Category: Health

Introduction

It is important to note that an e-commerce business heavily depends on a properly structured and organized information systems infrastructure. The availability of such systems enables the automation of many important and repetitive tasks, but it needs to be incorporated with precision and in accordance with the key objectives of the company. As a chief technology officer or CTO of a startup, the goal is growth within the next two years by becoming an online traditional store-based retailer primarily focused on the B2C format.

Background

The hypothetical e-commerce startup is called Health Tactical, which specializes in selling groceries and common goods with an emphasis on health aspects. The e-commerce store will feature products of great interest to people highly engaged in improving their health and well-being. Considering the fact that the area of nutrition science is rather confusing and complex, with many differential trends being presented, the goal is to accommodate all of these groups by offering them solutions in a convenient website platform. On top of the organic food products, e-commerce will also have additional goods interesting for health-focused individuals. The company will be mainly comprised of chief managers, such as the CEO and CTO, as well as ten employees, with an expected expansion of the employee size to 30. The revenue is expected to grow from $5 million to $30 million within two years. The current two-story standalone building will serve as a hub for the companys servers, computers, and employees.

It is important to note that the company will not be selling its own foods, supplements, and products but will build a network of suppliers with local butchers, farmers, and overseas supplement manufacturers, as well as other retailers. For example, for the Carnivore and Paleo sections, the meat will be essential, which is why local butchers will be contacted to operate as a supplier for customers. The supplementation and another diet/lifestyle-related products will be the most lucrative aspect of the business since they will be sold alongside organic and healthy foods, but these do not have specific risk elements associated with regular food products due to storage and transportation convenience. The supplements will be highly useful for all categories because health-conscious individuals are well aware of the dietary imbalances in vitamins, minerals, protein, and healthy fats. For instance, individuals interested in prolonged fasting might want access to easy-to-consume zero-calorie drinks to supplement the absent minerals and vitamins. Another example would be vegan people, who are unable to supplement vitamin B12 through plant-based foods (Jin, Line, Lee, 1, p. 2111). In other words, health-conscious customers always tend to have some awareness or caution about specific nutrients absent in their regular diets.

The website will be mainly an easy and automated middleman to connect various suppliers with customers interested in a specific health trend. The platform can also integrate social media networks to ease the communication process as well as registration procedures. In addition, it is important to note that the e-commerce business has a massive potential to grow by implementing vertical integration in the future. Since it is rather challenging to ensure that the business has enough room to store and distribute its own products within two years in such a small building, the emphasis will be put on perfecting the website, acquiring customers, and promoting the brand. However, in the long term, the business will be able to reinvest in storage and transportation facilities in order to sell its own goods, such as foods, supplements, and other health products. The end goal will be to conduct a full vertical integration starting from having farmland, cattle, and supplement manufacturing facilities.

The business, as a form of e-commerce, taps into a major consumer need for healthy products within the convenience element of a specific dietary regimen or lifestyle. Various YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook health advocates and influencers will be used to market the platform. There are many echo chambers of individuals interested in the specific dietary lifestyle with their own convictions and science behind it. Although it is possible that any diet leads to health improvement due to a mere reduction in processed foods and refined sugar consumption, heavy meat-eaters and vegans tend to have their data to confirm their convictions. As a platform, the business is not interested in advocating for a specific dietary choice, but rather it is a convenient tool for such groups of individuals who do not want to go to a regular shop and selectively read, examine, calculate, and search for foods, supplements, and health products, which fit their dietary lifestyle. The platform will provide a simple interface for health-conscious individuals who seek to be presented with all foods, supplements, and health products allowed or preferred for their dietary needs.

Business Type, Customers, and Demographics

The e-commerce company Health Tactical will be of B2C type with B2B format applicable only to the suppliers. The core business model is centered around being sensitive and responsive to different health trends and newly emerging as well as already popular diets. The website will feature the categorization of products not only by their type but also by their relevance to a particular dietary style. The key categories will include Paleo, Atkins, Carnivore, Vegan, Vegetarian, Low Fat, Low Carb, Fruitarian, Intermittent Fasting, Water Fasting, Keto, and the Mediterranean diet. The customers will be mainly health-conscious individuals concerned with improving their health through consuming certain food types. It should be noted that for health-conscious consumers, the availability of healthy food significantly affects the evaluation of the consumption experience in terms of both cognitive and affective response mechanisms (Jin, Line, Lee, 1, p. 2103). In addition, individuals are becoming more interested in online and technical solutions for their health by relying on devices and online availability of consumables (Garge, Balakrishna, Datta, 2). Therefore, the business is focused on catching and predicting various diet or food trends to incorporate on the website alongside the core lifestyle eating patterns.

The core demographics are comprised of health-conscious individuals interested in what they consume, the science behind a diet, and maintaining a normal weight range. It is reported that consumers who are health conscious regarding their lifestyle and diets derive high utility values from the nutritional information of the product (Ghvanidze, Velikova, Dodd, Oldewage-Theron, 3, p. 863). Although there is no single adherence to a particular group, millennials aged between 25 and 34 will comprise the bulk of customers since they are the most health-conscious group (Buchholz, 4). After the millennials, Gen Z and Gen Y will be of prime interest since they, too, rely on reliable online sources to get a framework and science behind each dietary style. Therefore, such an interest in health, in combination with the internets influence and spread of major diets, provides the basis to provide healthy foods, supplements, and many other products with a simple categorization style in order to remove the tedious aspect of selecting foods in accordance with a specific diets requirements.

One of the most interesting aspects of health-conscious consumers is the fact that most of them are willing to spend more on organic and properly grown foods rather than corn-fed meat or GMO farm produce. In addition, local butchers and farmers tend to lack proper access to the larger consumer base because they need assistance in reaching a greater customer base due to the inherent nature of the restricted locality. The platform will serve as a connecting tool with a value of convenience for health-conscious individuals and customer providers for the local farmers with butchers. The most lucrative aspect of the business will be supplemented because the organic food market is already expensive by design, which is why the profit margin of food products will not be significant. However, the platform will have a powerful and key feature in its cart option to calculate the total amount of nutrients, such as macros, vitamins, and minerals, and offer supplements as a solution to fill the gaps. A customer will be asked for a specific age, body weight, and daily activity information during the registration process or as an option to track the nutritional information of their purchase.

Key Elements for The Companys Information Systems Infrastructure

The key elements of the companys information systems infrastructure include four major compartments. These involve shop systems, backend, logistics, and analytics with business intelligence or BI. The shop system will be integrated to contain the product catalog, cart function, and check-out procedure capabilities. It will be interacting with three different subsystems, such as services of payment and logistics, analytics and BI, and the backend. The latter will be comprised of web content, product information, and enterprise resource planning or ERP connected to the core entity management of the backend. Customers and suppliers will interact with the backend through the relevant B2C and B2B gateway. The logistics element will be comprised of return shipments, stock receipt, consignment, and stock management functional elements. Analytics and BI will be interconnected with the shop system, backend, and logistics in order to ensure that data is being stored, categorized, and analyzed. A high-level block diagram for the companys information systems infrastructure can be accessed in Figure 1 below.

It is important to point out that e-commerce is a commercial activity, the purpose of which is considered to be the acquisition of benefits and is based on the complex automation of the paid cycle through the introduction of computer networks. The economic prerequisite for e-commerce is the objective need to reduce the losses that appear in paid cycles. The formation of e-commerce is directly dependent on the spread of the internet. The company trades directly with the consumer, and the basis is the retail sale of goods. The customer can simplify and speed up the purchase procedure by making a commercial transaction. The consumer does not need to go to the store to select the desired product because it is enough to view the characteristics on the suppliers website, select the desired product, and order with delivery. The internet gives the seller the opportunity to track demand. Minimizing the number of intermediaries in organizing sales is the main advantage of this e-commerce model. Future implementations of this model are likely, such as web storefronts, online stores, and online trading systems.

