A Note from the Editor
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The array of factors that finally yield a world with profound inequities in well-being and longevity can prove staggering. One way to break the problem down is in terms of populations on the losing and winning ends of such inequities. In our last issue, published during Black History Month, we focused on people in racial and ethnic minority groups, especially African Americans. In this one, we turn to women and children, immigrants, and rural and urban residents. We conclude with a section on health policy.
Part 1: Women's and Children's Health
The Brief Communications that open this section all concern children or young people: Bakare et al. inventory the rate of autism spectrum disorder among children in Nigeria with intellectual disabilities; Emeagwali et al., in a piece with special implications for young adults, introduce the notion of textmania (pronounced increases in text messages sent) as a diagnostic criterion for bipolar disorder; and Hughes et al. report from Haiti on changes in pediatric surgery needs prior to and following the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. Next, a Literature Review by Patel et al. is devoted to the study of postpartum depression.
Two papers on incarcerated women are this section's initial Original Papers, one by Darnall and Sazie on pain and catastrophizing of pain, and the second on the health care for pregnant women in U.S. prisons by Ferszt and Clarke. Novick et al. give us a promising look at the effectiveness of group prenatal care for low-income women at two clinics in the Northeast, and Romero et al. find evidence that the epidemiologic paradox often noted for low-income Mexican immigrants to the U.S. carries over to the rate of low birth weight infants, which is significantly lower for Mexican-born mothers in the U.S. than for comparable Mexican American women born in the U.S. Finally, Grembowski et al. examine whether mothers' perceptions of self and child dental and general health correlate with any of the mothers' demographic characteristics, and find a strong gradient link in the case of education.
Part 2: Immigrants' Health
Our section on immigrants' health opens with two Brief Communications: Gany et al. assess the potential of a culturally responsive intervention, health camps, to identify and inform U.S. South Asian community members at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), a condition to which this population is disproportionately vulnerable. Kepka et al. investigated how well-informed mothers of rural Hispanic adolescents were about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations, and find room for improvement. This ties in with this issue's ACU Column, which provides recommendations for increasing [End Page vii] hepatitis B virus screening and treatment among Asians and Pacific Islanders, who are disproportionately affected by that condition and its attendant severe consequences.
Salinas et al., in an Original Paper, pick up two threads we have already encountered, arguing that to assess immigrant advantage in CVD risk, it matters a great deal for the degree of difference observed on whom, where, and how the comparisons are being made. Song et al. report on the use of prescription medications obtained from non-medical sources by rural Latinos in the U.S. Controlling and finally eliminating tuberculosis depends, among other things, upon good communication between providers and patients: Coreil et al. find sharp differences between Haitians living in South Florida and their providers regarding anticipated stigma associated with TB diagnosis, and they discuss the implications of these finding for controlling the disease. Finally, Hacker and colleagues argue strongly on the basis of a survey of 327 online survey of primary care and emergency medicine providers that raids, detention, and deportation (all activities associated with immigration and customs enforcement) are having negative effects on immigrants' health. Nearly half the providers surveyed affirmed that they had observed negative consequences on the emotional health, ability to comply with health care recommendations, and access to care of immigrants in their practices.
Part 3: Rural Health
This section opens with a descriptive report on a high-school program to cultivate health care professionals among residents of rural Appalachian Kentucky (by Gross et al.), and continues with Brief...
