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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Ethnic Comparisons In Perceptions Of Health, Happiness, Hope, And Related Social Determinants Of Health In A Majority-Minority Midwestern Town, Virginia Chaidez, Yumou Qiu, Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, Julie A. Tippens, Gilbert R. Parra, Patrick Habecker, Kimberly Gocchi Carrasco, Jordan Soliz, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Kirk Dombrowski Jan 2021

Ethnic Comparisons In Perceptions Of Health, Happiness, Hope, And Related Social Determinants Of Health In A Majority-Minority Midwestern Town, Virginia Chaidez, Yumou Qiu, Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, Julie A. Tippens, Gilbert R. Parra, Patrick Habecker, Kimberly Gocchi Carrasco, Jordan Soliz, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Kirk Dombrowski

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

In a rural Midwestern community sample (n=273), large proportions of Somalis and Whites ranked overall health as "Very good" (57% and 50%, respectively), while Hispanics (42%) considered it "Good". Across all groups, most are either "Happy" or "Very happy" with their jobs—64%, 91%, 83%—or their families—85%, 93%, 91.6%— with reference to Hispanics, Somalis, and Whites, respectively. When asked “In the past 30 days, how often did you feel hopeless?”, 83% of Somalis and two-thirds (67%) of Whites responded, "None of the time", while half (50%) of Hispanics indicated the same. Overall, Hispanics appeared to be less …


Addressing The Needs Of African American Grandparents: An Intersectionality Perspective, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Kendra Jason Jan 2021

Addressing The Needs Of African American Grandparents: An Intersectionality Perspective, Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Kendra Jason

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study seeks to demonstrate the intersecting structural and compounding challenges African American custodial grandparents experience collectively, rather than as separate non-competing factors, which has been modeled in prior studies. Using a mixed-method research design, the study explored the challenges faced by African American and white custodial grandparents. These challenges included difficulties attaining different types of support, respite care, and programs for teens and special needs grandchildren. Results showed that caregiving challenges among African Americans were more pervasive than their White counterparts. These findings have significant implications for the development of intervention programs for custodial African American grandmothers and their …


Multiplicative Advantages Of Hispanic Men Living In Hispanic Enclaves: Intersectionality In Colon Cancer Care, Keren M. Escobar, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin M. Gorey Jan 2019

Multiplicative Advantages Of Hispanic Men Living In Hispanic Enclaves: Intersectionality In Colon Cancer Care, Keren M. Escobar, Mollie Sivaram, Kevin M. Gorey

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

We examined Hispanic enclave paradoxical effects on cancer care among socioeconomically vulnerable people in pre-Obamacare California. We conducted a secondary analysis of a historical cohort of 511 Hispanic and 1,753 non-Hispanic white people with colon cancer. Hispanic enclaves were neighborhoods where 40% or more of the residents were Hispanic, mostly first-generation Mexican American immigrants. An interaction of ethnicity, gender and Hispanic enclave status was observed such that the protective effects of living in a Hispanic enclave were larger for Hispanic men, particularly married Hispanic men, than women. Risks were also exposed among other study groups: the poor, the inadequately insured, …


The Association Between Neighborhood Factors And Mexican Americans’ Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Kai Wei, Jaime Booth Jan 2017

The Association Between Neighborhood Factors And Mexican Americans’ Mental Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review, Kai Wei, Jaime Booth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This systematic review seeks to elucidate the association between neighborhood factors and Mexican American mental health outcomes. We searched PsycINFO and Academic Search Premier for studies related to neighborhood factors and mental health. Google Scholar was used to identify additional studies, followed by a manual inspection of the related work. Eleven studies were identified. Nine studies found that neighborhood factors had a significant impact on mental health among this group. Neighborhood compositional factors influenced mental health directly, among which minority concentration was found to be protective for Mexican American mental health. Neighborhood contextual factors influenced mental health directly and indirectly …


When ‘Places’ Include Pets: Broadening The Scope Of Relational Approaches To Promoting Aging-In-Place, Ann M. Toohey, Jennifer A. Hewson, Cindy L. Adams, Melanie J. Rock Jan 2017

