TY - JOUR A1 - Matthias, Katja A1 - Rissling, Olesja A1 - Pieper, Dawid Aleksander A1 - Morche, Johannes A1 - Nocon, Marc A1 - Jacobs, Anja A1 - Wegewitz, Uta Elke A1 - Schirm, Jaqueline A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. T1 - The methodological quality of systematic reviews on the treatment of adult major depression needs improvement according to AMSTAR 2 BT - a cross-sectional study JF - Heliyon N2 - Background: Several standards have been developed to assess methodological quality of systematic reviews (SR). One widely used tool is the AMSTAR. A recent update -AMSTAR 2 -is a 16 item evaluation tool that enables a detailed assessment of SR that include randomised (RCT) or non-randomised studies (NRS) of healthcare interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional study of SR on pharmacological or psychological interventions in major depression in adults was conducted. SR published during 2012-2017 were sampled from MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of SR. Methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR 2. Potential predictive factors associated with quality were examined. Results: In rating overall confidence in the results of 60 SR four reviews were rated "high", two were "moderate", one was "low" and 53 were "critically low". The mean AMSTAR 2 percentage score was 45.3% (standard deviation 22.6%) in a wide range from 7.1% to 93.8%. Predictors of higher quality were: type of review (higher quality in Cochrane Reviews), SR including only randomized trials and higher journal impact factor. Limitations: AMSTAR 2 is not intended to be used for the generation of a percentage score. Conclusions: According to AMSTAR 2 the overall methodological quality of SR on the treatment of adult major depression needs improvement. Although there is a high need for summarized information in the field of mental health, this work demonstrates the need to critically assess SR before using their findings. Better adherence to established reporting guidelines for SR is needed. KW - public health KW - epidemiology KW - psychiatry KW - depression KW - evidence-based KW - medicine KW - AMSTAR 2 KW - methodological quality KW - risk of bias KW - systematic KW - review KW - major depression Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04776 SN - 2405-8440 VL - 6 IS - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - London [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stoppel, Relika T1 - Alcohol availability and alcohol-attributable mortality BT - economic implications following a change in sales policy JF - CESifo economic studies : CESifo, a joint initiative of the University of Munich's Center for Economic Studies and the Ifo Institute N2 - It is commonly known that irresponsible alcohol use can have adverse effects. For some people, it results in health problems, for others in productivity loss, and some experience the worst possible outcome of alcohol misuse - death. This paper estimates the effect of reduced alcohol sales hours on alcohol-attributable mortality (AAM) in Estonia. Using novel mortality data from 1997 to 2015, this paper analyzes the effect of alcohol sales policies at both the county level and the country level. By applying the difference-in-differences method and the ARIMA model, this paper finds that the alcohol sales policy reduced AAM to between 1.710 and 2.401 deaths per 100,000 per month, which equals a reduction of 31% to 40% in AAM deaths. These findings suggest that individuals who are the most at risk of dying from alcohol-attributable causes of death benefit remarkably from reduced alcohol availability. KW - health policy KW - mortality KW - public health KW - alcohol Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifab008 SN - 1610-241X SN - 1612-7501 VL - 67 IS - 4 SP - 463 EP - 487 PB - Oxford Univ. Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Hellström, Mikael A1 - Ramberg, Ulf A1 - Reiter, Renate T1 - Tracing divergence in crisis governance BT - responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden compared JF - International review of administrative sciences N2 - This cross-country comparison of administrative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, Germany and Sweden is aimed at exploring how institutional contexts and administrative cultures have shaped strategies of problem-solving and governance modes during the pandemic, and to what extent the crisis has been used for opportunity management. The article shows that in France, the central government reacted determinedly and hierarchically, with tough containment measures. By contrast, the response in Germany was characterized by an initial bottom-up approach that gave way to remarkable federal unity in the further course of the crisis, followed again by a return to regional variance and local discretion. In Sweden, there was a continuation of ‘normal governance’ and a strategy of relying on voluntary compliance largely based on recommendations and less – as in Germany and France – on a strategy of imposing legally binding regulations. The comparative analysis also reveals that relevant stakeholders in all three countries have used the crisis as an opportunity for changes in the institutional settings and administrative procedures. KW - administrative culture KW - containment KW - crisis KW - governance KW - multi-level system KW - policy advice KW - public health KW - window of opportunity Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0020852320979359 SN - 