Minority Communities (minority + community)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Minority Communities

  • ethnic minority community


  • Selected Abstracts


    High School Census Tract Information Predicts Practice in Rural and Minority Communities

    THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2005
    Susan Hughes MS
    ABSTRACT: Purpose: Identify census-derived characteristics of residency graduates' high school communities that predict practice in rural, medically underserved, and high minority-population settings. Methods: Cohort study of 214 graduates of the University of California, San Francisco-Fresno Family Practice Residency Program (UCSF-Fresno) from its establishment in 1970 through 2000. Rural-urban commuting area code; education, racial, and ethnic distribution; median income; population; and federal designation as a medically underserved area were collected for census tracts of each graduate's (1) high school address and (2) practice location. Findings: Twenty-one percent of graduates practice in rural areas, 28% practice in areas with high proportions of minority population (high minority areas), and 35% practice in federally designated medically underserved areas. Graduation from high school in a rural census tract was associated with rural practice (P <.01). Of those practicing in a rural site, 32% graduated from a rural high school, as compared with 11% of nonrural practitioners. Graduation from high school in a census tract with a higher proportion of minorities was associated with practice in a proportionally high minority community (P =.01). For those practicing in a high-minority setting, the median minority percentage of the high school census tract was 31%, compared with 16% for people not practicing in a high minority area. No characteristics of the high school census tract were predictive of practice in a medically underserved area. Conclusion: Census data from the residency graduate's high school predicted rural practice and practice in a proportionally high minority community, but not in a federally designated medically underserved area. [source]


    INVESTIGATING RACIAL PROFILING BY THE MIAMI-DADE POLICE DEPARTMENT: A MULTIMETHOD APPROACH

    CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2007
    GEOFFREY P. ALPERT
    Research Summary The perception and existence of biased policing or racial profiling is one of the most difficult issues facing contemporary American society. Citizens from minority communities have focused their concerns on the improper use of race by law enforcement officers. The current research uses a complex methodological approach to investigate claims that the Miami-Dade, Florida Police Department uses race improperly for the purposes of making traffic stops and conducting post-stop activities. The results are mixed in that the officer's aggregate actions do not show a pattern of discriminatory actions toward minority citizens when making a traffic stop, but results of post-stop activities do show some disparate treatment of minorities. Policy Implications Five specific policy recommendations are made to reduce the perception or reality of racial profiling by the police. First, police departments must have clear policies and directives explaining the proper use of race in decision making. Second, officers must be trained and educated in the overall impact of using race as a factor in deciding how to respond to a citizen. Third, the department must maintain a data-collection and analytic system to monitor the activities of their officers as it pertains to the race of the citizen. The fourth police recommendation involves the use of record checks in the field that can set in motion a process that results in the detention and arrest of citizens. Fifth, the completion of a record of interrogation for later intelligence has implications for the citizen. The use of this intelligence tool must depend on suspicion rather than on the race of the citizen. [source]


    Costs and Strategies in Minority Recruitment for Osteoporosis Research,

    JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2003
    Miriam A Marquez
    Abstract To meet expectations for the participation of minority populations in research, we committed to enroll 140 minority subjects in addition to a random sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota residents (90% white) for a study of risk factors for age-related bone loss and fractures. We successfully enrolled 597 additional minority subjects but encountered specific problems with respect to identification of potential subjects, recruitment, obtaining informed consent, transportation to the study site, and collecting study data. These problems were resolved by observing the tenets of outreach to a diverse study population, namely (1) understand the target population; (2) establish explicit recruitment goals; (3) agree on research plans between study staff and minority communities; (4) continuously evaluate the recruitment process; and (5) maintain lines of communication. Success depended especially on the recruitment of cultural advisors from the different ethnic groups. These special efforts increased the recruitment cost substantially; the total expense of $122,000 for recruiting 550 Asian, Hispanic, and Somali subjects was almost 5-fold higher than the $26,000 required to recruit 699 mostly white study subjects from the population who were contacted by mail. Although it is not impossible to recruit minority subjects, investigators (and grant reviewers) should recognize that significant resources are required to gain access to ethnic communities for research. These results should contribute to more realistic budgets for recruiting minority subjects into clinical research studies. [source]


    Caring for patients of Islamic denomination: critical care nurses' experiences in Saudi Arabia

