Health & Social Work最新文献

Black women in the United States face unique challenges related to hair-based discrimination, which the Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act of 2022 aims to address by prohibiting such discrimination in workplaces, schools, and other settings. However, limited research explores the act's direct impact on Black women's mental health. This scoping review, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses, extension for Scoping Reviews (or PRISMA-ScR), examined literature on the CROWN Act's influence on Black women's mental health. A comprehensive search of six databases (2019-2024) identified 310 articles, with 15 meeting inclusion criteria. Data were synthesized qualitatively to identify themes. Findings underscore the psychological toll of hair-based discrimination, including increased anxiety, stress, and trauma. While the CROWN Act is seen as a transformative policy, no studies directly measure its mental health impact. Existing evidence suggests reducing discrimination may alleviate chronic stress, but findings remain inferential. This review highlights the need for longitudinal and quantitative studies to evaluate the act's effectiveness in addressing mental health disparities. Hair-based discrimination continues to affect Black women's mental health, and while the CROWN Act provides critical protections, further research is necessary to link these policies to measurable mental health outcomes, strengthening advocacy and policy efforts.

In the United States, health inequities persist in the management of chronic kidney disease and end-stage kidney disease, including unequal access to kidney transplantation. These disparities are deeply rooted in complex social and structural determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, race, geographic location, and healthcare access. Addressing these inequities necessitates a patient-centered interdisciplinary approach to improve outcomes and promote transplant access equity. This article describes the conceptualization and design of the System Interventions to Achieve Early and Equitable Transplants (STEPS) intervention. The STEPS intervention was developed by patients, family members, professional and community stakeholders, social workers, nurses, physicians, and other health professionals to address multifactorial barriers to kidney transplantation in three large health systems in Mississippi, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. By addressing transplant barriers through collaborative interdisciplinary interventions provided by social workers and transplant nurses, STEPS aims to empower individuals and promote systemic changes in healthcare delivery and access to kidney transplants. This intervention can be used as a model for other interdisciplinary approaches to address social and structural determinants of health to improve access to care and promote health equity.

Over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine misuse represents a significant risk for adolescents and young adults. Although OTC cough medicine is widely seen as nonharmful due to its ease of access, misuse can lead to tachycardia, seizures, dissociative effects, and dependence. Despite these risks, little is known regarding the correlates and outcomes of OTC cough medicine misuse. This study examined correlations of having misused OTC cough medicine and past-year misuse of prescription drugs, with a specific focus on differences among age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Bivariate relationships were first examined using Pearson's chi-square tests, with OTC cough medicine misuse being significantly related to prescription drug misuse, older age, cigarette use, marijuana use, and binge drinking. Using logistic regression, OTC cough medicine misuse was shown to be a significant predictor of past-year prescription drug misuse (adjusted odds ratio = 5.22, 95% confidence interval [3.57, 7.64]). Additional logistic regression models were used to assess for interaction effects for age, gender, and race/ethnicity, with all three variables acting as significant moderators.

This study sought factors in older Americans' use of mental health services, via data from 8,877 older adults collected for the 2021 National Health Interview Survey. Logistic regression showed the individuals' likelihood of using mental health services was increased with having a mental health problem (depression or anxiety), being Hispanic, being other non-Black/Asian racial/ethnic minority, being relatively educated, having relatively high family income, being widowed/separated/divorced, being unmarried, and having Medicaid coverage. In turn, likelihood of using mental health services was declined with age and with birth outside the United States. In this study, no link was observed between services use and 10 factors: gender, Black, Asian, U.S. citizenship, employment status, private health insurance coverage, Medicare coverage, time in the United States, English-language proficiency, and psychological distress. Implications of the study's results include the need to broaden Medicaid eligibility, increase funding for community centers serving immigrants, and offer mental health care providers in-service training on aging adults' mental health needs and on various cultural beliefs involving mental health and its treatment.

Research suggests spirituality is linked to positive health outcomes, but social workers report barriers to incorporating it into care planning. The literature suggests general interest in learning and executing social work practice involving religion/spirituality (R/S) intentionally. While some empirical study has been conducted, this work is largely superficial and undeveloped. Finally, a changing R/S landscape in the United States further establishes the need for deeper, more nuanced examination. This article explores the actual role that R/S have in social practice and who supports these practices. Wisconsin social workers were surveyed (n = 578) using the Religious/Spiritual Integrated Practice Assessment Scale and other items of original design. Results confirm interest among social workers to include R/S in practice, but formal training is lacking. The data reveal a profile of practitioners who incorporate R/S, correlated with religiosity, religious conservativism, age, and race. Implications include enhancing mentorship, internships, and education to increase efficacy in utilizing R/S in the field.

American Indian youth and emerging adults are disproportionately susceptible to risky sexual behavior. Several studies have examined the relationship between American Indians and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) by examining sexual risk behaviors. However, few studies have explored sexual risk behaviors through the lens of attachment theory. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between sexual risk behaviors and attachment style among American Indian emerging adults who were raised in stepfamilies. A structural equation model was used to examine the relationship between the latent variables, anxious and avoidant attachment style, and the dependent variable of sexual risk behavior. This study found a significant association between sexual risk behaviors and (a) anxious attachment style, (b) income, and (c) gender. This study yields important findings about the nature of sexual risk behavior and STI development among American Indians raised in stepfamilies and prompts further study into the development of attachment relationships and additional considerations that may influence sexual risk behavior among this population.