Literature on health inequalities

2019 ◽  
pp. 81-102
Author(s):  
Sandra Torres
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
North America ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Perceived Racism ◽  
Ethnicity And Race ◽  
Disease Specific

This chapter aims specifically to describe what characterises the portion of the scholarship on the intersection of ethnicity/ race and ageing/ old age that focuses on health inequalities. This chapter brings attention to the fact that this literature regards ethnicity and race as crude proxies and fails therefore to acknowledge the complexity embedded in these social positions. The chapter brings attention to the main trends observed when reviewing the literature (i.e. that most studies come from North America and focus on a small number of ethnic minorities, most fail to address how ethnicity and race is made sense of in the studies, most are informed by the essentialist and/ or structuralist perspectives, and that most studies rely on studies that have not been designed to specifically explore the nexus in question). In doing so, this chapter shows what the perspectives that inform this literature mean not only for the themes that have received attention (i.e. general health/ physical functioning, disability and mobility/ disease-specific/ mental health/ cognitive functioning), but also for the ones that remain unexplored (such as, for example, the study of how perceived racism impacts the health of older ethnic minorities).

scholarly journals How ‘culture bound’ is ‘cultural psychiatry’?

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sushrut Jadhav
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
North America ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Mental Health Training ◽  
Cultural Psychiatry ◽  
Clinical Specialty ◽  
Steady Growth ◽  
The Uk

Cultural psychiatry as a clinical specialty sprung mainly from Europe and North America, in order to respond to growing concerns of ethnic minorities in high-income countries. Academic psychiatrists pursuing comparative international studies on mental health, together with medical anthropologists conducting clinical ethnographies, contributed to its theoretical basis (Kleinman, 1987; Littlewood, 1990). What at first appeared to be a marginal specialty is no longer so. For example, the UK alone has witnessed a steady growth of the field, as evidenced by its mandatory inclusion in mental health training curricula, and the existence of several taught masters courses, academic positions in universities and three dedicated journals, as well as, more recently, lead papers in mainstream publications that have debated the cultural position of ‘biology’ itself (Timimi & Taylor, 2004). Additionally, with a proliferation of clinical jobs for ‘ethnic minority’ services in hospital trusts across the country, there is ample scope for employment. The overall evidence indicates that ‘cultural psychiatry’ in the UK is now a specialty in its own right.

Cohort comparisons in resources and functioning among centenarians: Findings from the Georgia Centenarian Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinmyoung Cho ◽  
Peter Martin ◽  
Jennifer Margrett ◽  
Maurice MacDonald ◽  
Leonard W. Poon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Social Resources ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Phase Iii

The purpose of this study was to examine cohort comparisons in levels of resources (e.g., mental health, physical functioning, economic and social resources, and cognitive functioning) for 211 community-dwelling centenarians (whose Mini-Mental Status Examination score was 23 or higher) of phases I and III of the Georgia Centenarian Study. The earlier cohort was defined as those born between 1881 and 1895 (part of phase I) and the later cohort included persons born between 1901 and 1907 (part of phase III). Five specific domains were compared: mental health; mental status; physical functioning; social resources; and economic resources. Results showed that there were significant cohort comparisons in five domains: mental health; mental status; physical functioning; social networks; and economic resources. Findings suggest that the later centenarian cohort was more satisfied with life, felt less depressed, showed less positive or negative emotion, had higher scores on perceived economic status, and higher levels of physical and cognitive functioning when compared to the earlier cohort. In conclusion, our findings suggest that recent cohorts of centenarians may be better off than previous ones with respect to several areas of individual resources. This study suggests that, even as the number of centenarians increases and some proportion of centenarians experience severe deterioration at the end of their life, there are improvements of functioning, health, and overall life quality among advanced older adults.

scholarly journals Overview of EWB and Aging

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 204-205
Author(s):  
Robert Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factor ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Well Being

Abstract The accumulation of scientific knowledge has been hampered by inconsistent usage of terms and categories. Ontology is the study of categories, their properties, and the relations between them. This presentation considers the definition and measurement of emotional well-being (EWB), a term that has been used inconsistently in research and clinical practice. The category contains eudaimonic and hedonic well-being that represent interrelated but conceptually distinct aspects of mental health. This presentation will review the definition and measurement of EWB and evidence for the validity of the construct. Evidence suggests EWB increases after age 50 and is important for maintenance of cognitive function in old age. Further, low in EWB may be a risk factor for incident ADRD, and is likely to impair cognitive functioning.

scholarly journals ETHNICITY, RACE, HEALTH, AND SOCIAL CARE: STUDYING INEQUALITIES IN AN INJUSTICE-OBLIVIOUS WAY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S197-S197
Author(s):  
Sandra Torres
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Care Practices ◽  
Ethnicity And Race ◽  
Older Populations

Abstract Scholarship on ethnicity and old age is at a crossroad now that increased diversity is a given in older populations. The same holds true for the study of inequalities in old age as it relates to ethnicity and race. This presentation relies on a scoping review of scholarship published between 1998 - 2017 (n=336) that brings attention to the ways in which ethnicity/ race – as grounds for stratification and disadvantage - are made sense of in this scholarship. The presentation will describe the topics that the review divulged when it comes to the study of health and social care (i.e. access and usage; attitudes, preferences and experiences; assessment of programs suitability and self-care practices). In doing so, this presentation will argue that if we are to address the inequalities that older ethnic minorities face we need not only a diversity-astute research agenda but also an injustice-aware one.

