Social Justice Commons^™

Community Based Rehabilitation Programs For Resettled Muslim Women Refugees, Lori Maria Walton Phd, Dpt, Mscpt, Mph(S), Renee Hakim, Phd, Pt, Ncs, Veena Raigangar, Phd(C), Mscpt, M.Ed., Jennifer Schwartz, Dpt, Ncs, Sjm Ummul Ambia, Mscpt, Najah Zaaeed, Drph, Lmsw, Bassima Schbley

Journal of Health Ethics

According to the 2021 report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced because of violence, wars, or persecution and over 26.4 million are currently living with refugee status. Displacement and resettlement trauma are associated with chronic disease onset and poor cognitive, physical, and mental health outcomes for refugee populations. To mitigate some of the deleterious effects of resettlement trauma, we propose a community-based rehabilitation program (CBRP) framework that is culturally sensitive, trauma-informed and focused on the vulnerabilities of women. The purpose of this novel CBRP framework is to address health inequities among a …

A Systematic Review Up To 2018 Of Hiv And Associated Factors Among Criminal Justice-Involved (Cji) Black Sexual And Gender Minority Populations In The United States (Us), Russell Brewer, Santhoshini L Ramani, Aditya Khanna, Kayo Fujimoto, John A Schneider, Anna Hotton, Leo Wilton, Tania Escobedo, Nina T Harawa

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Black men who have sex with men (BMSM) and Black transgender women (BTW) are impacted by dual epidemics of HIV and incarceration. We advanced understanding of the relationship between criminal justice involvement, HIV, and other key HIV-related characteristics among these key populations in the US. We conducted a systematic review up to 2018 and 47 articles met the inclusion criteria of scientific publications involving quantitative findings of US-based HIV-related studies focused on criminal justice-involved (CJI) BMSM and BTW. Overall, there was a dearth of studies focused specifically on BTW. Criminal justice involvement was relatively high among BMSM and BTW and …

3 Selections From "Upon The Body: Poems Of/To A Black Social Epi, Pt.Ii--Love//Resistance In The Time Of Covid", R. J. Petteway

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

The 3 poems included here are from a collection written between January and August 2020. The full collection—27 poems total—examines intersections of structural racism, racialized police violence, and COVID-19, drawing from generations of creative resistance produced and embodied by Black artists, activists, and scholars like Nina Simone, Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Audre Lorde, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, and W.E.B. DuBois. The collection as a whole is crafted as counternarrative to public health’s ahistoric, apolitical, racist, and homophobic proclivities in times of crisis. The 3 poems here are from Part II, "LOVE//Resistance in the Time of COVID.” These selections …

“The Worst Part About My Pregnancy Was Stuff That Didn’T Have To Do With My Pregnancy”: Medicaid Beneficiaries’ Pregnancy Intentions & Experiences In South Carolina, Andrew Michael Chen

Senior Theses

Low-income women and women of color experience adverse birth outcomes at disproportionately higher rates in the United States than most people who give birth. This thesis examines individual interviews conducted with 30 low-income women whose most recent birth was covered by Medicaid, the United States’ largest means-tested public health insurance program. The aim of this thesis is to examine how the women in the study thought about pregnancy, and how they described their intentions to become or avoid becoming pregnant at various times in their life. While public health researchers often frame pregnancy as an event that is either intended …

Lactating Justice: Constructing A Society Economically Focused On Optimizing Health Through Human Lactation, Shadley Hobour

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This paper uses a qualitative research method to answer if a Universal Base Income would be a good economic policy to adopt to optimize Black chestfeeding. The key idea this thesis aims to clarify is how anti Blackness is killing Black people and how one economic policy could improve health. In this essay, I will break down the significance and importance of human lactation for lifelong better health, and investment in a UBI would especially work as a preventative measure for several health issues Black people experiences.

Prevalence Of Postpartum Depression In Occupied Palestine, Amneh Amro

Graduate Dissertations and Theses

In a world where everything has been modernized and progressively accepted, has modern medicine kept up? With a growing population, is the accessibility to healthcare service meeting the demand and without bias? More importantly, has the growing population broken down the stigmas associated with medical conditions, like postpartum depression? There has been a notable disparity in mental health treatment worldwide, and even more so in Palestine and other third world countries of similar nature.

