Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · Jul 2021
The adverse effects of policing on population health: A conceptual model.
While negative encounters between police and the community are not a new trend, recent high profile deaths of unarmed people of color have gained widespread national attention and ignited new movements demanding reform, accountability, and progress. Increasingly over the past few decades, researchers have examined the most extreme cases of lethal use of force, describing the context of these violent encounters, situational and personal characteristics, and underlying risk factors. More recent research has aimed to define the broader and more nuanced adverse effects that policing can have on population health. ⋯ S. that incorporates contextual, situational, and individual-level factors while also recognizing the direct and vicarious mechanisms by which policing exposures can negatively affect population health. The model captures the short and long term health effects of policing and the cyclic nature by which those effects at the individual, community, and systemic levels can influence each other. We consider the unique qualities of different communities that may influence these pathways, the historical trends of the criminal justice and policing systems, and recommend applications of the model in policing agencies, medicine, and research.
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Social science & medicine · May 2021
COVID-19 information on social media and preventive behaviors: Managing the pandemic through personal responsibility.
In the face of a pandemic, social media have found to be vital information channels that might exert a positive influence on people's preventive behaviors. However, little is known about the underlying processes that may mediate or moderate the relationship. The present study examined the relation between novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information consumption on social media and preventive behaviors, as well as the mediation role of personal responsibility and moderation role of health orientation. ⋯ Meanwhile, the direct relation between COVID-19 information consumption on social media and preventive behaviors, and the mediation effect of personal responsibility were moderated by health orientation. The present study can extend our knowledge about how risk information consumption on social media is related to one's behavioral outcomes. Implications and limitations about the present study are also discussed.
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Social science & medicine · Mar 2021
Association between school racial/ethnic composition during adolescence and adult health.
School racial/ethnic segregation in U.S. schoolsDifferences in school racial/ethnic composition may increase health disparities by concentrating educational opportunities that confer long-term health benefits in schools serving predominantly wwhite students. For racial minority students, high concentrations of white students may increase exposure to racismis also associated with psychologicstress, which may ultimately reduceing the long-term health benefits from educational opportunities. Meanwhile associations of racial/ethnic academic tacking within schools and health have been mixed. We sought to test whether: 1) differences in racial/ethnic composition between schools and, 2) racial/ethnic distribution of students in academic tracks within schools are associated with long-term health benefits or risks for white, Black and Latinx students. ⋯ Among Bblack youth, attending a school with a higher percentage of white students is associated with worse behavioral health in adulthood. Understanding the potential impacts of school racial/ethnic composition on health is critical to designing policies that maximize access to opportunity and health.Education policies should comprehensively address school quality and racism to maximize adult health.
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Social science & medicine · Mar 2021
Associations of COVID-19 risk perception with vaccine hesitancy over time for Italian residents.
Many countries were and are still struggling with the COVID-19 emergency. Despite efforts to limit the viral transmission, the vaccine is the only solution to ending the pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy could reduce coverage and hinder herd immunity. ⋯ The observation of vaccination intentions across the three main phases of the emergency allows important considerations regarding psychological, affect, and demographic determinants useful to tailor public health communication to improve public response to future epidemics.
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Social science & medicine · Mar 2021
Occupational differences in advance care planning: Are medical professionals more likely to plan?
Advance care planning (ACP) helps ensure that treatment preferences are met at the end of life. Medical professionals typically are responsible for facilitating patients' ACP, and may be especially effective in doing so if they have first-hand insights from their own planning. However, no large-scale U. ⋯ The on-the-job experiences and expertise of medical professionals may motivate them to discuss their own end-of-life preferences, which may render them more trustworthy sources of information for patients and clients. The Affordable Care Act provides reimbursement for medical professionals' end-of-life consultations with Medicare beneficiary patients, yet practitioners uncomfortable with such conversations may fail to initiate them. Programs to increase medical professionals' own ACP may have the secondary benefit of increasing ACP among their patients.