Problem-Based Learning, Social Sustainability, and Soccer

On Friday, March 13, 2020, academic and sport activities at a Mexican university were happening as on a normal day. However, the following Monday, students and teachers had to stay at home for an undefined period. In this work, we show how a course with problem-based learning (PBL) and social sustainability (SS) approaches was adapted to pandemic times. We start with the COVID-19 context at the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA) and then provide a theoretical overview of PBL, SS, Latin American self-produced quartiers, soccer in vulnerable communities, and general aspects about pandemic times. Following this, we discuss the methodology used for reaching out to vulnerable communities in Monterrey City, Mexico, using soccer as a strategy. The students conducted a project together with a non-governmental organization (NGO) whose main task is to promote this sport practice in vulnerable communities around the world. We conclude from our study that students need pedagogical platforms that allow them to respond to the requirements of different social groups, as well as to develop skills to face real problems.

Building Partnerships and Trust: Research With Vulnerable Immigrant Communities

Stress and distress among immigrant communities in the United States have escalated under the recent sociopolitical climate (e.g., exclusionary federal policies, COVID-19), underscoring the urgent need for additional data to better understand immigrant experiences. Yet, the very stressors that generate this need for data also create fear and trust-related barriers that might impede research success. Barriers, including a lack of trust, power differentials, language differences, and varying cultural norms, negatively impact the collection of valid data. Recommendations to address these barriers are provided, and integration of such strategies is an essential step toward growing the knowledge base of the profession, delivery of evidence-based interventions with immigrant clients, and better-informed discussions of culturally responsive approaches in social work education and practice.

Lessons learned to improve COVID-19 response in communities with greatest socio-economic vulnerabilities.

BACKGROUND: Vulnerable communities are susceptible to and disproportionately affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the challenges faced, perceptions, lessons learned, and recommendations of the organizations that provide services in response to COVID-19 to vulnerable communities is critical to improving emergency response and preparedness in these communities. METHODS: This study employed GIS mapping to identify the needs and assets that exist in communities in Baltimore City, where vulnerabilities related to social determinants of health and the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic were greatest. We also conducted an online survey between September 1, 2021, and May 30, 2022, to assess the COVID-19-related services provided by local organizations, challenges faced, perceptions, lessons learned, and recommendations to inform policies, programs, and funding related to improving the COVID-19 response in underserved communities. The survey was disseminated through the online Kobo Toolbox platform to leaders and representatives of organizations in Baltimore City. RESULTS: Based on GIS mapping analysis, we identified three communities as the most vulnerable and 522 organizations involved in the COVID-19 response across Baltimore City. 247 surveys were disseminated, and 50 survey responses were received (20.24% response rate). Out of these organizations, nearly 80% provided services in response to COVID-19 to the identified vulnerable communities. Challenges experienced ranged from funding (29%), and outreach/recruitment (26%), to not having access to updated and accurate information from local officials (32%). CONCLUSIONS: This research highlights critical insights gained related to the experiences of vulnerable populations and suggests ways forward to address challenges faced during the emergency response by providing recommendations for policy and program changes. Furthermore, the findings will help better prepare vulnerable communities for public health emergencies and build more community resilience.

Digital and Language Inequalities in Disseminating COVID-19-Related Health Campaigns in Uganda: The Effects of Confinement and Social Distancing Strategies

This article unveils existing gaps in the use of digital technologies and local languages in the context of official COVID-19 pandemic communication strategies in Uganda. It entails an analysis of a purposively drawn sample of official COVID-19 communication from the Ministry of Health through its website, notably in English and translations into few native Ugandan languages, to argue for the need for a more diverse and inclusive language strategy in pandemic containment and prevention communication strategy. Interviews were also held with a convenient sample of Ugandans from diverse ethnolinguistic and socio-demographic backgrounds to explore the way in which social distancing, a dominant strategy used in COVID-19 infection prevention control was understood by sections of the population and factors influencing their understanding, acceptance or rejection of this strategy. Discursive thematic analysis was employed to examine the ways in which important public health information and strategies aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19 are communicated to the culturally and linguistically diverse Ugandan population. The study critically analyses the implications of the cultural interpretations and multiple meanings of strategies such as social distancing and the use of sanitizers amongst a linguistically and socio-economically diverse population. The study argues that local languages, including specialist languages such as braille and sign language play a pivotal role in spreading information and raising awareness about the current global pandemic. It highlights the need to create an inclusive, responsible and ethical mass media and internet communication and content in local Ugandan languages in addition to English which is the official language. © 2022, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.

The Role of ICTs in the Management of Citizen Initiatives led by Women from Vulnerable Communities of Bañado Sur de Asunción During COVID-19

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and describe the use and role of ICTs during the pandemic generated by COVID-19, in vulnerable communities led by women from Bañado Sur in Asuncion, Paraguay. We focus mainly on the citizen initiative called "ollas populares", which emerged as a response to the lack of food security that was exacerbated by the pandemic in vulnerable territories. Based on two case studies, we explore how ICTs helped (or not) in the resolution of the food security problem through community collective action, led by women, identifying criteria for the use and design of ICTs for collective action in crisis contexts. The theoretical framework of social capital, understood as the set of interpersonal and trust networks that are built around individuals and groups in society, and that influence collective action and community resilience, serves as a framework for analyzing and discussing the case studies. In the two cases studied, we observe how the use of ICTs allowed the expansion of the support networks of the women who led the collective action of the soup kitchens in these communities. This article discusses these results and the main lessons learned from the case studies we analyzed. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors.