Interrogating Race And Place-Based Inequities In Hiv And Covid-19, Rohan Khazanchi

MD Honors Theses

Over the last four years, I have developed a research focus examining the intersections of race, place, and health. My M.D. Honors Thesis reflects a snapshot of these efforts. In this collection of brief research reports, I leverage area-based measures to investigate structural inequities in three contexts: the HIV epidemic in our hyperlocal community, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and clinical trials for novel COVID-19 therapeutics. I apply novel social epidemiologic tools to measure and explore disparate outcomes. And, in reflecting upon my findings, I discuss concrete implications for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Chapter 1: Neighborhood-Level Deprivation …

The Racial Divide: A Follow Up Study On Racial Disparity Amongst Covid-19 Survivors In An Urban Community, Christopher Millet, Emily Racoosin, Spandana Narvaneni, George Horani, Sherif Roman, Alisa Farokhian, Arslan Chaudhry, Sohail Chaudhry, Yezin Shamoon, Humberto Jimenez, Patrick Michael, Jin Suh

Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives

Background Studies have shown that COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on minority groups in both the clinical and social settings in America. We conducted a follow up study on patients previously diagnosed with COVID-19 one year ago in an urban community in New Jersey. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 as well as assess for receptiveness towards COVID-19 vaccination amongst various ethnic groups.

Methods This was a prospective cohort study consisting of patients who had recovered from COVID-19 one year prior. The patients included in the study had a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis …

Public Health Contagion Of White Supremacy: Examining The Pipeline Of Attitudes About Racism And Racial History Education Among High School Students., Trinidad Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We are living in compounded states of upheaval. Violence and exemption from it across socioecological levels have shaped how humans survive, thrive, and die. While different violence typologies exist, the U.S., prioritizes interpersonal violence as its primary target of intervention, often through structural means that foster and reinforce interpersonal violence. The omission of structural and cultural agents and outcomes of violence allows perpetrators to infiltrate and reproduce savage, dehumanizing ideologies in perpetuity. Instead of sustaining societal pillars that oppress and destroy, we must fertilize public health research, practice, and sociopolitical activism with pillars that both inform and activate liberatory consciousness …

Promoting Health Equity Among Racial And Ethnic Minorities During And After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alexandra Viramontes, Deserry Salgado

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Racial and ethnic minorities experience disproportionate health outcomes during a pandemic, yet preparedness plans have failed to address the social determinants of health that produce the most severe impact. By examining social workers’ perspectives on the health disparities faced by racial and ethnic minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study provides insight into the ways in which services can be improved in a future health crisis. In this exploratory study, a qualitative approach was utilized where social workers were asked to participate in interviews consisting of open-ended questions. The qualitative data was obtained in the form of interview transcripts, which …

Barriers To Public Health In Latino American Indigenous Communities, Wilzave Quiles Guzman

Honors Program Theses and Research Projects

This paper focuses on barriers to public health in Latino American Indigenous communities. Indigenous people throughout the world are at a public health disadvantage due to a lack of clearly defined practices within the decision-making processes to plan, evaluate, and control finances from governmental and non-governmental entities in charge of managing health services. I argue that political, social, and institutional changes are still needed to achieve health equity in Indigenous communities and that these changes should go beyond implementing a universal health care program. I must recognize improvements made by many Latino American countries like Brazil, which prepared a plan …

Public Health Interventions For Children Of Incarcerated Parents, Daniel Bullman

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

The impact of social and structural determinants of health have lifelong consequences on an individual’s quality of life. Literature focusing on child health and wellbeing of incarcerated parents indicate significant negative health outcomes and adopted detrimental health behaviors. Using a systematic realist review, recent publications were reviewed for their potential discussion or recommendation for interventions in changing health outcomes. This review found that additional research is needed in identifying and testing potential interventions or determining if parallel public health initiatives have had positive impacts in promoting the health behavior change process for children and adolescents of incarcerated parents.

Protecting A Woman’S Right To Abortion During A Public Health Crisis, San Juanita Gonzalez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

As COVID-19 infected our nation, states were quick to issue executive orders restricting various aspects of daily life under the pretense of public safety. It was clear at the outset that certain civil liberties were going to be tested. Among them, the constitutional right to an abortion.

This comment explores Texas’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations it imposed on abortion access. It will attempt to address the legitimacy of the “public health concerns” listed in executive orders issued throughout numerous states and will discuss the pertinent legal framework and judicial scrutiny to apply.