Initially, it is important to use web storefronts before the entire website is complete, as they are relatively inexpensive and fairly easy-to-implement sites that provide a product catalog. Ordering goods and invoicing are among the functions of the web storefront. However, the processing of the order is carried out by a human sales manager. His or her responsibilities include organizing interaction with the warehouse, delivering goods, confirming payment for the purchase, studying demand, conducting marketing and promotional activities, and doing analytical work. Thus, the manager performs the implementation of the sales process with the internal business processes of the company. An online store-enabled commerce organization is more suitable for a firm that wishes to control the entire e-commerce process and seeks to reduce transaction costs. Compared to a storefront, creating a store is more expensive, and with proper organization, these costs pay off faster. Customer requests are processed by the application server, which, in turn, communicates with the data warehouse and the electronic payment system.

Technically, an online store is a combination of a web storefront and an electronic trading system. This system carries out automatic processing of incoming orders, such as storage at the base, control of payment, or delivery of the product. In the next stage, there will be a transition to the format of an online store that offers to place an order and receive information about the product around the clock by all available means. The latter includes an electronic catalog on the website, by phone, e-mail, social networks, and other internet communication channels. The buyer receives all the accompanying documents when purchasing a product, as in a regular store. The warranty card or written explanation of how to obtain warranty service for this product is important, and in some cases, it also includes a written explanation of how to return or exchange the purchased product. Unlike web storefronts, in an online store, the manager only controls the operation of the system, and therefore, the online store can work in automatic mode.

Gantt Chart

List of Key Elements

Website Development

1. Frontend and Design
2. Backend: Core Entity Management + ERP, Web Content, Product Info
3. B2B/B2C Gateway: Supplier and Customer interaction
4. Shop System: Check Out, Cart, Catalogue  interaction with Services: Payment and Logistics
5. Analytics and Business Intelligence: Big Data, analytics, and customer information
6. Logistics: Return Shipments, Stock Receipt, Consignment, Stock Management

The combination of all elements

1. Launch of the e-commerce website
2. Enabling the integration of suppliers into the system
3. Marketing
4. Sales

Conclusion

In conclusion, Health Tactical will be an e-commerce health product retail website with an emphasis on convenience and dietary categorization, as well as nutrient tracking options. The local butchers and farmers will be the suppliers of the food products, but the profits will be made from supplements and other health products. The information systems infrastructure will be comprised of shop systems, backend, logistics, and analytics with business intelligence or BI.

Sources

Naehyun (Paul) Jin, Nathaniel Discepoli Line, Sang-Mook Lee. 2017. The Health Conscious Restaurant Consumer: Understanding The Experiential and Behavioral Effects of Health Concern. pp. 2103-2120. Web.

Gopi Krishna Garge, Chitra Balakrishna, Soumya Kanti Datta. 2018. Consumer Health Care: Current Trends in Consumer Health Monitoring. pp. 38-46. Web.

Sophie Ghvanidze, Natalia Velikova, Tim Dodd, Wilna Oldewage-Theron. 2017. A Discrete Choice Experiment of the Impact of Consumers Environmental Values, Ethical Concerns, And Health Consciousness On Food Choices: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. pp. 863-881. Web.

Katharina Buchholz. 2019. Vast Majority of Americans Interested in Healthy Foods. Web.

Research Problem and Purpose

The general purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between psychological elements of mobile phone usage and mental health issues in a potential group of young people. Specifically, the study focused on investigating various elements of the frequency of the use of mobile phone, including different aspects of usage such as demands on availability, possible stress associated with accessibility, being awakened at night to receive phone calls, possible personal overuse, and their relationship with identified cases of stress, depression symptoms, and notable sleep disturbances. Besides, the researchers also wanted to explore the relationship between the frequency of mobile phone use and perceived social support.

Literature Review

The authors provided background information about the study. This section was supported by related past studies in the same area of study. For instance, from past studies, the authors observed that several young people in Sweden and other parts of the world have reported growing cases of mental health challenges. Further, several past studies had linked such mental health issues to the use of mobile phones by identifying headaches, earache, and warmth sensations, as well as perceived concentration difficulties and fatigue (Thomée, Härenstam, & Hagberg, 2011, p. 66). The researchers used 38 past studies to support this study.

Study Framework

Although the authors did not include any framework, the major concepts for this study were mental health challenges associated with mobile phone usages. Besides, the framework also covered frequencies of mobile phone use and reported cases of mental health.

Other issues associated with mobile phone use include exposure beyond the frequency of use, as well as addiction to mobile phones.

Young people aged between 20 and 24 years old were the subjects in this study.

Research Objectives, Questions, or Hypothesis

The research objective was to examine potential relationships between mobile phone use and mental health outcomes in a more general or heterogeneous population of young adults, using a longitudinal design (Thomée et al., 2011, p. 66).

Study Variables

These variables included mobile phone exposure variables such as incidence of calls, rate of recurrence of SMS, mobile phone utilization, wake up at night, accessibility demands, ease of access stress, and overuse.

Mental health outcome variables were present stress, sleep interference, and dejection (Thomée et al., 2011, p. 66).

Besides, other background variables included relationship status, highest completed educational level, and occupation.

Social support variable accounted for accessibility to support private life issues.

Assumptions

While there were no clearly defined study assumptions, one can expect that these variables interacted to cause mental health issues for the study population. This assumption has provided the basis for this research.

Limitations

Limitations of this study were mainly centered on methodological considerations. First, the study did not account for the time for exposure to mental health issues. Second, the questionnaire used could have collected subjective responses rather than objective, actual ones on mental disorders. Third, the limitation was also suspected of recall bias and recall difficulties. Also, consolidating data for phone use (calls and texts) led to the loss of some information. Fourth, the researchers only focused on psychosocial elements of mobile phone use but ignored possible confounding variables such as personality. Finally, there was a significant rate of drop out among participants selected for the study.

Research Design

The study design was a baseline survey that aimed to provide information on the status of mobile phone use and related mental health issues among a cohort of young adults aged 20-24 years old as defined by the UN. Consequently, the researchers were able to quantify study variables during the period of study.

Population and Sample

A cohort of young people aged between 20 and 24 years old who were born between 1983 and 1987 was randomly selected to participate in this study.

The study targeted 10,000 men and 10,000 women. However, the rate of the dropout was extremely high at 79% and therefore only 4,156 participants completed the study.

Half of the respondents originated from the County of Västra Götaland, Sweden while the rest from other parts of the country.

Methods of Measurement

Variables were operationalized to measure aspects of the study that were not easy to quantify. For instance, the researchers used high, medium, and low categories to depict availability and accessibility with mobile phone use.

Data Collection

Data were collected using a questionnaire. First, the postal questionnaire was sent to all respondents. A similar questionnaire was administered a year later through the Web while the final questionnaire, which was a paper version, was also sent to respondents.

Data Analysis

SAS version 9.2 was used in all data analyses. The researchers conducted separate analyses for men and women. The relationships between mobile phone exposure variables and between mobile phone use and social support were determined using Spearman correlation while the Cox proportional hazard model (PHREG) was used to analyzed prevalence ratios (PRs) (Thomée et al., 2011, p. 66).

Research Outcomes

From the analyses, the researchers established that there were cross-sectional and prospective relationships between mobile phone variables and mental health outcomes among the young adults (Thomée et al., 2011, p. 66). Some participants with a high frequency of use had greater risks for sleep disturbances and depression.

References

Thomée, S., Härenstam, A., & Hagberg, M. (2011). Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults  a prospective cohort study. BMC Public Health, 11, 66. Web.

