PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Socio-economic status influences risk of violence against aboriginal women

First study to examine link

2013-09-17
(Press-News.org) TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2013 – If aboriginal women had the same income and education levels as non-aboriginal women, their risk of being abused by a partner could drop by 40 per cent, according to a new study by researchers at St. Michael's Hospital.

The new study indicates that socio-economic position is a major factor influencing risks of abuse for aboriginal women.

"The unfortunate reality is that aboriginal women in Canada are almost four times more likely to experience gender violence, but we wanted to know why," said Dr. Janet Smylie, a scientist at the hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health and one of the study's authors. "We wanted to unpack the disproportionate statistics of gender violence and intimate partner violence experienced by aboriginal women and found that taking socio-economic status into account cut the risks almost by half."

When assuming that aboriginal women had the same income and education levels as non-aboriginal women, the risk of partner abuse drops by 40 per cent from almost four times as likely to twice as likely, the study showed. Even with a dramatic improvement of socio-economic status, aboriginal women would still have twice the risk of being abused by a partner compared to non-aboriginal women, Dr. Smylie said.

Dr. Smylie and Dr. Nihaya Daoud's findings appear online in the Canadian Journal of Public Health today. The study used data from the 2006-07 Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey representing more than 50,000 Canadian-born women, including more than 3,000 off-reserve First Nations, Inuit and Metis mothers. Researchers collaborated with the Native Women's Association of Canada.

"Many studies have looked at the correlation between ethnicity and race as markers for poverty," said Dr. Smylie. "We found that aboriginal identity can be a marker for lower socio-economic

Aboriginal women in the study were more likely to have low incomes (37.6 per cent) and have less than a high school education (24 per cent) compared to non-aboriginal women (13.8 per cent and 6.7 per cent, respectively).

Poverty can lead to violence through financial and social stress, as well as alcohol or drug-abuse to cope with these stressors. The cost of moving or living alone can prevent aboriginal women from leaving violent situations.

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to examine socio-economic position as a factor explaining high rates of gender violence among aboriginal women.

"Violence against aboriginal women is more complex than elevating socioeconomic status alone," Dr. Smylie said. "Future studies and research on the subject need to focus on the effect of colonial policies, such as residential schools, on aboriginal populations."

"The colonial impacts on aboriginal gender roles, social capital and access to social services have been felt over generations. To end violence against aboriginal women there must be policy-driven initiatives to revitalize traditional values between genders within aboriginal communities," said she said.



INFORMATION:



The study was partially funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care Applied Health Research Questions Program

About St. Michael's Hospital

St Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in 27 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Centre, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Media contacts

For more information or to arrange an interview with Dr. Smylie, contact:

Kendra Stephenson
Communications & Public Affairs
St. Michael's Hospital
416-864-6060 ext. 7178
stephensonk@smh.ca

OR

Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
St. Michael's Hospital
416-864-6094
shepherdl@smh.ca



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Biologists develop new method for discovering antibiotics

2013-09-17
Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a revolutionary new method for identifying and characterizing antibiotics, an advance that could lead to the discovery of new antibiotics to treat antibiotic resistant bacteria. The researchers, who published their findings in this week's early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, made their discovery by developing a way to perform the equivalent of an autopsy on bacterial cells. "This will provide a powerful new tool for identifying compounds that kill bacteria ...

SF State researchers steer light in new directions

2013-09-17
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2013 -- A team of researchers led by San Francisco State University's Weining Man is the first to build and demonstrate the ability of two-dimensional disordered photonic band gap material, designed to be a platform to control light in unprecedented ways. The new material could allow researchers to manipulate the flow and radiation of light in new ways by breaking away from the highly angular and constrained pathways for light dictated inside orderly photonic crystals. Instead, the material could lead to arbitrarily shaped, wavy, curved, and sharply ...

Whole DNA sequencing reveals mutations, new gene for blinding disease

2013-09-17
BOSTON -- Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disease that causes progressive loss of vision and is caused by mutations in more than 50 genes. Conventional methods for identification of both RP mutations and novel RP genes involve the screening of DNA coding sequences. In a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and others tested DNA with the use of whole genome sequencing, a technique that takes into account all variants from both ...

Vaccinating cattle against E. coli O157 could cut human cases of infection by 85 percent, say scientists

2013-09-17
Vaccinating cattle against the E. coli O157 bacterium could cut the number of human cases of the disease by 85%, according to scientists. The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, buc could be significant. The research was lead by a team of researchers at the University of Glasgow in collaboration with the ...

Copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps fail to help rheumatoid arthritis, says York research

2013-09-17
Copper bracelets and magnet wrist straps have no real effect on pain, swelling, or disease progression in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new findings from a study conducted at the University of York. In the first randomised controlled trial to study the effects of copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps on rheumatoid arthritis, 70 patients with active symptoms each wore four different devices over a five-month period, reporting on their pain, disability, and medication use throughout the study. Participants also provided blood samples, after wearing each device ...

Young breast cancer patients often overestimate benefit of having healthy breast removed

2013-09-17
BOSTON -- Young women with breast cancer often overestimate the odds that cancer will occur in their other, healthy breast, and decide to have the healthy breast surgically removed, a survey conducted by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators indicates. The survey also shows that many patients opt for the procedure -- known as a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, or CPM -- despite knowing it will be unlikely to improve their chance of survival. The study, published in the Sept. 17 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows a certain disconnect between ...

Sanford-Burnham researchers identify new target for melanoma treatment

2013-09-17
LA JOLLA, Calif., September 16, 2013 – Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) today announced the discovery that a gene encoding an enzyme, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1), plays an essential role in the development and progression of melanoma. The finding offers a new approach to treating this life-threatening disease. The team of researchers, led by Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D., professor and scientific director of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.), used genetic mouse melanoma models to show ...

Researchers identify novel biomarker for diabetes risk

2013-09-17
Researchers at the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital have identified a biomarker that can predict diabetes risk up to 10 years before onset of the disease. Thomas J. Wang, M.D., director of the Division of Cardiology at Vanderbilt, along with colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital, report their findings in the October issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. The researchers conducted a study of 188 individuals who developed type 2 diabetes mellitus and 188 individuals without diabetes who were followed for 12 years ...

NASA to investigate Tropical Storm Humberto: Atlantic's second 'zombie tropical storm'

2013-09-17
Humberto is the second "zombie" tropical storm of the Atlantic Ocean season. That is, it's the second tropical storm that degenerated into a remnant low pressure area only to make a comeback as a tropical storm. NASA's HS3 hurricane mission sent an unmanned Global Hawk Aircraft out to the eastern Atlantic to investigate Humberto on Sept. 16. On Sunday, Sept. 15, Humberto weakened to a remnant low pressure area when it hit an area of strong wind shear. The wind shear eased and Humberto regained tropical storm strength on Sept. 16, making it the second "zombie" storm in ...

Wide-faced men make others act selfishly

2013-09-17
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Two assistant professors of management at the University of California, Riverside and several other researchers have previously shown that men with wider faces are more aggressive, less trustworthy and more prone to engaging in deception. Now, in a just-published paper, they have shown, in a series of four studies, that individuals behave more selfishly when interacting with men with wider faces and this selfish behavior elicits selfish behavior in others. "This clearly shows that this behavior is also socially driven, not just biologically driven," ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Enhancing heat transfer using the turbulent flow of viscoelastic fluids

Exercise as an anti-ageing intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

[Press-News.org] Socio-economic status influences risk of violence against aboriginal women
First study to examine link