Building Trust and Collaboration with Rural Minorities: Experiences with Minority Farmers in the Mississippi Delta

The paper focuses on the question “What research approach is effective in building trust with minority farmers?” The question is answered through a documentation of researchers’ experiences building trust and collaboration with minority farmers in the lower Mississippi Delta. The researchers applied two research paradigms -logical positivism and paradigm of praxis. The logical positivism research approach was met with mistrust and open animosity and had to be abandoned for one based on the paradigm of praxis. Through this approach, and cognizant of the historical-social-political context, the researchers included insiders from the focus population as collaborators and researchers and succeeded in gaining the farmers\u27 trust

Violence against pregnant women with disabilities

Background Each year, violence is perpetrated against 1.5 million US women, of whom 324,000 are pregnant. Violence in pregnancy has adverse effects on maternal and infant health. Although there are 4.7 million childbearing age women with disabilities, and their pregnancy rates are growing, there is very little information about violence against pregnant women with disabilities. Objectives The study questions are: Are there differences in pre- and in-pregnancy violence experiences of women with and without disabilities? Is disability a significant predictor of pre- and in-pregnancy violence against women? Methods The study uses data from the 2009 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The study conducts χ 2 -tests and multivariate analyses of violence experiences. Results Pregnant women with disabilities experience more violence than those without. Disability is a significant violence predictor. The number and types of stress sources significantly affect the likelihood of violence. Poor health behaviors also contribute to the likelihood of violence. Conclusion There is a need to reduce violence against pregnant women particularly those with disabilities. Effective interventions require information about causality which can be established through analysis of primary data. Future studies should collect and analyze household level data. Care providers can contribute information by monitoring, recording, and reporting stress types, levels, and violence especially among pregnant women with disabilities

A comparative analysis of pregnancy outcomes for women with and without disabilities

In 2010 in the US, there were 4.7 million childbearing age (15-44 years) women with disabilities (WWD) defined as, being limited in any way in any activities because of physical, mental, or emotional problems. Although their proportion and pregnancy rates are growing, there is little empirical evidence about their health, healthcare needs, pregnancy experiences and outcomes. We examined differences and predictors of pregnancy outcomes for women with and without disabilities. We used 2009 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data from 15,585 Massachusetts and Rhode Island women. We conducted χ2- and t –tests of pregnancy outcome differences for WWD and those without. Applying an economics’ health production framework, we conducted multivariate and partial correlation analysis to determine disability significance in predicting pregnancy outcomes. We found no significant differences in delivery types, the mother’s hospital stay or the likelihood of birth defects. However, relative to infants born to women without disabilities, those born to WWD had higher likelihoods of preterm birth, mortality, need for intensive care, low gestational age, and low birth weights. Health behavior, health capital stock and access to prenatal care were strong pregnancy outcome predictors, but disability was not. Therefore, having a disability is not a guarantee against positive pregnancy outcomes. Improved health behavior, health capital stock and access to prenatal care can improve pregnancy outcomes for WWD. A better understanding of interactions between disability and pregnancy, and between disability and other pregnancy outcome predictors could aid the identification of effective methods for improving outcomes for WWD

Modeling health inequities research in context and the minority researcher’s role

Current health inequities research templates are flawed and self-defeating because they do not include historical inequalities as the central context that points to the root causes of health inequities. The context includes structural malformations which are products of the history of colonization and slavery that created racial separation and hierarchies which established Whites as the dominant group and non-Whites (minorities) as the subordinate group. Consequently it is difficult for mainstream researchers to capture the minorities’ core knowledge necessary for the creation of relevant and effective interventions for fundamental and sustainable improvement of their health. This paper proposes a health inequities research model that captures the context of health inequities and the essential and unique role of minority researchers

Consistency of Minority and Socioeconomic Status as Predictors of Health

This paper examines the relative consistency of economic and racial status as predictors of the individual’s physical and emotional health. The focus of the study is the covariates of (1) limited activity resulting from poor physical and (2) limited activity resulting from poor emotional health. Using data from the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, the study was developed in two phases. In the first, logistic regression analysis was used to examine two binary variables that identified respondents who reported at least one day of limited activity that resulted from poor physical and then poor emotional or mental health. Limited to those who reported at least one day of limited activity, the second stage of the study examined variability in the number of days of limited activity that resulted from 1) poor physical health and; 2) poor mental or emotional health. After controlling for chronic conditions, risk factors, access to care and the demographic attributes of the individual, the results indicate that the economically disadvantaged consistently reported poor health while wealthier members of the study group reported good health. The coefficients derived for membership in minority groups, defined as African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos, were inconsistent and, in general, insignificant (P\u3c.05)

Health Care Market Deviations from the Ideal Market

A common argument in the health policy debate is that market forces allocate resources efficiently in health care, and that government intervention distorts such allocation. Rarely do those making such claims state explicitly that the market they refer to is an ideal in economic theory which can only exist under very strict conditions. This paper explores the strict conditions necessary for that ideal market in the context of health care as a means of examining the claim that market forces do allocate resources efficiently in health care.

LABOR MARKET INCENTIVES TO STAY IN SCHOOL

Human capital theory suggests that job opportunities will create incentives for human capital investment. If job information does not flow freely, or if they prefer not to move, students will make investment decisions based upon local job markets. Communities with a high percentage of low-skill jobs which do not reward high school and higher education do not create incentives for students to finish high school or continue beyond high school. Data from Virginia support this hypothesis. Targeted job creation, and improved labor market information may create incentives for increased human capital investment in many rural communities

Factors Affecting Vocational Rehabilitation Intervention Outcomes: The Case for Minorities With Disabilities

Abstract available at publisher's web site