0020-8523 SN - 1461-7226 VL - 87 IS - 3 SP - 556 EP - 575 PB - Sage CY - Los Angeles, California ER - TY - JOUR A1 - große Deters, Fenne A1 - Meier, Tabea A1 - Milek, Anne A1 - Horn, Andrea B. T1 - Self-focused and other-focused health concerns as predictors of the uptake of corona contact tracing apps BT - Empirical Study JF - Journal of medical internet research N2 - Background: Corona contact tracing apps are a novel and promising measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. They can help to balance the need to maintain normal life and economic activities as much as possible while still avoiding exponentially growing case numbers. However, a majority of citizens need to be willing to install such an app for it to be effective. Hence, knowledge about drivers for app uptake is crucial. Objective: This study aimed to add to our understanding of underlying psychological factors motivating app uptake. More specifically, we investigated the role of concern for one's own health and concern to unknowingly infect others. Methods: A two-wave survey with 346 German-speaking participants from Switzerland and Germany was conducted. We measured the uptake of two decentralized contact tracing apps officially launched by governments (Corona-Warn-App, Germany; SwissCovid, Switzerland), as well as concerns regarding COVID-19 and control variables. Results: Controlling for demographic variables and general attitudes toward the government and the pandemic, logistic regression analysis showed a significant effect of self-focused concerns (odds ratio [OR] 1.64, P=.002). Meanwhile, concern of unknowingly infecting others did not contribute significantly to the prediction of app uptake over and above concern for one's own health (OR 1.01, P=.92). Longitudinal analyses replicated this pattern and showed no support for the possibility that app uptake provokes changes in levels of concern. Testing for a curvilinear relationship, there was no evidence that "too much" concern leads to defensive reactions and reduces app uptake. Conclusions: As one of the first studies to assess the installation of already launched corona tracing apps, this study extends our knowledge of the motivational landscape of app uptake. Based on this, practical implications for communication strategies and app design are discussed. KW - COVID-19 KW - corona contact tracing app KW - digital proximity tracing KW - preventive behavior KW - health concern KW - prosocial motivation KW - public health KW - risk perception KW - eHealth KW - Corona-Warn-App KW - SwissCovid KW - contact tracing app KW - contact tracing Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2196/29268 SN - 1438-8871 VL - 23 IS - 8 PB - Centre of Global eHealth Innovation CY - Toronto ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Forster, Timon A1 - Heinzel, Mirko Noa T1 - Reacting, fast and slow BT - how world leaders shaped government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic JF - Journal of European public policy N2 - The COVID-19 pandemic created extraordinary challenges for governments to safeguard the well-being of their people. To what extent has leaders' reliance on scientific advice shaped government responses to the COVID-19 outbreak? We argue that leaders who tend to orient themselves on expert advice realized the extent of the crisis earlier. Consequently, these governments would adopt containment measures relatively quickly, despite the high uncertainty they faced. Over time, differences in government responses based on the use of science would dissipate due to herding effects. We test our argument on data combining 163 government responses to the pandemic with national- and individual-level characteristics. Consistent with our argument, we find that countries governed by politicians with a stronger technocratic mentality, approximated by holding a PhD, adopted restrictive containment measures faster in the early, but not in the later, stages of the crisis. This importance of expert-based leadership plausibly extends to other large-scale societal crises. KW - crisis KW - leadership KW - expertise KW - COVID-19 KW - policy-making KW - public health Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1942157 SN - 1350-1763 SN - 1466-4429 VL - 28 IS - 8 SP - 1299 EP - 1320 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Khudair, Mohammed A1 - Marcuzzi, Anna A1 - Ng, Kwok A1 - Tempest, Gavin Daniel A1 - Bartoš, František A1 - Peric, Ratko A1 - Maier, Maximilian A1 - Beccia, Flavia A1 - Boccia, Stefania A1 - Brandes, Mirko A1 - Cardon, Greet A1 - Carlin, Angela A1 - Castagna, Carolina A1 - Chaabene, Helmi A1 - Chalkley, Anna A1 - Ciaccioni, Simone A1 - Cieślińska-Świder, Joanna A1 - Čingienė, Vilma A1 - Cortis, Cristina A1 - Corvino, Chiara A1 - de Geus, Eco J. C. A1 - Di Baldassarre, Angela A1 - Di Credico, Andrea A1 - Drid, Patrik A1 - Tarazaga, Rosa Ma Fernández A1 - Gallè, Francesca A1 - Sánchez, Esther Garcia A1 - Gebremariam, Mekdes A1 - Ghinassi, Barbara A1 - Goudas, Marios A1 - Hayes, Grainne A1 - Honorio, Samuel A1 - Izzicupo, Pascal A1 - Jahre, Henriette A1 - Jelsma, Judith A1 - Juric, Petra A1 - Kolovelonis, Athanasios A1 - Kongsvold, Atle A1 - Kouidi, Evangelia A1 - Mansergh, Fiona A1 - Masanovic, Bojan A1 - Mekonnen, Teferi A1 - Mork, Paul Jarle A1 - Murphy, Marie A1 - O'Hara, Kelly A1 - Torun, Ayse Ozbil A1 - Palumbo, Federico A1 - Popovic, Stevo A1 - Prieske, Olaf A1 - Puharic, Zrinka A1 - Ribeiro, José Carlos A1 - Rumbold, Penny Louise Sheena A1 - Sandu, Petru A1 - Soric, Maroje A1 - Stavnsbo, Mette A1 - Syrmpas, Ioannis A1 - van der Ploeg, Hidde P. A1 - Van Hoye, Aurélie A1 - Vilela, Sofia A1 - Woods, Catherine A1 - Wunsch, Kathrin A1 - Caprinica, Laura A1 - MacDonncha, Ciaran A1 - Ling, Fiona Chun Man T1 - DE-PASS Best Evidence Statement (BESt): modifiable determinants of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents aged 5-19 years-a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis JF - BMJ open N2 - Introduction Physical activity among children and adolescents remains insufficient, despite the substantial efforts made by researchers and policymakers. Identifying and furthering our understanding of potential modifiable determinants of physical activity behaviour (PAB) and sedentary behaviour (SB) is crucial for the development of interventions that promote a shift from SB to PAB. The current protocol details the process through which a series of systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses (MAs) will be conducted to produce a best-evidence statement (BESt) and inform policymakers. The overall aim is to identify modifiable determinants that are associated with changes in PAB and SB in children and adolescents (aged 5-19 years) and to quantify their effect on, or association with, PAB/SB. Methods and analysis A search will be performed in MEDLINE, SportDiscus, Web of Science, PsychINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and controlled trials (CTs) that investigate the effect of interventions on PAB/SB and longitudinal studies that investigate the associations between modifiable determinants and PAB/SB at multiple time points will be sought. Risk of bias assessments will be performed using adapted versions of Cochrane's RoB V.2.0 and ROBINS-I tools for RCTs and CTs, respectively, and an adapted version of the National Institute of Health's tool for longitudinal studies. Data will be synthesised narratively and, where possible, MAs will be performed using frequentist and Bayesian statistics. Modifiable determinants will be discussed considering the settings in which they were investigated and the PAB/SB measurement methods used. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is needed as no primary data will be collected. The findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed publications and academic conferences where possible. The BESt will also be shared with policy makers within the DE-PASS consortium in the first instance. Systematic review registration CRD42021282874. KW - public health KW - health policy KW - community child health Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-059202 SN - 2044-6055 VL - 12 IS - 9 PB - BMJ Publishing Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Pulungan, Aman B. A1 - Bandyopadhyay, Arup Ratan A1 - Ghosh, Jyoti Ratan A1 - Özdemir, Ayşegül A1 - Koca Özer, Başak A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Lebedeva, Lidia A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Tutkuviene, Janina A1 - Budrytė, Milda A1 - Gervickaite, Simona A1 - Limony, Yehuda A1 - Kirchengast, Sylvia A1 - Buston, Peter A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Rösler, Antonia A1 - Gasparatos, Nikolaos A1 - Erofeev, Sergei A1 - Novine, Masiar A1 - Navazo, Bárbara A1 - Dahinten, Silvia A1 - Gomuła, Aleksandra A1 - Nowak-Szczepańska, Natalia A1 - Kozieł, Sławomir T1 - Environment, social behavior, and growth BT - Proceedings of the 30th Aschauer Soiree, held at Krobielowice, Poland, June 18th 2022 JF - Human biology and public health N2 - Twenty-four scientists met for the annual Auxological conference held at Krobielowice castle, Poland, to discuss the diverse influences of the environment and of social behavior on growth following last year’s focus on growth and public health concerns (Hermanussen et al., 2022b). Growth and final body size exhibit marked plastic responses to ecological conditions. Among the shortest are the pygmoid people of Rampasasa, Flores, Indonesia, who still live under most secluded insular conditions. Genetics and nutrition are usually considered responsible for the poor growth in many parts of this world, but evidence is accumulating on the prominent impact of social embedding on child growth. Secular trends not only in the growth of height, but also in body proportions, accompany the secular changes in the social, economic and political conditions, with major influences on the emotional and educational circumstances under which the children grow up (Bogin, 2021). Aspects of developmental tempo and aspects of sports were discussed, and the impact of migration by the example of women from Bangladesh who grew up in the UK. Child growth was considered in particular from the point of view of strategic adjustments of individual size within the network of its social group. Theoretical considerations on network characteristics were presented and related to the evolutionary conservation of growth regulating hypothalamic neuropeptides that have been shown to link behavior and physical growth in the vertebrate species. New statistical approaches were presented for the evaluation of short term growth measurements that permit monitoring child growth at intervals of a few days and weeks. KW - St. Nicolas House Analysis KW - child growth KW - body proportions KW - social network KW - public health KW - migration Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2023.1.59 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 1 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER -