Isabelle Godin

• Professor
• Université Libre de Bruxelles

Background Understanding the experiences of transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth is essential for developing appropriate support services. However, studies focusing on TGD youth under 18 outside clinical settings are scarce, limiting effective support development. The requirement for parental consent in participatory research poses ethical an...

The provision of optimal, equitable and gender-sensitive health-care to women and girls with FGM/C is challenging. Research indicates that health-professionals in receiving countries lack knowledge, confidence and competence in managing FGM/C. In order to develop policies that are suitable to the wide heterogeneity of women from FGM/C practising gr...

sec id="st1"> BACKGROUND Given the high prevalence of asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap (ACO) in Vietnam, there is an urgent need to establish a simplified strategy for categorising patients as either having asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This classification would streamline the application of treatment r...

Background The current literature highlights a strong link between the poor health outcomes of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals and their negative experiences in various areas of life. Most of these publications rely on adults’ memories, lacking a focus on the current experiences and needs of young transgender and gender- diverse in...

Introduction: Research with transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) young people is essential to understand their experiences and to be able to propose, implement and adapt ‘services’ in the broadest sense to meet their needs. However, research outside clinical settings on current experiences and needs of youth under the age of 18 is limited which hin...

Background The current literature highlights a strong link between the poor health outcomes of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals and their negative experiences in various areas of life. Most of these publications rely on adults' memories, lacking a focus on the current experiences and needs of young transgender and gender-diverse ind...

To explore current knowledge about hypertension and job stress in Sub-Saharan Africa, we conducted a scoping review using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework to synthesize findings. We searched in PubMed, Scopus, and ProQuest databases Our scoping review of the available literature found an increasing prevalence of HTN in the workplace, with a high pro...

Background chronic obstructive respiratory diseases (CORD) can lead to severe morbidity and mortality but is preventable at an early stage. Spirometry is the keystone for early diagnosis but is not widely available in Vietnam. The study aims to develop a questionnaire to screen the patients requiring spirometry. Methods this cross – sectional stud...

Education in relational, emotional and sexual life (EVRAS) is a project which has been in place for many years in French-speaking BCR. Despite the active involvement of politicians, numerous stakeholders and schools, it took more than ten years after its integration into the missions of education for EVRAS to become compulsory as of the 2023 school...

Education in relational, emotional and sexual life (EVRAS) is a project which has been in place for many years in French-speaking BCR. Despite the active involvement of politicians, numerous stakeholders and schools, it took more than ten years after its integration into the missions of education for EVRAS to become compulsory as of the 2023 school...

Education in relational, emotional and sexual life (EVRAS) is a project which has been in place for many years in French-speaking BCR. Despite the active involvement of politicians, numerous stakeholders and schools, it took more than ten years after its integration into the missions of education for EVRAS to become compulsory as of the 2023 school...

Background: Tobacco cessation intervention has a positive impact on quality of care. For health professionals, limited competency in this area may be associated with poor training during their academic programs. There is a clear need to further develop and implement training programs to improve tobacco cessation knowledge, skills, and attitudes am...

Background The provision of optimal, equitable and gender-sensitive health care to women and girls with FGM/C is challenging. Research indicates that health professionals in receiving countries lack knowledge, confidence and competence in managing FGM/C. In order to develop policies that are suitable to the wide heterogeneity of women from FGM/C pr...

Background: In low- and middle-income countries, such as Vietnam, the population is exposed to multiple risks, leading to frequent allergic asthma, COPD and their overlap (ACO). We aimed to differentiate asthma and COPD, so that recommended treatments can be applied. Methods: We hypothesized that during life, the cumulative exposure to noxious p...

Background Since 2009, Morocco has been implementing the Maternal Death Surveillance System (MDSS). The results obtained indicate significant regional variations in terms of implementation stage, completeness of maternal death reporting, and information use for action. The objective of this research is to better understand the contextual factors in...

