Linda McKie

“Doing home”: Patriarchy, caring, and space

Abstract This paper is an introduction to and a reflection on this Special Issue on “Concepts of Home.” It raises the issues inherent in considering the complex notion of “the home.” We highlight the significance of power and patriarchy, household tasks and caring, and space and place, in the analysis of “domestic” social relations and the meanings and politics surrounding “the home.”

Stages of Change training for opportunistic smoking intervention by the primary health care team. Part I : randomised controlled trial of the effect of training on patient smoking outcomes and health professional behaviour as recalled by patients

The Stages of Change approach to smoking cessation intervention is increasingly advocated in primary care, and training in the approach is readily available. However, there has been little formal evaluation of the effectiveness of such training. A one-day Stages of Change training for primary health care teams was evaluated using both quantitative analysis of patient outcomes in a randomised controlled trial, and qualitative analysis of interviews with workshop partici pants. This paper reports the quantitative findings. Patients in the intervention group were more likely than controls to recall smoking having been mentioned in a consultation, but there were no significant effects of the intervention on patient smoking outcomes fourteen months after the workshops.

Predictors of micronutrient status in men and women over 75 years old living in the community

Serum ferritin, serum vitamin B12, erythrocyte folate, plasma vitamin C and plasma 25-hydroxycholecalciferol levels were measured in 208 men and 197 women, >75 years old and living in the community, in order to assess micronutrient status. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight, demispan and mid-upper arm circumference) were made and a 114-item questionnaire covering a wide range of health and diet-related topics was administered by an interviewer. Only 4 % of subjects had a BMI <20, but the prevalence of marginal deficiency of the micronutrients ranged from 7 % for Fe to 47 % for vitamin D. There was no association between low micronutrient status (defined as being in the lowest third of the distribution of micronutrient status) and having BMI or mid-upper arm circumference in the lowest third of the distribution for any of the nutrients. Leaving food on the plate was strongly associated with both low Fe status and low vitamin D status. Having breakfast cereal less than once per week was strongly associated with low folate status, while having fresh fruit juice less than once per week, having had less than two portions of fruits and vegetables the previous day and believing that food is not important for health were strongly associated with low vitamin C status. Low vitamin D status was strongly associated with a wide range of general health and disability measures. Having a weekly household income of less than pound 150 was associated with low status of Fe, folate, vitamin C and vitamin D.

A Serious Issue for the Body Politic

Our research on the topic of the provision of public toilets for women began with the question ’Why is it that women invariably have to queue for the toilet in public places, whereas men do not?’ The answer we initially received from many women, as well as most men, is that women spend longer attending to their dress, hair and make-up and, as a consequence, queues form. However, from personal knowledge we recognized that queues do not build up outside women’s toilets because there is a crush of bodies in front of the mirrors, but because the toilet cubicles themselves are occupied. Nevertheless, it is indicative of the fixity of cultural ’norms’ that despite substantive changes to women’s socioeconomic and political status, the idea of women as preoccupied with appearance should

Addressing smoking and health among women living on low income III. Ayr Barnardo's Homelessness Service and Dundee Women's Aid

This is the third of three articles, all of which are published in this issue of the HEJ, on the Women, Low Income and Smoking Project. This ASH Scotland project was funded by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) for three years (to March 1999) to explore new ways of addressing issues around smoking among women living on low incomes. The article considers two initiatives funded by the project, which worked with women who had experi enced homelessness. These agencies focused on different aspects of smoking. Barnardos aimed to provide a programme of sessions which would allow women to try new activities and reflect on their attitudes to smoking and personal choices. Womens Aid aimed to run a smoking support group which would develop a smoking policy and supportive materials for their refuges. The paper outlines the development of the two initiatives, their experiences, outcomes and lessons learnt.

Addressing smoking and health among women living on low income I. Dean's Community Club: a mental-health project

This is the first of three articles all of which are published in this issue of the HEJ on the Women, Low Income and Smoking Project. This ASH Scotland project was fuuded by the Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) and explored new ways of working to address smoking and health among women living on low incomes. Nineteen community-based initiatives, located across Scotland, were funded over three years to March 1999. In this first article we consider one initiative located in the Deans Community Club in hivingston, a project which provides educational and recreational opportunities and emotional support for people recovering or suffering from mental-health prob lems. A group of women and three facilitators were successful with an appli cation for funds to run sessions over 26 weeks to include activities which were distracting, informative and enhanced self confidence. Through involvement in this initiative, wonlen reviewed the place of smoking in their lives and a number changed health and smoking behaviours. The shared experience of developing and running the initiative promoted self esteem and marked a growth point in the confidence of the women involved and in the Deans Club more generally.

Evaluating health promotion projects in primary care: recent experiences in Scotland

The evaluation of health promotion in primary health care has been brought to the forefront of debates in Scotland with the introduction of an evaluation component in every project funded under the Development of Health Care Fund scheme. The level of skills and empathy with evaluation approaches and research methods varies considerably between primary health care team members, and consequently academic researchers are increasingly being drawn into NHS debates on evaluation and health promotion in primary health care. In this article the authors draw upon their respective experiences as evaluators to highlight specific issues and concerns in the evaluation of health promotion in a primary health care setting.

Equal Opportunities and Public Policy: An Agenda for Change:

This paper will critically review the competing definitions of the concept of equality as epitomised in UK and EC equalities legislation. Attempts to formulate childcare policies by organisations like the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and some local government womens committees (LGWCs) in the UK and the Equal Opportunities Bureau (DG5) of the European Community (EC) are fundamentally affected by these definitions. Our exploration of the differing principles which underpin UK and EC legislation within the context of EC political relations lead us to conclude that without a radical change in UK government thinking, the potential of the EC as a vehicle for promoting equal opportunities in Britain will be lost.

Considering research, practice and policy issues

Presents the debates conducted during themed workshops. Considers the implications of historical and consumption factors alongside research questions. The themes considered include dietary change, low income households, health education, food industry and government policies. Concludes that there is a need for a continuing and wide ranging debate to assess and evaluate structural, regional and local activities and policies.

The potential application of social marketing techniques in health promotion

AbstractHealth promotion is increasingly considered to be the guiding principle of contemporary health care strategies. As a concept, health promotion concerns the development, implementation and evaluation of a realm of health enhancing activities. The composition and distribution of information on health, lifestyle and related services is crucial to the development of such activities. Social marketing is concerned with the application of marketing techniques to influence the acceptability of social ideas and practices.It is the aim of this article to draw out the potential advantages of employing social marketing techniques in the development of information campaigns, as a component of health promotion work. The article opens with the definition of health promotion and social marketing and then considers the application of marketing techniques to health information work. In the final section the relationship between social marketing and health promotion is illustrated and assessed. The authors conclude ...