The team and its communication are of supreme importance to a projects success (Walley, 2013). The development of a healthcare IT project is likely to require the collaboration of informatics professionals (IP) and the clinical staff to ensure its success (Gale, 2012). There are multiple roles that an IP can play when participating in a project. A Project Sponsor, for example, does not only ensure the financing but also becomes the champion of the project, which is likely to involve being the projects spokesperson, reaching, engaging, and managing stakeholders, and other leadership activities that make the role a critical one for the projects development (Project Management Institute, 2013, p. 25).

In this respect, the qualifications of an IP are likely to help him or her to engage and inspire the stakeholders through personal competence, which is also likely to facilitate the process of communicating the projects specifics. Concerning the role of a Subject Matter Expert, it is apparent that an IP is an expert in the field, which would allow him or her to carry out the responsibilities of this role and provide expert judgments at every stage of the project development.

Finally, as a Project Manager (PM) or a member of a management office, an IP can once again combine a leadership role with and that of an expert in the field in carrying out the responsibilities of managing the project (Project Management Institute, 2013, p. 26). The latter are numerous since a PM is central to a project. In particular, a PM ensures the cooperation of all the stakeholders as well as the fulfillment of the plans, the achievement of objectives, and the management of risks.

References

1. Gale, S.F. (2012). The human element. PM Network, 26(12), 27-32.
2. Project Management Institute. (2013). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide ) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
3. Walley, P. (2013). Stakeholder management: the sociodynamics approach. International Journal Of Managing Projects In Business, 6(3), 485-504. Web.

Human health depends on several factors, such as environmental, industrial, and many others. These factors are already well-researched by scholars, whereas the impact of the social environment on health either remains unknown or insufficiently studied. Since there is a particular interrelationship between human health and social factors, which have an impact on people, it is essential to take them into account as well.

There are some social factors that scholars have to consider. Scrambler (2018) claims that the main ones among them are social location, circumstances, and learned or imitated behaviors (p.12). These factors are the ones that researchers overlook when examining the general picture of their impact on health due to their complexity and ambiguity.

Social factors leading to severe diseases vary depending on whether they are individual or societal. The individual factors include race/ethnicity, income, wealth, education, and social status (Dean, Gehlert, Neuhouser, Zanetti, Goodman, and Schmitz, 2018). Examples of societal factors are community safety and social support. This implies that the primary reason for the emergence of diseases lies in social inequality.

The health of people of a particular culture also depends on their worldview. It relates to their values and experiences connected to illness and death. Such issues as the understanding of diseases by a person and the perception of it in his surroundings deserve special attention. The health of people can be at higher risk if it is typical for their culture not to pay attention to the illnesses considering them to be out of control or subject to the will of God. Thus, it is vital to be careful with the cultural backgrounds of people who need medical assistance.

However, people still tend not to pay attention to social factors looking for other ways to stay healthy. In their opinion, social support and social integration are two of the three least crucial factors (Haslam, McMahon, Cruwys, Haslam, Jetten, and Steffens, 2018). Recent studies have shown that people underestimate their influence on health.

Individual and societal factors, which have a significant impact on human health, remain the most important ones. Consideration of the worldview of different people and cultural groups ensures their health. The examination of social factors contributes to a better understanding of their influence on the health of individuals and the population as a whole. With this knowledge, one can receive better care that will increase the overall health of people.

References

Dean, L. T., Gehlert, S., Neuhouser, M. L., Oh, A., Zanetti, K., Goodman, M., & Schmitz, K. H. (2018). Social factors matter in cancer risk and survivorship. Cancer Causes & Control, 29(7), 611-618.

Haslam, S. A., McMahon, C., Cruwys, T., Haslam, C., Jetten, J., & Steffens, N. K. (2018). Social cure, what social cure? The propensity to underestimate the importance of social factors for health. Social Science & Medicine, 198, 14-21.

Scambler, G. (2018). Sociology, Health and the Fractured Society: A Critical Realist Account. United Kingdom, Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.

Introduction

Encountering violence is a traumatic experience that may reside in adverse effects on ones mental health. Naturally, this effect is especially pronounced if one does not merely encounter violence, but is an intentionally selected victim. However, an experience of being deliberately targeted is not the only way for violence to harm a persons mental health. Belonging to a social group that is disproportionally affected by violent actions leaves its psychological impact regardless of whether a particular individual encountered this violence personally. This notion applies in full force to the police brutality against African Americans and its effect on their mental health.

Bor, Venkataramani, Williams, and Tsai (2018) pointed out that police brutality may have spillover effects even on those blacks who are not affected by it directly. This observation raises the question of how police brutality as a social factor rather than personal experience affects the mental health of African Americans in the contemporary United States. An article by Sackett and Dogan (2019) addresses this question in a qualitative study of black teens perceptions of their racial identity.

Main Objectives

The research question posed by the authors is broader than the specific effects of police brutality on the mental health of black adolescents. In Sackett and Dogans (2019) own words, this question is, What are black teens experiences of their own racial identity? (p. 176). Yet while the question itself contains no direct association with police brutality, the authors emphasize it as a notable factor shaping African American adolescents experiences of blackness.

They specifically allude to the Black Lives Matter movement and mention systemic issues in the legal and political systems that perpetuate inequality as a crucial factor in the experiences of young African Americans (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 174). Thus, while the effects of police brutality may not constitute the explicit focus of the research, but permeate the issue nevertheless, of which the authors are aware.

The authors hypothesize that the effect of experiencing blackness  including being disproportionately targeted by police violence  has a twofold impact on the young African Americans mental health. On the one hand, upon encountering racial inequality, they may begin to interpret their race as a resilience factor against the psychological effects of prejudice and oppression (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 175). On the other hand, the race may become a source of distress and a sense of conflict within themselves, as when interpreting police brutality as partially justified by the provocative behavior (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 175). This hypothesis relied on the authors analysis of the existing scholarly literature ion the subject.

While the literature on the effect of racial oppression on the mental health of African Americans may be relatively plentiful in general, Sackett and Dogan (2019) note that there are few studies covering its effects on young blacks mental health as connected to their experience of being black. In their own words, there has been a dearth of literature exploring black adolescent experiences of racial identity (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 175).

In a concise literature review, they quote several studies that support their basic notion that racial oppression has a direct impact on mental health and well-being of African American adolescents (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 174). They also root the above-mentioned notion of the dualistic response to racial identity, which is central to their hypothesis, in the works of preceding scholars (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 175). Thus, Sackett and Dogans (2019) analysis of the scholarly literature allows them to represent their article as filling a gap in the research.

The authors conducted a qualitative study of black teenagers experiences of blackness using the method of photovoice. This method involves participants brainstorming the issue within the realm of their experience and taking and interpreting photographs illustrating this issue, after which the researchers, together with the participants, identify the central recurring themes in the subjects interpretation of their experience. This method serves to give voice to vulnerable populations and to empower individuals through participation while providing counseling professionals with an insight into the worldview of their potential clients (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 176).

In this case, the topic for brainstorming, depicting in photographs, and interpreting was the experience of blackness as influenced by multiple factors including but not restricted to police brutality (Sackett & Dogan, 2019). The sample of the study consisted of eight African American adolescents from 14 to 17 years old, five females and three males, recruited in two Black churches in the southeastern United States (Sackett & Dogan, 2019). All of the authors findings, conclusions, and implications rest on this  rather limited  sample.

The main result of the study was the confirmation of the authors hypothesis that experiencing blackness, as influenced by police brutality and other factors, has a twofold impact on the mental health of young African Americans. On the one hand, the participants associated their race with strengths that help in overcoming the effects of oppression, such as being disproportionally targeted by the police. This tendency mainly manifested in depicting strong black role models (Sackett & Dogan, 2019). On the other hand, study subjects also interpreted their experience of race in counterproductive ways that lead to more distress and internal conflict (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 184).

