Suchergebnisse

This paper focuses on how Japanese immigrants who settled in Spain and Scotland are building new social networks and questions how this process changes the way they relate to Japan and their Japanese identities. A grounded theory approach was used to gather data for the study. The sample is composed of 14 immigrants interviewed in Scotland and 17 in Spain. Based on content analysis, the study found that both groups of immigrants emphasized five key elements in developing their new sense of belonging. These are: having a local partner; interest in the host country; workplace experiences; number of local and/or Japanese friends in their social network; and foreign language proficiency. Immigrant identity development is a dynamic process of construction in which both personal behavior and social aspects are involved.

La participación ciudadana en el ámbito de la salud se entiende como una estrategia fundamental para el desarrollo comunitario en general y, en este caso, de la promoción y la educación para la salud. Las transformaciones sociales y el cambio de los valores éticos acontecidos en estos últimos años han posicionado al paciente en un rol activo frente a las concepciones paternalistas del pasado. Surge entonces un nuevo objetivo, promover la participación del paciente a través de sus opiniones, conocimientos y experiencias en relación a su estado de salud y también sobre la gestión y funcionamiento del sistema de salud, ya sea dando su valoración sobre distintas variables o incluso interviniendo en la toma de decisiones en la evaluación de tecnologías sanitarias. Para alcanzar este objetivo se definen nuevos modelos y metodologías que establecerán los cauces para que el paciente y el ciudadano, legitimados como tales, intervengan en la gestión de su propio sistema de salud. Esta investigación tiene por objetivo analizar las nuevas formas de participación del paciente y el impacto en su salud y en la organización sanitaria, mediante la revisión de iniciativas implementadas en el sistema sanitario, así como los resultados obtenidos.

Spain is a multilingual country where three additional official languages coexist (Catalan, Basque and Galician) with the state language (Spanish). The high costs of translation impose that policy makers are permanent negotiating which percentage of information should be provided in each language. Against this background, the language in the field of education is a controversial topic. In this research we focus on how students´ mother tongue, as an ethnic attribute, determines their school performance. Our results confirm that there is a premium for those students whose mother tongue is Catalan, and that living in those communities where Basque and Galician are spoken, affects also positively the academic performance.

We investigated the socioeconomic determinants of tranquillizer use among Spanish teenagers. Highlighting these differences may help health professionals to be more effective in their diagnosis and corresponding prescriptions as well as supporting social agencies in designing better
prevention strategies. We focused on Spanish society with data drawn from the Spanish Survey on Drug Use in School Populations (Spanish Drug Observatory, 2000, 2002, and 2004).

In this article we examine the influence of a number of psychosocial variables on health attributions and the use of the health care system. The study sample consisted of 1,032 participants, who were representative of a stratified suburban community in Spain. Home-based interviews were
conducted to identify participants' main health improvement resources. Most answers were related to health attitudes concerning behavior, the health services available to participants, or other external agents. Qualitative and quantitative strategies were employed and results showed that age
and health perception were the most reliable predictors of these attitudes. Social variables were found to play an important role in the explanation of participants' beliefs and medical consultation behaviors.

AbstractThis article analyzes the link between men's and women's perceptions of health and the demand for health goods and services. The study examines access to the health care system in a community characterized by social and economic variance. The data have been taken from a health survey carried out in a suburb of the city of Zaragoza in Spain. The sample (1,032 people over the age of 15) was selected according to specifications of sex, age, and place of residence. The sample shows a confidence interval of 95.5 percent with a ±3 margin of error. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques are used. Sex differences are reflected in social conditions, lifestyles, health perception, and health care behaviors. The research describes how differences in health attitudes can be contextualized by the neighborhood. The results of this type of research are essential for the design of preventive strategies that are better adapted to need.