scholarly journals Coronavirus Health Inequities in the United States Highlight Need for Continued Community Development Efforts*

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233
Author(s):  
Heather A. Walter-McCabe

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic of 2020 has shown a spotlight on inequity in the USA. Although these inequities have long existed, the coronavirus and its disparate impact on health in different communities have raised the visibility of these deeply ingrained inequities to a level that has created a new awareness across the US population and an opportunity to use this heightened awareness of the existing conditions for change. ‘Community and social development’ efforts in the post-pandemic USA can be informed by a health justice framework, across economic, societal and cultural, environmental and social dimensions. Dimensions which have all been implicated in the coronavirus response and complement other social and community development models. Although health disparities and inequities did not begin with coronavirus and will not end in the post-pandemic USA, social and community development efforts which value health justice and concentrate on social determinants of health can provide needed policies and programmes for a more equitable US health system.

Author(s):  
Halyna Shchyhelska

2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Ukrainian independence. OnJanuary 22, 1918, the Ukrainian People’s Republic proclaimed its independence by adopting the IV Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada, although this significant event was «wiped out» from the public consciousness on the territory of Ukraine during the years of the Soviet totalitarian regime. At the same time, January 22 was a crucial event for the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA. This article examines how American Ukrainians interacted with the USA Government institutions regarding the celebration and recognition of the Ukrainian Independence day on January 22. The attention is focused on the activities of ethnic Ukrainians in the United States, directed at the organization of the special celebration of the Ukrainian Independence anniversaries in the US Congress and cities. Drawing from the diaspora press and Congressional Records, this article argues that many members of Congress participated in the observed celebration and expressed kind feelings to the Ukrainian people, recognised their fight for freedom, during the House of Representatives and Senate sessions. Several Congressmen submitted the resolutions in the US Congress urging the President of United States to designate January 22 as «Ukrainian lndependence Day». January 22 was proclaimed Ukrainian Day by the governors of fifteen States and mayors of many cities. Keywords: January 22, Ukrainian independence day, Ukrainian diaspora, USA, interaction, Congress


Author(s):  
J. C. Sharman

This chapter begins by tracing the origins of the anti-kleptocracy cause in the United States, starting with the harsh Cold War environment and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. It explores the status quo ante of dictators being able to launder their funds in the US financial system with impunity immediately before and after the turn of the century. At this time, there was no law prohibiting American banks and other institutions receiving the proceeds of foreign corruption. The USA Patriot Act closed this legal loophole, yet practice lagged, and laws at first failed to have much of an impact. More recent cases indicate at least partial effectiveness, however, with instances of successful prevention and some looted wealth confiscated and returned.


Author(s):  
Anatoliy Khudoliy

The article deals with the policy of the United States of America, Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation in the Asia-Pacific Region. Leadership ambitions of the countries became evident in political, economic, military, technological and space spheres especially over the last few years. The purpose of the article is to analyze American-Chinese and Russian-Chinese relationships in the Asia-Pacific and identify reasons for their foreign policy course. Both countries, China and the USA are eager to play leader’s part in the regional politics. The relationships between the PRC and the United States significantly deteriorated, especially during D. Trump presidency. The author draws attention to the US policy and its attempts to strengthen its own positions in the region as well as to China’s economic activity reflected in transport projects, for instance – One Belt, One Road initiative, perceived by Washington as a challenge to its leader’s position. Tensions between two countries increased due to aggressive regional policy of China which claimed sovereignty over few small islands in the South China Sea. Beijing and Washington compete for leadership in the sphere of technology where China is ahead of the USA.


