A Systems Approach to Achieve Equity in Healthcare Research

2022 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Sabharwal ◽  
Souptik Barua ◽  
David Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Systems Approach ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Healthcare Research ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Predominantly Black ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Healthcare in the United States is inequitable. The consequence of inequity is that the burden of serious chronic disease, such as diabetes, falls disproportionately on populations experiencing health disparities, predominantly Black, Indigenous, and people of color. [1] The reasons for the inequity include the negative impact of the social determinants of health of individuals and families from these communities, being underrepresented as participants in clinical research, having limited access to technologies that support self-care, and a lack of researchers and clinicians from these same populations. [2] To achieve equity and fairness, there is a need for a paradigm shift in healthcare research and innovation based on improving access, trust, and self-efficacy [3] to convert new knowledge into positive health outcomes.

scholarly journals The Need for Shared Nomenclature on Racism and Related Terminology in Psychology

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 886-892
Author(s):  
Angela M. Haeny ◽  
Samantha C. Holmes ◽  
Monnica T. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Research ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Racial Hierarchy ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Impact

With the increased desire to engage in antiracist clinical research, there is a need for shared nomenclature on racism and related constructs to help move the science forward. This article breaks down the factors that contributed to the development and maintenance of racism (including racial microaggressions), provides examples of the many forms of racism, and describes the impact of racism for all. Specifically, in the United States, racism is based on race, a social construct that has been used to categorize people on the basis of shared physical and social features with the assumption of a racial hierarchy presumed to delineate inherent differences between groups. Racism is a system of beliefs, practices, and policies that operate to advantage those at the top of the racial hierarchy. Individual factors that contribute to racism include racial prejudices and racial discrimination. Racism can be manifested in multiple forms (e.g., cultural, scientific, social) and is both explicit and implicit. Because of the negative impact of racism on health, understanding racism informs effective approaches for eliminating racial health disparities, including a focus on the social determinants of health. Providing shared nomenclature on racism and related terminology will strengthen clinical research and practice and contribute to building a cumulative science.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Healthy Community Approaches on Positive Health Outcomes in Canada and the United States

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hazel Williams-Roberts ◽  
Bonnie Jeffery ◽  
Shanthi Johnson ◽  
Nazeem Muhajarine
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
Healthy Community

scholarly journals U.S. Men’s Perceptions and Experiences of Emergency Contraceptives

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Wright ◽  
Peter R. Fawson ◽  
Caren J. Frost ◽  
David K. Turok
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Intrauterine Device ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Health Decision ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Research suggests that men should be included in reproductive health decision making to help enhance positive health outcomes for their partners. Men affect the use of contraception and what method is used. Men’s decisions may be affected by different factors such as gender, education, and the nature of their sexual relationship. A qualitative study was conducted to explore males’ experiences and perceptions about emergency contraception (EC), and the meanings males assign to EC. Semistructured in-depth focus groups were held with 15 men who engage in heterosexual activity recruited from a university setting in the United States. Participants expressed egalitarian views of the contraception decision-making processes, a sense of responsibility regarding reproductive decision making, and that society has a negative stigma toward those who use EC. However, there was a lack of knowledge regarding the copper intrauterine device, which was not viewed as a method of EC. Exploring the role and needs of men in reproductive health care discussions and research is an important and growing area. Recommendations are provided for health care practitioners, policy, and future research around men and EC.

Teaching resident physicians to work with the previously incarcerated patient

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Hofmeister ◽  
Andrya Soprych
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Medical Residency Training ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Over 2 million adults in the United States are incarcerated and over 650,000 return to the community each year. This disparate population is known to have an elevated burden of chronic disease and lower socioeconomic status. Medical residency training about care for incarcerated or previously incarcerated patients is significantly lacking in the United States. Curriculum can be developed and implemented in residency programs to help physicians learn how to work with this population, be sensitive to their unique needs, and achieve positive health outcomes. This article describes a method for “educating the educators” based on a workshop presented at a peer-reviewed national conference during the fall of 2016. Attendees participated in exercises addressing assumptions, expectations, bias, and worldview and increased their ability for self-reflection when interacting with patients who are or have experienced incarceration. In this session, strategies were identified that engaged the patient with the goal to aid in patient retention and compliance. Future steps include development of a formal curriculum for training in this area, incorporation into existing community medicine rotations or electives, and establishment of structured transition clinics where residents can be exposed to this population on a more regular basis and improve their overall health outcomes.