This trend manifested in accepting some of the negative messages society touts about their race, thus implicitly giving a partial justification for disproportionate targeting (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 183). Additionally, participants demonstrated an acute need for places they can escape to, highlighting the sensation of discomfort associated with being black (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 184). Hence, according to Sackett and Dogan (2019), the experience of blackness  including police brutality  impacts the mental health of African Americans by instilling fear and a sense of guilt.

The implications of the authors findings relate directly to the practice of counseling for African American clients. First of all, Sackett and Dogan (2019) stress the importance of being aware of the clients perspectives and worldviews, which becomes a necessary prerequisite of moving forward collaboratively. It is hard to argue with this conclusion, but it is evident enough to border a truism. Apart from that, the authors also urge school counselors to be aware of the racial identity development process among the students (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 185).

This implication is essential to avoid the internalization of the dominant cultures misconceptions of blackness  as when implicitly instilling a sense of guilt for being disproportionally targeted in the acts of police brutality. Thus, Sackett and Dogan (2019) discuss the implications for counseling African American adolescents, including the potential effect of police brutality on their mental health, but their conclusions are not always original.

The authors identify a principal threat to the validity of their study in the size and characteristics of the sample. They acknowledge that religious affiliations of the study participants, all of whom were members of two Black churches in the American southeast, limit the applicability of their findings (Sackett & Dogan, 2019). However, the authors do not question the basic premise behind the selection of their subjects.

By immediately proceeding with the notion that the Black church holds great significance and serves as a meeting place for the black community  based on nothing more than a single reference  they effectively exclude non-affiliated African Americans from the artificially constructed black community (Sackett & Dogan, 2019, p. 176). This approach to sampling not merely limits the applicability of the authors findings but imposes their own vision of race and racial identity upon the studied population, which is directly opposed to the purpose of studying it through the eyes of black adolescents themselves.

Conclusion

As one can see, Sackett and Dogan (2019) study the effects of experiencing race, including but not limited to police brutality, on African Americans with a focus on counseling, but the article is not free from several notable downsides. Basing their approach on the existing research and using the method of photovoice, the authors conduct a qualitative study to identify and analyze the black teens experiences of their racial identity.

The results of the study confirm the initial hypothesis that these effects range from interpreting race as a source of strength to experiencing acute discomfort and even assuming implicit guilt for being discriminated. However, some of the implications for counseling offered by the authors border truisms, and sampling constitutes a significant and partially underestimated threat to the validity of the study.

References

Bor, J., Venkataramani, A. S., Williams, D. R., & Tsai, A. C. (2018). Police killings and their spillover effects on the mental health of black Americans: A population-based, quasi-experimental study. The Lancet, 392(10144), 302-310.

Sackett, C. R. & Dogan, J. N. (2019). An exploration of black teens experiences of their own racial identity through photovoice: Implications for counselors. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 147(3), 172-189.

Introduction

In spite of the legislation that was passed in19th century which outlawed human slavery, today human trafficking and slavery has spread even more than it was at the end of the civil war. Human trafficking which is a modern term for human slavery takes different forms the most common being sex trafficking which is the sale of young girls and women into prostitution as well as labor trafficking which mostly involve men being sold to perform hard labor and get little or no pay in compensation. Other forms include children serving as soldiers and organs removal.

Healthcare professionals have an important role in finding victims of the trafficking while they are still being held as captives and also looking after the mental as well as the physical needs of the victims after they have been released. This requires professionals in the healthcare working for these victims to receive proper education on how to identify the victims and also on their special healthcare needs. (Barrows, 2004)

Statistics

For a long time according to this journal it has been hard in estimating the number of people trafficked into the United States because the process is hidden and also because of the illegal nature it has regarding all its activities. According to a rough figure that was published by the central intelligence Agency in 1990 there are 50,000 persons trafficked per year and more recent publication indicate that today the figure does not go below 17,500 per year into the united states.

Across international borders the figure is around 800,000 with 80% of them being women and over 50% being minors. The figures however do not include American underage prostitution with the majority coming from abusive homes and forced into the streets where they sell sex while they are being controlled by the trafficker. It is usually assumed that the youths volunteer into the prostitution but the truth is youths cannot proper consent regarding the activity and for this reason prostitution involving under age 18 is termed as severe trafficking. About 3.5% of a sample comprising of 13000 adolescent admitted that they have at least once exchanged sex for money if not drugs.

Role of healthcare professionals

Healthcare professionals strive to uncover and set free these victims and restore their mental as well as their physical health if the victims survive and in order to fulfill the roles, the professionals have to be educated on the human trafficking.

A research on the European trafficking has found that 28% of the victims encounters a professional from healthcare while they are still being held as captives but unfortunately the encounter does not result to the release of the victim because of the failure of the professional in recognizing the actual victims condition due to lack of proper training. A recent research indicates that only 13% of personnel working in the emergency department are very confident in identifying the victims of trafficking and another 3% admits that they have never been trained in recognizing such victims.

Healthcare services in their duties to rescue as well as restore have tried to put together a number of clues to help the professionals easily identify a victim of trafficking and they include a patient being accompanied by somebody who appear to be in control of the patient for example insisting to give the health details of the victim. The patient may also tends to have observable signs of torture and acts with unusual fear, being too submissive and is not able to speak in English. Suspicion should also arise if the patient has recently been brought from Europe into the country or from Asia, Canada, India or Latin America and the victims also tend to lack their passports or any other migration document.

Health care professionals are advised to separate any suspected victim of trafficking from the potential trafficker and in a sensitive manner question the patient about his situation and if possible involve a third party who can speak the language of the victim and if he can generate a rapport with him or her. The suspected victim can be asked if he or she would wish to leave his or her job and if it is possible to comeback to the hospital when not working as he or she pleases.

He should also be asked if he has ever been threatened whenever he has tried to quit from the job and the conditions of his work regarding where he sleeps and eat and whether he has to request for permission to eat, go to bathroom or to sleep. If the response to majority of these question suggest that the patient may have been trafficked, then assistance is sought by the healthcare professionals through the established hotline to have the patient being huddled by properly trained personnel who establishes if the patient is actually a victim of trafficking and therefore liaise with the local resources which are reliable to them.

As the healthcare establishes these victims, they have managed to take steps in providing healthcare because most of the trafficked victims suffer quite a number of health problems beyond expectation based on their age, country of residence as well as gender.

The reason why they are likely to suffer more health problems has been found to be because trafficking involves separation of the victim from his or her home and normal life circumstances through force, some times deception or threats which most of the times deprives the victim of basic needs and causes a lot of stress which is worsened by torture from the traffickers. After the victims reach their destinations they are usually subjected to hazardous work and prostitution which involve a lot of violence, sexually transmitted diseases as well as unwanted pregnancies. Because trafficking is illegal most of the victims are not provided with access to required heath care and when it is given it is not timely which worsens their problems. (Barrows, 2004)

Strengths

There has been a lot of information on the occurrence of human trafficking as well as remedies to its many adverse effects from both regional and global coalition of the affected countries and various nongovernmental organizations. This collaboration has been addressed with roles and organizational infrastructure to allow their members work unilaterally with healthcare professionals in combating human trafficking through prevention and protection as well as taking care of the victims. This has been achieved through breaking up of the trafficking networks by indentifying the traffickers when they bring the victims to receive medical care. This has partly a played major role in seeking for a long lasting solution in stopping recruitment and transportation of the trafficked persons.

