Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Violence between police and young black men is a longstanding issue that has gained national attention in recent years due to high-profile violent encounters. We conducted 48 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from different groups (young black men aged 14-24 years, parents, educators, police officers, and staff in youth serving organizations). Stakeholders were asked to (1) identify causes of violent encounters between police and young black men; (2) describe police officers who serve in their communities; and (3) describe interactions between police and young black men. ⋯ Positive interactions between police and youth were seen as the result of established, trusting relationships developed over time. Future efforts to prevent violent encounters between police and young black men should engage multiple stakeholder groups. One avenue for engagement is through community mobilization efforts that foster collaboration, build community trust, and encourage implementation of policies, programs, and practices that prevent future violent encounters.
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Recent attention to the interrelationship between racism, socioeconomic status (SES) and health has led to a small, but growing literature of empirical work on the role of structural racism in population health. Area-level racial inequities in SES are an indicator of structural racism, and the associations between structural racism indicators and self-rated health are unknown. Further, because urban-rural differences have been observed in population health and are associated with different manifestations of structural racism, explicating the role of urban-rural classification is warranted. ⋯ The associations between structural racism and fair/poor health varied by county urban-rural classification. Potential mechanisms include the concentration of resources in racially segregated counties with high racial inequities that lead to better health outcomes, but are associated with extreme black SES disadvantage. Racial inequities in SES are a social justice imperative with implications for population health that can be targeted by urban-rural classification and other social contextual characteristics.
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Perceived discrimination based on criminal record is associated with social determinants of health such as housing and employment. However, there is limited data on discrimination based on criminal record within health care settings. We examined how perceived discrimination based on criminal record within health care settings, among individuals with a history of incarceration, was associated with self-reported general health status. ⋯ Participants reporting discrimination due to criminal record had increased odds of reporting fair/poor health. The association between perceived discrimination by health care providers due to criminal record and health should be explored in future longitudinal studies among individuals at high risk of incarceration. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01863290.
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The black-white disparity in preterm birth has been well documented in the USA. The racial/ethnic composition of a neighborhood, as a marker of segregation, has been considered as an underlying cause of the racial difference in preterm birth. However, past literature using cross-sectional measures of neighborhood racial/ethnic composition has shown mixed results. ⋯ Furthermore, while black women's odds of preterm birth was relatively unaffected by neighborhood proportions of the Latinx or non-Hispanic white population, white women had the highest odds of preterm birth in neighborhoods characterized by a steady high proportion Latinx or a steady low proportion non-Hispanic white. Black-white differences were the highest in neighborhoods characterized by a steady high proportion white. Findings suggest that white women are most protected from preterm birth when living in neighborhoods with a steady high concentration of whites or in neighborhoods with a steady low concentration of Latinxs, whereas black women experience high rates of preterm birth regardless of proportion white or Latinx.
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Sexual violence victimization is unacceptably common in the US, with nearly half of women and one in five men reporting lifetime sexual coercion and/or unwanted sexual contact; much violence occurs in campus settings. The majority of sexual violence prevention programs designed to date were not developed around the needs of urban commuter campus students. The present study explored qualitatively how these students conceptualize sexual violence and prevention. ⋯ Commuter students used "gut feelings" to identify sexual violence, reporting minimal direct consent communication. Intersecting social identities and multiple, concurrent roles limit the potential impact of existing prevention programs. Further research to design and evaluate tailored sexual violence prevention programming for urban commuter campus students is needed.