Addressing Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in Human Services by
The issue of racial disproportionality in the child welfare system, particularly as it impacts African American children and families, has long been a concern to practitioners and policymakers. However, disproportionality is not limited to the African American community. Latino, Native American, Asian American, and Pacific Islander populations experience inequities in treatment. From leading voices on culturally-competent care comes a cutting-edge book that examines disproportionalities across all of these racial and ethnic groups. Eliminating Racial Disproportionality and Disparities examines a wide range of systems that often affect and interact with child welfare. Chapters are devoted to the juvenile justice system, mental health, the courts, education, and healthcare, making it the only book to offer a multisystemic approach to disparities and disproportionality. Filled with in-depth case studies, key terms, study questions, and resources, and written to reflect CSWE-mandated competencies, this expansive book gives students, educators, policymakers, practitioners, and administrators new knowledge for providing culturally competent services while simultaneously addressing disproportionality across various systems of care.
Black Mental Health: Patients, Providers, and Systems by
Novel in its approach and unique in its scope, Black Mental Health: Patients, Providers, and Systems examines the role of African Americans within American psychiatric health care from distinct but interconnected perspectives. The experiences of both black patients and the black mental health professionals who serve them are analyzed against the backdrop of the cultural, societal, and professional forces that have shaped their place in this specialized health care arena. The volume opens with the singular, first-person accounts of five senior black psychiatrists -- including Dr. Altha J. Stewart, president of the American Psychiatric Association -- who describe their individual journeys to the top of their field, not shying away from discussing the racism and discrimination that have challenged their paths to leadership. The book's second part focuses on the complexities of and opportunities for delivering mental health care to various subsets of the African American population, including children, women, elderly patients, and LGBTQ individuals. System design strategies, biological therapies, and church-based mental health promotion initiatives are all considered as methods for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in access to effective treatment. Part III examines the training of black mental health professionals and their representation in psychiatry, particularly in the face of discrimination and implicit bias. A chapter on historically black colleges and universities discusses the importance of their role in the delivery of psychiatric services and research development for African Americans. The fourth part builds on this discussion, addressing research that is relevant to the care of the black population. A concluding chapter highlights the key themes that emerged from each of the previous four parts, providing a holistic view of the place of black patients and providers in American psychiatry. With its blend of scholarship, clinical insight, and training analysis, Black Mental Health is compulsory reading both for trainees -- as care delivery to minority groups is of ever greater importance -- and practicing clinicians, who will glean useful information from the chapters on research advances and treatment modalities. Additionally, policy makers, educators, and historians, among others, will gain a better understanding of the challenges and necessity of developing integrated approaches to the care of nondominant groups.
Bridging the Gap: how community health workers promote the health of immigrants by
Immigrants living in US cities face myriad obstacles to accessing quality health care. This inequitable access to care is compounded by the risk of chronic disease accompanying the stress, strain, and lifestyle changes that can come with life in a new country.Bridging the Gap details the role, lessons, and effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) in bringing health care to underserved immigrant communities. Combining education, advocacy, and local cultural acumen, CHWs have proven successful in the United States and abroad, improving communityhealth and establishing an evidence base for how CHW programs can work for immigrants.Based on a decade of in-depth evaluations from several immigrant health programs in New York City with complementary interviews with dozens of immigrants and CHWs, Bridging the Gap offers insights into how CHWs help immigrants overcome the obstacles to health care. The authors carefully distillfirst-hand lessons into recommendations for best practices in developing and utilizing effective CHW programs - insights that will be immediately useful to any community group, municipal agency, or health care organization.Bridging the Gap provides a workable antidote to the seemingly intractable problems faced by cities everywhere in the pursuit of maintaining and maximizing immigrant health. It is a hugely valuable entry in burgeoning field that will be central to the next century of urban public health.
Climate Change and the People's Health by
Climate change and social inequity are both sprawling, insidious forces that threaten populations around the world. It's time we start talking about them together. Climate Change and the People's Health offers a brave and ambitious new framework for understanding how our planet's two greatest existential threats comingle, complement, and amplify one another -- and what can be done to mitigate future harm.
Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity by
Free PDF download available on linked site
Disability As Diversity: Developing Cultural Competence by
Disability as Diversity: Developing Cultural Competence reveals why disability is a cultural experience, rather than merely a medical status. Conceptual models of disability have evolved into a complex biopsychosocial phenomenon that disability service providers must understand to fully appreciate the intricacy of the lives of the people they serve. In this volume, Andrews sets the stage with the must-know history of disability rights and the social and cultural evolution of disabled people in the United States. She presents important concepts about attitudes toward disability and the impact of ableism. Andrews illustrates that not only are negative attitudes harmful, but that overly positive stereotypes can have an equally detrimental effect on disabled people. The reader will learn about disability microaggressions and how attempts to improve disability awareness can be misguided. Andrews argues that there is a distinct disability culture, and introduces the reader to its characteristics and features. She explores the concept of disability identity development, and how some people with disabilities identify readily as disabled and embrace the disability community, while others do not view themselves as disabled even though they meet commonly accepted criteria for disability. Andrews delves into the intricacies and controversies of disability language, including person-first and identity-first language. The reader will gain enhanced knowledge and skills to provide culturally competent care to individuals, as well as methods to enrich cultural humility at the organizational level. Andrews offers readers a guide to disability-related considerations for psychological testing and assessment and the role of universal design. Readers will learn about specific considerations for intervention with children and adults with disabilities, including how to tailor intervention approaches, clinician attitudes, and the use of evidence based treatments. Researchers will find a thorough exploration of the challenges inherent in disability research, the importance of full consumer inclusion, and future directions to reduce health disparities based on disability. This book offers practical suggestions for clinicians and researchers who work with people with disabilities in order to be culturally effective in all aspects of assessment, intervention, and scientific inquiry.
Dying at the Margins; Reflections on Justice and Healing for the Inner-City Poor by
Dying at the Margins: Reflections on Justice and Healing for Inner-City Poor gives voice to the most vulnerable and disempowered population-the urban dying poor- and connects them to the voices of leaders in end-of-life-care. Chapters written by these experts in the field discuss the issues that challenge patients and their loved ones, as well as offering insights into how to improve the quality of their lives. In an illuminating and timely follow up to Dancing with Broken Bones, all discussions revolve around the actual experiences of the patients previously documented, encouraging a greater understanding about the needs of the dying poor, advocating for them, and developing best practices in caring. Demystifying stereotypes that surround poverty, Moller illuminates how faith, remarkable optimism, and an unassailable spirit provide strength and courage to the dying poor.Dying at the Margins serves as a rallying call for not only end-of-life professionals, but compassionate individuals everywhere, to understand and respond to the needs of the especially vulnerable, yet inspiring, people who comprise the world of the inner city dying poor.
Epidemiological Criminology: Theory to Practice by
Epidemiological criminology is an emerging paradigm which explores the public health outcomes associated with engagement in crime and criminal justice. This book engages with this new theory and practice-based discipline drawing on knowledge from criminology, criminal justice, public health, epidemiology, public policy, and law to illustrate how the merging of epidemiology into the field of criminology allows for the work of both disciplines to be more interdisciplinary, evidence-based, enriched and expansive. This book brings together an innovative group of exemplary researchers and practitioners to discuss applications and provide examples of epidemiological criminology. It is divided into three sections; the first explores the integration of epidemiology and criminology through theory and methods, the second section focuses on special populations in epidemiological criminology research and the role of race, ethnicity, age, gender and space as it plays out in health outcomes among offenders and victims of crime, and the final section explores the role policy and practice plays in worsening and improving the health outcomes among those engaged in the criminal justice system. Epidemiological Criminology is the first text to bring together, in one source, the existing interdisciplinary work of academics and professionals that merge the fields of criminology and criminal justice to public health and epidemiology. It will be of interest to academics and students in the fields of criminology, epidemiology, and public health, as well as clinical psychologists, law and government policy analysts and those working within the criminal justice system.
