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BACKGROUND: Food insecurity continues to be a problem throughout the world. When estimating food insecurity, few studies analyze the contexts where the phenomenon takes place. By bearing in mind levels of marginalization in four states of Mexico, this paper answers two questions: (I) What problems are experienced with access to food, and how these difficulties affect the amount of food consumed in households? and (II) How do households experience the concern of running out of food? METHODS: Our qualitative study draws data from urban and semi-urban areas of four Mexican states: Mexico City, Tamaulipas, the State of Mexico, and Oaxaca. Each state presents different levels of well-being. The study's participants are selected using the snowball method. Eligibility criteria are based on demographic characteristics such as education, age, and gender. A thematic analytical approach is conducted to analyze collected data from a total of 212 semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: The study's findings indicate that concern of food scarcity is a generalized feeling among participants across different levels of marginalization. Individuals with stable jobs living in contexts of low levels of marginalization experience worriedness when their budgets tightened before the end of the payday, a bi-weekly payment format, named the quincena in México. This psychological state of mind changes through the payday cycle, a period when the direct relationship between food accessibility and consumption weakens. In response, individuals develop strategies to cope with the uncertainty of experiencing food insecurity, such as rationing food portions and/or hoarding food supplies. Even when food accessibility exists, interviewees identify insufficient income as the primary issue in contexts of low and very low levels of marginalization. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusive remarks drawn from our analysis underline the importance of the context of marginalization in influencing households' experiences with food insecurity. At the quincena's end, food insecurity increases, even in contexts of very low marginalization. Our study calls for rethinking the scales employed to measure food insecurity, specifically the questions related to fear of food scarcity. Coping strategies are implemented by surveyed individuals to resolve issues and repercussions that emerge from experiencing food insecurity differ by context of marginalization.

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This paper responds to two questions-What dimensions and indicators are relevant to the construction of social wellbeing? How are the levels of wellbeing distributed in the municipalities of Mexico City? To answer these questions, we use data from the Wellbeing Survey (N = 2,871) that is representative of Mexico City and its municipalities. We employed two methods, DM-R distances, and Mamdani's Fuzzy Inference Method. The results show that all the proposed dimensions and indicators contributed to the building of multidimensional social wellbeing; in the case of some indicators (social security, built environment, and public insecurity) they contributed less. This suggests government interventions should be designed in order to improve the gaps in those areas. The evidence also indicates that community wellbeing is a relevant dimension when measuring social wellbeing in large cities, in addition to identifying areas of intervention for the development of more efficient and inclusive public policies.

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Resumen El COVID-19 ha visibilizado las inequidades sistémicas, multiplicado las condiciones de vulnerabilidad y descubierto la incapacidad de numerosas instituciones públicas para responder a la pandemia. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue analizar y contextualizar la gestión de la crisis sanitaria en Cuba, así como la atención a grupos vulnerables durante el primer año de la pandemia. La investigación se sustenta en un enfoque mixto que combina el análisis cualitativo de contenido con el de datos estadísticos procedentes de fuentes primarias y secundarias. Los hallazgos revelaron que más de la mitad de la población cubana es vulnerable ante COVID-19 por factores como edad, género, raza, salud física, condiciones del hogar y limitaciones para acceder a derechos básicos asociados a alimentación de calidad, vivienda digna y servicios de agua potable. Las estadísticas epidemiológicas recabadas entre marzo de 2020 y marzo de 2021 muestran una gestión de la crisis sanitaria adecuada a partir de la articulación gubernamental con la gestión científica y tecnológica y la infraestructura de salud pública y universal. Sin embargo, existen estrategias contradictorias en la atención a la población en riesgo, que profundizan desigualdades previamente existentes y dinamizan y amplían la condición de vulnerabilidad. COVID-19 constituye una ventana de oportunidad para pensar estrategias de desarrollo desde un modelo de política social integral.