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 12 2006
    ITU cert., Phil Halligan MSc
    Aim., To describe the critical care nurses' experiences in caring for patients of Muslim denomination in Saudi Arabia. Background., Caring is known to be the essence of nursing but many health-care settings have become more culturally diverse. Caring has been examined mainly in the context of Western cultures. Muslims form one of the largest ethnic minority communities in Britain but to date, empirical studies relating to caring from an Islamic perspective is not well documented. Research conducted within the home of Islam would provide essential truths about the reality of caring for Muslim patients. Design., Phenomenological descriptive. Methods., Six critical care nurses were interviewed from a hospital in Saudi Arabia. The narratives were analysed using Colaizzi's framework. Results., The meaning of the nurses' experiences emerged as three themes: family and kinship ties, cultural and religious influences and nurse,patient relationship. The results indicated the importance of the role of the family and religion in providing care. In the process of caring, the participants felt stressed and frustrated and they all experienced emotional labour. Communicating with the patients and the families was a constant battle and this acted as a further stressor in meeting the needs of their patients. Conclusions., The concept of the family and the importance and meaning of religion and culture were central in the provision of caring. The beliefs and practices of patients who follow Islam, as perceived by expatriate nurses, may have an effect on the patient's health care in ways that are not apparent to many health-care professionals and policy makers internationally. Relevance to clinical practice., Readers should be prompted to reflect on their clinical practice and to understand the impact of religious and cultural differences in their encounters with patients of Islam denomination. Policy and all actions, decisions and judgments should be culturally derived. [source]


    Public transit and the spatial distribution of minority employment: Evidence from a natural experiment

    JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2003
    Harry J. Holzer
    A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area's heavy rail system represents an exogenous change in the accessibility of inner-city minority communities to a concentrated suburban employment center. We evaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two-wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the first wave of interviews conducted immediately before the opening of service, and the second wave approximately a year later. Within-firm changes in the propensity to hire minority workers for firms near the station were compared with those located farther away. Also estimated was the effect of employer distance to the new stations on changes in propensity to hire minorities. Results indicate a sizable increase in the hiring of Latinos near the new stations, but little evidence of an effect on black hiring rates. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source]


    Preparing to Implement a Self-Management Program for Back Pain in New York City Senior Centers: What Do Prospective Consumers Think?

    PAIN MEDICINE, Issue 3 2010
    Sarah Townley RN
    Abstract Objective., Prior to testing the feasibility/potential efficacy of a newly developed self-management pain program for seniors with back pain, this study sought to: 1) determine prospective consumers' prior exposure to self-management pain programs, 2) determine their willingness to participate in the new program, and 3) ascertain perceived barriers/facilitators to program participation. Design., Cross-sectional survey. Setting., Six senior centers located in New York City. Participants., We enrolled a race/ethnicity stratified (African American, Hispanic, or non-Hispanic White) sample of 90 subjects who were ages 60 years or older and had chronic back pain. Results., While 60% of non-Hispanic Whites reported prior participation in a self-management pain program, fewer Hispanic (23%) and African Americans (20%) participants reported prior participation. Most participants (80%) were strongly willing to participate in the new program. Multivariate analyses revealed that only pain intensity had a trend toward significance (P = 0.07), with higher pain scores associated with greater willingness to participate. Few barriers to participation were identified, however, respondents felt that tailoring the course to best meet the needs of those with physical disabilities, providing flexibility in class timing, and informing individuals about program benefits prior to enrollment could help maximize program reach. No race/ethnicity differences were identified with respect to willingness to participate or program participation barriers. Conclusions., These data support efforts to disseminate self-management pain programs in older populations, particularly minority communities. The recommendations made by participants can help to guide implementation efforts of the newly developed pain program and may help to enhance both their reach and success. [source]


    Seeking the Truth, Spiritual and Political: Japanese American Community Building through Engaged Ethnic Buddhism

