Ancestral Diversity in Skeletal Collections: Perspectives on African American Body Donation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allysha Winburn ◽  
Antaya Jennings ◽  
Dawnie Steadman ◽  
Elizabeth DiGangi
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
Research Facilities ◽  
Body Donation ◽  
The U.S

African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the U.S. population, 26% of missing persons, and 51% of homicide victims (Kochanek et al. 2019; National Crime Information Center [NCIC] 2018; U.S. Census Bureau 2010). However, African American remains are underrepresented in the documented skeletal samples resulting from body donations to U.S. taphonomic research facilities. If forensic anthropologists are to rise to the challenge of identifying remains from this segment of the U.S. population, and if heritable differences among human populations are to be distinguished from the embodied differences acquired by marginalized individuals, a deeper understanding of African American skeletal biology is essential. This understanding is contingent on Black donors participating in whole-body donation to anthropological research facilities—participation that may be undermined by a legacy of mistrust between Black communities and the traditionally White-dominated scientific and medical establishments. This review paper synthesizes data from medical research on cadaver and organ donation, as well as anthropological literature on structural violence, embodiment, and the collection and curation of human remains, to present multiple perspectives on increasing African American body donation to anthropological research. We focus on historical, structural, and cultural factors potentially contributing to Black donor reluctance, providing a perspective often lacking in discussions of skeletal curation. We aim to generate debate and discussion within the field of forensic anthropology and among community stakeholders about how skeletal research can better serve Black communities.

Motivations for Whole Body Donation

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Hilary Martinez ◽  
Emily K. Brunson
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Scientific Process ◽  
Next Of Kin ◽  
Funerary Practices ◽  
Anthropological Research ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Research Facilities ◽  
Body Donation

Abstract While death is a biological surety, how bodies are dealt with after death is largely cultural. In the United States, the most normative funerary practices are burial and cremation. Whole body donation to research facilities—including anthropological research centers—is much less common. At the same time, such donations are critical to ensure the continuation of important research. To examine this issue, and particularly to provide insight to potential body donors as well as the directors and staff of research facilities, the authors consider the factors that cause individuals and family members to choose body donation. Through interviews with both living and next-of-kin donors, we identified three primary motivations: an interest in the scientific process, a desire to be helpful, and a desire for an alternative to a traditional funeral. Living donors also noted the cost-effectiveness of body donation, while next-of-kin donors discussed honoring their loved ones' wishes.

scholarly journals The Effects of Christianity on Whole Body Donation within the African American Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Scott Triska ◽  
Malli Barremkala ◽  
A. Celeste Farr
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
African American Community ◽  
Body Donation

Whole-Body Donation Questionnaire

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
İlke Ali Gürses ◽  
Ahmet Ertaş ◽  
Başak Gürtekin ◽  
Osman Coşkun ◽  
Mehmet Üzel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Body ◽  
Body Donation

Getting Tough

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julilly Kohler-Hausmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
African American ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Penal System ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Social Investment ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Social Upheaval ◽  
The U.S

In 1970s America, politicians began “getting tough” on drugs, crime, and welfare. These campaigns helped expand the nation's penal system, discredit welfare programs, and cast blame for the era's social upheaval on racialized deviants that the state was not accountable to serve or represent. This book sheds light on how this unprecedented growth of the penal system and the evisceration of the nation's welfare programs developed hand in hand. The book shows that these historical events were animated by struggles over how to interpret and respond to the inequality and disorder that crested during this period. When social movements and the slowing economy destabilized the U.S. welfare state, politicians reacted by repudiating the commitment to individual rehabilitation that had governed penal and social programs for decades. In its place, they championed strategies of punishment, surveillance, and containment. The architects of these tough strategies insisted they were necessary, given the failure of liberal social programs and the supposed pathological culture within poor African American and Latino communities. This book rejects this explanation and describes how the spectacle of enacting punitive policies convinced many Americans that social investment was counterproductive and the “underclass” could be managed only through coercion and force. Spanning diverse institutions and weaving together the perspectives of opponents, supporters, and targets of punitive policies, the book offers new interpretations of dramatic transformations in the modern American state.

scholarly journals Cost effectiveness analysis of implementing tuberculosis screening among applicants for non-immigrant U.S. work visas

Pneumonia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bisma Ali Sayed ◽  
Drew L. Posey ◽  
Brian Maskery ◽  
La’Marcus T. Wingate ◽  
Martin S. Cetron
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
The United States ◽  
Active Tuberculosis ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Tuberculosis Screening ◽  
Hospitalization Costs ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Background While persons who receive immigrant and refugee visas are screened for active tuberculosis before admission into the United States, nonimmigrant visa applicants (NIVs) are not routinely screened and may enter the United States with infectious tuberculosis. Objectives We evaluated the costs and benefits of expanding pre-departure tuberculosis screening requirements to a subset of NIVs who arrive from a moderate (Mexico) or high (India) incidence tuberculosis country with temporary work visas. Methods We developed a decision tree model to evaluate the program costs and estimate the numbers of active tuberculosis cases that may be diagnosed in the United States in two scenarios: 1) “Screening”: screening and treatment for tuberculosis among NIVs in their home country with recommended U.S. follow-up for NIVs at elevated risk of active tuberculosis; and, 2) “No Screening” in their home country so that cases would be diagnosed passively and treatment occurs after entry into the United States. Costs were assessed from multiple perspectives, including multinational and U.S.-only perspectives. Results Under “Screening” versus “No Screening”, an estimated 179 active tuberculosis cases and 119 hospitalizations would be averted in the United States annually via predeparture treatment. From the U.S.-only perspective, this program would result in annual net cost savings of about $3.75 million. However, rom the multinational perspective, the screening program would cost $151,388 per U.S. case averted for Indian NIVs and $221,088 per U.S. case averted for Mexican NIVs. Conclusion From the U.S.-only perspective, the screening program would result in substantial cost savings in the form of reduced treatment and hospitalization costs. NIVs would incur increased pre-departure screening and treatment costs.

scholarly journals The Unique Challenges and Contributions of Diverse Caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 681-681
Author(s):  
Rita Choula
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Pacific Islander ◽  
Asian Pacific Islander ◽  
Asian Pacific ◽  
Hispanic White ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Unique Context

Abstract Caregiving in the U.S. 2020 oversampled African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and people over the age of 75. Six in ten caregivers report being non-Hispanic white, 17% are Hispanic, 14% non-Hispanic African-American or black, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 3% some other race or ethnicity, including multiracial. The session will emphasize the unique context of diverse caregivers, including African American, Hispanic, Asian, and LGBT+ caregivers. The session will begin by discussing the portrait of the typical caregiver of each of these groups. It will follow with a discussion of the challenges facing diverse caregivers in the aggregate and the opportunities to recognize and support them across settings.

Age modulates attitudes to whole body donation among medical students

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary F. Perry ◽  
Raj R. Ettarh
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Body Donation
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