Abstract COVID-19 has made visible systemic inequities, multiplied vulnerability conditions, and uncovered the lack of capacity of numerous public institutions to respond to the pandemic. The paper aims to analyze and contextualize the health crisis management, as well as vulnerable groups' care in Cuba during the first year of the pandemic. For this purpose, a mixed approach was selected, which combines qualitative content analysis with statistical data obtained from primary and secondary sources. Findings revealed that more than half of the Cuban population is vulnerable to COVID-19 due to factors such as age, gender, race, physical health, living conditions, and limitations to access to basic rights associated to quality food, dignified housing, and potable water rights. Epidemiological statistics collected between March 2020 and March 2021, show an adequate management of the sanitary contingency based on the coordination of governmental structures with scientific and technological sectors and public and universal health infrastructure. However, there are contradictory strategies in caring for vulnerable populations that deepen previously existing inequalities and dynamize and extend vulnerability conditions. COVID-19 constitutes a window of opportunity to rethink country development strategies from a comprehensive social policy model.

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Introduction: Considering the increasing incidence of crime in Mexico, it is necessary to understand the strategies that individuals utilize in response to victimization and the effects of this on their subjective well-being. Methods: A generalized structural equation modeling (GSEM) analysis with data from the 2012 Self-reported Well-Being Survey (BIARE, n = 10,654); dependent variables: subjective well-being (i.e., cognitive well-being and affective balance); independent variables: self-reported victimization (i.e., by domestic violence, community violence, and structural violence) and cultural participation (i.e., cultural attendance, engagement, and consumption). Results: Results show an overall positive and statistical influence of the cultural participation activities on the subjective well-being of victims of community and structural violence (but not of domestic violence), because, for those who reported higher levels of cultural participation, the probability of better subjective well-being were higher. Conclusions: Victims potentially coped and adapted to stressful and traumatic situations (i.e., experiences of victimization) via cultural participation activities. However, there are distinctive effects according to different forms of violence, which may be accounted for in formulating public policies related to victims. This has implications for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in improving the general quality of life of victims and the general population.

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BACKGROUND: Comorbidities increase the risk of death for patients with COVID-19, however, little is known about how it affects the prognosis of migrants who contract the virus. Therefore, this article aims to determine which comorbidities and risk conditions are associated with the probability of death among migrants infected with COVID-19 in Mexico. METHODS: We use a sample of migrants with a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 (N = 2126) registered in the public database published in the National Epidemiological Surveillance System of the Mexican Ministry of Health; the technique used was a Probit regression. RESULTS: The findings show that most of the comorbidities commonly associated with death from COVID-19 in the native-born population were actually not significant when present in migrants infected with COVID-19. Additionally, migrants have lower comorbidities than locals. The results further indicate that the factors related to the death of migrants infected with COVID-19 are: age, intubation, nationality group, pneumonia and the Health Care Management of Patients. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to preceding studies with native-born populations with COVID-19, where pre-existing diseases aggravated the diagnosis of COVID-19 and sometimes led to death, in the case of migrants, only pneumonia was the significant comorbidity associated with mortality among migrants diagnosed with COVID-19.

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BACKGROUND: Social capital is employed as an asset when there is a lack of an efficient health-care system. However, this relationship is not homogeneous and can differ according to the characteristics of individuals and their context. In this paper, we aim to analyze the role of social capital in the solution of healthcare problems among individuals with different levels of marginalization and unequal access to health services. METHODS: This qualitative study examines the role of social capital in the demand for healthcare among Mexican individuals with different levels of marginalization. The research draws data from semi-structured interviews (N = 247) that were collected in four Mexican states with different social welfare benefits: Mexico City, Tamaulipas, the State of Mexico, and Oaxaca. The interviewees were selected using the snowball method and other eligibility criteria such as education, age, and gender. RESULTS: Findings suggest that social capital is a relevant factor in solving healthcare problems, depending on the level of marginalization. The role of social capital can be explained by the precariousness of medical service delivery, the poor health infrastructure, and the difficult access to health care in Mexico. Networks are the main resource to deal with health related issues, food, medicine, and out-of-the-pocket medical expenses in contexts of high levels of marginalization. In the middle level of marginalization, networks also help in raising funds for more-specialized medical services and higher quality hospitals. In the least-marginalized levels, social capital is used as companionship for sick individuals, while support networks act as emotional relief. At this level, most individuals have private health insurance, and many of them have major medical healthcare coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Participants reported low levels of trust in the health care system because of the poor infrastructure and quality of medical service delivery. Although the main criticism is focused on public healthcare institutions, there is a lack of trust in private medical services as well. These facts are related to the access and quality of medical service delivery and turn social capital into a significant asset. Despite that social bonds or links are valuable resources that individuals can use to solve healthcare related issues, the use of social capital is not homogenous. Indeed, it can be influenced by several factors that were represented in this study through the municipal marginalization index.