scholarly journals RRI and Corporate Stakeholder Engagement: The Aquadvantage Salmon Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1820
Author(s):  
Beniamino Callegari ◽  
Olga Mikhailova
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Engagement ◽  
Social Acceptance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Consumption ◽  
Legitimate Business ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Fda Approval ◽  
The Social ◽  
Innovative Products

Declining public trust in science and innovation triggered the emergence and development of the responsible research and innovation (RRI) concept among policymakers and academics. Engaging stakeholders in the early phases of innovation processes has been identified as a major driver of inclusive, responsible, and sustainable development. Firms however have often adopted practices entirely opposite to those being advocated within the RRI framework, namely, reducing external interaction with stakeholders, focusing on exclusive communication with the scientific community and legal authorities while avoiding the social spotlight. We illustrate these practices, their causes and consequences using the case of the Aquadvantage salmon, the first genetically modified (GM) animal approved to petition for the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human consumption. We find that such practices heighten the risk of social backlash, being undesirable from the perspective of both the organizations involved and society at large. Stakeholder engagement remains necessary in order to gain the minimum social acceptance required for contentious innovative products to enter the market. However, stakeholder engagement must be selective, focused on pragmatic organizations whose aims and interests are sufficiently broad to potentially align with corporate interests. Strategic stakeholder engagement offers a meeting point between the transformative aspirations of RRI framework proponents and legitimate business interests.

Racialized Organizations and Color-Blind Racial Ideology in Brazil

2020 ◽  
pp. 233264922094322
Author(s):  
Ian Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Social Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Racial Ideology ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Organizational Practices ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Racism ◽  
Color Blind

Although the relationship between organizations and structural racism is well established, less is known about how racialization occurs within organizations. Overlooking how racial ideology is imbued in organizational logic obscures the role organizations play in reproducing structural racism. The prevalence of color-blind racial ideology further complicates the study of racialization, as most societies deny the existence of racism targeting people of color. In this article the author asks, How does color-blind racial ideology guide management decisions and the rationalization of racially unequal organizational practices? Using an extended case study method, the author examines sugar-ethanol mills in Brazil, where nonwhite workers are disproportionately exposed to hazardous risks. The author argues that the racialization of organizational practices occurs through a twofold process in which white elites use nonracial discourse to rationalize unequal outcomes and to reproduce the social conditions that steer nonwhite peoples into hazardous worksites. This article makes two contributions to the literature. First, through the discursive frames of cultural racism, naturalization, victimization, and politicized markets, the author shows how the allocation of resources and opportunities at the organizational level shapes and is shaped by racialized social systems. Second, by studying unequal relations in Brazil, the author elucidates the long-standing presence of color blindness in Iberian America while also tracing similarities and differences with color-blind racism in the United States.

scholarly journals What have we learned about positive changes experienced during COVID-19 lockdown? Evidence of the social patterning of change

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244873
Author(s):  
Lynn Williams ◽  
Lesley Rollins ◽  
David Young ◽  
Leanne Fleming ◽  
Madeleine Grealy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social

Background Multiple studies have highlighted the negative impact of COVID-19 and its particular effects on vulnerable sub-populations. Complementing this work, here, we report on the social patterning of self-reported positive changes experienced during COVID-19 national lockdown in Scotland. Methods The CATALYST study collected data from 3342 adults in Scotland during weeks 9–12 of a national lockdown. Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed an online questionnaire providing data on key sociodemographic and health variables, and completed a measure of positive change. The positive change measure spanned diverse domains (e.g., more quality time with family, developing new hobbies, more physical activity, and better quality of sleep). We used univariate analysis and stepwise regression to examine the contribution of a range of sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment, and employment status) in explaining positive change. Results There were clear sociodemographic differences across positive change scores. Those reporting higher levels of positive change were female, from younger age groups, married or living with their partner, employed, and in better health. Conclusion Overall our results highlight the social patterning of positive changes during lockdown in Scotland. These findings begin to illuminate the complexity of the unanticipated effects of national lockdown and will be used to support future intervention development work sharing lessons learned from lockdown to increase positive health change amongst those who may benefit.

