Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Women’S Experiences With Prenatal Care: A Mixed-Methods Study Exploring The Influence Of The Social Determinants Of Health, Karen A. D'Angelo, Janelle K. Bryan, Brenda Kurz

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background & Purpose: Racial and ethnic disparities pervade birth outcomes in the United States and the state of Connecticut. While Connecticut’s infant mortality rate is less than the national average, rates for the state’s Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino communities exceed it. This study explored how prenatal care in Connecticut may be enhanced to address these disparities.

Methods: In spring 2013, seven focus groups and two semi-structured interviews were conducted (n=47). Participants also self-administered brief surveys. Recruited by local service providers, participants were 18 or older, pregnant and/or in the first year post-partum at the time. Most self-identified as …

‘Because I Don’T Know’: Uncertainty And Ambiguity In Closed-Ended Reports Of Perceived Discrimination In Us Health Care, Chih-Yuan Lee, Amy Irby-Shasanmi

Department of Public Health Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective

Surveys often ask respondents to assess discrimination in health care. Yet, patients’ responses to one type of widely used measure of discrimination (single-item, personally mediated) tend to reveal prevalence rates lower than observational studies would suggest. This study examines the meaning behind respondents’ closed-ended self-reports on this specific type of measure, paying special attention to the frameworks and references used within the medical setting.

Design

Twenty-nine respondents participated in this study. They were asked the widely used question: ‘Within the past 12 months when seeking health care do you feel your experiences were worse than, the same as, or …

Exploring Proximal And Distal Psychosocial Stressors Influencing The Health Outcomes Of Urban American Indians In The Midwest, Alina Aloma

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have theorized that colonization and forced assimilation of American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) in the U.S. are associated with the current health outcomes of AI/AN groups. The literature has begun to link a number of negative health outcomes such as chronic illnesses, substance abuse, grief, depression, and anxiety with distal stressors associated with historical loss, as well as with proximal stressors that are continued reminders of historical trauma such as present day discrimination. The present study utilized a quantitative methodology along with a community informed framework through collaboration with multiple urban AI/AN-serving agencies in a metropolitan area of the Midwest …

South Asian Women's Sexual Relationship Power: Examining The Role Of Sexism, Cultural Values Conflict, Discrimination, And Social Support, Chandni D. Shah

Open Access Dissertations

The lack of literature examining sexual experiences of South Asian women in dating relationships has important implications for the healthy development of long lasting romantic relationships. It is important to understand South Asian women’s relationship experiences in the context of power and sexism (interpersonal power framework; Pulerwitz, Gortmaker, & DeJong, 2000) and the role of specific sociopolitical factors (e.g., discrimination). Understanding South Asian women’s experiences of power in a sociopolitical context will help professionals when working with them to develop healthier sexual relationships through therapy outreach, and community programming. I used a correlational, quantitative study to examine the associations between …

Madina, Madina, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Madina is from Afghanistan where she had a good life as a hairdresser. She loved her business and was very well off. She faced a great deal of opposition and persecution since she was a woman who owned a business. She faced violence and threats often. Eventually they were forced to sell their possessions and flee with the help of traffickers and had a dangerous and painful journey. Multiple times they were turned away at borders in Greece, Turkey, and Iran. Madina now lives in Oinofyta refugee camp with her husband and 6 children. Her husband has a disability due …

Sangar & Nasira, Sangar, Nasira, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Sangar and his family are from Iran but are originally Turkish. In Iran they faced a psychological war and many problems that stemmed from discrimination. He points out how many are oppressed or discriminated against, but he and his family were singled out for their ethnicity. There was no hope for a bright future, and they decided to flee the country for the benefit of their children.

They fled to Greece through Turkey and had many issues with human traffickers, robbery, a treacherous journey across the sea, and problems in Moria refugee camp where his wife couldn’t get the care …

Bahar And Zarrin, Bahar, Zarrin, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

Bahar and Zarrin are friends living in Oinofyta Refugee Camp. They are both from Afghanistan but fled very different circumstances. Bahar lived in Iran with her husband until he passed, and she was rejected by her family. As a single woman she faced a life with little rights. Despite major health complications she fled to Greece in a boat. She now lives in the camp, struggling with repeated hospitalizations.

