| 51. |
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| 52. |
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| 53. |
- Ugarte, William J., et al.
(författare)
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Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to HIV and AIDS in Nicaragua : A community-level perspective
- 2013
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Ingår i: Sexual & Reproductive HealthCare. - : Elsevier BV. - 1877-5756 .- 1877-5764. ; 4:1, s. 37-44
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background:Nicaragua's HIV epidemic is concentrated among men who have sex with men.Nevertheless, the increasing number of HIV cases among heterosexuals, high levels of poverty andmigration rates, and incomplete epidemiological data suggest the need to improve the understanding of the epidemic.Objective:To examine the prevalence of HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and sexual rsik-taking behaviors, and their predictors among the adult population.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009 among 520 participants ages 15 to 49 from an ongoing Health and Demographic Surveillance System in Nicaragua. Bivariate analysis and adjusted prevalence ratios were use to examine factors associated with HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, and sexual behavior.Results: Contributing factors for risk-taking behaviors included cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional elements. Insufficient knowledge affecting the accurate assessment of HIV risk were low educational level, poverty, and rural origin, especially among females. Recognizing risk was not sufficient to promote safer sex: 90% of the females and 70% of the males who reported being sexually active in the past year did not use condoms during their last sexual encounter. Inconsistent condom use among men was associated with older age, long-term relationships, and lack of awareness about acquiring HIV infection.Conclusions:Interventions to reduce social-structural contextual factors in Nicaragua are needed so that individuals may adopt and maintain HIV risk reduction strategies. Increased gender-specific HIV education and skills-building programs need to be implemented. Sensitive mass media messages may also increase the knowledge of HIV and AIDS, and serve to encourage protective attitudes and behaviors.
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| 54. |
- Segnestam, Lisa, 1971-
(författare)
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Culture and Capacity : Drought and Gender Differentiated Vulnerability of Rural Poor in Nicaragua, 1970-2010
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation interprets gender-differentiated vulnerability to drought within a rural community located in the dry zone, la zona seca, of Nicaragua, a region that has been identified by the government and NGO sector as suffering from prolonged and, since the 1970s, more frequent droughts. A combination of gender, capitals, and vulnerability demonstrates the value in using a multidimensional perspective to look at the socioeconomic and cultural contexts that form the capacity individuals have had to reduce their long-term vulnerability to drought in Nicaragua. Due to the place-based characteristics of gender as well as vulnerability the analysis is mainly based on people’s stories about the history of their lives. Based on these stories a local level picture is created of the households’ situation over time, how their work strategies and management of resources have varied, and how they perceived changes in capacity and vulnerability in relation to continuity and change in the climate. The issue of adaptive capacity, which currently is less covered in research on gender and vulnerability and recognized in the literature as in need of more attention, and how it distinguishes itself from coping capacity in relation to vulnerability, is placed at the center of analysis. In an additional analysis of how Nicaragua’s hazard management policies look upon the role and importance of interaction among societal levels and actors in reducing hazard vulnerability I show how the discourse has moved from emergency response to risk management with an increased emphasis on capacity building. However, the recognition to differentiated vulnerability is lacking which risks hampering a successful vulnerability reduction.
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| 55. |
- López Poveda, Anayanci, et al.
(författare)
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A method for analyzing IT service strategy in municipal governments from nicaragua
- 2010
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Ingår i: 16th Americas Conference on Information Systems 2010, AMCIS 2010. ; , s. 2966-2978
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The importance of IT strategy is generally accepted, though in practice this may vary from one IT organization to another. The design of a formal IT strategy may be required or not, depending on the environment, but, independently of this, strategic decisions still must be made and therefore strategic practices are performed. In order to make any improvement in strategic practices, awareness of their current state in the IT organization is needed. This paper proposes a method for analyzing IT service strategy in the context of IT organizations in municipal governments; the main issues considered are both people- and organization-related (e.g. internal service providers, prioritized cost-effectiveness, current practices oriented to tactical and operational activities, etc.). This method decomposes the analysis from two different perspectives: strategic practices in use and maturity level of such practices. The method was tested in two municipal governments from Nicaragua.