Many African fathers face practices in their host countries that conflict with the conceptions of fatherhood in their countries of origin. They deal with negative stereotypes, including notions of paternal irresponsibility when it comes to embracing child care. This article looks at how exposure to the Belgian norms of fatherhood may redefine the f...

Objectives: to determine modifiable risk factors of exacerbations in chronic respiratory diseases with airways obstruction (i.e., asthma and COPD) in southern Vietnam. Methods: an environmental and health-related behavioural questionnaire was submitted to patients with both chronic respiratory symptoms and airways obstruction. An exacerbation wa...

While participant recruitment and qualitative interviewing are very crucial in data collection, researchers must be mindful of cultural contexts to ensure quality outcomes. This article explores the methodological and personal challenges encountered while recruiting and interviewing men in a research study. It addresses the influence of ‘who you kn...

This study analyzes the associations between living arrangements after a parental separation, and the adolescent’s self-rated health and life satisfaction in French-speaking Belgium. Data are based on 39,294 adolescents who participated in the three waves of the cross-sectional HBSC survey. Among adolescents living with separated parents, the self-...

Background: The professional identities, profiles and representations of Burundian health workers remain insufficiently explored. Our twofold objective is to identify the different socio-professional profiles of first-line caregivers and to explore their respective representations of health workers and work. Methods: The first study describes th...

Dietary habits are influenced by various determinants that may evolve over time. This study aimed to examine, among adolescents in Belgium, trends in the dietary habits between 1990 and 2014 and to determine changes in family and regional disparities related to diet during this time period. In the 1990, 2002 and 2014 cross-sectional “Health Behavio...

Purpose of Review Based on the discussions of a symposium co-organized by the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and the University of Lausanne (UNIL) in Brussels in 2019, this paper critically reflects upon the zero-tolerance strategy on “Female Genital Mutilation” (FGM) and its socio-political, legal and moral repercussions. We ask whether the s...

This commentary is on the original article by Jahan et al. on pages 1414–1422 of this issue.

Introduction During adolescence, while the body is still in development, alcohol consumption can cause irreversible damages. Well-being and family, social and school environment may influence alcohol consumption among adolescents. According to their gender, they may be more or less receptive to some of these influences. Our aim was to identify pote...

Over the past decade, energy drinks (ED) have become increasingly popular among adolescents. Due to their high content in caffeine, sugar and other energy-promoting components, frequent ED consumption may have adverse health effects, like cardiovascular symptoms, sleep impairment, and nervousness. Previous studies have shown that ED consumption was...

Background: Given the relevance of paternal involvement in maternal care, there is a need to prepare first-time fathers to participate in pregnancy and childbirth actively. This study explores the experiences and needs of first-time fathers; and how these influences their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. Methods: A descrip...

SETTING and OBJECTIVE: Exposure to pollutants is related to the type of dwelling inhabited. Besides tobacco smoke, indoor air pollution is a significant risk factor for chronic respiratory disease (CRD). The prevalence of CRD by type of dwelling was studied in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. DESIGN: A total of 1561 people living in four type of dwellin...

Background Given the relevance of paternal involvement in maternal care, there is a need to prepare first-time fathers to participate in pregnancy and childbirth actively. This study explores the experiences and needs of first-time fathers and the influence of these on their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. Methods A descript...

Background Given the relevance of paternal involvement in maternal care, there is a need to prepare first-time fathers to participate in pregnancy and childbirth actively. This study explores the experiences and needs of first-time fathers and the influence of these on their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. Methods A descript...

Background: Rapid urbanization combined with rural migration to urban areas in southern Vietnam could be risk factors for allergen sensitization, contributing to chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of mite sensitization and its relation to house dust characteristics among rural and urban native and migrating pop...

Background Given the relevance of paternal involvement in maternal care, there is a need to prepare first-time fathers to participate in pregnancy and childbirth actively. This study explores the experiences and needs of first-time fathers; and how these influences their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. Methods A descriptive...