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PURPOSE: To examine factors associated with food insecurity among urban older adults (65 years and older). METHODS: Three hundred and fifty two older adults attending community centers in a neighborhood of Mexico City were surveyed for food insecurity, functional impairments, health and mental health status, cash-transfer assistance, socio-demographic characteristics, social isolation, and the built food environment. RESULTS: Having at least primary education and receiving cash-transfers were significantly associated with a lower probability of being moderately-severely food insecure (OR=0.478 and 0.597, respectively). The probability of moderate-severe food insecurity was significantly higher among elderly at risk of depression (OR=2.843), those with at least one activity of daily living impaired (OR=2.177) and those with at least one instrumental activity of daily living impaired (OR=1.785). CONCLUSIONS: Higher educational attainment and cash-transfers may have a positive influence on reducing food insecurity. Depression and functional limitations may increase the likelihood of food insecurity among older adults.

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El presente trabajo analiza la influencia que diversas variables tienen sobre las personas que viven en el Distrito Federal y que padecen depresión. La primera hipótesis se orienta por las estadísticas internacionales, para señalar que el sexo influye en la depresión, sobre todo cuando se es mujer. La segunda hipótesis, apoyada en diferentes teorías, muestra una estrecha relación entre ingreso, edad y condición de pobreza sobre dicho padecimiento. Los resultados mostraron que el ingreso y la edad son variables importantes, pero no los factores determinantes de aquél. La escolaridad y el género resultaron ser las variables más significativas...

This paper analyzes the influence of different variables have on people living in the Federal District and suffering from depression. The first hypothesis is oriented by international statistics to show that gender influences depression as variable, especially for females. The second hypothesis based on different theories shows a close relationship between income, age and poverty status on that condition. The results showed that income and age are important but not determinants of it, but education and gender were the most significant variables...

O artigo presente analisa a influência que diversas variáveis têm sobre as pessoas que moram no Distrito Federal e adoecem de depressão. A primeira hipótese é orientada pelas estatísticas internacionais para assinalar que o sexo influi na depressão, sobretudo quando mulher. A segunda hipótese, apoiada em diferentes teorias, mostra uma estreita relação entre rendas, idade e condição de pobreza com dita doença. Os resultados mostraram que rendas e idade são variáveis importantes, mas não fatores determinantes daquilo. A escolaridade e o gênero resultaram as variáveis más significativas...

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El desarrollo del capital humano es un mecanismo para combatir la pobreza. Por esa razón se han puesto en marcha distintos programas con esta finalidad. En México se implementó el programa "Oportunidades", el cual opera por medio de tres componentes. Uno de ellos es la alimentación, donde se entregan complementos nutricionales a grupos considerados vulnerables, como son los niños (Nutrisano) y las mujeres embarazadas o en periodo de lactancia (Nutrivida). Ambos han sido evaluados bajo una óptica antropométrica; sin embargo, los estudios sobre la aceptación y correcta utilización de los mismos son escasos, y de ahí que el documento aborde esta temática a partir de un estudio realizado en el Área Metropolitana de Monterrey-México.

Human capital development is an effective method to fight poverty, which is the reason for the launch of variety of programs that work in this direction. In Mexico, the implementation of the“Oportunidades” program (¨Opportunities¨ program) operates through three components. Oneof it is the food component, where nutritional supplements are given to groups considered as vulnerable, including children (Nutrisano) and pregnant or lactating (Nutrivida) women. Both have been evaluated under an anthropometric scope, although the studies related to the acceptanceand the proper uses of it are scarced. The paper addresses this undeveloped issue taking as a base a study made in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico.

O Desenvolvimento do capital humano é um mecanismo de combate à pobreza, por isso, lançaram vários programas para este fim, o México tem implementado o Oportunidades, que opera através de três componentes. Um deles é de alimentos, complementos nutricionais, onde são dadas a grupos considerados vulneráveis, incluindo crianças (Nutrisano) e mulheres grávidas ou lactantes (Nutrivida). Ambos foram avaliados em um estudo antropométrico óptico, no entanto,sobre a aceitação ea utilização adequada do mesmo, são escassos, portanto, o trabalho aborda esta questão a partir de um estudo na área metropolitana de Monterrey, México.

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