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| 56. |
- Gustafsson, Cecilia, 1977-
(författare)
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‘“For a better life …“ A study on migration and health in Nicaragua’
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 11:1
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nicaraguans have migrated internally and internationally for centuries due to economic, political and sociocultural factors. Deficiencies in the country’s health care system have produced inequities in people’s access to health care and medicines. Remittances have become an important source of income, partly invested in health.Objectives: The overall aim of the study was to analyse migration–health relations in contemporary Nicaragua within a broader context of socio-economic transformations.Methods: The study uses a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interview data and quantitative survey data.Results: The findings show that migration is commonly practised as a strategy for making a living and is related to the struggle for a better life. Health concerns are indirectly embedded in people’s mobile livelihoods, but also directly influence migration motives. Furthermore, migration involves both advantages and disadvantages for health. Physical and sexual violence can come to an end for migrating women, health care and medicine can become more accessible for internal migrants, and vulnerabilities caused by environmental disasters can be avoided by moving. Moreover, remittances can improve people’s everyday life and health. Yet migration can also be a stressful and health-damaging event. International migrants, particularly the undocumented, can have problems accessing health care, and also experience much danger at border crossings. Transnational families can suffer emotionally as well as physically due to separation. Findings from the survey show that family members of migrants do not rate their physical health as good as often as non-migrating families.Conclusions: The Nicaraguan population is not guaranteed its social rights of citizenship. This results in mobile livelihoods and the need for translocal social support (e.g. remittances). Migration can have both positive and negative effects on health for migrants and their family members; geographical distance and social differences are key to the outcome.
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| 57. |
- Mendoza, Alfredo
(författare)
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Groundwater occurrence and risk of pollution in a mountain watershed of Nicaragua
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hydrogeological and geophysical methods were applied in the Río Artiguas watershed, a mountain basin located in central Nicaragua. This area is under environmental stress from anthropogenic activities like gold mining using mercury and waste disposal into the streams. The aim of this work was to characterise the hydrogeological conditions in the basin with emphasis on understanding the possible connections between streams and groundwater. It was also important to evaluate the vulnerability and risk of groundwater pollution. Hydrogeological mapping, resistivity imaging, hydrological measurements and hydrochemical surveys were combined to meet the aims of the work. The hydrogeological characterisation permitted identification of a) recharge areas, b) geological units that contribute to the formation of the groundwater system and c) a mechanism of discharge through springs and streams. The geophysical surveys allowed mapping the extension of weathering and tectonic features with hydrogeological significance, e.g. faults, dykes and fractures. A total of 99 perennial springs were documented and classified according to their mechanism of formation. Isotopic data indicate that the recharge occurs very close to the sites where the springs are formed. This is also supported by the relatively low ion concentrations found in the water of the springs. The weathering layers together with fractures and dykes form shallow aquifers that commonly discharge in a spring or along the streams. The high precipitation regime is an immediate source of water to the system, and in conjunction with the geology and steep topography it generates a constant and rapid circulation of water from recharge areas to discharge zones. The natural implication of this hydrogeological framework is that the formation of large or regional flows is not evident at the current state of knowledge. The same factors that influence groundwater occurrence are to some extent responsible for the degree of groundwater vulnerability to pollution. The vulnerable areas are situated along the steep valleys of the basin, where the interactions between subsurface and surface water can facilitate the spreading of pollutants. Since the pollution sources are located near the streams the risk of groundwater pollution is concentrated there. The pollutants disposed into the streams are rapidly removed by the river flow, which has a high contribution from precipitation. The pollutants are then transported far away from the sources. The urgent need to end the pollution of Río Artiguas is obvious. The tools to prevent further deterioration are not only to be found in the hydro geosciences and mining technology sphere, but they are also located in the socio?political arena. In this respect, the research presented in this thesis will gain importance as it reaches and informs local decision makers about the vulnerability and risks of pollution that the current anthropogenic activities represent for the groundwater resources.
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| 58. |
- Korsak, Larisa, et al.
(författare)
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Wastewater treatment in Nicaragua
- 2003
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 9th Annual IWA Specialised Conference "Design, Operation and Economics of Large Wasewater Treatment Plants".