At the present stage of development of international economic relations special attention is paid to the study of the relations between the countries that are the world leaders in terms of GDP and foreign trade – the USA and China. This is due to the fact that in recent years the US have introduced a number of measures to counteract the growth of Chinese exports, which has led to backlash from China. The subject of the study is the foreign trade relations of the USA and China. The goal is to analyze the influence of protectionist measures applied by the US and China on the development of their foreign economic relations. The following objectives are set: to determine the level of economic interdependence of the USA and the PRC, to investigate their impact on mutual trade flows and to analyze the dynamics of bilateral trade of countries under restrictive measures. The following methods are: comparative analysis, systematization and generalization, construction of regression models. The results of the analysis revealed that the US and PRC current accounts show reverse dynamics: the United States demonstrates stable deficit, while China has had surplus for many years. Moreover, the structures of the current accounts do differ a lot as well: the US is totally services-oriented country, whereas China is a major exporter of goods. It can be observed that both countries have experienced a recession of foreign economic activity since 2018, as far as their current account balances decreased substantially, which is likely to be the consequence of tariff barriers imposed by the US and PRC. Furthermore, due to trade confrontation, bilateral trade between these countries declines significantly as well, so that now China and the United States are forced to look for new export markets. The results of the regression models allow concluding that import from China is indeed having a negative impact on US exports, which has led to the US restrictions on imports from China. However, the introduction of mutual restrictions did not lead to an improvement of the US foreign trade.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 2497
Author(s):  
V. G. Vilkov ◽  
S. A. Shalnova ◽  
Yu. A. Balanova ◽  
S. E. Evstifeeva ◽  
A. E. Imaeva ◽  
...  

Aim. To study the prevalence of hypotension according to several criteria in the Russia and the USA.Material and methods. We used data of Russian population studies performed in 1975-1982 and ESSE-RF study performed in 2012-2014 at the National Medical Research Center for Therapy and Preventive Medicine. A comparison was made with the data of cross-sectional stu - dies of the US population — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES): NHANES II (1976-1980) and Continuous NHANES (2007-2012). We analyzed age, sex, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The prevalence of individuals with hypotension was calculated in men and women of five age groups using four different criteria for hypertension.Results. The prevalence of hypotension in studies of different years according to different criteria was as follows: in the Russia — 0,3-9,0% in men and 2-15% in women; in the USA — 5-30% in men and 8-45% in women. In age group >30 years, the prevalence of hypotension in Russia, by most criteria, decreased approximately by 50% in men and did not change in women. In the United States, according to all criteria, the prevalence in men and women has increased 2-3 times.Conclusion. The prevalence of hypotension in the adult population ranges from decimal percentages to 45% and varies many times depending on the selected criterion.


Author(s):  
L. L. Fituni

The article lays out a hypothesis that the global order slides into a new bipolarity in the context of the escalating geo-economic and geopolitical confrontation between the two poles that currently dominate the world - the United States and China. The neo-bipolar construction cannot yet be regarded as an established new world order, but the general movement of the world economy and international relations in this direction is obvious. The neo-bipolar bipolar confrontation manifest itself with varying intensity in different regions of the world. The author argues that at present the peripheral regions which are strategically important for the prospects of competition are becoming an important testing ground for relatively “safe” elaboration of methods and tactics of geo-economic rivalry and h mutual exchange of systemic attacks. Today, Africa has become practically the leading theater of the new bipolar confrontation. The article analyzes the economic, military and strategic aspects of the rivalry between the United States and China on the African continent. It provides a comparative analysis of the new African strategies of the two superpowers adopted at the end of 2018. The author asserts that in the context of the emerging global bipolarity, the strategies of the USA and China represent antagonistic programs based on fundamentally different initial messages. In the case of the US strategy, this is to deter by denial the spread of the competitor’s influence using tough policies, including forceful (while not necessarily military) confrontational actions. While China seeks to neutralize the opposition of the United States and its allies to Beijing’s expansion on the continent and to win the freedom of interaction with any partners in Africa causing minimal direct confrontation possible. Therefore, despite the seemingly “peripheral” importance of the confrontation on the continent, for the establishment of a neo-bipolar world order, the proclamation of the new US regional geopolitical strategy, which focuses on the containment of China in the name of protecting democracy and independence, can serve not only for Africa, but for the whole planet the same milestone signal as Churchill’s Fulton speech for the final advent of bipolarity in the postwar world.


Author(s):  
S.O. Buranok ◽  

The article is devoted to the problem of formation of approaches and assessments of the Chinese crisis of 1931 in the US press; it is based on the materials of both Democratic and Republican press of the USA. The materials of the American press of 1931 dedicated to the search for the most efficient optimal strategy of building relations with China and Japan demonstrate a steady interest of American mass media towards negative and positive experience of Asianpolicy. In the course of a difficult search of an optimal view on crisis, several polar points of view were formulated in the American press. A study of daily newspapers and analytical magazines in the United States shows that in the fall of 1931 two approaches to the «Chinese incident» were formed: isolationist and internationalist. In the fall of 1931, the US periodicals did not yet have the idea of “saving China”, which became popular during the second Sino-Japanese war. The journalists and editors viewed a tacit and indirect support for the Japanese claims as only significant model for solving the «China problem». Thus, the study of the positions of the major American press and the most prominent journalists is important for understanding how the USA, after the Chinese crisis, gradually realized its place in the new system of international relations. In addition, the press shows how the United States planned to develop interaction with the warring states in the Pacific Ocean.