Background Given the importance of paternal involvement in maternal care, there is need to prepare first-time fathers to actively participate in pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. This study explores the experiences and needs of first-time fathers and the influence of these on their involvement during pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria. Methods...

Introduction L’insuffisance rénale chronique (IRC) accompagne souvent l’hypertension artérielle et le diabète. Il en résulte une complexification de l’accompagnement du patient nécessitant l’acquisition de compétences afin de lui apprendre à gérer sa vie quotidienne avec la maladie. Méthodes Un programme d’éducation thérapeutique (ETP) inspiré de...

Objectives: Previous research indicates that the impact of immigration on health tends to be specific as it is influenced by many factors such as life stage and host country. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between immigration and adolescent health within the multicultural context of the Brussels-Capital Region in Belgium. S...

Recent studies in Cameroon after 20 years of implementation of the Community Directed Treatment with ivermectin (CDTI) strategy, revealed mixed results as regards community ownership. This brings into question the feasibility of Community Directed Interventions (CDI) in the country. We carried out qualitative surveys in 3 health districts of Camero...

This study identified the different categorizations of “living arrangements of adolescents” after parental separation in the literature and examined the situations in which health and wellbeing differences were observed among adolescents. Twenty-two peer-reviewed articles based on original data produced by self-administered questionnaires from quan...

Background The global burden of onchocerciasis is the heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa. Studies have shown the importance of the role of Community-Directed Distributors (CDDs) and nurses in onchocerciasis control, but little is known about their experience in implementing onchocerciasis control programmes. Our aim was to document the barriers that CD...

Background Early sexual intercourse (SI) may have long-lasting negative impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). So far, these impacts have been studied using age for defining early SI instead of feelings about its timing. The present study examined the association between feelings about the timing of first SI and current HRQoL. Methods...

Little information concerning social disparities in adolescent dietary habits is currently available, especially regarding migration status. The aim of the present study was to estimate socioeconomic disparities in dietary habits of school adolescents from different migration backgrounds. In the 2014 cross-sectional “Health Behavior in School-Aged...

Purpose The current study investigated the association between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among a large and non-clinical sample of adolescents, and tested the possible moderating effect of perceived teacher and classmate support on this association. Methods French-speaking Belgian adolescents (n = 11,342) self...

Background In Belgium, as in many other countries, the juvenile practice of physical activity is insufficient. A growing attention has been paid to environmental factors that may influence physical activity but with inconsistent findings. This study aims to estimate the association between daily life environment characteristics and physical activit...

Background In the view of the epidemic growth of sensitization to indoor allergens in Southern Vietnam, there is a requirement to screen large population. Objective To evaluate skin prick tests (SPTs) as predictors of positive specific IgE (sIgE) to dust allergens, among patients with chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). Methods The sensitization...

Context Chronic sleep deprivation and other disorders have been shown to be strong determinants of poor well-being and health status in children and adolescents. Our first objective was to describe sleeping patterns among teenagers in French-speaking Belgium. In a second step, the associations of morning fatigue with health and school-related outco...

Introduction After a parental separation, different types of living arrangements exist for children and adolescents; joint physical custody (when children spend equal time with both parents), mostly with one parent and sole custody. Current findings on the effects of living arrangements on adolescents are not consistent. For some authors, joint phy...

Introduction At young age, while the body is still in development, alcohol consumption can cause irreversible damages. In this study, we were interested in sociodemographic characteristics associated with alcohol consumption among young adolescents in French-speaking Belgium. Such characteristics were investigated separately in the Walloon Region (...

Excessive body weight among adult population has emerged as a major public health concern in both developed and developing countries. This study examined the effects of actual body weight and body image dissatisfaction on psychological distress among adults with excessive body weight. A cross sectional study was conducted using a convenient sample...

Background: In Western countries, many children are affected by the separation of their parents. The study's main objective was to analyse the parental behaviours potentially influential for preschool children's health by family structure (parents together or separated). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on data collected from...