When ‘Places’ Include Pets: Broadening The Scope Of Relational Approaches To Promoting Aging-In-Place, Ann M. Toohey, Jennifer A. Hewson, Cindy L. Adams, Melanie J. Rock

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Aging-in-place is a well-established concept, but discussions rarely consider that many older adults live with pets. In a ‘pet-friendly’ city, we conducted semi-structured interviews to explore perspectives of community-based social support agencies that promote aging-in-place, and those of animal welfare agencies. Applying a relational ecology theoretical framework, we found that pets may contribute to feeling socially- situated, yet may also exacerbate constraints on autonomy experienced by some older adults. Pet-related considerations at times led to discretionary acts of more-than-human solidarity, but also created paradoxical situations for service-providers, impacting their efforts to assist older adults. A shortage of pet-friendly affordable housing …


Perceived Neighborhood Safety And Psychological Distress: Exploring Protective Factors, Jaime Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia Dec 2012

Perceived Neighborhood Safety And Psychological Distress: Exploring Protective Factors, Jaime Booth, Stephanie L. Ayers, Flavio F. Marsiglia

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

While a growing body of literature has established a relationship between "disordered" neighborhoods and psychological distress, less is known about the specific mechanisms at work. Using data collected in the 2008 Arizona Health Survey (N = 4,196), hierarchal linear regression was conducted to assess both the independent effect of perception of neighborhood safety on psychological distress, as well as the mediating effects of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust. The findings suggest that the more safe individuals feel in their neighborhood, the less psychological distress they experience (b = 1.07, SE = .17, p < .001). This relationship appears to be partially mediated by feelings of powerlessness, social isolation and mistrust, indicating potential risk and protective factors.


Emergency Room Use By Undocumented Mexican Immigrants, Ayse Akincigil, Raymond Sanchez Mayers, Fontaine H. Fulghum Dec 2011

Emergency Room Use By Undocumented Mexican Immigrants, Ayse Akincigil, Raymond Sanchez Mayers, Fontaine H. Fulghum

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examined emergency room use by undocumented Mexican immigrants and their sources of health care information. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents reported that they would use a hospital emergency room (ER) for primary medical care. ER use rates declined with time spent in the United States. Emergency room use rates varied significantly by region. Respondents receiving information from a church reported less ER use, compared to all others; respondents receiving information from U.S. newspapers reported higher ER use rates. Lack of health care access for undocumented immigrants remains a public health issue as well as a social justice concern.


Health Service Access For Rural People Living With Hiv/Aids In China: A Critical Evaluation, Xiying Wang, Xiulan Zhang, Yuebin Xu, Yurong Zhang Dec 2011

Health Service Access For Rural People Living With Hiv/Aids In China: A Critical Evaluation, Xiying Wang, Xiulan Zhang, Yuebin Xu, Yurong Zhang

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The increasingly serious HIV/AIDS epidemic creates a significant burden for the public health system; however, little attention has been paid to the issue of health service access in rural China. Based on a qualitative study of 34 Chinese rural People Living with HIVIAIDS (PLWHA) and 13 health providers, this study fills a gap by examining health service access from both the demand and supply-side. Utilizing access theory, this study explores the availability, affordability and acceptability of health services in rural China. Moreover, this study focuses on access barriers and institutional obstacles that PLWHA meet during their illness and considers the …


Life History And Narrative Analysis: Feminist Methodologies Contextualizing Black Women's Experiences With Severe Mental Illness, Marya R. Sosulski, Nicole T. Buchanan, Chandra M. Donnell Sep 2010

Life History And Narrative Analysis: Feminist Methodologies Contextualizing Black Women's Experiences With Severe Mental Illness, Marya R. Sosulski, Nicole T. Buchanan, Chandra M. Donnell

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper discusses a methodological approach to research that enhances critical analysis by contextualizing qualitative research findings within participants' individual experiences. We demonstrate the combined use of life history methods and feminist narrative analysis to explore Black women's everyday experiences with mental illness, from their perspectives. These interpretive methods reach beyond pathologized conceptions of identity and adjustment that often narrowly characterize mental illness among Black women. Instead, these methods holistically describe a participant's experiences and strategies she uses to pursue goals and enhance her life. The use of the methods is illustrated with examples from the life narrative of "Maria," …