Author(s):  
Wendy E. Parmet

This chapter studies the social determinants of health in the United States, focusing on one important but often overlooked social determinant: law. It explains how law influences social determinants and why law should itself be viewed as an important social determinant, one that can both magnify or diminish health disparities. Law can affect population health in numerous ways. Most obviously, laws create, empower, and restrain state, local, and federal public health agencies; regulate the delivery of healthcare; and seek to promote population health by regulating unsafe practices and activities, such as smoking. Health laws, however, are not the only laws that affect health. Laws that affect employment, income inequality, housing, the built environment, and education may also impact health. The chapter then considers some defining features of US law that may play a role in creating or perpetuating health disparities both within the US and between the US and other nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. It also reviews some recent initiatives in the US, many but not all undertaken via law, to address social determinants, and it looks at the barriers that remain to ameliorating social determinants through law, as well as some reasons for optimism.


2019 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2018-054829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly D Blake ◽  
Amanda L Klein ◽  
Laura Walpert ◽  
Len Casey ◽  
Cynthia Hallett ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo describe the number and proportion of accredited, degree-granting institutions with 100% smoke-free and 100% tobacco-free protections across the USA and by state.MethodsData on postsecondary education institutions from the US Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 2015, and smoke-free and tobacco-free campus protections from the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation’s Smokefree and Tobacco-Free Colleges and Universities List 2017, were integrated to calculate the number and proportion of: (1) smoke-free and tobacco-free accredited, degree-granting institutions and (2) students and staff protected by campus policies and state laws. Campus protections are given a 100% smoke-free designation if smoking is not allowed on campus anywhere, at any time; 100% tobacco-free designations extend smoke-free protections to include non-combustible products such as smokeless tobacco.Results823 accredited, degree-granting institutions (16.7%) representing 1816 individual campuses, sites and schools have either 100% smoke-free or 100% tobacco-free protections. An estimated 14.9 million college students (26.9%) and 8.9 million faculty and staff (25.4%) are protected by campus policies and state laws. Only three states and two territories have 100% smoke-free or 100% tobacco-free protections in over half of their institutions; four states and six territories have no known 100% smoke-free or 100% tobacco-free campus protections.ConclusionsIn 2017, just 16.7% of accredited, degree-granting institutions in the USA had 100% smoke-free or 100% tobacco-free protections. Despite progress, more efforts can ensure that students and staff benefit from comprehensive 100% smoke-free and 100% tobacco-free protections at US colleges and universities.


2019 ◽  
pp. 58-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Urnov

As a self-proclaimed “Global Leader” the United States have made “the assertion, advancement, support and defense of democracy” throughout the world one of the pillars of their foreign policy. This aim invariably figures in all Washington’s program documents pertaining to Africa. A major component of these efforts is an assistance to regular, free and fair elections. The selection of arguments cited to justify such activities has been done skilfully. In each specific case it is emphasized that the United States do not side with any competing party, stand “above the battle”, work for the perfection of electoral process, defend the rights of opposition and rank and file votes, render material and technical help to national electoral committees. Sounds irreproachable. However, the real situation is different. The study of the US practical activities in this field allows to conclude that Washington has one-sidedly awarded itself a role of a judge and supervisor of developments related to elections in the sovereign countries of Africa, tries to control the ways they are prepared and conducted. These activities signify an interference into the internal affairs of African states. The scale and forms of such interference differ and is subjected to tasks the USA try to resolve in this or that country on the national, regional or global levels. However, everywhere it serves as an instrument of penetration and strengthening of the US influence, enhancing the US political presence in African countries. The right of the US to perform this role is presented as indisputable. Sceptics are branded as opponents of democracy. The author explores the US positions and activities connected with elections in Africa during the last years of B.Obama and first two years of D.Trump presidencies. He shows how their policy have been implemented on the continental level and in regard to several countries – South Sudan, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Nigeria, Somali, Kenya, Uganda.


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