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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

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 …


The Differentiated Impact Of Bridging And Bonding Social Capital On Economic Well-Being: An Individual Level Perspective, Saijun Zhang, Steven. G. Anderson, Min Zhan Mar 2011

The Differentiated Impact Of Bridging And Bonding Social Capital On Economic Well-Being: An Individual Level Perspective, Saijun Zhang, Steven. G. Anderson, Min Zhan

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Social capital refers to trust, norms, and social networks. One of the most important features of social capital is its claimed capacity of promoting economic well-being. Theorists have assumed that any such effects vary according to the nature of different types of social capital. Using longitudinal data from a nationally representative dataset, this study investigates the differentiated effects of individual bonding and bridging social capital on subsequent personal income and income-to-needs ratios. The analyses demonstrate that bridging capital, indicated by involvement in various voluntary organizations, has small but significant effects on future economic wellbeing. However, bonding capital, indicated by connections …


Clinical Social Work And The Biomedical Industrial Complex, Tomi Gomory, Stephen E. Wong, David Cohen, Jeffrey R. Lacasse Jan 2011

Clinical Social Work And The Biomedical Industrial Complex, Tomi Gomory, Stephen E. Wong, David Cohen, Jeffrey R. Lacasse

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article examines how the biomedical industrial complex has ensnared social work within a foreign conceptual and practice model that distracts clinical social workers from the special assistance that they can provide for people with mental distress and misbehavior. We discuss: (1) social work's assimilation of psychiatric perspectives and practices during its pursuit of professional status; (2) the persistence of psychiatric hospitalization despite its coercive methods, high cost, and doubtful efficacy; (3) the increasing reliance on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, despite its widely acknowledged scientific frailty; and (4) the questionable contributions of psychoactive drugs to clinical …