scholarly journals Isolation in COVID, and COVID in Isolation—Exacerbated Shortfalls in Provision for Women's Health and Well-Being Among Marginalized Urban Communities in India

2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lakshmi K. Josyula ◽  
Shrutika Murthy ◽  
Himabindu Karampudi ◽  
Surekha Garimella

This paper describes the lived experiences of health seeking, health care recourse, and well-being of women waste pickers, a highly marginalized sub-population in urban areas in India, highlighting the intersectionality of gender, socioeconomic and cultural contexts, and occupational hazards that they face, as studied by a research team engaged in participatory action research with waste workers in urban India. We note the impact of the superimposition of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the restrictions on movement and access to livelihoods, social support, and health care, and policies made and enforced in a fragmented manner, on the already deprived conditions of the waste pickers. We reflect on the women waste pickers' practices of health seeking, their access to health care, the provisions made for them and made use of by them, and the support they could tap in protecting and restoring their health. A range of these experiences is illustrated through three case studies. Finally, recommendations are made for better provision for women's health and well-being, and improved preparedness for emergency situations.

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Walker ◽  
T. K. Logan

Research typically compartmentalizes health and justice as separate areas of study. However, the current health literature on inequality suggests the two concepts are overlapping. For victims of partner violence, procedural justice (defined in this article as access to protective orders and enforcement of protective orders) potentially provides a step toward improved health and well-being by improving safety. There has been limited research examining these factors in rural compared with urban areas. This study examines the impact of procedural justice on health and well-being through interviews with rural and urban women 6 months prior to, and 6 months after, obtaining a protective order. Consistent with other literature, rural women who were victims of partner violence reported worse health, higher stress, and higher Stress-Related Consequences Scale scores compared with urban women. Women’s reported health consequences were related to the interaction of perceived ineffectiveness of the protective orders and their rural/urban environment. Thus, the perceived effectiveness of procedural justice may play an important role in alleviating victims’ safety, health, and well-being, all of which are components of contemporary views of justice.


Author(s):  
Catherine García ◽  
Fernando I Rivera ◽  
Marc A Garcia ◽  
Giovani Burgos ◽  
María P Aranda

Abstract Objectives The COVID-19 outbreak has worsened the ongoing economic crisis in Puerto Rico by creating “parallel pandemics” that exacerbate socioeconomic and health inequalities experienced by its most vulnerable residents. Unfortunately, conditions on the island have been largely overlooked by national media outlets and the mainland U.S. population. Thus, this research report aims to draw attention to the disparate burden multiple and compounding disasters have on older island-dwelling Puerto Rican adults’ health and well-being. Methods We characterize the lived experiences of the older population in Puerto Rico by incorporating data from multiple sources and contextualizing the effects of compounding disasters, the fiscal pandemic, and health care challenges to provide a more nuanced portrait of existing compounding factors that negatively affect the health and well-being of older adults in the era of COVID-19. Results We highlight 2 main factors that exacerbate pre-pandemic inequities experienced by the older adult population amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico: (a) the impact of multiple and compounding disasters; and (b) health care challenges. Discussion The human suffering of the Puerto Rican population is compounded by the consequences of fiscal austerity, increasing levels of income and wealth inequality, the debt crisis, significant emigration, and a dysfunctional health care system. Future governmental actions are required to lessen the burden of parallel pandemics on older adults in Puerto Rico.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Chirongoma

Through an exploration of the collapse of the Zimbabwean health delivery systems during the period 2000–2010, this article examines the Karanga people’s indigenous responses to utano (health and well-being). The first section explores the impact of Zimbabwe’s economic and sociopolitical development on people’s health and well-being. The next section foregrounds the ‘agency’ of the Karanga community in accessing and facilitating health care, especially their utilisation of multiple healthcare providers as well as providing health care through indigenous remedies such as traditional medicine and faith-healing. In line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 which aspires to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, the concluding section offers insights for developing an indigenous Karanga theology of utano utilising communal resources and illustrating that the concept of ‘development’ should not be confined to rigid Western development perspectives.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith M. Pechacek ◽  
Diana Drake ◽  
Carrie Ann Terrell ◽  
Carolyn Torkelson

Understanding the impact interprofessional teamwork has on patient outcomes is of great interest to health care providers, educators, and administrators. This article describes one clinical team, Women’s Health Specialists, and their implementation of an interprofessional health intervention course: “Mindfulness and Well-being: The Mature Woman” (MW: MW) to support mature women’s health needs in midlife (age 40–70 years) and empower patient involvement in self-care. The provider team works to understand how their interprofessional education and collaborative practice (IPECP) interventions focused on supporting midlife women are associated with improved quality and clinical outcomes. This case study describes the work of the Women’s Health Specialists clinic in partnership with the National Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice to study the impact an interprofessional team has on the health needs of women in midlife. This article summarizes the project structure, processes, outputs, and outcomes. Data collection, analysis, strategy, and next steps for future midlife women’s projects are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Robert Lloyd ◽  
Melissa Haussman ◽  
Patrick James

What is the impact of religious and non-religious beliefs on health care? Health care, an essential aspect of an individual’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being, is an important way to assess this question. This book studies the relationship of the physical and spiritual domains by investigating how religious belief affects the provision and consumption of public health in three Africa countries: Uganda, Mozambique, and Ethiopia. Results all confirm the impact of religious beliefs on health perceptions, procurement, and provision. Securing good health is a key and universal aspiration. Furthermore, modern medicine is commonly understood as a means to that end. No matter the religious belief, all showed awareness of the importance and efficacy of medical treatment. On the health care provision side, faith-based entities are important, even essential, in health care for the three countries studied. A review of health outcomes, centered around the Millennium Development Goals, reveals general progress across the board. The progress towards the MDG’s has also been made by international ngo’s, including those focused specifically on women’s health. Health seeking behaviour is affected by a holistic mindset in which physical and mental health are intertwined. This world view, observed among adherents of Christianity, Islam, and African Traditional Religion, shapes Africans’ understanding of the world of sickness and health and how best to respond to its complexity. Africans thus pursue health care in a rational way, given their world view, with an openness to, and even preference, for faith-based provision where government efforts may fall short of basic needs.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R. Powers ◽  
Deborah Loxton ◽  
Jeanine Baker ◽  
Jane L. Rich ◽  
Annette J. Dobson

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