Astracts - English
Astracts - Arabic
Introduction
Interview
Articles
Maya Maor, Reli Mizrahi, Mofla Ataika, Maya Lavie Ajayi
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is disproportionally prevalent among indigenous groups, with especially poor treatment outcomes and higher complication rates. This is also the case with the minority Bedouin population of Israel. Based on a critical review of the literature, we offer a typology of the main sociological approaches to the study of T2DM among ethnic minorities: 1. Bio-medical individual approach, 2. Minorities in transition to modernity approach and 3. T2DM as a symptom of social inequality approach. We use the stories of Bedouin men and women to show how the third approach allows us to: 1. Re-conceptualize concepts such chronic illness, health and man/place/community relationships; 2. Understand how the complex interaction between Israeli health policies and the living conditions of the Bedouin community shape the distinct challenges they face in coping with T2DM; 3. To develop concrete guidelines designed to improve coping with T2DM among the Bedouin community in Israel.
Nasrin Fares, Shula Goulden, Maya Negev
Spending time in nature can promote physical and mental health, however few studies have evaluated human perceptions of these benefits. Meanwhile, sociological research shows that perceptions of nature reflect different Bourdieuan environmental preferences. The aim of this study was to examine environmental preferences and perception of health benefits of nature in the Mount Carmel Biosphere Reserve, based on a survey of 703 Jewish, Druze and Muslim respondents. The results demonstrate that all participants perceived that time spent in nature contributed to health, but the perception was stronger among Muslim and Druze respondents, and among visitors compared to residents. Environmental preferences and attitudes towards nature conservation were shown to be connected to the perceived physical and mental health benefits of nature. The preferences “landscape and coasts” and “flora and fauna” were found to be strongly connected to the perception that time spent in nature contributes to health. Factor analysis of health statements yielded three factors: nature contributes to mental health; nature contributes to physical health; spending time in nature contributes to mental health more so than spending time in the city. These findings can contribute to management of the biosphere reserve in a way that enables the whole population to benefit from time spent in nature, for example by including residents and visitors in decisions on access to nature, infrastructure and policy.
Is there a Public Health Advocate Around? Environmental Politics as Governance-Generating Politics
In the 1980s and 1990s, views advocating public involvement in arenas of governance gained momentum, leading to the institutionalization of public participation processes. Civic actors were subsequently recognized as legitimate public advocates and new arenas of governance emerged. Given that public advocacy positions are positions of authority, this paper explores the factors that enabled these public participation processes, with the focus on the planning arena and on environmental health issues. Two historical case studies of civil struggles are presented. Interviews, observations, document reviews, and press clippings indicate that environmental activism turned environmental health into a political issue and the environmental organizations into public advocates. The results allow to argue that dialectical relationships of change and institutionalization exist between environmental politics and the political environment. Environmental activism changed arenas of governance, adopting action strategies accordingly. Historical understanding of these processes which I named “governance-generating politics” would promote environmental health activism.
Citizen science is a growing field of research and practice, in which volunteers engage in active scientific research. This paper describes citizen science ability to promote environmental awareness and social involvement using the case of the Radon Home Survey – a citizen science project for measuring and mapping radon concentrations in buildings in Israel. The study has two research goals. Our scientific goal is to measure indoor radon concentrations and examine the feasibility of radon mapping through citizen science. Our educational goal is to examine students’ learning trajectories, building on interviews with teachers facilitating student participation (n=8) and student feedback (n=112). While initially unaware of radon, students have become interested and motivated about the topic, expressing interest in promoting awareness in their local communities and becoming agents of change. These findings emphasize the role of citizen science in raising awareness, empowering students and publics, and promoting environmental stewardship and responsibility.
