The Experts below are selected from a list of 29613 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Denise C Park - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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socioeconomic status moderates age related differences in the brain s functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Micaela Y Chan, Jinkyung Na, Phillip F Agres, Neil K Savalia, Denise C ParkAbstract:An individual’s environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual’s environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and Social Prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20–89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain’s functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35–64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES–brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual’s childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain’s functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
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socioeconomic status moderates age related differences in the brain s functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Micaela Y Chan, Phillip F Agres, Neil K Savalia, Denise C Park, Gagan S WigAbstract:An individual's environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual's environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and Social Prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20-89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain's functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35-64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES-brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual's childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain's functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
Elizabeth Oliveras - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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retention of female volunteer community health workers in dhaka urban slums a case control study
Health Policy and Planning, 2012Co-Authors: Khurshid Alam, Sakiba Tasneem, Elizabeth OliverasAbstract:Introduction Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are one approach to addressing the health workforce shortage in developing countries. BRAC, a large NGO in Bangladesh, is a pioneer in using female volunteer CHWs as core workers in its successful health programmes. After 25 years of implementing the CHW model in rural areas, BRAC is now using CHWs in urban slums of Dhaka through Manoshi, a community-based maternal and child health project. However, high dropout rates among CHWs in the slums suggested a need to better understand factors associated with their retention, and consequently recommend strategies for increasing their retention. Methods This mixed-method study included a case-control design to assess factors relating to the retention of volunteer CHWs, and focus group discussions (FGDs) to explore solutions to problems. In total, 542 current and 146 dropout CHWs participated in the survey. Six FGDs were held with groups of current and groups of dropout CHWs. Results Financial incentives were the main factor linked to CHW retention. CHWs who joined with the expectation of income were almost twice as likely to remain as CHWs. This finding was reinforced by the inverse association between wealth quintile of the CHWs and retention; the poorest CHWs were significantly more likely to stay in the programme than the richest. However, Social Prestige, community approval and household responsibilities were important non-financial factors associated with CHW retention. Restructuring and expansion of existing financial incentives to better compensate CHWs were recommended by CHWs to improve their retention. Conclusions Factors found to be important in this study are similar to those from earlier studies in rural areas. While the data indicate that financial incentives are the most commonly discussed factor regarding CHW retention in urban slums, the results also suggest other avenues that could be strengthened to improve their retention.
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performance of female volunteer community health workers in dhaka urban slums
Social Science & Medicine, 2012Co-Authors: Khurshid Alam, Sakiba Tasneem, Elizabeth OliverasAbstract:Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are one approach to addressing the health workforce crisis in developing countries. BRAC, a large Bangladeshi NGO, a pioneer in this area, uses female volunteer CHWs as core workers in its health programs. After 25 years of implementing the CHW model in rural areas, BRAC has begun using female CHWs in urban slums through its community-based mother, newborn and child health interventions. However, the program experienced suboptimal performance among CHWs, with a high percentage of them remaining in their positions but becoming “inactive”, not truly participating in daily community health activities. This suggests a need to better understand the relative importance of factors affecting their active participation and to recommend strategies for improving their participation. This mixed-method study included a descriptive correlational design to assess factors relating to level of activity of CHWs and focus group discussions to explore solutions to these problems. A sample of 542 current female CHWs from project areas participated in the survey. Financial incentives were the main factor linked to the activity of CHWs. CHWs who thought that running their families would be difficult without CHW income had more than three times greater odds to become active. In addition, Social Prestige and positive community feedback to the CHWs were important non-financial factors associated with level of activity. In order to improve volunteer CHWs' performance, a combination of financial and non-financial incentives should be used.