Health Inequalities and People with Intellectual Disabilities by
People with intellectual disabilities die at a younger age and have poorer health than their non-disabled peers. This is largely avoidable and is unjust. This book uses concepts from contemporary public health to provide a comprehensive evidence-based overview of: the nature and extent of the health inequalities experienced by people with intellectual disabilities; why these inequalities occur and persist; and what can and needs to be done to address these inequalities. The authors have a wealth of firsthand experience gained from years of working at the interface between disability research and public health. This experience is collected and shared in this volume, which will be an invaluable resource for practitioners, advocates, policymakers and researchers concerned with health and social care and the wellbeing of disabled people.
LGBTQ Health Research: Theory, Methods, Practice by
The first book focused entirely on the growing field of LGBTQ health research, this volume provides the necessary public health tools to teach about and study LGBTQ populations effectively. Over the last 30 years, the health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans have become increasingly recognized, in particular for the ways in which they are distinct from those typically assessed and addressed in society. Universities and researchers are paying greater attention to LGBTQ public health issues and how they might adapt existing methods to research marginalized communities, but--until now--there has been no authoritative resource to guide their education or practice. Developed for graduate students in public health and health sciences--but perfect for anyone interested in this topic--this book will fill that gap and provide the necessary public health tools to teach about and study LGBTQ populations effectively. Divided into three sections and edited by top scholars, LGBTQ Health Research explains research methods important to descriptive epidemiology that are needed to document health disparities among LGBTQ populations. The book also examines research methods that help explain the driving forces of these disparities. Focusing on real-world experience in developing and testing interventions to mitigate health disparities in LGBTQ populations, it also breaks down issues that challenge the direct application of standard research methods with these communities, including those related to sampling, measurement, choice of theoretical variables to explain the distribution of health and illness, cultural competence in intervention design, and community participation. Promoting the creation and diffusion of effective interventions, the book takes a holistic approach to address longstanding research gaps regarding important marginalized communities. It also documents profound health disparities in many LBGTQ populations across a wide range of health conditions and explains why future development of the field must be based on inclusive science and rigorous research methods. LGBTQ Health Research is an essential textbook for any courses that deal with the intersection of marginalization, health, sexuality, and gender. Contributors: José A. Bauermeister, Chris Beyrer, Kerith Conron, Brian Dodge, Rita Dwan, Stephen L. Forssell, Peter Gamache, Gary W. Harper, Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Colleen Hoff, Carl Latkin, Ilan H. Meyer, Robin Lin Miller, Angulique Y. Outlaw, Christopher Owens, Tonia Poteat, Erin Riley, Joshua Rosenberger, Ayden I. Scheim, Shauna Stahlman, Randall Sell, Ron Stall, Rob Stephenson, Rachel Strecher, Ryan C. Tingler, Karin E. Tobin, Ronald O. Valdiserri, and Richard J. Wolitski
Mapping Race: Critical Approaches to Health Disparities Research by
Researchers commonly ask subjects to self-identify their race from a menu of preestablished options. Yet if race is a multidimensional, multilevel social construction, this has profound methodological implications for the sciences and social sciences. Race must inform how we design large-scale data collection and how scientists utilize race in the context of specific research questions. This landmark collection argues for the recognition of those implications for research and suggests ways in which they may be integrated into future scientific endeavors. It concludes on a prescriptive note, providing an arsenal of multidisciplinary, conceptual, and methodological tools for studying race specifically within the context of health inequalities. Contributors: John A. Garcia, Arline T. Geronimus, Laura E. Gómez, Joseph L. Graves Jr., Janet E. Helms, Derek Kenji Iwamoto, Jonathan Kahn, Jay S. Kaufman, Mai M. Kindaichi, Simon J. Craddock Lee, Nancy López, Ethan H. Mereish, Matthew Miller, Gabriel R. Sanchez, Aliya Saperstein, R. Burciaga Valdez, Vicki D. Ybarra
Medicating Race: Heart Disease and Durable Preoccupations with Difference by 
Pathogenic Policing: Immigration Enforcement and Health in the U.S. South by
The relationship between undocumented immigrants and law enforcement officials continues to be a politically contentious topic in the United States. Nolan Kline focuses on the hidden, health-related impacts of immigrant policing to examine the role of policy in shaping health inequality in the U.S., and responds to fundamental questions regarding biopolitics, especially how policy can reinforce 'race' as a vehicle of social division. He argues that immigration enforcement policy results in a shadow medical system, shapes immigrants' health and interpersonal relationships, and has health-related impacts that extend beyond immigrants to affect health providers, immigrant rights groups, hospitals, and the overall health system. Pathogenic Policing follows current immigrant policing regimes in Georgia and contextualizes contemporary legislation and law enforcement practices against a backdrop of historical forms of political exclusion from health and social services for all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. For anyone concerned about the health of the most vulnerable among us, and those who interact with the overall health safety net, this will be an eye-opening read.