According to the Fifth …

Understanding Travel For Families With A Physically Disabled Child Through The Occupational Therapy Lens, Dinah Adams, Karen Park, Susan Macdermott

Spring 2022 Virtual OTD Capstone Symposium

Travel is a complex occupation that involves interactions between body function, activity participation, and the environment. For families traveling with a physically disabled child this occupation becomes even more complex. The available literature on the lived experiences of these families is significantly limited. This project aims to determine participants’ experiences of commercial airline travel with a child who has a physical disability. Through the participants experiences, barriers and needs of this population can be identified. Through identification of barriers, the needs of this population are highlighted as well as ways they can be supported and advocated for.

Interrogating Race And Place-Based Inequities In Hiv And Covid-19, Rohan Khazanchi

EMET Projects

Over the last four years, I have developed a research focus examining the intersections of race, place, and health. My M.D. Honors Thesis reflects a snapshot of these efforts. In this collection of brief research reports, I leverage area-based measures to investigate structural inequities in three contexts: the HIV epidemic in our hyperlocal community, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and clinical trials for novel COVID-19 therapeutics. I apply novel social epidemiologic tools to measure and explore disparate outcomes. And, in reflecting upon my findings, I discuss concrete implications for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers alike.

Chapter 1: Neighborhood-Level Deprivation …

Examining The Impacts Of Flooding On Public Health, Lauren Gibson

Honors Theses

Over the past 10 years, South Carolina has experienced over five major weather events that have led to extreme flooding along the coast. These types of repeated major events have the potential to significantly impact people’s lives and livelihoods. When looking at the issue from a public health perspective, it is known that natural disasters such as flooding can negatively affect community health. However, little research has been done to analyze the impacts on individual health from flooding. This issue inspired a more in-depth research analysis to examine those health impacts from local Horry County residents. This research aims to …

Prevention Of Violence Against Women And Girls: A Cost-Effectiveness Study Across 6 Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Giulia Ferrari, Sergio Torres-Rueda, Esnat Chirwa, Andrew Gibbs, Stacey Orangi, Edwine Barasa, Theresa Tawiah, Rebecca Kyerewaa Dwommoh Prah, Rozina Karmaliani, Hussain Maqbool Ahmed Khuwaja

School of Nursing & Midwifery

Background: Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a human rights violation with social, economic, and health consequences for survivors, perpetrators, and society. Robust evidence on economic, social, and health impact, plus the cost of delivery of VAWG prevention, is critical to making the case for investment, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where health sector resources are highly constrained. We report on the costs and health impact of VAWG prevention in 6 countries.
Methods and findings: We conducted a trial-based cost-effectiveness analysis of VAWG prevention interventions using primary data from 5 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in sub-Saharan Africa …

Civic Engagement As A Pathway To Meaningful Medical Student Engagement On The Social Determinants Of Health, Alexander Reardon, Jennie Deblanc, Alister Martin

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The social determinants of health have gained increasing prominence in medical education, but medical students and professionals alike are under-prepared to address those determinants. There is a growing body of evidence that voting and other forms of civic engagement affect the health of patients and communities. Registering patients in healthcare settings offers students and professionals an opportunity to impact their patients’ health beyond the clinical encounter. Medical students are particularly well suited to this work for a variety of reasons, including increasingly positive attitudes toward this kind of advocacy, increasing diversity in the medical student body, and lighter clinical and …

Institute For Global Health And Development : Issue 2 - March 2022, Institute For Global Health And Development

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Testing Barriers To Non-Suicidal Self-Injury With College Students: Narcissistic Traits As Moderators, Philip Stoner

Dissertations

Research on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has produced mixed findings, resulting in a lack of clarity regarding these behaviors (Klonsky & Meuhlenkamp, 2007). To address this, Hooley and Franklin (2018) developed the Benefits and Barriers Model (BBM) to provide a comprehensive understanding of NSSI, in which they identified the barriers that commonly prevent people from engaging in these behaviors (e.g., self-esteem, shame, and peer-bonding motivations/social norms). They also identified adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as a distal predictor of NSSI, which aids people in overcoming the barriers to engaging in these behaviors. Recent NSSI literature has shown that college women in the …

A Feminist Challenge To Transgenderism. A Review Of Doublethink: A Feminist Challenge To Transgenderism By Janice G. Raymond, Esohe Aghatise

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Trans Doublethink And Newspeak. A Review Of Doublethink: A Feminist Challenge To Transgenderism By Janice Raymond, Heather Brunskell-Evans

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

From Abortion Rights To Reproductive Justice: A Call To Action, Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, Judith L.M. Mccoyd, Mery Diaz

Publications and Research

As aggressive cultural and legislative attacks on abortion rights and access continue, we call upon social workers to pursue the liberatory aims of the reproductive justice (RJ) movement. We argue that the RJ framework, rooted in feminist theory, aligns with social work’s social justice ethos and goals, appropriately guiding advocacy and intervention. After outlining the central aims and tenets of the RJ movement, we consider policies that impair RJ and those that could promote RJ, focusing on enhancing body sovereignty, childbearing, and parenting. We conclude with concrete recommendations for how social workers can pursue RJ professionally and personally.

