Measuring Health Inequities among Vulnerable Populations (2nd Edition)
A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 4217
Special Issue Editors
2. Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, School of Global Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 2S5, Canada
Interests: health inequities; measurement theory; global health; environmental health; mental health; aging and health; noncommunicable diseases; health systems; behavioral sciences; research methods; social science statistics; resource insecurity; humanitarianism
Interests: HIV/AIDS; tobacco research; clinical research; behavioral sciences; mental health; substance use; reproductive health; mentoring; research methods; social science statistics (including latent variable modeling); survey scale development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: health disparities affecting Latinx communities impacted by HIV; measurement of psychological constructs and social factors; comparing outcomes across diverse populations; using multiphase optimization strategies (MOST) to improve HIV care engagement; social and behavioral sciences aspects of HIV cure research; mentoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The WHO defines health inequities as avoidable inequalities in health between groups of people within countries and between countries. These inequities are driven by environmental, social, and economic conditions, which increase the risk of illness, disease, and the inability to prevent them at the individual, household, community, national, and international levels. This culminates in a health continuum, with the poor and nonpoor at extreme ends. Health inequities are rooted in social injustices that result in some population groups being more vulnerable to poor health than others. The ability of health practitioners, academics, researchers, governments, and agencies to quantify health inequities has been found to facilitate estimating prevalence and identifying hotspots, targeting of appropriate resources to vulnerable populations, and developing interventions in bridging health inequities. For example, the HWISE (Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale), a tool for assessing water insecurity across low- and middle-income countries, has enabled assessment of the prevalence of water insecurity, identification of water insecure hotspots, and appropriate targeting of resources to populations that are prone to water insecurity.
This Special Issue calls for studies on the measurement of health inequities among vulnerable populations and developing tools/constructs/indicators that facilitate the study of environmental, global, and public health research targets. It also focuses on best practices, guidelines, strategies, principles, critical analysis, high-quality reviews, and new techniques or technologies that facilitate the assessment or quantification of health inequities in improving population health. For this Special Issue, vulnerable populations include the economically disadvantaged; racial and ethnic minorities; the uninsured; women, children, and infants in low-income countries; the elderly; the homeless; those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and those with chronic health conditions. This collection of articles that measure or present systems for assessing health inequities will be a boon to the field of public health research aimed at bridging health inequity and improving population health.
Dr. Godfred Boateng
Prof. Dr. Torsten B. Neilands
Dr. John Sauceda
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- health inequities
- measurement
- tools/metrics
- indicators
- guidelines
- global health
- environmental health
- maternal health
- child health
- reproductive health
- vulnerable populations
- HIV/AIDS
- noncommunicable diseases
- public health
- mental health
Related Special Issue
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: A scoping review of instruments used in measuring social support among refugees in resettlement
Authors: Godfred O. Boateng1,2; Karin Wachter3; Roseanne C. Schuster4; Tanya L. Burgess5; Mary Bunn4
Affiliation: 1 School of Global Health, York University, Toronto, Canada 2Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, York University, Toronto, Canada 3 School of Social Work, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America 4 School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America 5Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
Abstract: Abstract: This study aimed to systematically review current research on the application of existing social support scales in research with refugees in resettlement, assess their quality, and identify gaps in measurement to enhance research and practice. A scoping review was conducted on the extant literature published until March 2023 using Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts, PubMed, Social Services Abstracts, Cochrane, PsychINFO, and Health and Psychosocial Instruments. Search, sorting, and data extraction processes were conducted by a team of researchers following best practices for scale development and validation. Of the 1,185 studies collected from the search process, a total of 41 articles were retained in the final analysis from which 17 distinct social support instruments used in research with resettled refugees were identified. Of the 17 total instruments, the most used social support instruments were the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the ENRICHED Social Support Instrument (ESSI), and the Social Provisions Scale. Building a New Life in Australia (BNLA) Social Support Scale and the Refugee Social Support Inventory (RSSI) were identified as original scales that specifically focused on the experiences of resettled refugees. An assessment of all 17 instruments, showed the presence of one or more limitations associated with construct, criterion, convergent, and/or discriminant validity. Test of Reliability was assessed in all studies, with a range of 0.80 to 0.90. Our findings show that most of the research assessing social support among resettled refugees is conducted without tools adequately validated in the resettlement context. Except for the RSSI, the remaining scales in use do not readily lend themselves to nuanced and holistic measurement of a complex construct with meanings specific to refugee resettlement. This study highlights the need for a rigorously developed social support scale that reflects the lived experiences, needs, and priorities of resettled refugees.