Inclusive Learning for Children in Northeast Nigeria: Radio School Response During a Global Pandemic

With a burgeoning out-of-school population and illiteracy rate, the situation of protracted conflict and crises fuelled by the Boko-Haram insurgency further exacerbates educational inequality for children in northern Nigeria. The Covid-19 pandemic further deepened the "educational poverty" experienced there. This article focuses on data generated around ACE radio school, an initiative to mitigate the impact of Covid-19-related school closures in northern Nigeria. The initiative targeted young learners using radio as a medium to support their continued learning remotely in numeracy, literacy, sciences, and civics education. Daily learning activities were broadcasted in the local Hausa language, supported through "listening groups" that engaged local learning facilitators in the communities. Despite the known existing barriers that have been identified to hinder access to quality education in the region, including poverty, religion, socio-cultural factors, and protracted conflict situations, our interviews revealed that parents were committed to supporting their children's attendance at listening groups, due to the use of their mother tongue as a mode of instruction. Drawing on a conversational learning approach, we argue that understanding local conditions and adopting local solutions, such as the radio lessons delivered in these children's mother tongue, have implications for enhancing improved learner outcomes in marginalised contexts.

Using an Intervention Mapping Approach to Develop a Program for Preventing High Blood Pressure in a Marginalized Afro-Colombian Population: A Community-Based Participatory Research.

The prevention of high blood pressure (HBP) is an important public health initiative worldwide, since HBP is the main risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and increases the damage caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We designed, implemented, and evaluated a program to identify effective and sustainable interventions for preventing HBP in a marginalized black population. Our study was conducted in Quibdó, a city in Colombia with the highest poverty rate and located in the Pacific coast, a subregion in Colombia with the highest prevalence of HBP. We followed an intervention mapping framework using a community-based participatory research approach. Focus groups, photovoice, literature reviews, and cross-sectional quantitative surveys were used for data collection. The community chose the time, place, and type of physical activity; led the physical activities; and strengthened their skills in seeking resources in their community to sustain the program. The evaluation was aimed at determining whether the interventions were able to achieve the program's primary aim. We used a before (September 2016) and after (December 2017) design for the evaluation. To decrease the selection bias and allow comparisons between homogeneous groups, we used a propensity score matching technique. The steps required to create a self-sustaining physical activity program were provided in detail. The pre-post test showed a decrease of the HBP (systolic, 13.4% points; p = 0.018; diastolic, 6.5% points; p = 0.002). The program may be an effective and self-sustaining intervention, and it can be replicated by policymakers and implemented in other population groups.

Supporting Vulnerable Populations During the Pandemic: Stakeholders' Experiences and Perceptions of Social Prescribing in Scotland During Covid-19.

Social prescribing schemes refer people toward personalized health/wellbeing interventions in local communities. Since schemes hold different representations of social prescribing, responses to the pandemic crisis will vary. Intersectionality states that social divisions build on one another, sustaining unequal health outcomes. We conducted and inductively analysed interviews with twenty-three professional and volunteer stakeholders across three social prescribing schemes in urban and rural Scotland at the start and end of year one of the pandemic. Concerns included identifying and digitally supporting disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals and reduced capacity statutory and third-sector services, obliging link workers to assume new practical and psychological responsibilities. Social prescribing services in Scotland, we argue, represent a collage of practices superimposed on a struggling healthcare system. Those in need of such services are unlikely to break through disadvantage whilst situated within a social texture wherein inequalities of education, health and environmental arrangements broadly intersect with one another.

Analyzing changes to U.S. municipal heat response plans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Extreme heat events are the deadliest weather-related event in the United States. Cities throughout the United States have worked to develop heat adaptation strategies to limit the impact of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to local governments. This paper provides a preliminary review of strategies and interventions used to manage compound COVID-19-extreme heat events in the 25 most populous cities of the United States. Heat adaptation strategies employed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were not adequate to meet during the co-occurring compound hazard of COVID-19-EHE. Long-term climate-adaptation strategies will require leveraging physical, financial, and community resources across multiple city departments to meet the needs of compound hazards, such as COVID-19 and extreme heat.

Analysis of the COVID-19 impacts on employment and unemployment across the multi-dimensional social disadvantaged areas.