Teaching resident physicians the power of implicit bias and how it impacts patient care utilizing patients who have experienced incarceration as a model

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (4-6) ◽  
pp. 345-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Hofmeister ◽  
Andrya Soprych
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Formal Curriculum ◽  
Residency Programs ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Medical Residency Training ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes

Over 2 million adults in the United States are incarcerated and over 650,000 return to the community each year. This disparate population is known to have an elevated burden of chronic disease and lower socioeconomic status. Medical residency training about care of incarcerated or previously incarcerated patients is significantly lacking in the United States. Curriculum can be developed and implemented in residency programs to help physicians learn how to work with this population, be sensitive to their unique needs, and achieve positive health outcomes. This article describes a method for “educating the educators” based on a workshop presented at a peer-reviewed national conference during the fall of 2016. Attendees participated in exercises addressing assumptions, expectations, bias, and worldview and increased their ability for self-reflection when interacting with patients who are or have experienced incarceration. In this session, strategies were identified that engaged the patient with the goal to aid in patient retention and compliance. Future steps include development of a formal curriculum for training in this area, incorporation into existing community medicine rotations or electives, and establishment of structured transition clinics where residents can be exposed to this population on a more regular basis and improve their overall health outcomes.

scholarly journals “Nice White Meetings”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Lalitha Nataraj ◽  
Holly Hampton ◽  
Talitha R. Matlin ◽  
Yvonne Nalani Meulemans
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
United States ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Group Work ◽  
The United States ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Neutral System ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Academic Librarianship

Although the issues of diversity and representation are often discussed within academic librarianship in Canada and the United States, the field has made little headway in being inclusive of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) who work within it. If academic libraries are to become truly authentic and inclusive spaces  where BIPOC are central not only to shaping the values of a library but also to determining how those values are accomplished, we must examine the traditional ways in which libraries function. One of these traditions is a reliance on bureaucracy and its associated practices such as structured group work and meetings, which are presumed to be inherently neutral and rational ways of working. Critical examinations of bureaucracy within higher education reveal how its overadoption is absurdly at odds with the social justice–oriented missions of most libraries. Furthermore, not all who are involved in libraries are equally harmed through this overreliance on bureaucracy; this article employs Critical Race Theory to uncover the insidious and specific deleterious impacts bureaucracies can have on BIPOC library workers. The antithesis of a neutral system, bureaucracy instead functions to force assimilation into a system entrenched in whiteness. 

scholarly journals What have we learned about positive changes experienced during COVID-19 lockdown? Evidence of the social patterning of change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Williams ◽  
Lesley Rollins ◽  
David Young ◽  
Leanne Fleming ◽  
Madeleine Grealy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Intervention Development ◽  
Positive Change ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Social

AbstractBackgroundMultiple studies have highlighted the negative impact of COVID-19 and its particular effects on vulnerable sub-populations. Complementing this work, here, we report on the social patterning of self-reported positive changes experienced during COVID-19 national lockdown in Scotland.MethodsThe CATALYST study collected data from 3342 adults in Scotland during weeks 9-12 of a national lockdown. Using a cross-sectional design, participants completed an online questionnaire providing data on key sociodemographic and health variables, and completed a measure of positive change. The positive change measure spanned diverse domains (e.g., more quality time with family, developing new hobbies, more physical activity, and better quality of sleep). We used univariate analysis and stepwise regression to examine the contribution of a range of sociodemographic factors (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, educational attainment, and employment status) in explaining positive change.ResultsThere were clear sociodemographic differences across positive change scores. Those reporting higher levels of positive change were female, from younger age groups, married or living with their partner, employed, and in better health.ConclusionOverall our results highlight the social patterning of positive changes during lockdown in Scotland. These findings begin to illuminate the complexity of the unanticipated effects of national lockdown and will be used to support future intervention development work sharing lessons learned from lockdown to increase positive health change amongst those who may benefit.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document