Zarrin left a life of comfort and privilege in Afghanistan and misses home greatly. Her husband was a wealthy businessman and Zarrin taught school. Thinking back on what they lost causes …

Zarrin, Zarrin, Tsos

TSOS Interview Gallery

My name is Zarrin. I was an English teacher. In Afghanistan I had a big house and a garden. My husband was a rich man; he had lots of money. My children studied in a private school.All the time the Taliban was warning my husband, “Why does your wife go to school and teach children? If your wife goes to school, we’ll throw acid on her face and take your children.” They don’t like education —they don’t like women attending school.Zarrin left a life of comfort and privilege in Afghanistan and misses home greatly. Her husband was a wealthy businessman …

Transgender Patients' Experiences Of Discrimination At Mental Health Clinics, Corrine Ann Stocking

Dissertations and Theses

The transgender population is makes up about 0.3% of the U.S. population (Gates 2011). The term transgender is both an identity and an umbrella term used to describe people who do not adhere to traditional gender norms (Institute of Medicine 2011). Transgender people experience many barriers to services, negative health outcomes, and discrimination (Fredrikson-Goldsen et al. 2013; Institute of Medicine 2011; Eliason et al. 2009; Hendricks & Testa 2012). Mental health clinics are an important site for understanding transgender peoples' experiences due to being a gatekeeper for other medical services and their role in helping transpeople with issues surrounding coming …

Rat Behavioral Discrimination Of Temporal Cues In Species-Specific Vocalization, Kevin Mathews Tharakan

Honors Scholar Theses

Current behavioral and neurophysiologic studies propose that many animals can detect and discriminate the invariant statistics found in natural vocalization (Geffen et. al., 2011; Rodriguez et al., 2010). However, according to current research the neuronal mechanisms underlying the sound discrimination process is still unclear. While numerous auditory statistics have been manipulated, none has varied the temporal and tonal frequency cues independently in their synthetic call sequences, thus it is still uncertain whether rats rely on temporal cues in the sound envelope for communication.

The aim of this research is to determine whether or not rats rely on temporal cues in …

Can Social Media Reduce Discrimination And Ignorance Towards Patients With Long Term Conditions? A Chronic Kidney Disease Example In The Uk And More Widely, Shahid N. Muhammad, Amy J. Zahra, Howard J. Leicester, Heather Davis, Stephen Davis

Patient Experience Journal

Long Term Conditions (LTCs) are increasing in prevalence and cost in Western healthcare. Patients with such conditions are often classed as “disabled”, because of impacts of self-care on “activities of daily life” or secondary consequences of conditions (impairments) affecting factors such as mobility, concentration and communications. Disability needs are often ignored in the design of services and treatment of individuals. It manifests as services which some find difficult to use and lack of personal respect (discrimination) often based on lack of understanding by the healthcare profession itself (ignorance). This paper explores how Social Media (SM), an example “Assistive Technology” in …

Perceived Discrimination And Health Outcomes Among Asian Indians In The United States, Ranjita Misra, Haslyn Hunte

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: Perceived interpersonal discrimination while seeking healthcare services is associated with poor physical and mental health. Yet, there is a paucity of research among Asian Americans or its subgroups. This study examined the correlates of reported interpersonal discrimination when seeking health care among a large sample of Asian Indians, the 3rd largest Asian American subgroup in the US, and identify predictors of adverse self-rated physical health, a well-accepted measure of overall health status.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Participants comprised of 1824 Asian Indian adults in six states with higher concentration of Asian Indians.

Results: Mean age and years lived in the …

Patient Self-Management: Impact Of Racism-Related Vigilance In The Management Of Hypertension In African-Americans, Rackelle N. Wilkinson-Alston

Writing Across the Curriculum

It is important to understand the role that discrimination plays in health disparities. This paper will discuss racism-related vigilance, and its role in health outcomes in hypertensive African-Americans (AAs). This paper will also attempt to provide insight on how the absence of a culturally competent health care system may predispose AAs to developing stress-induced hypertension due to racism-related vigilance. This paper will explore how community partnership programs may be beneficial interventions for building resilience and promoting positive health behaviors among hypertensive AAs in the face of discrimination-related vigilance.

