Immigration in the Shadow of Death

In this piece, I examine the immigration enforcement and adjudication system as a whole from the perspective of life and death. Drawing upon social theory frames as well as legal scholarship, I look to how doctrines and laws continually devalue and risk noncitizens’ lives. Although scholarly work has examined how differing aspects of immigration law and enforcement take lives—e.g., via detention, cross-border shootings, and deportation— explorations have yet to consider the system as a whole from this perspective. My contribution illuminates how laws as well as legal doctrines serve as mechanisms for assigning differential value to human life, ultimately taking immigrants’ lives. They do so in part by normalizing death as the inevitable cost of upholding the rule of law. And yet, there is nothing normal or inevitable about the myriad policy choices, statutory provisions, and evacuations of constitutional protection that undergird immigration law and enforcement. These choices form an architecture that, in the words of Achille Mbembe, “subjugate(s) life to the power of death.”1 I consider death by design, death by enforcement, death by denial, and death by expulsion—then show how jurisprudence and laws accept and contribute to these deaths. In the final sections of my paper, I consider how we might dismantle the assumptions, laws, doctrines that devalue and take noncitizen life throughout our immigration system

Measuring the Efficacy of Medical Management Versus Decompressive Hemicraniectomy in Acute Stroke

Introduction: Stroke is a life-threatening condition requiring immediate treatment in order to optimize patient survival and functionality post-hospitalization. At present, the primary treatment modalities used are intensive medical management and surgical decompressive hemicraniectomy. We believe that application of skilled medical management can result in a lower mortality rate and higher functional score at 12 months than aggressive surgical decompressive hemicraniectomy. Methods: Epic data from Thomas Jefferson University will be used to identify patients with a large stroke (as defined by ischemic area on MRI) managed by the neurology department from 2016 to 2019. A survey will be administered by phone to assess mortality, as well as functionality with a modified Rankin scale. These data will then be used to assess the efficacy of medical management as compared to decompressive hemicrangiectomy. Results: At this time, no results are available

Factors Influencing Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Thais in the U.S.

This study examined factors related to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening uptake among Thais in the United States. A total of 121 Thais between 50 and 75 years of age, who were married and living in southern California participated in the survey (mean age = 61 years). Out of all the participants, only 21% of the participants had fecal occult blood tests, 21% had sigmoidoscopy, and 45% had colonoscopy that were within the recommended period. Overall, 55% of participants met CRC screening adherence criteria. Participants who had had regular checkups in the previous 2 years without having any symptoms were 16 times more likely to have obtained CRC screening than their counterparts (OR 16.01, CI 3.75-68.75) in the multivariable logistic regression model. Other significant predictors of screening adherence included older age (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.17), having lived in the U.S. 15 years or longer (OR 6.65, 95% CI 1.55-28.59), having had at least some college education (OR 3.74, 95% CI 1.23-11.37), and higher levels of perceived self-efficacy (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.01-3.50) to obtain CRC screening. Targeted interventions for Thais who are less likely receive CRC screening could be effective in improving CRC screening. Interventions to improve the populations' awareness of the importance of preventive measures when they are not sick could be also effective

Korean Americans' Beliefs about Colorectal Cancer Screening

SummaryPurposeThe purpose of this study was to assess Korean Americans' (KAs) health and cultural beliefs about colorectal cancer (CRC) and their CRC screening utilization in order to understand how health and cultural beliefs play a role in CRC screening utilization and why KAs have a low rate of CRC screening.MethodsFace-to-face, individual interviews with 26 Korean immigrants aged 50 and older were conducted in Korean. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was used to explore participants' health and cultural beliefs about CRC and CRC screening. Recorded audio interviews were transcribed verbatim in Korean and coded using thematic analysis.ResultsThe themes that emerged from analyzing the individual interview data were: (a) valuing their families before themselves; (b) seeing a doctor only if they have symptoms; (c) believing that they would not get CRC; (d) balancing the will to stay healthy and fatalism; and (e) refusing health information.ConclusionResults show the critical need for in-depth understanding of unique health and cultural beliefs about CRC screening in KAs. These beliefs could be useful for future intervention strategies to change health and cultural beliefs in order to increase CRC screening participation in KAs

Pressure ulcers among nursing home residents: United States, 2004

"Data from the National Nursing Home Survey, 2004. In 2004, about 159,000 current U.S. nursing home residents (11%) had pressure ulcers. Stage 2 pressure ulcers were the most common. Residents aged 64 years and under were more likely than older residents to have pressure ulcers. Residents of nursing homes for a year or less were more likely to have pressure ulcers than those with longer stays. One in five nursing home residents with a recent weight loss had pressure ulcers. Thirty-five percent of nursing home residents with stage 2 or higher (more severe) pressure ulcers received special wound care services in 2004. Pressure ulcers, also known as bed sores, pressure sores, or decubitus ulcers, are wounds caused by unrelieved pressure on the skin. They usually develop over bony prominences, such as the elbow, heel, hip, shoulder, back, and back of the head. Pressure ulcers are serious medical conditions and one of the important measures of the quality of clinical care in nursing homes. From about 2% to 28% of nursing home residents have pressure ulcers. The most common system for staging pressure ulcers classifies them based on the depth of soft tissue damage, ranging from the least severe to the most severe. There is persistent redness of skin in stage 1; a loss of partial thickness of skin appearing as an abrasion, blister, or shallow crater in stage 2; a loss of full thickness of skin, presented as a deep crater in stage 3; and a loss of full thickness of skin exposing muscle or bone in stage 4. Clinical practice guidelines for pressure ulcers have been developed and provide specific treatment recommendations for stage 2 or higher pressure ulcers, including proper wound care. This Data Brief presents the most recent national estimates of pressure ulcer prevalence, resident characteristics associated with pressure ulcers, and the use of wound care services in U.S. nursing homes. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated."Eunice Park-Lee and Christine Caffrey.Caption title."February 2009."Includes bibliographical references (p. 7)