Gagan S Wig - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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socioeconomic status moderates age related differences in the brain s functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Micaela Y Chan, Phillip F Agres, Neil K Savalia, Denise C Park, Gagan S WigAbstract:An individual's environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual's environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and Social Prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20-89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain's functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35-64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES-brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual's childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain's functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
Khurshid Alam - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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retention of female volunteer community health workers in dhaka urban slums a case control study
Health Policy and Planning, 2012Co-Authors: Khurshid Alam, Sakiba Tasneem, Elizabeth OliverasAbstract:Introduction Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are one approach to addressing the health workforce shortage in developing countries. BRAC, a large NGO in Bangladesh, is a pioneer in using female volunteer CHWs as core workers in its successful health programmes. After 25 years of implementing the CHW model in rural areas, BRAC is now using CHWs in urban slums of Dhaka through Manoshi, a community-based maternal and child health project. However, high dropout rates among CHWs in the slums suggested a need to better understand factors associated with their retention, and consequently recommend strategies for increasing their retention. Methods This mixed-method study included a case-control design to assess factors relating to the retention of volunteer CHWs, and focus group discussions (FGDs) to explore solutions to problems. In total, 542 current and 146 dropout CHWs participated in the survey. Six FGDs were held with groups of current and groups of dropout CHWs. Results Financial incentives were the main factor linked to CHW retention. CHWs who joined with the expectation of income were almost twice as likely to remain as CHWs. This finding was reinforced by the inverse association between wealth quintile of the CHWs and retention; the poorest CHWs were significantly more likely to stay in the programme than the richest. However, Social Prestige, community approval and household responsibilities were important non-financial factors associated with CHW retention. Restructuring and expansion of existing financial incentives to better compensate CHWs were recommended by CHWs to improve their retention. Conclusions Factors found to be important in this study are similar to those from earlier studies in rural areas. While the data indicate that financial incentives are the most commonly discussed factor regarding CHW retention in urban slums, the results also suggest other avenues that could be strengthened to improve their retention.
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performance of female volunteer community health workers in dhaka urban slums
Social Science & Medicine, 2012Co-Authors: Khurshid Alam, Sakiba Tasneem, Elizabeth OliverasAbstract:Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are one approach to addressing the health workforce crisis in developing countries. BRAC, a large Bangladeshi NGO, a pioneer in this area, uses female volunteer CHWs as core workers in its health programs. After 25 years of implementing the CHW model in rural areas, BRAC has begun using female CHWs in urban slums through its community-based mother, newborn and child health interventions. However, the program experienced suboptimal performance among CHWs, with a high percentage of them remaining in their positions but becoming “inactive”, not truly participating in daily community health activities. This suggests a need to better understand the relative importance of factors affecting their active participation and to recommend strategies for improving their participation. This mixed-method study included a descriptive correlational design to assess factors relating to level of activity of CHWs and focus group discussions to explore solutions to these problems. A sample of 542 current female CHWs from project areas participated in the survey. Financial incentives were the main factor linked to the activity of CHWs. CHWs who thought that running their families would be difficult without CHW income had more than three times greater odds to become active. In addition, Social Prestige and positive community feedback to the CHWs were important non-financial factors associated with level of activity. In order to improve volunteer CHWs' performance, a combination of financial and non-financial incentives should be used.
Micaela Y Chan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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socioeconomic status moderates age related differences in the brain s functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Micaela Y Chan, Jinkyung Na, Phillip F Agres, Neil K Savalia, Denise C ParkAbstract:An individual’s environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual’s environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and Social Prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20–89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain’s functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35–64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES–brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual’s childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain’s functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
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socioeconomic status moderates age related differences in the brain s functional network organization and anatomy across the adult lifespan
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018Co-Authors: Micaela Y Chan, Phillip F Agres, Neil K Savalia, Denise C Park, Gagan S WigAbstract:An individual's environmental surroundings interact with the development and maturation of their brain. An important aspect of an individual's environment is his or her socioeconomic status (SES), which estimates access to material resources and Social Prestige. Previous characterizations of the relation between SES and the brain have primarily focused on earlier or later epochs of the lifespan (i.e., childhood, older age). We broaden this work to examine the relationship between SES and the brain across a wide range of human adulthood (20-89 years), including individuals from the less studied middle-age range. SES, defined by education attainment and occupational socioeconomic characteristics, moderates previously reported age-related differences in the brain's functional network organization and whole-brain cortical structure. Across middle age (35-64 years), lower SES is associated with reduced resting-state system segregation (a measure of effective functional network organization). A similar but less robust relationship exists between SES and age with respect to brain anatomy: Lower SES is associated with reduced cortical gray matter thickness in middle age. Conversely, younger and older adulthood do not exhibit consistent SES-related difference in the brain measures. The SES-brain relationships persist after controlling for measures of physical and mental health, cognitive ability, and participant demographics. Critically, an individual's childhood SES cannot account for the relationship between their current SES and functional network organization. These findings provide evidence that SES relates to the brain's functional network organization and anatomy across adult middle age, and that higher SES may be a protective factor against age-related brain decline.