Liat Lifshitz-Milwidsky and Tammy Sagiv-Schifter
Recently, the Precautionary Principle (PP) is adopted in environmental health regulation design, especially when based on controversial scientific knowledge. Under PP, if an activity raises concerns of environmental health harm, precautions must be taken. This study aimed to understand and explain PP usage by society at risk theory, boundary work theory and boundary object. Experts’ perceptions of PP and of its scientific knowledge foundation were examined, regarding a case study of regulation design concerning non-ionizing radiation (NIR) from cell phones in Israel. Data included documents on NIR, participating observation and 21 semi-structured interviews with relevant experts. Findings reveal that PP serves as a boundary object, and is flexible enough to enable combination between reduction and extension of scientific knowledge. The strategic value of PP as a boundary object, is used as a compass in regulation design and allows its establishment on controversial scientific knowledge in the name of health.
What are the Boundaries of One Health? Studying Brucellosis in the Negev
One Health (OH), a paradigm for the study of diseases, ecologies and policy, aims to cross boundaries between disciplines, but ignores the social factors of diseases. To test this claim I ask which boundaries are dealt through the OH prism and which are neglected. I study Brucellosis, a disease that harms Bedouin communities in the Negev and researched through OH tools, and the “boundarywork” it entails. During a governmental campaign to reduce Brucellosis between 2014-2017, I interviewed health workers and livestock breeders, conducted observations and collected policy documents. Using thematic analysis I form four types of boundaries: Geographical, Professional-Political, Disciplinary and Participatory, which test the assumptions underlying the intervention - its geographical demarcation, the professional/political separation and the stakeholders’ roles. This article presents socio-political layers of illness that are seldom discussed through the OH framework and reframes factors of infectivity, distrust and health inequities.
Middle Actors Unique Role in Supporting Public Health from the Middle-Out
Yannai Kranzler, Yael Parag and Nadav Davidovitch
Collaboration in public health faces numerous obstacles. Programs implemented across and impacted by diverse environments offer opportunities to learn how professionals in the field address these obstacles in real-time. We used the socio-technical analytical approach “from the middle out,” to elucidate the significance of middle actors – stakeholders between policymakers at the “top” and the public at the “bottom”. Through participant observation in the forums where the National Program to Promote Active, Healthy Lifestyle in Israel was formed, interviews with 30 stakeholders, and document analysis, we examined three aspects of influence from the middle out: (1) directions of influence, (up, down, and sideways); (2) modes of influence (facilitation, mediation, and aggregation); (3) mechanisms of influence (strengthening agency and capacity to act). We conclude that integrating the middle out approach can contribute to the understanding and pursuit of policies, innovation and collaboration to foster sustainability and improve public health.
Over the years, the number of residents living in Israel has increased dramatically. The negative impacts of population density on public health are reflected in four different contexts: deficient infrastructure for treating illness which reduces health care quality; a shortage of doctors, nursing staff, increased risk of infectious disease spread; and mental health consequences from discomfort at living in a crowded society. The article documents the primary health risks associated with rising population density in Israel. While it is essential to adopt policies that reduce the negative impact of population density on public health, given budget constraints and practical limitations, these negative phenomena are likely to grow worse. Accordingly, along with adaptive measures designed to allow Israel’s health system to adjust to higher population density, it is important to emphasize demographic stability as the only long-term solution to the damage of crowding to Israeli public health.
Conversations about Books
Book Reviews
On: Whose Daughter Are You? Ways of Talking Eastern Feminism \ Yali Hashash
On: Diversifying the Ivory Tower: First Generation College Students Write \ Moti Gigi, Sigal Nagar-Ron & Tami Razi (eds)
Gal Levy
On: In between Home and the Streets: Lack of Housing Security in Israel \ Shlomit Benyamin
On: Fighting for Dignity: Migrant Lives at Israel’s Margins \ Sara S. Willen
Shahar Fisher
On: Do not raise your hands: protests and violence towards the state in Israel \ Yair Yasan
On: The Past Can’t Heal Us: The Dangers of Mandating Memory in the Name of Human Rights \ Lea David
Itamar Shahar
On: Colonialism and Modern Social Theory \ Gurminder K. Bhambra and John Holmwood
Ariel Yankellevich
On: Manufacturing Happy Citizens: How the Science and Industry of Happiness Control our Lives \ Edgar Cabanas & Eva Illouz
On: The Arava approach: Anthropology of Nature and (Agri)Culture \ Liron Shani
On: Azazel Canyon / Assaf Hazani