Objective: This study explores the mental well-being of pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Methods: We collected 1777 responses from pregnant women through an online survey. Using the Japanese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), we calculated the percentage of pregnant women above the cut-off (≥ 13), and the factor scores of anhedonia, anxiety, and depression. Regression analyses were performed to identify factors and socio-economic characteristics correlated with depressive symptoms. Results: The point prevalence of pregnant women with an EPDS score of ≥13 was 17%. The mean scores were 0.73, 3.68, and 1.82 for anhedonia, anxiety, and depression, respectively. The probability of becoming above the cutoff score positively correlated with the cancellation of planned informal support, higher perceived risk for infection of COVID-19, difficulties in household finances, and lack of social support. Moreover, being younger, less wealthy, unemployed, and without a partner showed a significantly higher possibility of having a score above the cutoff. Conclusions: The present study found a high percentage of pregnant women with depressive symptoms. Notably, COVID-19 related variables including perceived risk for the infection, fear of decreasing economic wealth, and social support were significantly associated with depressive symptoms.

During crisis, trust has been found to have a buffering effect in the prevention of the deterioration of mental well-being, as trust is considered to reflect the individual's capability to gain social resources including both formal and informal support. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, political trust has been found to reduce anxiety. Taking these findings into account, this study explores the association of generalised and political trust with mental well-being on current postpartum women who were particularly at risk due to a decline in social support leaving them an increased burden of caring newborns during the pandemic. We conducted a crosssectional survey in October 2020 in Japan (n=558). Depressive symptoms (above the cutoff of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)) and Fear of Coronavirus-19 Scale (FCV–19S) scores were used as mental well-being indicators. Generalised and political trust were captured by binary variables. Results of regression analyses, in which covariates were fully adjusted, showed that higher generalised trust had a statistically significant association with lower possibility of depressive symptoms and a lower FCV-19S score, while political trust was not significantly associated with either indicator. For further understanding, we divided respondents into two groups; women living in cities where higher COVID-19 cases were reported and women living in areas with lower COVID-19 cases, to test whether the role of trust differs depending on the infection spread status. It was found that a higher generalised trust was significantly associated with a lower probability of having depressive symptoms in the areas with lower COVID-19 cases. However, statistical significance was not observed in the areas with high COVID-19 cases. This highlighted that even postpartum women who were normally capable of receiving formal and informal social support need to be taken care of in the current situation.

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This paper empirically examines how and what facets of social capital relate to one's subjective well-being in Japan by using data from the Japan General Survey 2010. It further scrutinises whether the relationship between well-being and volunteering changes throughout one's life course. The result reveals that social capital overall positively correlates with subjective well-being. It further suggests that trust and volunteering have a positive relation to one's subjective well-being, whereas membership did not. It also became apparent that volunteering is associated with one's subjective well-being differently depending on one's life stage measured by age category such that volunteers in their 1950s are less happy than volunteers in their 1960s. The results of analysis therefore suggest that the relationship between volunteering and well-being is not straightforward, and that this issue requires even further investigation.Résumé Cet article empirique étudie les aspects du capital social liés au bien-être subjectif de la population au Japon, et comment, en utilisant des données de l'enquête générale du Japon de 2010. Il examine également si le lien entre le bien-être et le bénévolat est modifié au cours de la vie. Les résultats révèlent qu'il existe en général une corrélation positive entre le capital social et le bien-être subjectif. Ils suggèrent, en outre, que la confiance et le bénévolat ont un lien positif avec le bienêtre subjectif, alors que le fait d'être membre n'en a pas. Il ressort également que le volontariat est associé au bien-être subjectif différemment en fonction du stade de la vie mesurée par catégorie d'âge, si bien que les bénévoles âgés de la cinquantaine sont moins heureux que les bénévoles dans la soixantaine. Les résultats de l'analyse & Midori Matsushima suggèrent donc que la relation entre le bénévolat et le bien-être n'est pas simple et que cette question nécessite d'autres recherches.Zusammenfassung In diesem Beitrag wird anhand von Daten aus der 2010 in Japan durchgeführten allgemeinen Bevölkerungsumfrage eine empirische Untersuchung vorgenommen, um zu sehen, wie und welche Facetten des sozialen Kapitals in Verbindung mit dem subjektiven Wohlbefinden von Menschen in Japan stehen. Darüber hinaus wird geprüft, ob sich die Beziehung zwischen dem Wohlbefinden und einer ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeit im Verlauf des Lebens ändert. Das Ergebnis zeigt, dass das soziale Kapital insgesamt in einer positiven Wechselbeziehung zum subjektiven Wohlbefinden steht. Es weist ferner darauf hin, dass Vertrauen und eine ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit in einem positiven Verhältnis zum subjektiven Wohlbefinden einer Person stehen, während eine Mitgliedschaft dies nicht tat. Es war zudem zu erkennen, dass sich eine ehrenamtliche Tätigkeit je nach Lebensabschnitt in Abhängigkeit vom Alter unterschiedlich auf das subjektive Wohlbefinden einer Person auswirkt, nämlich dass Ehrenamtliche, die um die fünfzig Jahre alt sind, nicht so glücklich sind wie Ehrenamtliche um die sechzig Jahre. Die Ergebnisse der Analyse lassen som...

Vietnam is one of the leading countries moving towards universal health coverage (UHC) among developing and emerging countries. This paper examines how utilisation and the supply side have responded to the expansion of health insurance coverage. In the analysis, we use provincial panel data of 2006 to 2012 for every two years, which is constructed from several data sources. The results show that the utilisation has only slightly responded to the expansion of health insurance coverage, and nearly no positive supply-side response has been observed during the expansion. Also, the results of detailed analysis of health workers imply that there has been an unbalanced allocation of health workers between provincial hospitals and commune health stations despite the importance of commune health stations in providing primary healthcare. Our further analysis also reveals that the out-of-pocket (OOP) burden has not decreased and the affordability of healthcare services has not changed in response to health insurance coverage. Based on our findings, we argue that supply-side factors might have constrained utilisation, and that health insurance has hardly eased liquidity constraints. AbstractVietnam is one of the leading countries moving towards universal health coverage (UHC) among developing and emerging countries. This paper examines how utilisation and the supply side have responded to the expansion of health insurance coverage. In the analysis, we use provincial panel data of 2006 to 2012 for every two years, which is constructed from several data sources. The results show that the utilisation has only slightly responded to the expansion of health insurance coverage, and nearly no positive supply-side response has been observed during the expansion. Also, the results of detailed analysis of health workers imply that there has been an unbalanced allocation of health workers between provincial hospitals and commune health stations despite the importance of commune health stations in providing primary healthcare. Our further analysis also reveals that the out-of-pocket (OOP) burden has not decreased and the affordability of healthcare services has not changed in response to health insurance coverage. Based on our findings, we argue that supply-side factors might have constrained utilisation, and that health insurance has hardly eased liquidity constraints.