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Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 April 2023) | Viewed by 11760

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lei-Shih Chen

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Guest Editor

Department of Health Behavior, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Interests: health education; health disparities; autism spectrum disorders; genomics and precision health; cancer prevention and control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Haocen Wang

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Guest Editor

School of Nursing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Interests: health disparities; physical activity; cancer; preventive care; genomics and precision health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Healthy People 2030 defines health equity as “the attainment of the highest level of health for all people.” It also defines a health disparity as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage.” Health equity and health disparities are a national and international public health and health education priority. Racial and ethnic minorities, people in rural communities, individuals and families with disabilities, and other underserved or underrepresented groups face longstanding disparities in health. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on health equity and health disparities in public health research and practice. We will accept studies from different disciplines that address health disparities and inequities. The following are a few suggested examples of areas of interest that could be addressed in this Special Issue (this is not an exhaustive list): screening, epidemiology, genomics, intervention studies, services research, health policy, disabilities, health education, and health behavior. All types of articles published in IJERPH are welcome for this Special Issue, including qualitative articles, survey studies, interventions, reviews, and case reports.

Dr. Lei-Shih Chen
Dr. Haocen Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

epidemiology
education
health education
health policy
health disparity
health equity
intervention
public health
screening
services
underserved
unrepresented

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 597 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Expectancy-Value Motivation and Physical Activity- and Health-Related Outcomes among At-Risk Children and Adolescents

by Jiling Liu and Ping Xiang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(13), 6273; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136273 - 1 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1604

Abstract

Despite a large amount of research having been done to examine and promote physical activity and health among adolescents and children, relatively little attention has been paid attention to underrepresented populations. In this study, we investigated the relationships between expectancy-value motivation and physical activity- and health-related outcomes among a group of at-risk boys at a summer sports camp. The total participants included 107 boys (M_age = 11.78 years, SD = 1.20). The boys’ perceived expectancy beliefs (EXP), importance (IMP), interest (INT), usefulness (USE), effort (EFT), and intention for future participation (IFP) were assessed using established questions on a five-point Likert scale, and a PACER test was performed to estimate their cardiovascular fitness (CVF). Through a path analysis, we found that EXP positively predicted CVF (β = 0.19, p < 0.01), IMP positively predicted EFT (β = 0.26, p < 0.01), and INT positively predicted both EFT (β = 0.34, p < 0.01) and IFP (β = 0.28, p < 0.01), while USE had no statistically significant effect on either EFT, IFP, or CVF. We discussed the limitations and implications of the present study. We recommend including a diverse sample and employing the expectancy-value model in future research, and advocating expectancy beliefs and task values, especially importance and interest, among participants during physical activity promotion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice)

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20 pages, 1999 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Evaluation and Spatial Characteristics of China’s Provincial Socioeconomic Development and Pollution Control Based on the Lotka–Volterra Model

by Xue Zhou and Jiapeng Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4561; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054561 - 4 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1295

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the degree of mutualism between socioeconomic development and industrial and domestic pollution in provinces of China and to analyze the differences in spatial characteristics between their regions. Methods: This study used the HDI to measure socioeconomic development and the Lotka–Volterra model to group and estimate the force-on and mutualism degree indexes of industrial and domestic pollution and socioeconomic development in 31 provinces of China, which were then used to them. Then, the study calculated the global and local Moran’s I under different space weights matrices to analyze their spatial autocorrelation and heterogeneity. Results: The research showed that in 2016–2020, compared with 2011–2015, the number of provinces where socioeconomic development and industrial pollution control mutually promoted each other was approximately the same, while the number of provinces that promoted each other’s effectiveness with domestic pollution control was reduced. There were many provinces with industrial pollution ranked in the S-level, while most provinces placed a different emphasis on industrial and domestic pollution control. The rank in China tended to be spatially balanced in 2016–2020. There was a negative spatial autocorrelation between the ranks of most provinces and neighboring provinces in 2011–2020. The ranks of some eastern provinces showed a phenomenon of a high–high agglomeration, while the ranks of provinces in the western region were dominated by a high–low agglomeration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice)

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12 pages, 666 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Are Frail Older People from Racial/Ethnic Minorities at Double Jeopardy of Putting off Healthcare during the Pandemic?