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for allergen sensitisation among patients with chronic respiratory disease (CRD) in southern Viet Nam. Design: An environmental questionnaire and skin prick tests for airborne and food allergens were administered to patients with CRD, defined as individuals with respiratory symptoms and l...

To be used effectively, emergency obstetric and neonatal care must be available and accessible. This study sought to measure the accessibility of cesarean deliveries in Benin. Cross-sectional study of randomly selected women in each of the 12 obstetrics departments in Benin. Geographical accessibility was measured by estimating the distance between...

Background The impact of working conditions on the health and well-being of workers of large enterprises has been widely described. This influence has not been studied as extensively in very small and medium-sized enterprises mainly due to methodological difficulties. Smaller organisations nevertheless constitute a reality that needs to be better u...

Background The fight against onchocerciasis in Africa has boomed thanks to the Community Directed Treatment with Ivermectin (CDTI) program. However, in Cameroon, after more than 15 years of mass treatment, onchocerciasis prevalence is still above the non-transmission threshold. This study aimed to explore a possible association between people’s bel...

Database for KAP survey on onchocerciasis and CDTI programme in Bafang, Bafia and Yabassi health districts. (XLSX)

STROBE statement for the reporting of cross sectional studies. (DOC)

Objective: Despite the widespread awareness of the harms of smoking, millions continue to smoke around the world partly due to the difficulty it takes to quit smoking. Identifying the factors associated with making quit attempts is an essential pillar to reach successful quitting. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors associated with t...

Background: We aimed at examining quitting behaviors among Lebanese cigarette smokers in order to clarify characteristics of adults who were more likely to intend to quit smoking. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: This study was conducted between March 2014 and March 2015, involving 382 patients randomly chosen from 5 outpatient...

Introduction Au Sud du Vietnam, la prévalence et les facteurs de risque urbains et ruraux de sensibilisation allergénique chez des patients à symptomatologie respiratoire chronique sont peu connus. Méthodes Une population de 610 patients respiratoires chroniques (définis par la présence de symptômes et un déficit de la fonction pulmonaire) a été i...

Introduction Health warnings on tobacco packages have been considered an essential pillar in filling the gap of knowledge and communicating the health risks of tobacco use to consumers. Our primary objective was to report the perception of smokers on the textual health warnings already appearing on tobacco packages in Lebanon versus shocking pictur...

Introduction In spite of free caesarean section applied in Benin since 2009, high rates of stillborn babies continue to be recorded. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with post-caesarean stillborn in Benin. Methods Cross-sectional study that covered all women who have delivered by caesarean from December 2013 to February 2014 in...

Background In Western countries, about a quarter of children are affected by parental separation and a number of authors have previously investigated how familial structure impacts children’s health. The purpose of the work: to analyze the psychomotor development of children aged 28 to 32 months based on family structure (parents together or separa...

Introduction : Depuis 2009, le Bénin applique la gratuité de la césarienne pour en améliorer l’accessibilité financière. La présente étude visait à décrire la césarienne dans le contexte de gratuité au Bénin en 2013. Méthodes : Étude transversale descriptive qui a impliqué les femmes accouchées par césarienne, de décembre 2013 à février 2014 dans d...

Introduction: Since 2009, caesarean section is free in Benin in order to improve affordability. This study was designed to describe cesarean section in this context of free policy in Benin in 2013 Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study consisting of semistructured questionnaires with women and medical record analysis. The study was performed...

Introduction Les conditions de travail dans les micro et petites entreprises (moins de 50 personnes) et leur impact sur la santé et le bien-être des travailleurs sont peu étudiées, même si la littérature met en évidence certaines caractéristiques pouvant influencer des problématiques de santé au travail (déficience des ressources managériales liées...

Background: Despite being a well-documented phenomenon, gender differences in psychological health complaints in adolescence are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to test factors related to well-being as explanatory factors of gender differences in psychological complaints (feeling low, irritability or bad temper, nervousness, and s...

Studies investigating the association between body mass index (BMI) and psychological distress (PD) have shown contradictory results. The present study examined the relationship between BMI and PD among Lebanese university students and tested its moderation by gender. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a proportionate cluster sampling of u...

