Surviving the coronavirus while black: Pandemic’s heavy toll on African American mental health

ANN ARBOR—Black communities in the United States have been disproportionately affected by the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. At the same time, white nationalist activities have increased in the last months.Riana Elyse AndersonRiana Anderson, assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, discusses how these trends are affecting the mental health of African Americans.

FAU Nurses Provide PPE for Homeless, Low Income Individuals During Pandemic

A team of FAU nurses is addressing the dire needs of a low income neighborhood in West Palm Beach by spearheading programs to provide lifesaving PPE such as face masks for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. People living in poverty as well as homeless individuals and those struggling with social determinants of health are at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and dying from it.

Researchers map areas of major Texas cities where residents are most likely to need hospitalization, ICU care for COVID-19

Areas within Texas’ major metropolitan cities where residents are at the greatest risk for hospitalization and critical care due to COVID-19 have been mapped for the first time by researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

Faculty Q&A: H. Luke Shaefer on how the coronavirus outbreak highlights inequities in health care, employment systems

FACULTY Q&ALuke ShaeferAs the coronavirus continues to spread, University of Michigan poverty scholar H. Luke Shaefer discusses how the pandemic will impact hourly workers and families with low incomes. Shaefer, faculty director of Poverty Solutions U-M, is a professor of social work and public policy.What are the implications of the coronavirus pandemic for low-income families?As there are more and more closures, those who don’t have paid time off and only get paid when they clock in are going to run into the most financial trouble.

Low-income older adults dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid have substantially higher mortality rates than adults solely enrolled in Medicare

In a new study published today in JAMA, a team of researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) evaluated how health outcomes for low-income older adults who are dually enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid have changed since the early 2000s.

More Youth Suicide Found in Poor Communities Across U.S.

A study led by Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, found that higher county-level poverty is associated with increased youth suicide rates among children 5-19 years old in the United States in 2007-2016. Children and adolescents from counties where 20 percent or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level were 37 percent more likely to die by suicide, compared to communities with the lowest poverty concentration. Youth suicide by firearms was 87 percent more likely in areas with the highest poverty levels. Findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Gun Violence, Bullying and Poverty Again Named as Top Three Social Concerns for Youth by Chicago Parents

Consistent with last year, Chicago parents again selected gun violence, bullying/cyberbullying and poverty as the top three social problems for children and adolescents in the city, according to the latest survey results released by Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). Hunger was new to this year’s top 10 list of social issues facing youth, with 62 percent of parents across all community areas in Chicago considering it a big problem.

STATEMENT OF APA PRESIDENT MARKING WORLD POVERTY DAY

Following is the statement of Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD, president of the American Psychological Association, marking World Poverty Day:
“World Poverty Day represents an opportunity for us to examine our biases, move beyond our individual selves and identify the systemic, underlying mechanisms driving income insecurity. Psychological science can help address the structural barriers and cognitive processes that perpetuate poverty and generate solutions.”

UCI-led team to study socioeconomic effects of coastal flooding in California

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine are leading a new project with three other UC campuses to study the impact of coastal flooding on disadvantaged communities in California. Launched with funding from the National Science Foundation’s Coastlines & People initiative, the effort will employ advanced simulation systems to deepen understanding of increasing flood risks within the state’s two most imperiled areas: Greater Los Angeles and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Expanding Medicaid means chronic health problems get found & health improves, study finds

Nearly one in three low-income people who enrolled in Michigan’s expanded Medicaid program discovered they had a chronic illness that had never been diagnosed before, according to a new study.
And whether it was a newly found condition or one they’d known about before, half of Medicaid expansion enrollees with chronic conditions said their overall health improved after one year of coverage or more.