analyses, higher-educated IC did not have lower odds of feeling physically burdened than lower-educated IC, though they did have increased odds of feeling mentally burdened. The higher perceived mental burden of higher-educated IC may be related to fear of loss of self-fulfilment and autonomy. Support services should consider the mental burden of higher-educated IC and tailor their interventions accordingly.

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A Systematic Review of User Expectations and Outcomes of Crisis Support Services

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000745 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Kelly Mazzer ◽

Megan O'Riordan ◽

Alan Woodward ◽

Debra Rickwood

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Support Services ◽

Text Message ◽

Positive Outcomes ◽

Online Chat ◽

Online Databases ◽

Personal Crisis ◽

Crisis Support ◽

User Expectations ◽

Behavioural Sciences

Abstract. Background: Crisis support services play an important role in providing free, immediate access to support people in the community experiencing a personal crisis. Recently, services have expanded from telephone to digital modalities including online chat and text message services. This raises the question of what outcomes are being achieved for increasingly diverse service users across different modalities. Aims: This systematic review aimed to determine the expectations and outcomes of users of crisis support services across three modalities (telephone, online chat, and text message/SMS). Method: Online databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Collection) and gray literature were searched for studies measuring expectations and outcomes of crisis support services. Results: A total of 31 studies were included in the review, the majority of which were telephone-based. Similar expectations were found for telephone and online chat modalities, as well as consistently positive outcomes, measured by changes in emotional state, satisfaction, and referral plans. Limitations/Conclusion: There is a paucity of consistent outcome measures across and within modalities and limited research about users of text message/SMS services.

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