Another focal point that has been addressed in the prevention strategies that has worked so well in the sending countries is the enhancement of the economic development especially for girls and women so that they are not lured into the business in the name of being assisted to better their economic advancement. This has been addressed as having worked best because of educational outreach seminars in educating the members of communities about the tricks normally used as well as the dangers of being trafficked. (Barrows, 2004)

Weaknesses

It has been very difficult to carry out investigation and convict the offenders in those countries which have weak legal systems coupled with corrupt police and judicial courts. This has been a major challenge for the healthcare professionals because even in the countries which appear to have a favorable prosecution environment, they also have disappointing results because the police concerned, immigration officers as well as social and health workers have not been given proper training in identification of trafficked victims.

The estimation methodology prepared by the U.S government being not accessible for peer review during workshops by the participants has not been addressed and even that information available is not from various sources and does not include documentation of all the work making the estimate not replicable for the healthcare professionals. The major challenge in this case is difficulty in transition between the reported and unreported victims where the U.S government relies on estimates done by others regarding the unreported cases and latter adjust them using complex statistical methods and such estimates are not reliable.

Conclusion

Measures taken to prevent human trafficking by healthcare professionals largely depends on the government involved where the government can develop registration purposely meant to make trafficking of people illegal.

The governments of the states largely hit by human trafficking have not had systems to enhance cooperation among different agencies from various nations that deals with law enforcement as well as with concerned non-governmental organizations to break up all the networks connecting the traffickers and their sources. Some countries also legalize trafficking of persons for other purposes except for sex so as to create opportunities for cheap labor in their countries which exposes the victims to a lot of health problems and is against human rights and which is prohibited in the ten American bills of rights. (Barrows, 2004).

References

Barrows J. (2004): Human trafficking and the healthcare professional: southern medical association.

Pornographic material may be defined as something which stimulates the sexual feelings of an individual. Pornography may be broadly divided into two major categories namely, visual and written. Pornography is also known as smut or obscene material. This paper will throw light upon pornography as a health issue and how it impacts society.

The term pornography comes from porneia, the Greek word for prostitute, and means the writings of and about prostitutes. Defining the type of material that qualifies as pornography is more difficult. It is a relative term, subject to interpretation based on peoples opinions. Standards of obscenity have been defined legally in a consistent way. (Pornography, 2008). Society has changed for the worse, pornography is impacting society and it mainly targets youngsters. They become more prone to this evil and it leads to devastating consequences. There is no doubt that watch porn movies spoil the character of an individual in addition to this it also provokes a person to commit various crimes like rapes, eve-teasing, etc. Pornography is a very big menace in society, the porn industry is growing with each passing day, and it is a multibillion-dollar industry. This goes to show that the demand for such obscene movies exists this is the only reason why such movies are produced and distributed. If there is no demand for a product there will be no supply this is the simplest of all the economics principles. Considering all this it is quite obvious that there is a demand for such obscene movies.

Impact of Pornography

Pornography impacts society hugely; it portrays a wrong picture of women, it shows women exploitation and it is a source with the help of which women are very frequently exploited. Many laboratory experiments are alleged to prove a negative societal influence from exposure to pornography. Results from different experiments supposedly demonstrated that exposure to pornography particularly that which includes violence, leads to the degradation of women, the trivialization of rape and increased likelihood of aggression or acceptance of violence against women. (Pornography, 2008).

More and more people and young children are falling prey to pornography. Swedish politico Goeran Eurenius was caught with his pants down when the Goteborg-Posten, a daily newspaper, revealed that he had moonlighted as a porn star. The 47-year-old Eugenius is a local councilor in Haerryda, 310 miles southwest of Stockholm, and has acted in at least 14 pornographic movies. (Swedish politician moonlights as a porn star, 20 November 2008). There are numerous politicians who have been caught red-handed in their involvement with pornography. This is a very shameful thing because the politicians are supposed to be the representatives of the common people and if they get themselves involved in such activities then the people would lose their faith in them. They are supposed to lead from the front but the reality is very different, till date there have been so many politicians caught for their involvement in pornography.

Pornography has negatively impacted our society and in reality, it is an evil that should be dealt with without wasting any more time. It is weakening our society and spoiling the future generation. Some big steps to counter the same must be taken sooner rather than later.

References

1. Pornography. In Sexual Health.
2. Pornography. In Pacific Center for Sex and Society.
3. Swedish politician moonlights as a porn star. In Salon.

Each year five to ten million people cross international borders to seek a new home all over the world; moreover, women make up more than half of the incoming immigrants. There are many reasons why the amount of immigrating women is higher; they include family reunification, economic incentives, and educational opportunities, as well as escaping from gender-based discrimination or political violence and gaining more social independence (Delara, 2016).

Immigration Healthcare issues have been called ineffective, racist, threatening, and many additional terms for a long time. However, for women receiving quality healthcare while being an immigrant is twice as hard, given various circumstances. Immigrant women appear as an extremely vulnerable group of minorities who continually experience healthcare inequity and contempt.

In most cases, these women have to overcome extreme barriers and spend many hours learning the regulations and fighting for themselves to receive proper healthcare. The reason why I chose this particular group of women is that in recent years, immigrants have been facing inadequate restrictions and cruel attitudes towards themselves, and the medical area is not an exception. There have been hundreds of cases when immigrant women did not receive quality treatment in time, which resulted in risking their lives and the more devastating lives of many unborn children. It is a critical issue of human rights that deserves attention.

Statistics Related to Immigrant Women and Their Impact on Womens Health

The amount of immigrant women and girls in the United States has reached 20 million people. There is a significant social class gap between immigrant and U.S.-born women when it comes to social privileges, and statistics are undeniable proof of it. Data on healthcare service differences for immigrant women is quite disappointing. According to research KKF statistics (2019), only 66% of immigrant women have health insurance comparing to 85% of U.S.-born women.

Such a high percentage of insurance absence indicates the limited access to employer-sponsored coverage for specifically immigrant women. Immigrant people are more likely to have low-income jobs than native citizens, and it results in their inability to afford medical services. It is especially hard for a woman immigrant to find a well-paid job with covered insurance than any other male or female individual; it results in the inability to pay for medical coverage in most cases. Such actions may lead to the risk of challenges when it comes to affording healthcare coverage; therefore, undiagnosed or untreated medical conditions may result in unfortunate consequences.

Women immigrants make up a large part of all immigrants that come to the United States. Nearly half of the worlds migrants are women and girls; therefore, attention considering the healthcare level and approach to the patient should not be neglected (Health Coverage of Immigrants, 2019). It is vital to give more recognition to the issues of unqualified healthcare service toward the newcomers and treat them no differently than native citizens.

Immigrant women have many restrictions, and when it comes to accessing professional health care, federal law restricts a significant amount of immigrants to take part in means-tested benefit programs, such as Medicaid, in their first five years of legal status. In 2017 only 29% of immigrants were eligible for the Medicaid program. A large number of immigrants who qualify for this program remain uninsured because of many fears they have, such as language barriers, confusion about the documentation, or inability to navigate the enrollment (Health Coverage of Immigrants, 2019). Such challenges are an everyday routine for immigrant women, and because of such a vague understanding of documentation and no available help with that, most people result in neglecting the idea of getting high-quality health coverage.

The Psychosocial Needs of Immigrant Women

Women, who had to face immigration, come to a new country with high hopes and expectations of a better life. However, in most cases, immigrants do not meet those expectations. Studies continually show that psychological well-being among immigrant women is dependent on social support (Bengs, Hägglund, Wiklund-Engblom, Majors, & Ashfaq, 2017). To feel comfortable and satisfied in an entirely new environment, it is vital to fulfill basic psychological needs, which becomes a challenge for most immigrant women. In the study by Bengs et al. (2017), ten psychological needs were defined.

After their analysis, the primary psychological needs of immigrant women were clear. Foremost, the autonomy need is the one that assures the women of their control over the situation and makes them feel that no external factors influence their decision. It is a known fact that immigrants are often dependent on the external factors and are always in jeopardy of the deportation fear. Immigrant women also need assurance in the future and the future of their families; this is an essential component of psychological security needs.

