RWJF News Digest: Vulnerable Populations
This frequently updated news digest on the subject of Vulnerable Populations showcases select articles from major journals, news publications and blogs. Articles within this digest highlight the integral relationship between our health and how and where we live, work, learn and play. The digest is a free service of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Status and Stress
The New York Times, Moises Velasquez-Manoff, 07/27/2013
Although professionals may bemoan their long work hours and high-pressure careers, really, there’s stress, and then there’s Stress with a capital “S.” The former can be considered a manageable if unpleasant part of life; in the right amount, it may even strengthen one’s mettle. The latter kills. What’s the difference? Scientists have settled on an oddly subjective explanation: the more helpless one feels when facing a given stressor, they argue, the more toxic that stressor’s effects. Perhaps most devastating, the stress of poverty early in life can have consequences that last into adulthood. The British epidemiologist Michael Marmot calls the phenomenon “status syndrome.” He’s studied British civil servants who work in a rigid hierarchy for decades, and found that accounting for the usual suspects — smoking, diet and access to health care — won’t completely abolish the effect. There’s a direct relationship among health, well-being and one’s place in the greater scheme. “The higher you are in the social hierarchy,” he says, “the better your health.”
The New York Times, Moises Velasquez-Manoff, 07/27/2013
Although professionals may bemoan their long work hours and high-pressure careers, really, there’s stress, and then there’s Stress with a capital “S.” The former can be considered a manageable if unpleasant part of life; in the right amount, it may even strengthen one’s mettle. The latter kills. What’s the difference? Scientists have settled on an oddly subjective explanation: the more helpless one feels when facing a given stressor, they argue, the more toxic that stressor’s effects. Perhaps most devastating, the stress of poverty early in life can have consequences that last into adulthood. The British epidemiologist Michael Marmot calls the phenomenon “status syndrome.” He’s studied British civil servants who work in a rigid hierarchy for decades, and found that accounting for the usual suspects — smoking, diet and access to health care — won’t completely abolish the effect. There’s a direct relationship among health, well-being and one’s place in the greater scheme. “The higher you are in the social hierarchy,” he says, “the better your health.”
Q: What If We Treat Violence Like An Epidemic Disease? A: We Could Put Violence Into The Past!
TEDMED, Gary Slutkin, M.D., 07/30/2013
Dr. Slutkin writes: What if we, as public health professionals, approached violence as a public health problem in a serious way? What if we, as public health professionals, approached violence as a problem that we can treat with health interventions and prevent using science based solutions? I asked myself those questions when we launched the Cure Violence model of violence reduction 15 years ago. Following more than 10 years of fighting health epidemics in Africa and Asia, I returned to the United States and began to notice parallels between the trajectory of violence plaguing U.S. cities and the trajectory of diseases plaguing the communities in which I previously worked abroad.
Editor's Note: Cure Violence is a RWJF grantee.
TEDMED, Gary Slutkin, M.D., 07/30/2013
Dr. Slutkin writes: What if we, as public health professionals, approached violence as a public health problem in a serious way? What if we, as public health professionals, approached violence as a problem that we can treat with health interventions and prevent using science based solutions? I asked myself those questions when we launched the Cure Violence model of violence reduction 15 years ago. Following more than 10 years of fighting health epidemics in Africa and Asia, I returned to the United States and began to notice parallels between the trajectory of violence plaguing U.S. cities and the trajectory of diseases plaguing the communities in which I previously worked abroad.
Editor's Note: Cure Violence is a RWJF grantee.
Kids’ Lawyer Puts Out Shingle—At The Hospital
New Haven Independent, Brianne Bowen, 07/30/2013
The child came to the hospital to see a doctor to treat muscular dystrophy. It turned out the child needed to see a lawyer too—and found one without leaving the building. That was able to happen because of a new in-house law office at Yale-New Haven Hospital dedicated solely to remedying poverty-related legal problems for pediatric patients—problems that can sometimes contribute to medical problems as well. Since the law office – called a medical legal partnership – opened in June, Yale-New Haven has sought to tackle both kinds of problems in tandem.
Editor's Note: The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (referred to in the article) is a RWJF grantee.
New Haven Independent, Brianne Bowen, 07/30/2013
The child came to the hospital to see a doctor to treat muscular dystrophy. It turned out the child needed to see a lawyer too—and found one without leaving the building. That was able to happen because of a new in-house law office at Yale-New Haven Hospital dedicated solely to remedying poverty-related legal problems for pediatric patients—problems that can sometimes contribute to medical problems as well. Since the law office – called a medical legal partnership – opened in June, Yale-New Haven has sought to tackle both kinds of problems in tandem.