by Dongjuan Xu and Greg Arling

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(2), 1034; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20021034 - 6 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1875

Abstract

Given the differential impacts of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic groups, it is unclear how racial/ethnic status and frailty combine to influence pandemic-related healthcare disruptions. This study aimed to test the double jeopardy hypothesis: racial/ethnic minority older adults suffer a double disadvantage in access to health care during the pandemic due to the interactive effects of frailty and race. This study uses the linked National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and COVID-19 public use data files. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed. Overall, approximately two out of five (41%) older adults reported postponing care due to the pandemic. The likelihood of putting off care increased slightly by frailty status. We found no significant difference between Whites and non-Whites in putting off care. However, the simple comparison masked significant variation across frailty status. Robust non-White older people were less likely to put off care than robust Whites (robust non-Whites: 29% vs. robust Whites: 39%); in contrast, frail non-White older people were more likely to put off care (frail non-Whites: 55% vs. frail Whites: 42%). Being frail and non-White creates double jeopardy, which has a negative impact on access to healthcare. Timely access to care is essential for frail older people, particularly non-Whites, because of their complex health conditions accentuated by health and social disparities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice)

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10 pages, 613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Intake, Abdominal Obesity, and Inflammation among US Adults without and with Prediabetes—An NHANES Study

by Wei-Ting Lin, Yu-Hsiang Kao, Mirandy S. Li, Ting Luo, Hui-Yi Lin, Chien-Hung Lee, David W. Seal, Chih-yang Hu, Lei-Shih Chen and Tung-Sung Tseng

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 681; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010681 - 30 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2994

Abstract

Excessive sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption and abdominal obesity have been independently linked to numerous disorders, including diabetes and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). This study aimed to explore the association between SSB intake, abdominal obesity, and inflammation in normal and prediabetic adults. Sugar intake from SSBs was calculated from 24-h dietary recalls and further classified into non-, medium-, and high-intake. The status of non- and prediabetes was identified based on hemoglobin A1c level. All analyses were performed under a survey module with appropriate sampling weights to control for the complex survey design. A total of 5250 eligible adults without diabetes were selected from the 2007–2010 NHANES. A 1.31-fold increased risk of developing prediabetes was observed in people who consumed high sugar from SSBs when compared to non-SSB consumers. Among individuals with prediabetes, adults who consumed a high amount of sugar from SSB had a 1.57-fold higher risk to increase CRP when compared to non-SSB consumers, even after adjusting for abdominal obesity. Furthermore, the association between the high amount of sugar intake from SSBs and elevated CRP was strengthened by abdominal obesity in prediabetes (p for interaction term = 0.030). Our findings highlight that a positive association between sugar intake from SSBs and CRP levels was only observed in US adults with prediabetes. Abdominal obesity may strengthen this effect in prediabetic adults with a high amount of sugar intake from SSBs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice)

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11 pages, 950 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Acculturation and Disordered Eating among Asian American College Students: The Role of Objectification through a Sociocultural Lens

by Zhiqing Zhou, Jeffrey Liew and Wen Luo

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 13967; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113967 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2455

Abstract

Disordered eating is a public health problem because it’s highly prevalent, dangerous, and costly. More research about its risk factors and mechanisms is needed to address this problem and prevent disordered eating among high-risk populations, particularly understudied ethnic minorities. The present study contributes to the limited existing research on acculturation and disordered eating among Asian American college students who represent an understudied and high-risk group. The sample consisted of 245 Asian American (primarily East and Southeast Asian American) college students who provided data on their acculturation status, internalization of thin and muscular body ideals, body surveillance, body shame, and disordered eating. Results show that after controlling for gender, both cultures are positively associated with internalization of the muscular body ideal, but only the Asian culture of origin is associated with disordered eating. Additionally, path analysis results show that Asian culture of origin has a significant total effect on disordered eating as well as a significant indirect effect on disordered eating, mediated by thin body ideal internalization. While American culture does not have a significant contribution to body ideal internalization or disordered eating, it interacts with Asian culture of origin and put participants with high levels of both cultures at a greater risk for muscular body ideal internalization. Findings highlight the importance of cultural context in the understanding of body experiences and disordered eating among Asian American college students and have implications for the prevention and intervention of these problems in this high-risk population. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Equity and Health Disparities in Public Health Research and Practice)

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