Feeling safe and in control of your life and the life of your closest people rather than feeling uncertain and threatened by external circumstances defines the need for security (Bengs et al., 2017). The need for relatedness is more than applicable to immigrant women. This need is fulfilled when a person has regular communication with supportive and caring surroundings. Immigrant women are more self-conscious to make new acquaintances in the unknown environment due to the fear of being unaccepted, so social inclusion and constant mental support can make a significant impact on their mental state.

Therefore, fulfilling the need for relatedness is essential for the comfortable well-being of immigrant women. Ultimately, the psychological needs of immigrant women mostly depend on the assurance of the future and feeling accepted by society, rather than having popularity or physical thrive, which might be necessary for other individuals. Lack of fulfilling such needs may result in severe mental health problems, depression, and isolation.

Issues impacting culturally competent care delivery for immigrant women

Different cultural competency can affect the experience of immigrants in the doctors office. It is a vital factor and the fundament for a trustworthy relationship between the patient and the doctor. Furthermore, for women immigrants, more constituents are influencing their willingness to seek medical help than any other minority. Such factors include the physicians degree of cultural awareness, the gender of the physician, and even the communication of guidelines by the doctor to the patient (Ng, 2017). In many cases, practitioners may unintentionally offend or misunderstand immigrant people, so learning about cultural competence is essential for any person in healthcare.

Lack of awareness about cultural differences often results in misunderstandings that influence future treatment. Moreover, failure to distinguish vital socio-cultural factors in the patients can possibly affect the prescription of a sustainable treatment even in the cases of the most specific diagnosis. For instance, many immigrant women with post-partum depression faced the lack of understanding and insufficient knowledge about the particular life circumstances of immigrant groups from the healthcare workers, which resulted in inappropriate assessments and built up many difficulties for the treatment.

Doctors must make their patients comfortable and radiate the feeling of trust and equality, especially with immigrants. Ng (2017) reports that Vietnamese immigrant women in Canada feel uncomfortable or scared to ask for more detailed information because of that feeling of entirely different social statuses and impressions of disregard. Vietnamese women have the idea that asking for more information would result in them showing the health practitioner his incompetency. Therefore, healthcare personnel must assure in the full comfortability of their patients and make cultural competency an essential part of a doctors qualification.

The associated culturally and ethically competent care methods the NP will employ in caring for immigrant women

The lack of cultural competence and ethnic awareness among healthcare practitioners is undeniably evident. Therefore, before implementing any methods, which aim to help immigrants, the healthcare system must teach the personnel to treat this specific minority appropriately and with proper respect. A set of seminars or lectures that must be taken by any worker in the healthcare sphere should be created. Such mandatory events will help gain awareness of specific methods of approaching and treating such patients as immigrant women. It is crucial to make these women feel comfortable and safe, as well as assure them of highly effective treatment methods.

Such an issue may be problematic, as some immigrant women believe that there are much better methods of treatment according to their cultural beliefs and may think that a healthcare system in the country is not so effective. Therefore, the ability to identify cultural differences and methods of finding compromises should be obtained by every qualified nurse practitioner in order to improve the level of healthcare services (Ng, 2017).

Proper communication is the first step to gaining the respect of people of other cultures and assuring the right treatment methods for them. According to Ng (2017), in some cases, when Korean immigrants had struggled to understand what a healthcare provider was telling them, they decided to avoid seeking health services because of the language barrier. Even a simple task like finding the nearest healthcare service or calling to make an appointment becomes a challenge for an immigrant who has a language barrier. That leads to the idea of hiring bilingual people who could translate and accurately tell a patient the detailed instructions. Especially in healthcare, the details may be crucial to ones diagnosis, and leaving people unclear about their health condition may result in inefficient treatment.

In conclusion, more attention needs to be brought to the providing of proper healthcare to immigrant women as they are susceptible to a vulnerable group of citizens. More than half of all newcomers are women, so neglect and restrictions that they have to face in order to be provided with good-quality healthcare is unacceptable. It is disappointing to see the statistics on how many women are unable to receive medical insurance because of their fears.

Still, the government is not helping them overcome it in any way. Every minority should be treated equally, and healthcare providers must be culturally competent in order to provide the best service to the immigrants. Several methods may be used by nurse practitioners to improve the delivery of medical services for immigrant women. Health departments should be reconsidering existing laws and restrictions that restrain immigrant women from their deserved tight for healthcare.

References

Bengs, A., Hägglund, S., Wiklund-Engblom, A., Majors, J., & Ashfaq, A. (2017). Designing for social inclusion of immigrant women: the case of TeaTime. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 31(2), 106124. Web.

Delara, M. (2016). Social determinants of immigrant womens mental health. Advances in Public Health, 2016, 111. Web.

Health Coverage of Immigrants. (2019). Web.

Ng, G. (August 2017). Accessing Healthcare: Influences on Utilization Among Asian Immigrant Women (Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository). Web.

Introduction

Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) literacy is one of the significant prerequisites of promoting the social adaptation of women. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines the concept of SRH literacy in women as the ability to have cognitive and social skills required to access, understand, and use the information in a manner that promotes co-existence and good health (Cheong et al., 2018). In most cases, literacy should facilitate operations, interactions, and overall functional ability in the community. Previous studies have suggested that education and literacy on matters concerning sexuality among women have improved their health and that of children and their families. Therefore, this research paper aims to explore the role of sexual and reproductive health literacy in womens social adaptation.

Method

The study was conducted among the women who had previously visited the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic in New York City. The design of the research used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to determine the effects of reproductive health literacy on womens social adaptation (Maricic et al., 2020). The sources results were critically analyzed and recorded to help promote the accuracy of the present outcome. In terms of the quantitative technique, some secondary sources on the topic were analyzed (Maricic et al., 2020). Subsequently, the study administered self-structured questionnaires comprising of several parts: sexual, reproductive, and health knowledge and behavior, personal health lifestyle, and social effect. The respondents were expected to take actively take part to help in answering these questions.

The research subjects were 300 women chosen through stratified sampling among the beneficiaries of the Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic in New York City. The criteria for selecting the respondents were mainly based on the four main factors (Maricic et al., 2020). These included the willingness to participate in the study, the age over 18 years, and a reasonable and sound mind to take part in the exercise and answer the questionnaire as expected.

Before the researchs onset, all respondents were familiarized with the objectives and the standard procedures of the investigation. They were provided with the opportunity to explore the questions before they submitted their answers. Later, the participants were allowed to carry out the exercise to help in determining the results. The obtained results were subsequently analyzed using inferential statistical methods such as Chi-Square Test (Aaby et al., 2017). Further, the descriptive statistical approaches for measuring central tendency, such as mean and median, were applied. The study results were later processed using the Chi-Square (Aaby et al., 2017). The entire process was carried out with due diligence to promote the validity and reliability of the results. Importantly, the consent of the respondents was requested before the research.

Results

The results obtained from the study showed that a complete number of 145 subjects had 70% literacy on sexuality and reproductive health, while 30% of the entire population had an inadequate level of health literacy. The largest number of the subject that had the knowledge mainly comprised of women aged 18-29 years, while the rest with limited knowledge were predominantly 49 years and above (Maricic et al., 2020). The categorization of the above age group was indicated that older women were less educated than younger participants.

Concerning social adaptation, the results indicated that 96% of the women with adequate literacy were socially adaptable and capable of carrying out their activities as required by the community. Based on the Chi-Square results, a significant difference (p=0.288) was detected (Maricic et al., 2020). The above figures show a positive correlation between the literacy level and the social adaption of women. Consequently, only 40% of the illiterate participants were sociable (Maricic et al., 2020). This trend indicates that lack of education harmed social adaption among women in society.

