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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


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Guest Editor
1. School of Global Health, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 2S5, Canada
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

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Guest Editor
Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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

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Guest Editor
Division of Prevention Science, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
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

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

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16 pages, 405 KiB  
Review
A Review of Patient Experiences and Provider Education to Improve Transgender Health Inequities in the USA
by Gabriel J. Tanenbaum and LaTasha R. Holden
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(20), 6949; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20206949 - 20 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1871
Abstract
Transgender individuals are an underserved, vulnerable population. They face many inequities including barriers in both accessing and receiving adequate healthcare. These inequities are proposed here to be rooted in a lack of education about transgender people and their experiences. We begin by exploring [...] Read more.
Transgender individuals are an underserved, vulnerable population. They face many inequities including barriers in both accessing and receiving adequate healthcare. These inequities are proposed here to be rooted in a lack of education about transgender people and their experiences. We begin by exploring the existing transgender healthcare research carried out in the USA, examining client experiences, provider education and attitudes, and the barriers transgender people face to obtaining proper healthcare. Secondly, we look at the previous research on educational interventions implemented with medical students and practitioners in the USA to enhance knowledge about transgender people, and increase sensitivity and awareness, while also increasing the level of comfort in working with these clients. The limitations in these fields of study are discussed in order to understand how to better serve transgender clients in the USA. We will do this through a narrative review to determine evidence-based best practices for educational intervention, uncovering gaps in the literature and highlighting where to focus in future work for researchers and practitioners. Full article

Other

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21 pages, 1361 KiB  
Systematic Review
The Parallel Pandemic: A Systematic Review on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on OCD among Children and Adolescents
by Nasong A. Luginaah, Evans S. Batung, Bianca R. Ziegler, Daniel Amoak, John Paul Trudell, Godwin Arku and Isaac Luginaah
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(23), 7095; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237095 - 22 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1549
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying social changes severely impacted mental health globally. Children and adolescents may have been vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), due to their underdeveloped resilience and coping skills stemming from their progressing physical and [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying social changes severely impacted mental health globally. Children and adolescents may have been vulnerable to adverse mental health outcomes, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), due to their underdeveloped resilience and coping skills stemming from their progressing physical and psychological development. Few studies have explored the parallels between the pandemic and OCD trends in this population. This systematic review aims to identify the impacts of COVID-19 on OCD among children and adolescents. Using the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of eight databases for studies that assessed OCD outcomes independently or as part of other psychiatric diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. The search was limited to studies on humans and those written in English and published between January 2020 and May 2023. We identified 788 articles, out of which 71 were selected for a full-text review. Twenty-two papers were synthesized from 10 countries for the final analysis. We found that 77% of our studies suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on OCD among children and adolescents. We also found a complex interplay of individual, household, and socio-structural factors associated with the aggravation of OCD. Conversely, a few studies revealed that the pandemic strengthened relationships and resilience. The findings of this study emphasize the need for mental health screening and support for this population, especially during pandemic periods. Full article
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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.

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