Ethnicity Matters: The Socioeconomic Gradient In Health Among Asian Americans, Emily S. Ihara Jun 2009

Ethnicity Matters: The Socioeconomic Gradient In Health Among Asian Americans, Emily S. Ihara

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study examines the relationship between socioeconomic indicators and health status among Asian Americans using data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), a population-based random-digit-dial survey with race-ethnic supplemental samples. Multivariate logistic regression analyses show that the inverse relationship between socioeconomic position and health status is similar for Asian Americans when measured as an aggregate group compared to Whites. However, when specific Asian American ethnic groups are examined, the relationship varies greatly. For example, among Chinese Americans and Vietnamese Americans, education is a significant predictor of poor health status, but household income is more significant among Korean Americans. …


Using Social Construction Theory As A Foundation For Macro-Level Interventions In Communities Impacted By Hiv And Addictions, David Allen Patterson, Robert H. Keefe Jun 2008

Using Social Construction Theory As A Foundation For Macro-Level Interventions In Communities Impacted By Hiv And Addictions, David Allen Patterson, Robert H. Keefe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Many professionals working with people living with HIV and alcohol and other drug addictions rely heavily on micro and mezzo-level interventions. The authors argue that although these approaches are effective for helping people living with some social problems they are too narrow for working effectively with HIV-positive and alcohol and other drug-addicted individuals. The authors use social construction theory to analyze the social problems of HIV/AIDS and addictions and make recommendations for macro-level interventions that may help curtail the dual problems of HIV and addictions.


The Use Of Critical Ethnography In Managed Mental Health Care Settings, Cassandra L. Bransford Dec 2006

The Use Of Critical Ethnography In Managed Mental Health Care Settings, Cassandra L. Bransford

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

How social workers in managed mental health care settings exercise their professional authority may have profound consequences for the provision of ethical and value-based services to vulnerable populations. Building upon Gidden's theory of structuration, this article describes the use of critical ethnography as a specific research methodology that may support social workers in the exercise of their authority. This article examines the historical roots of critical ethnography and provides a detailed examination of its underlying assumptions and research procedures. The article concludes with a case example of a critical ethnography conducted within a managed mental health care setting.


Nineteenth Century Review Of Mental Health Care For African Americans: A Legacy Of Service And Policy Barriers, Tony B. Lowe Dec 2006

Nineteenth Century Review Of Mental Health Care For African Americans: A Legacy Of Service And Policy Barriers, Tony B. Lowe

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The need to focus on service and policy barriers to mental health service delivery for African Americans remains critical. The purpose of this article is to review nineteenth century care as a method for understanding contemporary service and policy barriers. A case study strategy is used to compare the efforts of Pennsylvania and South Carolina using primary and secondary sources to document these developments through a political economy perspective. These findings suggest that the prevailing social, political and economic realities have created mental health disparities along racial lines. Existing barriers are likely rooted in this same reality.


Review Of Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders With Mental Disorders. Thomas Grisso. Reviewed By James W. Callicutt., James W. Callicutt Mar 2006

Review Of Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders With Mental Disorders. Thomas Grisso. Reviewed By James W. Callicutt., James W. Callicutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Thomas Grisso, Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Offenders with Mental Disorders. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004. $29.00 hardcover.


Professional Hope In Working With Older Adults, Terry Koenig, Richard Spano Jan 2006

Professional Hope In Working With Older Adults, Terry Koenig, Richard Spano

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Writings about hope within gerontological literature assume social workers already possess hope that they can use in their practice. The purpose of this article is to challenge this assumption and to examine ways in which social workers can sustain hope in personal life, in their agencies, and in the reform of larger social structures that impact older adults. The authors examine culture change in nursing homes as an emerging approach that can be more fully developed by applying the strengths perspective to interpersonal work with elders, agency change and broader structural change.


Viagra: Medical Technology Constructing Aging Masculinity, Gregory Gross, Robert Blundo Mar 2005

Viagra: Medical Technology Constructing Aging Masculinity, Gregory Gross, Robert Blundo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Medicalization and commodification of the body through technology in the form of Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs is reinforcing the cultural expectations that ageing men are required to age well to maintain youthful masculinity. Ageing well is explored as it relates the construction of masculinity, sexuality and ageing men's bodies.


