Dementia Treatment and Health Disparities Among Puerto Ricans: The Impact of Cultural and Political Histories

Author(s):  
Cristalís Capielo Rosario ◽  
Amber Schaefer ◽  
Jhokania De Los Santos
1988 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Verdugo ◽  
Naomi Turner Verdugo

This study addresses two issues: (1) the impact of overeducation on the earnings of male workers in the United States, and (2) white-minority earnings differences among males. Given that educational attainment levels are increasing among workers, there is some suspicion that earnings returns to education are not as great as might be expected. This topic is examined by including an overeducation variable in an earnings function. Regarding the second issue addressed in this article, little is actually known about white-minority differences because the bulk of such research compares whites and blacks. By including selected Hispanic groups in this analysis (Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Other Hispanics) we are able to assess white-minority earnings differences to a greater degree. Using data from a 5% sample of the 1980 census to estimate an earnings function, we find that overeducated workers earn less than either undereducated or adequately educated workers. Second, we find that there are substantial earnings differences between whites and minorities, and, also, between the five minority groups examined.


Author(s):  
Raúl H. Morales-Borges

AbstractMethylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) mutations have been linked to many diseases. Evidence has been provided to prove that we need to perform pharmacogenetic studies regarding the prevalence of MTHFR mutations and diseases, risks, and the impact on folate requirement in general, but little has been published about Puerto Ricans. A multi center cross-sectional retrospective review study or a prospective pharmacogenetic study of valid genotypes and phenotypes of MTHFR mutations within the different populations of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics are recommended, because differences within them and within the general population are expected.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Frey ◽  
William J. Hall ◽  
Jeremy T. Goldbach ◽  
Paul Lanier

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and pansexual (LGB+) individuals have disproportionate rates of mental illness. Minority stress and sexual identity stigma are posited as the primary social determinants of LGB+ mental health disparities. Discussions in the literature have questioned the impact of sexual identity stigma in a world increasingly accepting of sexual minorities. Additionally, the LGB+ population in the United States South is often overlooked in American research. This article details a qualitative study exploring experiences related to sexual identity stigma among adults who identify as LGB+ in the United States South. Semi-structured interviews with 16 individuals were analyzed using content analysis. Six thematic categories of stigma emerged from participants’ experiences: (a) navigating an LGB+ identity, (b) social acceptability of an LGB+ identity, (c) expectation of LGB+ stigma, (d) interpersonal discrimination and harassment, (e) structural stigma, and (f) relationship with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Findings suggest that sexual identity stigma remains a common experience among these Southern United States participants. Further, thematic categories and subcategories primarily aligned with extant theory with one exception: Intracommunity stigma, a form of stigma emanating from the LGBTQ community, emerged as a stigma type not currently accounted for in theoretical foundations underpinning mental health disparities in this population.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Pedro Ramos ◽  
Robert Weiss ◽  
Simeon Nietcher ◽  
Leiwen Gao

Background: Various studies suggest that corruption affects public health systems across the world. However, the extant literature lacks causal evidence about whether anti-corruption interventions can improve health outcomes. We examine the impact of randomized anti-corruption audits on early-life mortality in Brazil. Methods: The Brazilian government conducted audits in 1,949 randomly selected municipalities between 2003 and 2015. To identify the causal effect of anti-corruption audits on early-life mortality, we analyse data on health outcomes from individual- level vital statistics (DATASUS) collected by Brazil government before and after the random audits. Data on the audit intervention are from the Controladoria-Geral da Uniao, the government agency responsible for the anti-corruption audits. Outcomes are neonatal mortality, infant mortality, child mortality, preterm births, and prenatal visits. Analyses examine aggregate effects for each outcome, as well as effects by race, cause of death, and years since the intervention. Results: Anti-corruption audits significantly decreased early-life mortality in Brazil. Expressed in relative terms, audits reduced neonatal mortality by 6.7% (95% CI -8.3%, -5.0%), reduced infant mortality by 7.3% (-8.6%, -5.9%), and reduced child mortality by 7.3% (-8.5%, -6.0%). This reduction in early mortality was higher for nonwhite Brazilians, who face significant health disparities. Effects are greater when we look at deaths from preventable causes, and show temporal persistence with large effects even a decade after audits. In addition, analyses show that the intervention led to a 12.1% (-13.4%, -10.6%) reduction in women receiving no prenatal care, as well as a 7.4% (-9.4%, -5.5%) reduction in preterm births; these effects are likewise higher for nonwhites and are persistent over time. All effects are robust to various alternative specifications. Interpretation: Governments have the potential to improve health outcomes through anti-corruption interventions. Such interventions can reduce early-life mortality and mitigate health disparities. The impact of anti-corruption audits should be investigated in other countries, and further research should further explore the mechanisms by which combating corruption affects the health sector.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Mette Hartlev

Abstract The human right to health requires that everyone should have equal opportunities to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. In practice, this is hard to achieve, as health is shaped by social determinants. This article explores the impact personalized medicine and use of big data may have on health disparities. New health technologies offer a lot of hope for more individual and better health promotion and care, which potentially could be beneficial for the most deprived. However, there are also concerns that not all population groups will profit equally from this new population-based medicine, and that new digital health technologies will maintain – or even reinforce – existing health disparities. This article suggests using insights from poverty studies combined with a patients’ and human rights-based approach to ensure that the most deprived are not left behind in the application of new health technologies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheelagh McGuinness ◽  
Jonathan Montgomery

Abstract In The legal determinants of health: Harnessing the power of law for global health and sustainable development, Gostin et al. provide a sustained account of how law can and should be used as an instrument of health promotion. We pick up on the themes of this report with a specific focus of the importance of abortion for women’s sexual and reproductive health and the impact that particular ways of framing abortion in law can have on the lives of women and girls. In this short comment, we wish to emphasize that abortion regulations need to move beyond frameworks based on narrow understandings of harm towards more progressive agendas that take into account the social determinants of health in order to reduce barriers to care. This contribution is particularly relevant to the Commission’s criticism that those ‘[l]aws that stigmatise or discriminate against marginalized populations are especially harmful and exacerbate health disparities’.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (s1) ◽  
pp. 77-77
Author(s):  
Kristina Gern Johnson ◽  
Karen C. Johnston ◽  
Jennifer Phillips ◽  
Maryellen Gusic

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Learners will: Identify social structures that serve as root causes of health disparitiesCritically evaluate the ways in which racism, culture, and power perpetuate disparityUse critical reflection to shape their research and advocate for institutional changeMETHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) Health Equity curriculum provides a lens for participants to view health disparities, social structures that create and perpetuate disparities, and the path to a more equitable future. This longitudinal workforce curriculum incorporates the principles of critical race theory (CRT), including: race as a social construct, structural determinism, intersectionality, and the social construction of knowledge. Learners gain practical experience through facilitated group discussions and critical reflection of their own work including research question design, recruitment, dissemination, and enhancing the faculty pipeline. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: To measure the impact of the curriculum, we will evaluate learners’ participation in mentoring activities for persons from underrepresented backgrounds; participation in local and national diversity and inclusion efforts; engagement in community-based research; ability to account for implicit bias and power imbalances in their research design, including in recruitment and retention; and share research findings with community members and research participants. Evaluation strategies will include quantitative and qualitative methodologies. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: There is growing recognition of the impact of racism on the development and perpetuation of health disparities. Public health critical race praxis (an adaptation of CRT) is emerging as a theoretical framework to empower researchers to challenge the status quo in order to achieve health equity.


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