Studies investigating the association between body mass index (BMI) and psychological distress (PD) have shown contradictory results. The present study examined the relationship between BMI and PD among Lebanese university students and tested its moderation by gender. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a proportionate cluster sampling of u...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to develop a brief measure of psychological distress related to obesity, intended specifically for use among the Arab adult populations, and to test its psychometric properties. Methods: Items of the scale were identified through examination of relevant literature, discussions with obese adults, and expert pane...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of the first four years of implementation of a quality program called “Quality Contest” (QC). This program was implemented from 2007 onward to improve the quality of hospital services by the Moroccan Ministry of Health. The peculiarity of this intervention, held every 18 months, is that...

Although obesity has been widely recognized for its consequences on physical health, its psychological burden in the adult populations of the Middle East remains unclear. This meta-analysis synthesized data from observational studies to investigate the association between obesity and depression among adult populations in Middle Eastern countries. F...

Introduction : L’engagement au travail, concept émergent en psychologie positive au travail, facteur potentiel de performance, est peu connu dans les pays en développement. Dans le contexte de crise socio-économique des ressources humaines en santé, et avec le problème récurrent de la mauvaise qualité des données, cette étude vise à identifier les...

Objective To estimate the influence of well-being related factors (life satisfaction, self-confidence, helplessness and body image) on gender differences in psychological complaints (PC) (feeling low, irritability, nervousness and sleeping difficulties) over the life-course. MethOds 9th Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, conduct...

Introduction: Work engagement, an emerging concept in the field of positive psychology in the workplace is not well known in developing countries. Defined as a positive and and fulfilling mindset related to work, it recalls a positive attitude incentive of performance and need to be investigated. In the context of the socioeconomic crisis of healt...

Stress, suicide au travail, harcèlement, mal-être, épuisement professionnel… Les mots pour dire les maux du travail ont envahi le discours médiatique et politique, mais aussi la vie quotidienne des organisations publiques et privées. Pourtant, derrière chacun de ces mots d’allure parfois simple se cachent des partis pris théoriques qui gênent la bo...

Self-rated health is a frequently used measure, notably in the field of gerontology. Different authors have studied factors that can influence self-rated health among older persons and, according to studies, the factors taken into account and their influence vary. This article aims at synthesising the biomedical literature, published since 1993, on...

Background: Previous research has shown that job characteristics, private life and psychosocial factors partially account for gender difference in work absences because of sickness. Most studies have analysed these factors separately. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether these explanatory factors act as mediators when they are cons...

This article aims at describing, in a Belgian town, the frequency of the fear of falling and of subsequent activity restriction among non-institutionalised people aged 65 years and over, and at identifying persons affected by these two issues. Cross-sectional survey conducted in Fontaine l'Evêque (Belgium) in 2006, using a self-administered questio...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the first genetic disease in the world and remains largely ignored by the population but also by health professionals. SCD is characterized by a variable clinical expression, however most of the patients are at risk to develop acute and severe complications conducting to a fatal issue. This study develops a qualitative...

To evaluate (1) whether the physical and mental health of male workers differs from that of female workers, and, if so, whether (2) this is affected by the interplay between work and nonwork burden. We pooled two large Belgian databases (BELSTRESS III, SOMSTRESS) comprising data on 4810 (2847 women). Gender-specific logistic regressions were perfor...

The two-month mass media campaign in Belgium on drug and alcohol consumption "Alcohol and other drugs. The facts and fictions" initiated in January 2008 has been evaluated shortly after by a phone survey. This article reports some indicators on the public awareness of the campaign, and the differences in the perception according to age groups and e...

Objectives: To use comparable data from many countries to examine 1) socio-economic inequality in multiple health complaints among adolescents, 2) whether the countries' absolute wealth and economic inequality was associated with symptom load among adolescents, and 3) whether the countries' absolute wealth and economic inequality explained part of...