Conflicts between humans and elephants are escalating in many parts of Africa and displacing elephants from much of their former range. The main causes and effects of these conflicts are outlined and the main management options to address the problem are discussed. For long-term management of human-elephant conflict, site-level interventions alone are unlikely to be sufficient. Action by government agencies, private sector partners, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders is necessary and should be mutually reinforcing. All the relevant technical, economic, and socio-political issues from the conflict site level to the national level must be addressed to ensure sustainable outcomes for both people and elephants.
The relationship between psychosomatic symptoms and mental well-being among unemployed (N = 132) and employed (N = 187) personnel of two similar wood-processing factories was studied. Mental well-being was measured by means of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-score) and the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-score). The 13-item questionnaire assessing psychosomatic symptoms was used (PS-score). The 33 and 66 percentiles (tertiles) were formed on the basis of PS-score of the two groups separately. The highest PS-score percentile was compared with the combined first and second percentile. Higher PS-score implied impaired mental well-being especially in the unemployed but also in the control group. Insufficient social support and uncertainty about the future was associated with highest PS-score in the study group but not in the control group. High PS-score was associated with subjective mental problems in both groups. Impaired health and PS-score were associated in both groups. Our results suggest that unemployment is a powerful external stress factor and that psychosomatic symptoms were associated with impaired mental well-being.
Background: Studies using traditional measures of socio-economic position, such as education, income and occupation, have found inequalities in depressive symptoms, but less is known about the association between financial satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Aims: To examine the association of depressive symptoms with financial satisfaction in Finnish adults in a population-based cross-sectional FIN-D2D survey. Methods: Four thousand, five hundred randomly selected individuals aged 45–74 years were invited to the study. Participation rate for health examinations was 64%. Complete information on depressive symptoms and financial satisfaction was available for 2,819 individuals. Financial satisfaction was asked using a questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were measured by Beck Depression Inventory (≥ 10) and/or use of antidepressants. Results: Altogether 11.6% of individuals who were satisfied with their financial situation had depressive symptoms. Corresponding figures for individuals who were somewhat satisfied or dissatisfied were 20.6% and 42.6%, respectively. Individuals who were less satisfied with their financial situation were more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms even after adjusting for gender, age, marital status, number of chronic diseases, smoking, binge drinking, physical activity, education and household income. Conclusions: Instead of more traditional measures of socio-economic position, financial dissatisfaction seems to be associated with depressive symptoms in Finnish adults.