Population Health in America by
In this engaging and accessibly written book, Population Health in America weaves demographic data with social theory and research to help students understand health patterns and trends in the U.S. population. While life expectancy was estimated to be just 37 years in the United States in 1870, today it is more than twice as long, at over 78 years. Yet today, life expectancy in the U.S. lags behind almost all other wealthy countries. Within the U.S., there are substantial social inequalities in health and mortality: women live longer but less healthier lives than men; African Americans and Native Americans live far shorter lives than Asian Americans and White Americans; and socioeconomic inequalities in health have been widening over the past 20 years. What accounts for these population health patterns and trends? Inviting students to delve into population health trends and disparities, demographers Robert Hummer and Erin Hamilton provide an easily understandable historical and contemporary portrait of U.S. population health. Perfect for courses such as population health, medical or health sociology, social epidemiology, health disparities, demography, and others, as well as for academic researchers and lay persons interested in better understanding the overall health of the country, Population Health in America also challenges students, academics, and the public to understand current health policy priorities and to ask whether considerably different directions are needed.
The Racial Divide in American Medicine: Black Physicians and the Struggle for Justice in Health Care by
Contributions by Richard D. deShazo, John Dittmer, Keydron K. Guinn, Lucius M. Lampton, Wilson F. Minor, Rosemary Moak, Sara B. Parker, Wayne J. Riley, Leigh Baldwin Skipworth, Robert Smith, and William F. Winter The Racial Divide in American Medicine documents the struggle for equity in health and health care by African Americans in Mississippi and the United States and the connections between what happened there and the national search for social justice in health care. Dr. Richard D. deShazo and the contributors to the volume trace the dark journey from a system of slave hospitals in the state, through Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the civil rights era, to the present day. They substantiate that current health disparities are directly linked to America's history of separation, neglect, struggle, and disparities. Contributors reveal details of individual physicians' journeys for recognition both as African Americans and as professionals in Mississippi. Despite discrimination by their white colleagues and threats of violence, a small but fearless group of African American physicians fought for desegregation of American medicine and society. For example, T. R. M. Howard, MD, in the all-black city of Mound Bayou led a private investigation of the Emmett Till murder that helped trigger the civil rights movement. Later, other black physicians risked their lives and practices to provide care for white civil rights workers during the civil rights movement. DeShazo has assembled an accurate account of the lives and experiences of black physicians in Mississippi, one that gives full credit to the actions of these pioneers. DeShazo's introduction and the essays address ongoing isolation and distrust among black and white colleagues. This book will stimulate dialogue, apology, and reconciliation, with the ultimate goal of improving disparities in health and health care and addressing long-standing injustices in our country.
Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Health Care for Native American Women by
In Reproductive Justice, sociologist Barbara Gurr provides the first analysis of Native American women's reproductive healthcare and offers a sustained consideration of the movement for reproductive justice in the United States. The book examines the reproductive healthcare experiences on Pine Ridge Reservation, home of the Oglala Lakota Nation in South Dakota--where Gurr herself lived for more than a year. Gurr paints an insightful portrait of the Indian Health Service (IHS)--the federal agency tasked with providing culturally appropriate, adequate healthcare to Native Americans--shedding much-needed light on Native American women's efforts to obtain prenatal care, access to contraception, abortion services, and access to care after sexual assault. Reproductive Justice goes beyond this local story to look more broadly at how race, gender, sex, sexuality, class, and nation inform the ways in which the government understands reproductive healthcare and organizes the delivery of this care. It reveals why the basic experience of reproductive healthcare for most Americans is so different--and better--than for Native American women in general, and women in reservation communities particularly. Finally, Gurr outlines the strengths that these communities can bring to the creation of their own reproductive justice, and considers the role of IHS in fostering these strengths as it moves forward in partnership with Native nations.nbsp; Reproductive Justice offers a respectful and informed analysis of the stories Native American women have to tell about their bodies, their lives, and their communities.
Rural Populations and Health: Determinants, Disparities, and Solutions by 
Social Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health: Sharing Disparities by
A data-driven analysis of how different people share information about health through social media. Using social media and peer-to-peer networks to teach people about science and health may seem like an obvious strategy. Yet recent research suggests that systematic reliance on social networks may be a recipe for inequity. People are not consistently inclined to share information with others around them, and many people are constrained by factors outside of their immediate control. Ironically, the highly social nature of humankind complicates the extent to which we can live in a society united solely by electronic media. Stretching well beyond social media, this book documents disparate tendencies in the ways people learn and share information about health and science. By reviewing a wide array of existing research--ranging from a survey of New Orleans residents in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina to analysis of Twitter posts related to H1N1 to a physician-led communication campaign explaining the benefits of vaginal birth--Brian G. Southwell explains why some types of information are more likely to be shared than others and how some people never get exposed to seemingly widely available information. This book will appeal to social science students and citizens interested in the role of social networks in information diffusion and yet it also serves as a cautionary tale for communication practitioners and policymakers interested in leveraging social ties as an inexpensive method to spread information.
Subprime Health: Debt and Race in U.S. Medicine by
From race-based pharmaceutical prescriptions and marketing, to race-targeted medical "hot spotting" and the Affordable Care Act, to stem-cell trial recruitment discourse, Subprime Health is a timely examination of race-based medicine as it intersects with the concept of debt. The contributors to this volume propose that race-based medicine is inextricable from debt in two key senses. They first demonstrate how the financial costs related to race-based medicine disproportionately burden minorities, as well as how monetary debt and race are conditioned by broader relations of power. Second, the contributors investigate how race-based medicine is related to the concept of indebtedness and is often positioned as a way to pay back the debt that the medical establishment--and society at large--owes for the past and present neglect and abuses of many communities of color. By approaching the subject of race-based medicine from an interdisciplinary perspective--critical race studies, science and technology studies, public health, sociology, geography, and law--this volume moves the discussion beyond narrow and familiar debates over racial genomics and suggests fruitful new directions for future research. Contributors: Ruha Benjamin, Princeton U; Catherine Bliss, U of California, San Francisco; Khiara M. Bridges, Boston U; Shiloh Krupar, Georgetown U; Jenna M. Loyd, U of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Anne Pollock, Georgia Tech.
Urban Health: Combating Disparities with Local Data by
The 1980s opened a discussion of the varying nature of health in different segments of the United States. Falling under the rubric of "health disparities," a great deal of research has been published demonstrating the substantial differences in health status within a population. The causes of health disparities are varied and not always clear but most researchers agree that disparities are a reflection of social and economic inequities and political injustice. One of the obstacles to addressing disparities is the lack of meaningful health data especially for vulnerable populations, which is often nonexistent despite being a critical factor for informing health programs and policies at the local level. This book provides a model for combating health disparities by describing how the authors gathered local health information, engaged the community at every step of the process, and created movement toward evidence-based sustainable change. This book describes how a landmark health survey in Chicago generated dramatic data that are allowing investigators throughout the city to move from data to action and from observation to intervention. In providing a detailed description of how the community-focused collection and analysis of health data can serve as an impetus for improved well-being, Urban Health is an invaluable resource for researchers, community groups, students and professionals.
