Journal of health care for the poor and underserved
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J Health Care Poor Underserved · Nov 2009
The immigration detention health plan: an acute care model for a chronic care population.
Immigration detention is the fastest-growing form of incarceration in the U. S. ⋯ We conclude that this plan may place detainees at risk of receiving inadequate care, particularly if they have chronic medical problems or would benefit from routine health screening exams. We present several concrete measures that could immediately improve the level of medical care afforded to this vulnerable population.
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J Health Care Poor Underserved · Aug 2009
Physicians' implicit and explicit attitudes about race by MD race, ethnicity, and gender.
Recent reports suggest that providers' implicit attitudes about race contribute to racial and ethnic health care disparities. However, little is known about physicians' implicit racial attitudes. This study measured implicit and explicit attitudes about race using the Race Attitude Implicit Association Test (IAT) for a large sample of test takers (N=404,277), including a sub-sample of medical doctors (MDs) (n=2,535). ⋯ Strength of implicit bias exceeded self-report among all test takers except African American MDs. African American MDs, on average, did not show an implicit preference for either Blacks or Whites, and women showed less implicit bias than men. Future research should explore whether, and under what conditions, MDs' implicit attitudes about race affect the quality of medical care.
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J Health Care Poor Underserved · Aug 2009
Challenges of collaboration to address health disparities in the rapidly growing community of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Collaboration was established between a university and the faith-based community in Clark County, Nevada to develop a coalition to address chronic disease in the African American population. The university faculty enlisted several churches and health related agencies to join the coalition. The challenges of collaborating with a community coalition to develop and implement a grant are discussed.
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J Health Care Poor Underserved · Aug 2009
Comparative StudyA comparison of National Emergency Department use by homeless versus non-homeless people in the United States.
A single-site study described differences between homeless and non-homeless patient utilization of the emergency department (ED). No prior study has examined ED use by the homeless on a national level. ⋯ Homeless patients who visited EDs in 2005 were more likely to arrive by ambulance despite similar triage urgency and admission rates compared with the non-homeless, and were less likely to be insured.
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J Health Care Poor Underserved · May 2009
Mental health, substance abuse, and HIV disparities in correctional settings: practice and policy implications for African Americans.
Mental health challenges, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS disproportionately affect Black people in correctional settings. Culturally responsive practice and equitable policy is predicated upon research that explores the burden, prevalence, and mortality of these public health concerns on the health and social well-being of African Americans in the correctional setting. ⋯ Each section summarizes current treatment issues unique to correctional settings, and provides recommendations for enhancing programs and policy to meet the needs of Black people who have been arrested, detained, incarcerated, paroled, or released. Further, we make recommendations for how interdisciplinary researchers and health care/treatment providers can engage in science-guided advocacy to address these issues and reduce related disparities experienced by people of African ancestry.