Discussion

Based on the provided results, it is clear that sexual and reproductive health literacy directly correlates with womens social adaption. According to the Chi-Square results, it was evident that there is a positive correlation between literacy and social cohesion. In other words, women with SRH in literacy were positively linked to ideal health behavior, integration with other society members, and effective utilization of health care services (Maricic et al., 2020). The outcomes further suggested that well-educated women on matters related to sexuality respond well to issues affecting the community members. Consequently, the research revealed that illiteracy on the issues related to sexuality had a significant impact on reducing these subjects power to socialize in the community. In most cases, the lack of education in this critical part made most of the participants fail to carry out their duties as expected.

The above results confirm the information collected from the secondary sources, which indicates a positive correlation between the variables. According to the sources, elite women were socially adaptable and excellent in carrying out their societys operations. The largest percentage of the population (84%) of literate women performed well. These members were capable of accepting, understanding, and using health care information in the best way to improve their lives and that of societys members (Maricic et al., 2020). Research conducted by other professionals continued to indicate a constructive relationship between these critical parameters (Aaby et al., 2017). As a result, the researchers concluded that SRH literacy positively correlated with womens social adaptation in the community. The study noted that educated women could promote social progress and were determined to take care of their families in the best interest.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is notable that literacy in sexual and reproductive health directly relates to womens ability to adapt socially. The outcomes showed a significant positive difference between these parameters. Therefore, every state needs to promote health literacy among women. Even though the process may be regarded as an individual effort, it should be conditioned by the relevant authorities to help achieve the required level of social adaption. One of the powerful strengths of the study is that it utilized both the qualitative and qualitative approaches to effectively analyze the data. Nevertheless, the research conducted in the health care facility should not be used as the main ground for promoting social adaption among women. The health care providers should understand that the provision of such literacy is an essential strategy for promoting health and the overall social and economic capacity of these members of society. However, more studies should be carried out to help in validating the above results.

References

Aaby, A., Friis, K., Christensen, B., Rowlands, G., & Maindal, H. T. (2017). Health literacy is associated with health behavior and self-reported health: A large population-based study in individuals with cardiovascular disease. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 24(17), 1880-1888.

Cheong, S. M., Nor, M., Ahmad, M. H., Manickam, M., Ambak, R., Shahrir, S. N., & Aris, T. (2018). Improvement of health literacy and intervention measurements among low socioeconomic status women: Findings from the Mybff@ home study. BMC Womens Health, 18(1), 99-102. 

Maricic, M., Curuvija, R. A., & Stepovic, M. (2020). Health literacy in femaleassociation with socioeconomic factors and effects on reproductive health. Serbian Journal of Experimental and Clinical Research, 21(2), 127-132. Web.

Kim, S., & Cardemil, E. (2012). Effective psychotherapy with low-income clients: The importance of attending to social class. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 42(1), 27-35. Web.

The study aims at highlighting the importance of an effective approach to psychotherapy when working with low-income clients. In addition, changes in the United States demographics require that practicing psychologists acknowledge the importance of class and culture in therapy. Kim and Cardemil based the research on their experience with depression prevention programs designed for low-income mothers of Hispanic origins. Their Family Coping Skills Program incorporates the patients social class and focuses on prevention rather than treatment. The article provides several recommendations, such as community psychology incorporation, as well as open acknowledgment of differences between therapists and clients. Kim and Cardemil state that modern psychotherapy must alleviate social barriers and become more comprehensive in respect to issues of different classes and backgrounds.

The article discusses a topical issue of inclusive psychotherapy and provides an array of instruments, which can be used to respond to the clients needs. It is vital to consider an individuals background, which includes both culture and social class when designing the treatment program. Kim and Cardemil make a valuable reference to modern demographics as an attempt to draw the communitys attention to the importance of comprehensive psychotherapy. The provided list of possible ways of managing differences may serve as a valuable reference for therapists.

From a counselors point of view, this study provides valuable insight regarding difference managing and inclusiveness.

Cook, J.A., & Mueser, K.T. (2016). Is recovery possible outside the financial mainstream? Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 39(4), 295-298. Web.

Cook and Mueser examine the connection between poor mental health and unfortunate financial situation. The research states that poverty can both cause and be a consequence of mental issues. This article refers to a Swedish study, in which participants with poor mental health received financial support every month and demonstrated reduced levels of anxiety and depression. At the same time, the second group did not receive any financial support and showed no improvement in their condition. Cook and Mueser cite the original studys authors saying that additional sums allowed people to partake in a broader range of social interactions, thus improving some aspects of their mental health. This article suggests several steps to improve the publics overall mental health by ensuring access to housing, education, and healthcare.

The way poverty and mental health are related presents various research opportunities. Cook and Mueser discuss this issue at length and provide a valuable reference to a practical study. In addition, the authors make a valid point regarding povertys role as both a cause and a consequence of poor mental health. Swedish research, to which the present article refers, serves as another case in point.

Indeed, financial empowerment is a major instrument of mental health improvement. On the other hand, a counselors role in this regard is unclear, as it seems to be an issue for the government departments to consider.

Frazier, S.L., Capella, E., & Atkins, M.S. (2007). Linking mental health and after school systems for children in urban poverty: Preventing problems, promoting possibilities? Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 34, 389-399. Web.

This study examines childrens mental health concerning urban poverty and explains the importance of quality after-school programs. It is mentioned that such activities primary mission should aim at students socialization, adaption, and peer relations. The authors argue that afterschool programs are a crucial yet underrated method of improving childrens mental health. In addition, the research shows a high level of public support for increased afterschool program funding, as well. The allocation of additional funds is believed to provide children with access to higher-quality programs. However, afterschool activities face considerable barriers in poor communities, including staff and resource shortages. The authors collaborated with the Chicago Park District to adopt the Summer Treatment Program for poor-background children. Nevertheless, further empirical research is required to evaluate the programs practical impact on childrens functioning.

The article deals with an issue of paramount importance in todays society. It highlights the crucial role of high-quality afterschool activities in childrens development. Access to such programs allows students from poor communities to build skills, which are necessary for a persons social adaptation. The authors describe a range of practical steps, but the research lacks a practical evaluation of the programs results in terms of childrens development.

This article brings up an important topic, as children remain one of the most vulnerable social groups. Being deprived of quality programs makes it difficult for poor-background students to progress in their studies and further careers, which contradicts the principles of fairness and equality.

Anakwenze, U., & Zuberi, D. (2013). Mental health and poverty in the inner city. Health & Social Work, 38(3), 147-157. Web.

The study focuses on inner cities and the risks, which their populations face following rapid globalization. Anakwenze and Zuberi explain the connection between urban lifestyle and mental health issues. The authors present a list of factors, including, for example, socioeconomic inequality and subsequent poverty-related problems. Unemployment is another major component of the issue, along with neighborhood disorder and high crime rates. The authors also discuss the impact of poverty on childrens mental health. It is said that the overall negative environment caused by poverty and stress significantly limits childrens opportunities in terms of education and socialization. Anakwenze and Zuberi mention family engagement as a crucial strategy in mitigating the aforementioned effects.

This study presents a range of negative aspects that urban poverty entails. Besides its direct impact, the research mentions secondary effects, too, including joblessness, crime, urban violence, trauma, and a sense of insecurity. All these aspects have a detrimental effect on the publics overall mental health, but childrens vulnerable position is highlighted in this article, as well. Anakwenze and Zuberi present a series of valid points regarding urbanization, poverty, and the way they affect peoples mental health.

Negative aspects mentioned in this article require a thorough analysis on behalf of a counselor.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). Mental health in the workplace. Mental health disorders and stress affect working-age Americans.

