Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Commonhealth: Mass. A National Leader In Overdose Prevention, Leo Beletsky, Alexander Walley

Leo Beletsky

In this interview on Radio Boston, Leo Beletsky and Alexander Walley discuss their viewpoint piece, “Prevention of Fatal Opioid Overdose,” which appeared in the Nov. 14, 2012 issue of the Journal of the Medical American Association.

A Profile Of Nonurgent Emergency Department Use In An Urban Pediatric Hospital, Katrina Kubicek, Deborah Liu, Christy Beaudin, Jocelyn Supan, George Weiss, Yang Lu, Michele Kipke

Yang Lu

Objectives: This study was designed to develop a descriptive profile of parents and caregivers who bring their children to the emergency department (ED) for nonurgent issues and to explore the reasons for presenting to an urban hospital pediatric ED for nonurgent conditions. Such work is necessary to develop effective interventions.

Methods: A total of 106 parents/caregivers whose child was triaged with a nonemergent/urgent condition completed a 15- to 20-minute computerized survey (English and Spanish) in an urban pediatric ED.

Results: Most respondents described themselves as Latino (76%) and foreign born (62%). About one half (49%) reported having an annual income …

De”Myth”Ifying Mental Health – Findings From A Community University Research Alliance (Cura), Rick Csiernik, Cheryl Forchuk, Mark Speechley, Catherine Ward-Griffin

Rick Csiernik

Many myths exist regarding mental illness and those with mental health issues. Under the auspices of a Community-University Research Alliance on Housing and Mental Health, a partnership between academics, community health and social service agencies and representatives of consumer-survivor groups, fourteen consumer-survivor and eight family member focus groups were held throughout Southwestern Ontario. Individual interviews were also conducted with 150 male and 150 female community-based mental health system consumer-survivors living in a variety of housing environments in London, Ontario. The findings dispute beliefs around four myths: that people with mental health problems are a homogenous population, which was highlighted by …

Rethinking Notions Of Diversity In The Context Of Homelessness, Rick Csiernik, Carolyne Gorlick, Helene Berman, Cheryl Forchuk, Susan Ray, Elsabeth Jensen, Libbey Joplin

Rick Csiernik

No abstract provided.

Verbal Autopsy Tool For Infant Mortality, Vijay Kumar Chattu

Vijay Kumar Chattu

Information on causes of death is extremely important for policy-making, planning, monitoring and evaluation of health programs as well as for field research, comparisons and epidemic awareness.The Millennium Development Goal for India is to reduce infant mortality rate to 35 per 1000 & under-five mortality to 45 per 1000 live births by 2015.The incorporation of Verbal Autopsy (VA) in the existing Registration Systems is necessary in order to fulfil its ultimate goal of improving the information on causes of infant deaths in areas where Civil Registration and Death Certification are weak. VA provides information for local action by health authorities …

Low-Income Women Speak Out About Housing, Joan Rollins, Renee Saris, Ingrid Johnston-Robledo

Joan H Rollins

This review of the social science literature examines correlates of homelessness. The review is supplemented by the voices of 12 low-income women who are temporarily housed or living in public housing. Homelessness for women is associated with teen pregnancy and parenting, domestic violence, working at minimum-wage jobs, and waiting lists of several years for subsidized housing. We conclude with a summary of women_s experiences accessing government housing programs. Public policy recommendations regarding housing programs are made. Government housing programs are briefly described in an Appendix to the article.