Rural Pregnant Women’S Experiences With Substance Use Disorder: A Qualitative Study, Cami Weber

Dissertations

Rural pregnant women with substance use disorder (SUD) are an understudied vulnerable population that often experiences poor pregnancy outcomes (Higgins et al., 2019; Jumah, 2016; Kramlich et al., 2018; Shaw et al., 2015). Despite the high prevalence and high burden associated with SUD, rural women are less likely than non-pregnant women to seek addiction treatment and complete an outpatient treatment program during pregnancy (Shaw et al., 2015). This study aimed to give voice to rural Missouri women with SUD. The research questions explored the life experiences and motivations for seeking treatment using a qualitative, descriptive research design with grounded theory …

Calling Attention To Campus Trends: Let’S Talk About Wellness, Mandy Magalhaes, Rachel Cullity

The Graduate Review

Abstract

This article explores the emerging focus on self-care and wellness amongst college students. In this article, the authors highlight the cultural shift from the “grind culture,” the complete and exhaustive dedication towards one’s work, to a focus on individual and community well being and how educational institutions are responding to students’ needs (Absher, 2020). Bridgewater State University's current response to student wellness is discussed, with a focus on the School of Social Work’s research efforts, programs and services being implemented, from the voices of graduate students. Self-care and wellness is an emerging conversation occurring in many professions and educational …

Queer Survival Amidst Hiv/Aids, Covid-19 And Homelessness, Julia Young

Pitzer Senior Theses

The treatment and survival of a society's marginalized peoples reveal the true impacts of a pandemic. An analysis of homeless queer youth during the HIV/AIDS and SARS-CoV-2 crises lays bare the systemic failure of the United States government to provide equitable healthcare.

I compare the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics in queer homeless youth to demonstrate the dangers of disease moralization via a sociocultural analyses of disease stigma and responsibility politics. Utilizing syndemic theory I draw on the synergistic relationship between disease and illness to describe the unique challenges queer homeless youth face. A syndemic framework is applied to address common …

Environmental Racism In Baltimore: A Geographical Study Into The Connections Between Environmental Toxins And Public Health, Genevieve Block

Honors Theses

An investigation into the relationship between environmental toxins and environmental racism in Baltimore City, Maryland.

Exploring Agricultural Worker Self-Efficacy During A Covid-19 Delta Variant Surge And Adverse Environmental Conditions, Hannah Lascano

All Master's Theses

Yakima County is a rural county with an urban core located in central Washington State. With over 60% of its workforce dedicated to agriculture, food production, and other essential industries, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly compounded in Yakima County populations. Factors such as low decision-making power, limited ability to social distance, and occupational limitations such as fear of job loss, non-compliance with immigration regulations, and lack of representation have yet to be explored during the COVID-19 Delta variant (Delta) surge in conjunction with environmental conditions. This study utilized a novel, online survey of Yakima County residents, …

Pain That Only She Must Bear: On The Invisibility Of Women In Judicial Abortion Rhetoric, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The graphic and bodily facts of a legal question of rights are relevant to the courts, particularly in questions that directly implicate physical bodies and pain, such as right to die cases, or what level of search may be allowable and when. However, in the case of abortion, or more specifically the bodily ramifications of pregnancy and childbirth, this detail is conspicuously absent. This article, relying on a content analysis of over 220 legal opinions on abortion rights, documents this absence of rhetoric. Particularly in the context of other discussions of pain and physical health risks in these very same …

The Program To Reduce Implicit Bias In Carroll Hospital Center Using The Implicit Association Test, Katherine E. Traynor

Capstone Showcase

Natural brain processes make all individuals susceptible to unconscious bias; however, stressful, fearful, or anger-evoking situations as well as the negative influence of media and social surroundings increase the risk of holding obstructive bias, and there is a greater risk of being negatively impacted by this phenomenon when belonging to a minority population (Rose & Flores, 2020). As a result, high rates of infant mortality (10.2 deaths per 1,000 live births for the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 4.1 in the White population) and cardiovascular related diseases (190.0 cases per 1,000 in the Non-Hispanic Black population compared to 161.3 in …