The role of public health in addressing mental health and social inequities

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Jreige
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Inequities

Can Old Dogs be Taught New Tricks or Will Sea Directors be Allowed to Monitor?

1979 ◽  
Vol 161 (3) ◽  
pp. 23-39
Author(s):  
Philip R. Jones ◽  
R. Wayne Mooers
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Retardation ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Residential Programs ◽  
Related Services ◽  
State Education ◽  
Three Stages

State education agencies have evolved through at least three stages: inspectorial; data collection; and consultation. SEA personnel for the most part have felt quite comfortable in the more recent “friendly helper” or “white hat” role rather than the “black hat” role of the inspectorial stage. PL 94-142 now places the SEA in a monitoring (inspectorial) phase not only for LEAs but for all public and nonpublic day or residential programs providing special education and related services. SEA standards must be enforced at the LEA level, which many existing SEA staff may find uncomfortable or objectionable. The problem is deeper, however, when the private sector, or other public sector agencies such as corrections, mental health, mental retardation, developmental disabilities, public health, and welfare, also have an accountability to the SEA. This article will present many concerns in the above areas, suggest possible solutions, and more importantly, examine the need for a new breed of SEA staff.

Understanding Adolescent Narratives About “Bullying” Through an Intersectional Lens: Implications for Youth Mental Health Interventions

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 636-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Haines-Saah ◽  
Carla T. Hilario ◽  
Emily K. Jenkins ◽  
Cara K. Y. Ng ◽  
Joy L. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Contextual Approach ◽  
Social Inequities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mental Health Interventions ◽  
A Site

This article is based on findings from a qualitative study with 27 adolescents in northern British Columbia, Canada. Our aim was to explore youths’ perspectives on the sources of emotional distress in their lives and how these are connected to peer-based aggression and victimization within their community. Our analysis of narrative findings suggests that youths’ narratives about bullying reflect intersecting and socially embedded configurations of “race,” neocolonialism, and place. We argue that mainstream approaches to addressing bullying as a relationship-based problem must be re-oriented to account for the role of the social or structural contexts of youths’ lives. By applying an intersectional lens, we make the case for a widening of the focus of interventions away from individual victims and perpetrators, toward a contextual approach that addresses how adolescents experience bullying as a site of health and social inequities in their community.

“I was 15 when I started doing drugs with my dad”: Victimization, Social Determinants of Health, and Criminogenic Risk Among Women Opioid Intervention Court Participants

2022 ◽  
pp. 088626052110520
Author(s):  
Diane S. Morse ◽  
Catherine Cerulli ◽  
Melissa Hordes ◽  
Nabila El-Bassel ◽  
Jacob Bleasdale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Antisocial Behaviors ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
The Impact

The presence and severity of childhood and adult victimization increase the likelihood of substance use disorder (SUD), crimes, antisocial behaviors, arrests, convictions, and medical and psychiatric disorders among women more than men. These problems are compounded by the impact of social determinants of health (SDH) challenges, which include predisposition to the understudied, dramatic increase in opioid dependence among women. This study examined victimization, related SDH challenges, gender-based criminogenic risk factors for female participants, and public health opportunities to address these problems. We recruited women from the first national Opioid Intervention Court, a fast-track SUD treatment response to rapidly increasing overdose deaths. We present a consensual qualitative research analysis of 24 women Opioid Intervention Court participants (among 31 interviewed) who reported childhood, adolescent, and/or adult victimization experiences in the context of substance use and recovery, mental health symptoms, heath behaviors, and justice-involved trajectories. We iteratively established codes and overarching themes. Six primary themes emerged: child or adolescent abuse as triggers for drug use; impact of combined child or adolescent abuse with loss or witnessing abuse; adult abduction or assault; trajectory from lifetime abuse, substance use, and criminal and antisocial behaviors to sobriety; role of friends and family support in recovery; and role of treatment and opioid court in recovery, which we related to SDH, gender-based criminogenic factors, and public health. These experiences put participants at risk of further physical and mental health disorders, yet indicate potential strategies. Findings support future studies examining strategies where courts and health systems could collaboratively address SDH with women Opioid Intervention Court participants.

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