Perceived Threat Associated With Police Officers And Black Men Predicts Support For Policing Policy Reform, Allison L. Skinner, Ingrid J. Haas

Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior: Faculty and Staff Publications

Racial disparities in policing and recent high-profile incidents resulting in the deaths of Black men have ignited a national debate on policing policies. Given evidence that both police officers and Black men may be associated with threat, we examined the impact of perceived threat on support for reformed policing policies. Across three studies we found correlational evidence that perceiving police officers as threatening predicts increased support for reformed policing practices (e.g., limiting the use of lethal force and matching police force demographics to those of the community). In contrast, perceiving Black men as threatening predicted reduced support for policing policy …

Hiv Testing Health Care Related Discrimination Among Black And White Men From The 2006-2008 Sexual Acquisition And Transmission Of Hiv Cooperative Agreement Program (Sathcap), Kenisha Cantrell

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Background: The study investigated whether experiencing difficulty obtaining heath care due to different forms of discrimination impacts Black and White men being tested for HIV. It is important to discover if discrimination as a structural factor inhibits progression through the HIV Care Continuum among Black men. Structural factors may better explain the origin of HIV prevalence disparities and how the social factors affect Black men being tested for HIV.

Methods: Data utilized was collected through the 2006-2008 Sexual Acquisition and Transmission of HIV Cooperative Agreement Program implemented in 6 U.S. cities and one Russian city: Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; …

Race, Ethnicity, Psychosocial Factors, And Telomere Length In A Multicenter Setting, Shannon M. Lynch, M. K. Peek, Nandita Mitra, Krithika Ravichandran, Charles Branas, Elaine Spangler, Wenting Zhou, Electra D. Paskett, Sarah Gehlert, Cecilia Degraffinreid, Timothy R. Rebbeck, Harold Riethman

School of Medical Diagnostics & Translational Sciences Faculty Publications

Background

Leukocyte telomere length(LTL) has been associated with age, self-reported race/ethnicity, gender, education, and psychosocial factors, including perceived stress, and depression. However, inconsistencies in associations of LTL with disease and other phenotypes exist across studies. Population characteristics, including race/ethnicity, laboratory methods, and statistical approaches in LTL have not been comprehensively studied and could explain inconsistent LTL associations.

Methods

LTL was measured using Southern Blot in 1510 participants from a multi-ethnic, multi-center study combining data from 3 centers with different population characteristics and laboratory processing methods. Main associations between LTL and psychosocial factors and LTL and race/ethnicity were evaluated and then …

Aligning Religious And Culturally Relevant Clinical Practice With Policy, Amanda F. Hopkins Phd, Rn, Wendy C. Kooken Phd, Rn, Sana Shafiuddin

Students' Professional Presentations and Publications

This poster was presented at the Midwest Nursing Research Society conference in 2016. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cultural considerations in clinical and educational policies when working with female Muslim nursing students who wear hijab, and to suggest changes to dress code policies within academic and clinical agency settings.

Daily Exposure To Negative Campaign Messages Decreases Same-Sex Couples’ Psychological And Relational Well-Being, Adam W. Fingerhut

Psychological Science Faculty Works

Throughout history, the rights of stigmatized minority group members have been subject to popular debate and voter referenda. The impact of the resulting devaluing social discourse on the well-being of minority group members remains unknown. For example, exposure to the discourse leading up to decisions on same-sex marriage may have negative consequences for sexual minority individuals and same-sex couples. We examined the impact of exposure to same-sex marriage campaign messages (e.g., commercials, billboards, yard signs) on the psychological and relational well-being of couples living in the four states that had same-sex marriage voter initiatives in the 2012 general election. Sixty-two …

Socioeconomic Status Mobility And Lifetime Exposure To Discrimination On Cardiovascular Disease Events, Nkenge H. Jones-Jack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Blacks in the United States have the highest rates of hypertension in the world, and their cardiovascular disease mortality rates are higher than for any other population group as a result of traditional risk factors such as obesity and stronger family history. However, additional underlying factors, such as social determinants of health (e.g., socioeconomic status [SES]) and macrosocial factors (e.g., racism), also correlate with adverse health outcomes. This study investigated whether the interaction between SES mobility over the lifecourse and lifetime racial discrimination influenced the extent to which hypertension contributed to the cardiovascular disease health disparities observed among Blacks in …

An Examination Of African American Women With Hiv And Health Care Barriers, Robert Salvatore Petralia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For over 40 years, HIV has been seen as an epidemic and problem on health care that disproportionately affects the African American women (AAW) and population. This epidemic represents 12% of the total U.S. population, yet accounts for 37% of the commutative HIV cases, and 45% of the new HIV cases reported since 1998. Research in this case was needed for increased understanding to this health care problem, between AAW and HIV. A review in the literature indicated the problem and found new alternatives that helped support aspects on today's health care. The purpose of the study was to help …