    PEACE & CHANGE, Issue 1 2010
    Masumi Izumi
    This essay documents the history of the Senshin Buddhist Temple in South Central Los Angeles, a Japanese American temple belonging to the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) School. In the United States, ethnic Buddhists are generally perceived as socially conservative and politically passive, while convert Buddhists are known to be active in peace movements and social activism. The essay analyzes the reforms Senshin members introduced to the temple's religious rituals and elucidates the development of new cultural activities and art forms, which not only contributed to the emergence of vernacular ethnic art and music, but also to the construction of a community of socially engaged Japanese American Buddhists. By opening their temple to members of local minority communities, Senshin Buddhists formed artistic and political coalitions with other peoples of color, harboring subaltern cultural activism, which transgressed national, racial, and religious borders, and defied hegemonic racial, gender, and class hierarchies. [source]


    Obstacles to organ donation in ethnic minorities

    PEDIATRIC TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 6 2001
    C. O. Callender
    While the numbers of ethnic minority donors have increased over the last 20 yr, there is still a need for community outreach and education in order to dispel the myths and misperceptions within minority communities so that a greater number of persons will ultimately become donors. While lack of awareness, religious myths and misperceptions, medical distrust, fear of premature death, and racism continue to cause reluctance within ethnic minority communities, the National Minority Organ Tissue Transplant Education Program (National MOTTEP) applies a methodology which has proven successful within various ethnic minority populations. The methodology utilizes ethnically similar and culturally sensitive transplant recipients, candidates and donors or donor families, along with health care providers, as effective messengers who are recognized within the community. In addition, community volunteers are solicited to become involved in hands-on program planning and implementation of activities, which will impact the community regarding their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Data collected from 914 consenting adult participants indicated that there were significant increases (p < 0.000) in trust in doctors, future plans to become organ donors, and changes in the participants' spiritual/religious beliefs about organ/tissue donation. The conclusion is that culturally appropriate health education programs targeting ethnic minority populations can effect positive change in knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. [source]


    Do CRA Agreements Influence Lending Patterns?

    REAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2003
    Raphael W. Bostic
    This article considers the broader impact of Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) agreements,bank pledges to extend a certain volume of lending to targeted groups and communities,by examining whether they are associated with changes in lending to lower,income and minority communities in the markets where they are initiated. We find the number of newly initiated CRA agreements in a county to be associated with significant increases in CRA, minority and overall conventional mortgage lending in a county over a three,year period. The results are consistent with the view that the increases in lending represent new lending, with some evidence suggesting that the increases in lending are relatively short,lived. Overall, the results are consistent with the notion that lenders view CRA agreements as a form of insurance against the potentially large and unknown costs associated with fair lending violations, poor CRA performance ratings and adverse publicity from CRA,related protests of mergers or other applications. The results are also consistent with the view that the effectiveness of CRA agreements in increasing lending activity is ultimately determined by the persistence and sophistication of community groups in monitoring compliance with CRA agreements. [source]


    Geographies of the financial crisis

    AREA, Issue 1 2009
    Manuel Aalbers
    Real estate is, by definition, local as it is spatially fixed. Mortgage lending, however, has developed from a local to a national market and is increasingly a global market today. An understanding of the financial crisis is ultimately a spatialised understanding of the linkages between local and global. This article looks at the geographies of the mortgage crisis and credit crunch and asks the question: how are different places affected by the crisis? The article looks at different states, different cities, different neighbourhoods and different financial centres. Investors in many places had invested in residential mortgage backed securities and have seen their value drop. Housing bubbles, faltering economies and regulation together have shaped the geography of the financial crisis on the state and city level in the US. Subprime and predatory lending have affected low-income and minority communities more than others and we therefore not only see a concentration of foreclosures in certain cities, but also in certain neighbourhoods. On an international level, the long-term economical and political consequences of this are still mostly unknown, but it is clear that some financial centres in Asia (including the Middle East) will become more important now that globalisation is coming full circle. This article does not present new empirical research, but brings together work from different literatures that all in some way have a specific angle on the financial crisis. The aim of this article is to make the geographical dimensions of the financial crisis understandable to geographers that are not specialists in all , or even any , of these literatures, so that they can comprehend the spatialisation of this crisis. [source]


    Models of Civic Responsibility: Korean Americans in Congregations with Different Ethnic Compositions

    JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 1 2005
    ELAINE HOWARD ECKLUND
    This article compares different discourses of civic responsibility for Korean American evangelicals in a second-generation Korean congregation and a multiethnic congregation located in the same impoverished ethnic minority community. Those in the second-generation church define civic responsibility through difference from immigrant Koreans. They stress caring for members of their local community and explicitly reject their parents' connection of Christianity to economic mobility. Yet, they find relating to other minorities in their local community difficult because of an implicit belief that the economically impoverished are not hardworking. Korean Americans in the multiethnic church connect Christianity to valuing diversity. A religious individualism that is used to justify diversity also helps Korean Americans stress their commonality with other ethnic minorities and legitimates commitment to community service. These results help researchers rethink how new groups of Americans might influence the relationship of evangelical Christianity to American civic life. [source]


    Adverse Drinking-Related Consequences Among Lower Income, Racial, and Ethnic Minority Drinkers: Cross-Sectional Results

    ALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2009
    Anna-Marie Vilamovska
    Objective:, To examine factors associated with adverse consequences of alcohol consumption among a community sample of drinkers in a low-income, racial, and ethnic minority community. Methods:, A sample of 329 drinkers was recruited from 17 randomly selected off-sell alcohol outlets in South Los Angeles. Respondents were interviewed by trained research personnel on their demographic characteristics, income, drinking patterns and preferences, and alcohol-related adverse consequences (using the Drinkers Inventory of Consequences,DrInC), among other items. We developed logistic regression models predicting high scores on DrInC total score and subscales (impulse control, interpersonal, intrapersonal, physical, and social responsibility). Results:, In this sample, we found drinking patterns,bingeing, drinking outdoors, drinking in the morning,to be significantly associated with total DrInC scores and some subscales. Malt liquor beverage (MLB) use was significantly associated with total DrInC score and interpersonal and social responsibility subscales. Previous alcohol treatment predicted all but 1 DrInC subscale and total score. Conclusions:, A diverse array of factors predicted high DrInC total and subscale scores. More research on the association between MLB use and consequences is required. In addition, studies with community samples are likely to further enrich our understanding of the interactions between drinking patterns and preferences, settings, and negative consequences. [source]


    Translation of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales for Users of American Sign Language

    PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 5 2008
    Waheedy Samady
    ABSTRACT This paper describes the translation of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scales into American Sign Language (ASL). Translation is an essential first step toward validating the instrument for use in the Deaf community, a commonly overlooked minority community. This translated MHLC/ASL can be utilized by public health nurses researching the Deaf community to create and evaluate targeted health interventions. It can be used in clinical settings to guide the context of the provider-patient dialogue. The MHLC was translated using focus groups, following recommended procedures. 5 bilingual participants translated the MHLC into ASL; 5 others back-translated the ASL version into English. Both focus groups identified and addressed language and cultural problems before the final ASL version of the MHLC was permanently captured by motion picture photography for consistent administration. Nine of the 24 items were directly translatable into ASL. The remaining items required further discussion to achieve cultural equivalence with ASL expressions. The MHLC/ASL is now ready for validation within the Deaf community. [source]


    High School Census Tract Information Predicts Practice in Rural and Minority Communities

    THE JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2005
    Susan Hughes MS
    ABSTRACT: Purpose: Identify census-derived characteristics of residency graduates' high school communities that predict practice in rural, medically underserved, and high minority-population settings. Methods: Cohort study of 214 graduates of the University of California, San Francisco-Fresno Family Practice Residency Program (UCSF-Fresno) from its establishment in 1970 through 2000. Rural-urban commuting area code; education, racial, and ethnic distribution; median income; population; and federal designation as a medically underserved area were collected for census tracts of each graduate's (1) high school address and (2) practice location. Findings: Twenty-one percent of graduates practice in rural areas, 28% practice in areas with high proportions of minority population (high minority areas), and 35% practice in federally designated medically underserved areas. Graduation from high school in a rural census tract was associated with rural practice (P <.01). Of those practicing in a rural site, 32% graduated from a rural high school, as compared with 11% of nonrural practitioners. Graduation from high school in a census tract with a higher proportion of minorities was associated with practice in a proportionally high minority community (P =.01). For those practicing in a high-minority setting, the median minority percentage of the high school census tract was 31%, compared with 16% for people not practicing in a high minority area. No characteristics of the high school census tract were predictive of practice in a medically underserved area. Conclusion: Census data from the residency graduate's high school predicted rural practice and practice in a proportionally high minority community, but not in a federally designated medically underserved area. [source]