Editor's Note: The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (referred to in the article) is a RWJF grantee.
Can Ex-Offenders Stop The Spread Of Gun Violence?
WYPR.org (Baltimore), Mary Rose Madden, 07/29/2013
James Timpson of Safe Streets has been working on the issue of gun violence for years. Contrary to what some may assume, he says, it isn’t all gang related, but could be “a simple argument over a can of soda or you owe me a dollar.” But what to do about it? Timpson looks at gun violence through a different lens. Rather than focusing on illegal guns or getting the police involved, he’s part of a team, Safe Streets, that focuses on the abnormal behavior behind picking up a gun to solve a dispute. Gary Slutkin, the founder and executive director of Cure Violence – the Chicago model for Safe Streets and other programs like it, says the health department is the logical place for the program.
Editor’s Note: Cure Violence is a RWJF grantee.
WYPR.org (Baltimore), Mary Rose Madden, 07/29/2013
James Timpson of Safe Streets has been working on the issue of gun violence for years. Contrary to what some may assume, he says, it isn’t all gang related, but could be “a simple argument over a can of soda or you owe me a dollar.” But what to do about it? Timpson looks at gun violence through a different lens. Rather than focusing on illegal guns or getting the police involved, he’s part of a team, Safe Streets, that focuses on the abnormal behavior behind picking up a gun to solve a dispute. Gary Slutkin, the founder and executive director of Cure Violence – the Chicago model for Safe Streets and other programs like it, says the health department is the logical place for the program.
Editor’s Note: Cure Violence is a RWJF grantee.
Childhood Economic Status Affects Substance Use Among Young Adults
HealthCanal.com, 07/30/2013
Children who grow up in poverty are more likely than wealthier children to smoke cigarettes, but they are less likely to binge drink and are no more prone to use marijuana, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. The researchers also found that economic strains in early life – including family worries about paying bills or needing to sell possessions for cash – independently erode a child’s self-control, regardless of strong parenting in adolescence. Lack of self-control often leads to substance use. The findings, appearing July 30, 2013, in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, debunk common assumptions about who abuses substances, and provide a basis for better approaches to prevent young people from falling into drug and alcohol addiction.
HealthCanal.com, 07/30/2013
Children who grow up in poverty are more likely than wealthier children to smoke cigarettes, but they are less likely to binge drink and are no more prone to use marijuana, according to researchers at Duke Medicine. The researchers also found that economic strains in early life – including family worries about paying bills or needing to sell possessions for cash – independently erode a child’s self-control, regardless of strong parenting in adolescence. Lack of self-control often leads to substance use. The findings, appearing July 30, 2013, in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, debunk common assumptions about who abuses substances, and provide a basis for better approaches to prevent young people from falling into drug and alcohol addiction.
RWJF Invests $1.2M In BCT Partners And Frontline Solutions To Improve The Health And Success Of Young Men Of Color
Barber Shop Magazine, Dallas Xavier Evans, 07/24/2013
BCT Partners and Frontline Solutions announced today that they have been awarded $1.2 million to provide advisory services and national technical assistance on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s $9.5 million Forward Promise initiative. Forward Promise aims to vastly expand the potential for boys and young men of color to grow up healthy, obtain a good education, and find meaningful employment.
Barber Shop Magazine, Dallas Xavier Evans, 07/24/2013
BCT Partners and Frontline Solutions announced today that they have been awarded $1.2 million to provide advisory services and national technical assistance on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s $9.5 million Forward Promise initiative. Forward Promise aims to vastly expand the potential for boys and young men of color to grow up healthy, obtain a good education, and find meaningful employment.
Wow Of The Week: Could Rethinking Traditional Nursing Home Model Improve Senior Health?
MedCity News, Stephanie Baum, 07/27/2013
In an effort to move away from the traditional model of a nursing home, a nonprofit organization has developed an alternative — smaller scale housing for elderly residents. They’re referred to as Green Houses. The idea is that small homes of roughly 10 residents can improve social interaction and the quality of life and health of its residents. And that could reduce healthcare costs.
Editor’s Note: The Green House Project is a RWJF grantee.
MedCity News, Stephanie Baum, 07/27/2013
In an effort to move away from the traditional model of a nursing home, a nonprofit organization has developed an alternative — smaller scale housing for elderly residents. They’re referred to as Green Houses. The idea is that small homes of roughly 10 residents can improve social interaction and the quality of life and health of its residents. And that could reduce healthcare costs.
Editor’s Note: The Green House Project is a RWJF grantee.
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