ArticleInternational journal for equity in health2025
Health terminators in working children: a critical ethnography.
Article in International journal for equity in health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMultiple factors influence the health of working children, including cultural, behavioral, and environmental determinants. Identifying and understanding these factors is essential for developing effective interventions. This study aimed to identify and critically analyze the factors-termed "health terminators"-that undermine the physical and mental health of working children, considering cultural, behavioral, and environmental influences.
methodsThis study is the second part of a larger ethnographic research conducted in Tehran, employing a qualitative critical ethnographic design over four years. Data collection included prolonged participant observation in workplaces, homes, and schools, semi-structured interviews with children aged 10-18 and key informants, informal conversations, and analysis of documents and children's drawings. Data were coded and analyzed following Carspecken's framework, with triangulation, member checking, and peer debriefing used to ensure trustworthiness.
resultsAnalysis generated 3,057 low-level codes, with approximately one thousand assigned to the main theme "health terminators," comprising five intermediate categories: cultural beliefs, self-harming behaviors, living in unhealthy environments, forgotten children, and social abandonment and vulnerability. Key issues identified included superstition, risky behaviors, neglect of preventive health measures, unsafe housing, educational and emotional neglect, and restricted access to health services.
conclusionsWorking children face multifaceted health risks driven by cultural, behavioral, and structural factors. Comprehensive, equity-oriented policies addressing physical needs, cultural beliefs, health behaviors, and environmental conditions are essential. Interventions such as culturally sensitive health education, improved living conditions, health insurance coverage, and social support can reduce vulnerability and promote equitable health outcomes, contributing to health justice for marginalized children.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.