scholarly journals Ethnicity and race in access and usage of health and social care: results from a scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 429-429
Author(s):  
Sandra Torres
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Ethnicity And Race ◽  
Older Populations

Abstract Scholarship on ethnicity and old age is at a crossroad now that increased diversity is a given in older populations. The same holds true for the study of the role that ethnicity and race play in access and usage of health and social care in old age. This presentation relies on a scoping review of scholarship published between 1998 and 2020 that brings attention to the ways in which ethnicity & race – as grounds for stratification and disadvantage - are made sense of in this scholarship. The presentation will describe the topics that the review divulged, whether racism has been acknowledged in this scholarship so far, and how this has been the case. In doing so, this presentation will argue that if we are to address the inequalities that older ethnic minorities face we need not only a diversity-astute research agenda but also an injustice-aware one.

scholarly journals The association of cognitive performance with mental health and physical functioning strengthens with age: the Whitehall II cohort study

2009 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Jokela ◽  
A. Singh-Manoux ◽  
J. E. Ferrie ◽  
D. Gimeno ◽  
T. N. Akbaraly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Early Old Age

BackgroundCognitive performance has been associated with mental and physical health, but it is unknown whether the strength of these associations changes with ageing and with age-related social transitions, such as retirement. We examined whether cognitive performance predicted mental and physical health from midlife to early old age.MethodParticipants were 5414 men and 2278 women from the Whitehall II cohort study followed for 15 years between 1991 and 2006. The age range included over the follow-up was from 40 to 75 years. Mental health and physical functioning were measured six times using SF-36 subscales. Cognitive performance was assessed three times using five cognitive tests assessing verbal and numerical reasoning, verbal memory, and phonemic and semantic fluency. Socio-economic status (SES) and retirement were included as covariates.ResultsHigh cognitive performance was associated with better mental health and physical functioning. Mental health differences associated with cognitive performance widened with age from 39 to 76 years of age, whereas physical functioning differences widened only between 39 and 60 years and not after 60 years of age. SES explained part of the widening differences in mental health and physical functioning before age 60. Cognitive performance was more strongly associated with mental health in retired than non-retired participants, which contributed to the widening differences after 60 years of age.ConclusionsThe strength of cognitive performance in predicting mental and physical health may increase from midlife to early old age, and these changes may be related to SES and age-related transitions, such as retirement.

Socio-Economic Resources and Differential Ageing

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Ulrich Mayer ◽  
Michael Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cohort Differences ◽  
Social Differentials

ABSTRACTThe Sociology and Social Policy Research Unit of the Berlin Aging Study focuses on four substantive areas: (1) life course antecedents and generational experiences, (2) later phases of the family life course, (3) action resources and social participation, and (4) economic situations and the provision of care. This paper reports results on the relationship between social and economic inequality and differential ageing, using the BASE multidisciplinary Intake Assessment (N = 360). The socio-economic position of older people is measured along three dimensions: economic resources, social status and prestige, and cultural status. Several ageing outcomes are considered, including functional physical health, cognitive functioning and mental health, overall subjective well-being, social autonomy and dependency. First, we show that old people as a group are neither socially nor economically homogeneous: very old women possess unusually low economic resources; and cohort differences in educational attainment are carried into old age. Second, cognitive functioning and mental health are positively correlated with socio-economic resources, while functional physical health is not. For women, socio-economic resources slightly affect overall subjective well-being, and are linked to the likelihood of living in a nursing home. We speculate that the wide availability of compulsory health insurance reduces social differentials in physical health and that these inequalities may determine who survives into old age.

Physical fitness and cognitive functioning in old age

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soledad Ballesteros ◽  
Montserrat Gonzalez ◽  
Susana Paz ◽  
Julia Mayas ◽  
Beatriz Garcia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Old Age

Gene-environment Interaction on the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Among Ethnic Minority Populations Living in Europe and North America: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad H. Zafarmand ◽  
Parvin Tajik ◽  
René Spijker ◽  
Charles Agyemang
Keyword(s):  
Type 2 Diabetes ◽  
North America ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Ethnic Minority Groups ◽  
Gene Environment Interaction ◽  
Gene Environment

Background: The body of evidence on gene-environment interaction (GEI) related to type 2 diabetes (T2D) has grown in the recent years. However, most studies on GEI have sought to explain variation within individuals of European ancestry and results among ethnic minority groups are inconclusive. Objective: To investigate any interaction between a gene and an environmental factor in relation to T2D among ethnic minority groups living in Europe and North America. Methods: We systematically searched Medline and EMBASE databases for the published literature in English up to 25th March 2019. The screening, data extraction and quality assessment were performed by reviewers independently. Results: 1068 studies identified through our search, of which nine cohorts of six studies evaluating several different GEIs were included. The mean follow-up time in the included studies ranged from 5 to 25.7 years. Most studies were relatively small scale and few provided replication data. All studies included in the review included ethnic minorities from North America (Native-Americans, African- Americans, and Aboriginal Canadian), none of the studies in Europe assessed GEI in relation to T2D incident in ethnic minorities. The only significant GEI among ethnic minorities was HNF1A rs137853240 and smoking on T2D incident among Native-Canadians (Pinteraction = 0.006). Conclusion: There is a need for more studies on GEI among ethnicities, broadening the spectrum of ethnic minority groups being investigated, performing more discovery using genome-wide approaches, larger sample sizes for these studies by collaborating efforts such as the InterConnect approach, and developing a more standardized method of reporting GEI studies are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document