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 59. |
- Obando Medina, Claudia, 1980-
(författare)
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When no-one notices...Studies on suicidal expressions among young people in Nicaragua :
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background Suicidal behaviour among young people is one of the major public health problems in low-income countries; it is estimated that every year 70,000 young people take their lives and maybe 40 times as many attempt suicide. Nicaragua has the highest suicide rate among young people of all Latin and Central American countries. This thesis aims at examining: (1) suicidal expressions and their determinants among school adolescents in Nicaragua, (2) cross-cultural aspects on suicidal expressions comparing Nicaragua and Cambodia, (3) pathways to suicide attempts among young men, and (4) primary health care professionals’ perceptions of suicidal behaviour and mental health problems among young people. Method Paper I is a cross-sectional study of 368 school adolescents in Nicaragua using self-report instruments (Youth Self Report and Attitudes Towards Suicide). Paper II compares data from Paper I with corresponding data from a study of 316 adolescents in Cambodia using the same methodology. Paper III is a qualitative study based on interviews with 12 young men who have recently attempted suicide. Paper IV is a qualitative study with 12 primary health care professionals. Results Paper I: Among adolescents, suicide ideation during recent year was reported by 22.6%, suicide plans 10.3%, and suicide attempts 6.5%. Girls were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation. Multivariate analyses showed that anxious/depressed syndrome (YSR), somatic complaints syndrome (YSR) and exposure to attempted or completed suicide in significant others were significantly associated with their own serious suicidal expressions. Paper II: There was no significant difference in serious suicidal expressions (plans and attempts) between countries, but milder suicidal expressions during past year were more common among Nicaraguan young people. Overall, mental health problems were more commonly reported in Cambodia, where adolescents scored significantly higher on almost all YSR-syndromes as compared to Nicaraguan adolescents, except for withdrawn/depressed syndrome among boys. The pattern of association between mental health problems and suicide plans/attempts differed between countries. In Nicaragua, all eight YSR-syndromes were significantly associated with serious suicidal expressions for both genders compared to only one syndrome among girls and two syndromes among boys in Cambodia. Paper III: A model of the pathways leading to suicide attempts among young men was constructed based on the informants’ experiences. Structural conditions such as poverty or single-headed families, along with normative expectations within a framework of hegemonic masculinity, were all involved to create a sense of failure and an inability to cope. Subsequent increased drinking and drug abuse as well as exposure to attempted and completed suicide among friends and family acted as triggers to their own suicide attempt. Paper IV: Primary health care professionals felt themselves that they lacked knowledge and competence when approached by young people with mental health problems. Misconceptions were common. They felt frustrated which made them either ignore signs of mental health problems or reject help-seeking young people. In practice, a common response from health care professionals was to refer the patient over to someone else, the “hot potato” strategy. Conclusions The prevalence of serious suicidal expressions among young people in Nicaragua is within the range reported from Western high-income countries. Health care professionals need to be aware that somatic complaints as such are related to an increased risk of serious suicidal behaviour among young people, and that those who have been exposed to the attempted or completed suicide of someone close are at increased risk of serious suicidal expressions also when there are no warning signs in terms of mental distress. The cross-cultural comparison lends support to the notion that both cultural specificity and universality characterize serious suicidal expressions, as suggested by several researchers. Whereas prevalence shows less variation between cultures, associated factors might behave differently as shown in the present study, calling for different preventive approaches. The interviews with young men who had attempted suicide tell us that not only difficult socio-economic conditions but also the normative expectations on young men need to be addressed to decrease their risk of suicide. Health care professionals need to be alerted that sometimes serious mental health problems are hidden behind help-seeking for more trivial reasons. There is a necessity of a more integral approach towards mental health problems in PHC, including integral training of staff. The continued involvement of the community, family and other institutions would be essential to develop the care further.
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| 60. |
- Dimitrova, Radosveta, et al.
(författare)
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Relationships Between Religiousness and Life Satisfaction Among Emerging Adults in Mexico and Nicaragua
- 2017
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Ingår i: Well-Being of Youth and Emerging Adults across Cultures. - Cham : Springer. - 9783319683621 - 9783319683638 ; , s. 225-234
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines relationships between religiousness and life satisfaction among 571 emerging adults (M age 29.94, SD = 2.93) from Mexico and Nicaragua. Based on the four-factor religiousness model (Saroglou V, J Cross-Cultural Psychol 42:1320-1340, 2011), we investigated the interplay of believing (beliefs relative to external transcendence), bonding (rituals and emotions), behaving (adherence to norms) and belonging (social group cohesion) and their relation to life satisfaction. Participants completed the Four Basic Dimensions of Religiousness Scale (4-BDRS; Saraglou V, J Cross-Cultural Psychol 42:1320-1340, 2011) and the Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS; Diener E, Emmerson RA, Larsen RJ, Griffin S, J Pers Assess 49:71-75), 1985). We tested measurement invariance and associations of religiousness and life satisfaction models across groups. Findings indicated good measurement invariance for both measures and that life satisfaction was consistently associated with high endorsement of all four religiousness domains.
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