Jorge Marcos-Marcos

Gender Identity in Informal Care: Impact on Health in Spanish Caregivers

We examined the influence of gender identity on men’s and women’s perceptions of assuming the caregiver role to identify different coping strategies and the effects on caregiver health and quality of life. The study, performed in Andalusia, Spain, was based on a sociological analysis of the narratives produced during semistructured interviews with primary informal caregivers (16 men and 16 women) of different profiles. We observed a cultural assumption that women should assume the caregiver role and found that women shouldered the bulk of caregiving responsibilities and did not usually seek support. This might explain the high prevalence of chronic health disorders, stress, anxiety, depression, neglect of health, and social isolation we observed among women caregivers. Because the caregiver role was not socially imposed on men in our setting, men caregivers adopted a flexible attitude and tended to seek external support before their health and quality of life were seriously affected.

Male and female involvement in the birth and child‐rearing process

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To know the male involvement during pregnancy and childbirth, with special attention to their participation in public services of perinatal health and the impact that this participation has on their subsequent involvement in child-rearing, to compare the male and female involvement in child-rearing and to identify the factors associated with a greater male involvement. BACKGROUND Most of the research on male involvement in birth and child-rearing comes from Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries. These studies show a lower involvement of men in relation to women, even in countries with instruments to promote gender shared responsibility. The Spanish Ministry of Health has developed strategies to improve the male involvement in the public services of perinatal health to advance in gender equality. This is a suitable context to contribute to the lack of information about fatherhood and the gender inequalities in the Spanish context. DESIGN Transversal design. METHODS A questionnaire was administered to 150 fathers and 157 mothers residing in Granada, with at least one biological child aged 2 months to 3 years. RESULTS A minority of the men attended the childbirth education whereas most of them attended pregnancy check-ups and were present at birth. Women spent more time with their children and took charge of tasks of child-rearing to a larger extent. The profile of an involved father is a man with a higher level of education, not married, his partner has a full-time employment, born in Spain and attended to the childbirth education classes. CONCLUSION This study shows gender inequalities in the reproductive field beyond the biological conditions. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The challenge of the health services is to promote social change and identify areas for improvement to include the father figure in public services of perinatal health.

Understanding children: a qualitative study on health assets of the Internet in Spain

AbstractObjectivesThis research was designed to explore the opinions held by primary school pupils about the Internet as a source of assets for health and well-being.MethodsA qualitative study was carried out based on 8 focus groups comprising 64 pupils from 8 primary schools in Spain.ResultsOur findings describe the Internet as a tool for learning, communication, fun and health care. In addition, they reveal how children understand influences on health and well-being in relation to their view of the Internet. The results are discussed in terms of the public-health implications of digital literacy, as well as its connection to well-being, especially in relation to health assets.ConclusionsThe Internet is an important resource for children’s health and well-being, which, through learning, communication, fun and health care, encourages them to make use of it. Digital and health literacy constitutes the foundation required for browsing the Internet in a positive way, as identified by the children interviewed in this study, and especially in relation to the health assets that the Internet can contain.

Intensive alcohol consumption by adolescents in Southern Spain: The importance of friendship §

BACKGROUND There has been an increase in intensive alcohol drinking by Spanish adolescents since the 1990s, especially among the females, but there has been limited exploration of this phenomenon. The objective of this study was to analyse the discourses of Spanish adolescents on their drinking behaviour at contextual, relational, and personal levels. METHODS A qualitative study was undertaken in 96 adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years who had experienced at least one intensive drinking episode during the previous year. They lived with family members and were not offenders or at risk of social exclusion. Participants were recruited at educational centres and youth centres in two provinces in southern Spain. Ten focus groups and 30 in-depth individual interviews were conducted. A summative content analysis was performed. RESULTS Intensive alcohol drinking was widely practiced in this study population. Consolidation of this practice was influenced by cultural, interpersonal and personal dimensions. Consumption in public spaces emerged as a key influential factor, especially the botellón, a collective space-time in which Spanish adolescents socialize and become initiated into intensive alcohol consumption. Besides the facilitating elements of the social and cultural setting, the results also evidence the effects of interpersonal relationships within the peer group, which offer a series of approaches to risk and protective practices. In these adolescents, the main reason for engaging in alcohol drinking was to enhance their social relationships, which acted as a mechanism to normalize intensive alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS Policies to reduce the harm caused to adolescents by intensive alcohol drinking need to take account of the contextual, relational and personal dimensions of this practice. The discourses of these adolescents from Southern Spain point to a potential role for the peer group in harm reduction strategies.

“I like to be different from how I normally am”: Heavy alcohol consumption among female Spanish adolescents and the unsettling of traditional gender norms

Abstract Public debate on the consumption of alcohol by adolescents has grown over recent years. It has intensified in Spain after epidemiological reports of a significant increase in alcohol consumption among adolescent girls. We designed this study to gain insights into this new trend from a gender perspective. The objective was to understand the meanings and motivations attributed to alcohol consumption by female adolescents. A qualitative study was undertaken with 96 female and male adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years, using focus groups and in-depth individual interviews. The analysis presented in this paper is based largely on the female sample. We subjected their narratives to summative content analysis. The results show how the attributed meanings of disinhibition and having a good time may be contributing to the generation of new expectations and demands in relation to codes of femininity and breaks with the gender system. We discuss the results in terms of the implications for preventive interventions with a gender perspective.

Nota de campoImportancia del proceso en la evaluación de la efectividad de una intervención sobre obesidad infantilThe importance of the process in evaluating the effectiveness of a childhood obesity campaign

The prevention of childhood obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of modern times. This has triggered the generation of a wealth of scientific evidence, culminating in a body of knowledge concerning the essential components of campaigns implemented in the school setting. In this regard, a growing trend towards the evaluation of research results in terms of effectiveness has become apparent, while the fieldwork itself very rarely comes under the spotlight. By considering the implementation process description of a multicomponent campaign designed to prevent childhood obesity in boys and girls in the 3rd year of primary education in Spain (9-10 years of age), the aim of this paper is to influence the elements of this process by considering important aspects pertaining to its implementation, such as its plausibility and feasibility in the particular context.

The importance of the process in evaluating the effectiveness of a childhood obesity campaign

The prevention of childhood obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of modern times. This has triggered the generation of a wealth of scientific evidence, culminating in a body of knowledge concerning the essential components of campaigns implemented in the school setting. In this regard, a growing trend towards the evaluation of research results in terms of effectiveness has become apparent, while the fieldwork itself very rarely comes under the spotlight. By considering the implementation process description of a multicomponent campaign designed to prevent childhood obesity in boys and girls in the 3rd year of primary education in Spain (9-10 years of age), the aim of this paper is to influence the elements of this process by considering important aspects pertaining to its implementation, such as its plausibility and feasibility in the particular context.

Importancia del proceso en la evaluación de la efectividad de una intervención sobre obesidad infantil

The prevention of childhood obesity is one of the greatest public health challenges of modern times. This has triggered the generation of a wealth of scientific evidence, culminating in a body of knowledge concerning the essential components of campaigns implemented in the school setting. In this regard, a growing trend towards the evaluation of research results in terms of effectiveness has become apparent, while the fieldwork itself very rarely comes under the spotlight. By considering the implementation process description of a multicomponent campaign designed to prevent childhood obesity in boys and girls in the 3rd year of primary education in Spain (9-10 years of age), the aim of this paper is to influence the elements of this process by considering important aspects pertaining to its implementation, such as its plausibility and feasibility in the particular context.