This is the study of economic impacts in the context of social disadvantage. It specifically considers economic conditions in regions with pre-existing inequalities and examines labor market outcomes in already socially vulnerable areas. The economic outcomes remain relatively unexplored by the studies on the COVID-19 impacts. To fill the gap, we study the relationship between the pandemic-caused economic recession and vulnerable communities in the unprecedented times. More marginalized regions may have broader economic damages related to the pandemic. First, based on a literature review, we delineate areas with high social disadvantage. These areas have multiple factors associated with various dimensions of vulnerability which existed pre-COVID-19. We term these places "multi-dimensional social disadvantaged areas". Second, we compare employment and unemployment rates between areas with high and low disadvantage. We integrate geospatial science with the exploration of social factors associated with disadvantage across counties in Tennessee which is part of coronavirus "red zone" states of the US southern Sunbelt region. We disagree with a misleading label of COVID-19 as the "great equalizer". During COVID-19, marginalized regions experience disproportionate economic impacts. The negative effect of social disadvantage on pandemic-caused economic outcomes is supported by several lines of evidence. We find that both urban and rural areas may be vulnerable to the broad social and economic damages. The study contributes to current research on economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and social distributions of economic vulnerability. The results can help inform post-COVID recovery interventions strategies to reduce COVID-19-related economic vulnerability burdens.

Actions during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect the most vulnerable population: what is the potency amid chaos?

By 30 May 2021, Brazil had 16 471 600 COVID-19 cases and 461 142 deaths, ranking second in the world in number of deaths and third in number of cases. Preliminary research results in Brazil and around the world show the impact of COVID-19 on more vulnerable communities. However, despite the adverse circumstances of their territories, leaders have mobilized to face the challenges. Between April and June 2020, the authors of this article interviewed informants in eight Brazilian state capitals, addressing the five points of discussion (intersectoriality, sustainability, empowerment and public participation, equity and the life cycle perspective) recently presented by EUPHA-HP, IUHPE and UNESCO Chair Global Health & Education. Official actions and documents from the Ministry of Health and Municipal Health Departments (SMS) of each capital were also analyzed. No records were found of official actions aimed at COVID-19 that addressed the territories' specificities. In total, 15 promotional actions by the communities were identified. The selection of local actors to take on specific responsibilities during the pandemic is highlighted as a relevant action. This action alone weaves together at least three of the five HP principles (equity, life cycles and empowerment). We consider that previous forms of political empowerment, such as the recognition of territories and educational initiatives, have contributed to the subjects who are leading these inventive initiatives. However, although there is scope for promotional actions, there are infrastructural limitations that only public policies could mitigate. Such actions would demand deliberate coordination between the government and social movements, which is absent in the current context of national governance.

Global occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental aquatic matrices and its implications for sanitation and vulnerabilities in Brazil and developing countries.

This paper includes a systematic review of the SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in environmental aquatic matrices and a critical sanitation analysis. We discussed the interconnection of sanitation services (wastewater, water supply, solid waste, and stormwater drainage) functioning as an important network for controlling the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in waters. We collected 98 studies containing data of the SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in aquatic matrices around the world, of which 40% were from developing countries. Alongside a significant number of people infected by the virus, developing countries face socioeconomic deficiencies and insufficient public investment in infrastructure. Therefore, our study focused on highlighting solutions to provide sanitation in developing countries, considering the virus control in waters by disinfection techniques and sanitary measures, including alternatives for the vulnerable communities. The need for multilateral efforts to improve the universal coverage of sanitation services demands urgent attention in a pandemic scenario.

Local Government Approaches to Combating COVID-19 Inequities: A Durham County Department of Public Health Perspective.

When a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) made major headlines in 2020, it further exposed an existing public health crisis related to inequities within our communities and health care delivery system. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, populations of color had higher infection and mortality rates, and even experienced greater disease severity compared to whites. Populations of color often bear the brunt of COVID-19 and other health inequities, due to the multifaceted relationship between systemic racism and the social determinants of health. As this relationship continues to perpetuate health inequities, the local health department is an agency that has the jurisdiction and responsibility to prevent disease and protect the health of the communities they serve. When equity is integrated into a health department's operational infrastructure as a disease prevention strategy, it can elevate the agency's response to public health emergencies. Collecting, reporting, and tracking demographic data that is necessary to identify inequities becomes a priority to facilitate a more robust public health response. The purpose of this paper is to present strategies of how a local health department operationalized equity in various stages of COVID-19 response and apply these methods to future public health emergencies to better serve vulnerable communities.

Call for Action to Address Equity and Justice Divide During COVID-19.

The coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) is deepening the inequity and injustice among the vulnerable communities. The current study aims to present an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on equity and social justice with a focus on vulnerable communities. Vulnerable communities include, but not limited to, healthcare workers, those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnic or minority groups, immigrants or refugees, justice-involved populations, and people suffering from chronic diseases or mental illness. The implications of COVID-19 on these communities and systemic disparities beyond the current pandemic are also discussed. People from vulnerable communities' experience disproportionately adverse impacts of COVID-19. COVID-19 has exacerbated systemic disparities and its long-term negative impact on these populations foretell an impending crisis that could prevail beyond the COVID-19 era. It is onerous that systemic issues be addressed and efforts to build inclusive and sustainable societies be pursued to ensure the provision of universal healthcare and justice for all. Without these reinforcements, we would not only compromise the vulnerable communities but also severely limit our preparedness and response to a future pandemic.