Principles Of Clinical Practice With Older Men, Lenard W. Kaye, Jennifer A. Crittenden Mar 2005

Principles Of Clinical Practice With Older Men, Lenard W. Kaye, Jennifer A. Crittenden

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Older men are much less likely to be aware of community services available to them and they are less likely to utilize services generally. This underutilization is affected by the way in which social services are organized and how practitioners function within them. Since there are greater numbers of elderly women and women utilize services more readily, practice tends to be female-centered. It is important that gender-sensitive intervention processes are established that recognize the unique experiences and concerns of older men in order to better serve them. The uniqueness of men's experiences with such issues as loss of a spouse, …


Review Of Family Health Social Work Practice: A Macro Level Approach. John T. Pardeck (Ed.) Reviewed By Marsha Blachman, Marsha Blachman Mar 2004

Review Of Family Health Social Work Practice: A Macro Level Approach. John T. Pardeck (Ed.) Reviewed By Marsha Blachman, Marsha Blachman

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of John T. Pardeck (Ed.), Family Health Social Work Practice: A Macro Level Approach. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 2002. $ 67.95 hardcover.


Sharing Power With The People: Family Group Conferencing As A Democratic Experiment, Lisa Merkel-Holguin Mar 2004

Sharing Power With The People: Family Group Conferencing As A Democratic Experiment, Lisa Merkel-Holguin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Can family group conferencing be leveraged to promote the democratic ideals of voice, freedom, justice, fairness, equality, and respect, and provide the citizenry with the opportunity to build a more just and civil society? This article reviews family group conferencing, and various model adaptations, from a democratic context and through the lens of responsive regulation.


"Are You Beginning To See A Pattern Here?" Family And Medical Discourses Shape The Story Of Black Infant Mortality, Elaine R. Cleeton Mar 2003

"Are You Beginning To See A Pattern Here?" Family And Medical Discourses Shape The Story Of Black Infant Mortality, Elaine R. Cleeton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Postmodern and poststructuralist theorizations of the interrelations of the particular and the universal have identified women's bodies to be the last frontier for scientific discovery leading to and satisfying the modern compulsion to stabilize and control life from birth to death. This institutional ethnography of one city's response to an elevated infant mortality rate among the babies of African American urban, impoverished women explores their discursive transformation from single mothers who cannot begin prenatal care before the second trimester because too few physicians will treat Medicaid patients, into sexually-immoral, illegaldrug- using women who deliberately harm their babies. The study locates …


Review Of Family Group Conferencing: New Directions In Community-Centered Child And Family Practice. Gail Buford And Joe Hudson (Eds.). Reviewed By Richard P. Barth., Richard P. Barth Sep 2002

Review Of Family Group Conferencing: New Directions In Community-Centered Child And Family Practice. Gail Buford And Joe Hudson (Eds.). Reviewed By Richard P. Barth., Richard P. Barth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Gail Buford and Joe Hudson (Eds.), Family Group Conferencing: New Directions in Community-Centered Child and Family Practice. New York: Aldine DeGruyter; $25.95, papercover, 2002.


The Clinical Irrelevance And Scientific Invalidity Of The "Minority" Notion: Deleting It From The Social Science Vocabulary, Doris Wilkinson Jun 2002

The Clinical Irrelevance And Scientific Invalidity Of The "Minority" Notion: Deleting It From The Social Science Vocabulary, Doris Wilkinson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

A systematic socio-linguistic and historical analysis of the minority label reveals its multiple irregularities and imperfections. These encompass a misleading array of vastly dissimilar nationality or group designations and the erroneous comparison of behaviors and life styles with racial status. As it is currently applied in U.S. political culture and in a variety of disciplines including sociology and social work, the concept has virtually no substantive meaning nor reality-linked usefulness. A thorough appraisal of the consequences of the perpetual reliance on the notion demonstrates that it eradicates ethnic cultural diversity and ignores historical antecedents and the "lived" experiences of oppressed …


Review Of Family Experience With Mental Illness. Richard Tessler And Gail Gamache. Reviewed By James W. Callicutt, James W. Callicutt Dec 2001

Review Of Family Experience With Mental Illness. Richard Tessler And Gail Gamache. Reviewed By James W. Callicutt, James W. Callicutt

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Richard Tessler and Gail Gamache, Family Experiences with Mental Illness. Westport, CT: Auburn House, 2000. $19.95 papercover.


