Filters of influence: The help-seeking process of African American single mothers living in poverty seeking mental health services for their children

There are a disproportionate number of African American children living in poverty who are in need of mental health services. African American children who live in poverty tend to underutilize mental health treatment due to the barriers their caregivers face; however, far less research has been conducted on the percentage of children who do access mental health treatment and the experiences of their caregivers in maneuvering through the barriers in their environments. This grounded theory study systematically generated a help-seeking theory that was constructed through the experiences of single African American mothers living in poverty who accessed mental health treatment for their children.     

An Examination of the Effects of Different Victimization Types on Psychological and Behavioral Health Outcomes and the Mediating Role of Stress

Although a considerable amount of research has highlighted the link between interpersonal victimization and adverse psychological and behavioral health, a paucity of research has examined and compared the effects of multiple forms of victimization in the same study. There is also a limited understanding of the underlying individual factors (e.g., emotional processes) that might link experiences of victimization to psychological and behavioral health adversities. To address these gaps, the author used a nationally representative sample of 19,422 Canadians aged 15 years old or older to examine the effects of different types of victimization on psychological and behavioral health outcomes, and to determine whether these associations are mediated by perceived stress. Results revealed that some victimization types (i.e., personal, household/property, cyberbully, ex-partner physical/sexual and emotional abuse) had statistically significant adverse effects on psychological and behavioral health outcomes (i.e., self-report mental health, life satisfaction, satisfaction with safety from crime, and alcohol/drug abuse). Results also revealed that perceived stress mediated the association between some victimization types and psychological, but not behavioral, health outcomes. Discussion points toward the utility of examining multiple victimization types, as well as other converging individual factors or adversities, in explaining psychological and behavioral health outcomes.     

Lesbian and Gay Immigrants' Post-Migration Experiences: An Integrative Literature Review

This integrative literature review synthesizes recent empirical knowledge about lesbian and gay immigrants' post-migration experiences. Twenty-four studies with various designs are included. The literature shows that those immigrants encounter some opportunities but also many challenges on economical, social and identity levels, thus soliciting coping strategies. Results are synthesized under five topics: the delicate situation in which they find themselves for revealing their lesbian or gay sexual orientation; the racist and homophobic discrimination they can experience; their renegotiation of socioeconomic status; the identity and affiliation challenges they have to overcome; and the hardships that can impact their health.     

Review article: the moral right to health: a survey of available conceptions

In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of both the philosophical questions engendered by the idea of a human right to health and the potential of philosophical analysis to help in the formulation of better policy. In this article, I attempt to locate recent work on the moral right to health in a number of historically established conceptions, with the aim of providing a map of the conceptual landscape as to the claims expressed by such a right.     

Food or Thought? Assessing Internal and External Factors Affecting Evaluations of Instructor Effectiveness

Within the broader literature concerned with potential bias in student measures of instructor effectiveness, two broad types of bias have been shown to operate in a course: internal and external. Missing is an assessment of the relative influence of each bias type in the classroom. Do internal or external types of bias matter more or less to student measures of instructor effectiveness? This question is of interest to those who recognize that many forms of bias operate in the classroom simultaneously and to great effect on course evaluations. Through the combination of quasi-experimental and survey methods, we attempt to do something not done before — simultaneously measure and compare the effects of one internal and one external type of bias to which we refer, following convention in the literature, as an internal factor and an external factor. Our findings indicate that, while both factors studied are important, perception of instructor partisanship (internal factor) is more influential on student course evaluations than our external factor (experimental treatment — literally a chocolate treat). The upshot is that American government instructors should be especially careful stating partisan positions in class.     

Food insecurity and ART adherence in Swaziland: the case for coordinated faith-based and multi-sectoral action

ABSTRACT

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) have long been involved in HIV and AIDS impact mitigation and humanitarian relief, but most are not equipped to intervene in the structural drivers of food insecurity and attendant health inequities. Acknowledging limitations is as paramount a task for organisational effectiveness as maximising strengths. This article reports findings from a study of HIV-positive care supporters who volunteer with a church-run home-based care organisation in Swaziland. The article seeks to assess the impact of chronic food insecurity on antiretroviral adherence practices and how these individuals manage daily food shortages. Findings highlight the limited capacities of FBOs in highly vulnerable settings and the imperative for international and governmental coordination.     

From rhetoric to reality: an NGO’s challenge for reaching the furthest behind

The guiding principle of Agenda 2030 is the commitment to “leave no one behind”. However, as the Millennium Development Goals experience has demonstrated, there remains a “rhetoric-implementation gap” where local stakeholders struggle to realistically respond to policies formulated at the global level. This article proposes a way forward for NGOs seeking to translate the rhetoric of Agenda 2030 into reality. It presents an integrated and multi-sectoral approach to meet the challenges of an NGO working to ameliorate the basic needs of women who are affected by HIV/AIDS and limited WaSH provisions in the impoverished rural community of Lyantonde, Uganda.     

The effectiveness of rural versus urban nonprofit organisations in the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country with high natural resources, but it has suffered from decades of civil wars and social turmoil, being heavily aid-dependent. In the DRC, several Nonprofit Organisations (NPOs) are major players in fighting poverty and enhancing welfare. This research aims to analyse the effectiveness of small NPOs in improving poor peoples’ lives through health, education, and economic activities. Two NPOs working in the DRC, one in a rural and the other in an urban area, are compared by researching the aid sites and surveying 201 households (aid beneficiaries). Our case observations and the survey results facilitate analysing the mission accomplishment, effectiveness, and accountability of the NPOs although we admit that the DRC conditions make exact measurements difficult. Multivariate analyses are used to study the differences in aid impacts. There are significant differences in the beneficiaries’ perception of the NPO effectiveness in improving health while no significant differences in education impact were found. This is probably because both case NPOs have succeeded in getting a large proportion of the children of their area registered in the education centres created by the NPOs. Differences were observed in the accountability and reporting style of the NPOs.     

PATH: pioneering innovation for global health at the public–private interface

Seattle-based PATH is one of the world’s largest not-for profit organisations focused on improving health in low-income countries. This article argues the history of this understudied organisation is critical to understanding how collective action focused on facilitating developing countries’ access to essential health technologies is structured. Since its establishment almost 40 years ago, the organisation has been a catalyst for multidisciplinary public–private collaboration that has produced affordable, culturally appropriate health technologies. From its origins in reproductive health, enabling contraceptive technology transfers and advising on regulatory standards, to its more recent managerial roles in the development of inexpensive vaccines produced in developing countries, PATH has repeatedly illustrated how public–private collaboration in product research and development can increase poor populations’ access to essential health technologies. This in turn has provided substance to the contested narrative that engaging business is critical to reducing global health disparities.