Review Of Social Work With Children And Their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. Christopher G. Petr. Reviewed By Dorinda N. Noble, Louisiana State University., Dorinda N. Noble Sep 1999

Review Of Social Work With Children And Their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. Christopher G. Petr. Reviewed By Dorinda N. Noble, Louisiana State University., Dorinda N. Noble

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Petr, Christopher G. (1998). Social Work with Children and their Families: Pragmatic Foundations. New York: Oxford University Press.


Feminization Of The Aids Epidemic, Mark S. Kaplan Jun 1995

Feminization Of The Aids Epidemic, Mark S. Kaplan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Although males still constitute a substantial number of persons with AIDS, it is becoming clear that this is a disease affecting women and minority populations more adversely. Today women, while representing approximately 16 percent of all AIDS cases nationwide that are reported to the Centers for Disease Control, make up the fastest-growing segment of the population with AIDS. This article contends that AIDS is increasingly afflicting women who have little economic, political, or social power. Furthermore, misdirected public policy has been partly responsible for the greater incidence of the disease in certain regions and populations.


The Social Class And Mental Illness Correlation: Implications Of The Research For Policy And Practice, Christopher G. Hudson Mar 1988

The Social Class And Mental Illness Correlation: Implications Of The Research For Policy And Practice, Christopher G. Hudson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Ongoing efforts to unravel the causal issues involved in the correlation between socioeconomic status and mental illness suggest that the hypothesis of a recursive or interactive relationship may be the most tenable, at least with the psychoses. Implications of this research are explored, with particular attention paid to the mental health costs of economic policies, the principles with which states allocate mental health resources, and the use of this knowledge-base in service planning.


A Commentary On The Social Class And Mental Illness Correlation: Implications Of The Research For Policy And Practice, Julius A. Roth Mar 1988

A Commentary On The Social Class And Mental Illness Correlation: Implications Of The Research For Policy And Practice, Julius A. Roth

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper represents an extraordinary review of literature on the association between SES and mental illness. I think most social scientists would find it impressive. It also conveys some cogent reasoning about the relevance of these findings for social policy. I think most social workers would find it impressive.


Stress Of The Caregiver: Effective Management Of Dementia Patients In Hospital And Community Settings, Ruth E. Dunkle, Michael Nevin Mar 1987

Stress Of The Caregiver: Effective Management Of Dementia Patients In Hospital And Community Settings, Ruth E. Dunkle, Michael Nevin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This study explores the management problems among elders with dementia and their medical and family caregivers. Twenty-five patients were interviewed as well as professional health care personnel and a family member. Findings indicated that professional assessment facilitates home caregiving but has little bearing on successful coping by the caregiver. Variability of coping relates to the strategy employed.


Assessing The Needs Of Mothers With Mentally Retarded Offspring: An Empirical Approach, Jonathan Rabinowitz Dec 1986

Assessing The Needs Of Mothers With Mentally Retarded Offspring: An Empirical Approach, Jonathan Rabinowitz

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This exploratory study assesses the needs of mothers with retarded offspring living at home. Previous studies have focused on meeting those parental needs which would benefit their retarded offspring. This study does not limit parental needs to those needs, which if met would benefit the retarded child, and defines parents as an independent group with special needs.


Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms And Unemployed Black Adults, Diane R. Brown, Lawrence E. Gary Dec 1985

Predictors Of Depressive Symptoms And Unemployed Black Adults, Diane R. Brown, Lawrence E. Gary

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Using data from a probability based survey of unemployed Black adults residing in an urban area, this study explores factors related to the presence of depressive symptoms. Findings indicate that depressive symptoms are less among unemployed persons with higher levels of income, education, religiosity, age and satisfactory social support. Age, however, is the single best predictor of depressive symptoms among unemployed Blacks. There were no significant differences by gender.