This report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examines workplace-related mental disorders that affect many Americans. It lists negative aspects of such conditions in terms of work efficiency, such as decreased productivity, inability to focus on ones tasks, and coworker communication issues. The CDCs research considers the workplace environment as one of the key factors that shape an individuals overall well-being and health. It presents a range of possible practical solutions, including making mental health assessments available to all employees. The report refers to examples of successful implementation of mental health programs by several companies and encourages business and community leaders to follow similar models.

This research provides valuable insight from an official public health institution. The focus of the report is on mental problems caused by a stressful workplace environment, which is a topical issue of the 21^st century. While it does not directly examine the connection between mental health and poverty, it gives this issue a different perspective. As mentioned in the report, a poor workplace environment leads to an excessive amount of stress and causes a range of mental problems. At the same time, these problems affect ones workplace productivity making the situation even worse. Decreased efficiency entails poor professional results, which may reduce ones earnings and even cause unemployment.

The factors mentioned above practically form a vicious, which can be broken with a professional counselors help.

Goodman, L.A., Pugach, M., Skolnik, A., & Smith, L. (2013). Poverty and mental health practice: Within and beyond the 50-minute hour. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(2), 182-190. Web.

This article focuses on the negative effects of poverty on the publics mental health and possible solutions to this issue. It puts stress and social exclusion on top of the most severe poverty implications list. The authors refer to prior studies, which concluded that low-income individuals rarely participate in mental health programs, as opposed to wealthier patients. The issue is caused by such individuals inability to afford quality treatment or insurance, which serves as a practical barrier. In addition, there are social and psychological obstacles that prevent low-income patients from seeking treatment, as they may worry that psychotherapists will not completely understand their situation. This article aims at encouraging practitioners to become collaborators rather than medical experts to provide low-income individuals with adequate therapy programs.

The authors of this research refer to relevant studies underlining the objective difference between low-income and affluent patients. The class-competent practice proposed in this research focuses on eliminating finance-related stress factors, and it may demonstrate a significant improvement in respect to the treatment results. However, the authors state that many practitioners avoid this topic when working with low-income individuals, which is why the issue requires additional attention. As suggested by the authors, addressing patients social and cultural contexts is crucial in effective psychotherapy.

From a counselors point of view, it is highly important to provide adequate help to vulnerable social groups.

Santiago, C.D., Kaltman, S., & Miranda, J. (2013). Poverty and mental health: How do low-income adults and children fare in psychotherapy? Journal of Clinical Psychology, 69(2), 115-126. Web.

The purpose of this article is to review several treatment studies conducted with low-income individuals. The authors confirm previous conclusions, stating that financial issues directly correlate with mental health. According to the included statistics, many people with low income do not receive the therapy they need, and for children, the rate is about 75%. Furthermore, the evidence is provided that ethnic minority women are less likely to seek help following childbirth. The authors connect the tendency to a set of barriers discussed by other researchers, as well. The article refers to a series of studies that demonstrate the positive effect of specific evidence-based programs tailored to suit the needs of low-income and vulnerable social groups. The authors recommend that these methods be introduced in practice on a universal basis.

This article makes several valid points regarding psychotherapys accessibility for vulnerable social groups. The authors emphasize that there are barriers on both sides: while low-income individuals remain hesitant about seeking professional help, practitioners often disregard the importance of discussed aspects, not adjusting to the patients specific needs. The article presents relevant statistics indicating that evidence-based programs bring significant results.

The importance of this article for a counselor lies in its aim at vulnerable social groups and ethnic minorities. Such individuals are often underprivileged, which is why it is crucial to provide them with adequate care and help them find their deserved place in society.

Hudson, C.G. (2005). Socioeconomic status and mental illness: Tests of the social causation and selection hypotheses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75(1), 3-18.

This article aims to examine the connection between ones socioeconomic status and mental health. It is based on five hypotheses, which explain the correlation in terms of economic stress, family, geographical, social, and generational factors. The study was conducted between 1994 and 2000 and examined the characteristics of a preexisting database of thirty-four thousand patients. In addition, the 2005 U.S. Census results in Massachusetts were analyzed and revealed that the inverse correlation between an individuals socioeconomic status and mental health was moderate to strong.

Hudson researched the issue at length and tested five hypotheses in practice. The study demonstrates an in-depth analysis of the subject matter supported by the numerical data of over thirty thousand patients. The results confirmed the initial theory regarding mental healths inverse correlation with social and economic status. However, as stated by the author, most of the research was conducted on the community level with a small amount of additional individual examination. It may be possible that the results would vary if a similar study were to be carried out on a personal level. Nevertheless, this article serves as an important reference and confirms the deep connection between mental health and poverty.

The value of Hudsons study for a counselor consists of an in-depth analysis of the correlation and presented numerical data.

Bryant-Davis, T., Ullman, S.E., Tsong, Y., Tilman, S., & Smith, K. (2010). Struggling to survive: sexual assault, poverty, and mental health outcomes of African American women. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(1), 61-70. 

This article aims at exploring the issue of sexual assault and povertys effect on African American women in terms of their mental health. The authors refer to the statistics demonstrating that African American women face higher risks of sexual assault and persistent poverty. The range of examined mental conditions includes substance use, PTSD, depression, and suicidal tendencies. Four hundred and thirteen African American women between 18 and 71 participated in the study, having reported a history of sexual abuse. In general, the participants were of different backgrounds in terms of their education, marital status, employment, and sexual orientation. The research revealed a positive correlation between poverty and three of the examined mental conditions, suicidality being the exception.

This article proves that African American women with low income tend to suffer from depression, PTSD, and illicit drug use following a sexual assault. As confirmed by statistics, this issue is topical in the examined social group, which requires that it should be taken into consideration during therapy. Nevertheless, the authors mention that the sample was not representative, and adding medium to high income as another variable could alter the results.

The research deals with an issue unique to the African American communities and serves to remind counselors that each social group has its tendencies, which require a particular approach to therapy.

Plotnick, D.F. (2016). Affording mental health care. Health Affairs, 35(6), 1144-1145. 

Plotnicks work analyzes the British book Thrive by Richard Layard and David M. Clark in its connection with the present-day situation in the United States and other developed countries. Statistics are presented that demonstrate mental conditions global prevalence, as their incidence rate exceeds that of a range of illnesses, including cancer. Moreover, the World Health Organization considers mental conditions to be a global threat. However, only about 30% of adults and 10% of children receive proper treatment concerning their mental health. Plotnick speaks about the importance of accessible cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps to alleviate anxiety and depression. In conclusion, the author encourages efforts made by Layard and Clark, expressing hope that more attention will be paid to mental illnesses in the United States and worldwide.

This review includes valuable statistics, placing mental conditions above cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer on the list of serious threats to ones health. It summarizes the important points of Thrive by Layard and Clark. The structure of Plotnicks work highlights the importance of evidence-based treatment, such as CBT, school psychology, and parenting programs. The importance of the issue for the United States is emphasized, and valid points are made regarding the positive impact of effective treatment on both individuals and the state.

A counselor needs to realize the importance of their field, and the statistics given the Plotnick serve that purpose.

Summary and Conclusion

The analysis of the articles provides a comprehensive understanding of the issues scale and current state. Despite significant economic progress, the problem of poverty persists even in the most developed countries. Low-income individuals are in the focus of the present study, as they represent a vulnerable group that is more likely to suffer from a range of mental disorders, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The research shows that this hypothesis is supported by evidence from several authors works. In addition, the issue is especially topical among ethnic minorities, which prevents its members from making progress in their careers and contributes to the overall inequality.

As a matter of fact, it is every persons natural aspiration to succeed in life and achieve meaningful goals. However, mental issues serve as substantial impediments, even though their importance is often underrated. As shown by the research, an unhealthy workplace environment causes an array of mental problems, preventing employees from reaching their full capacity. Moreover, unemployed citizens with mental disorders face insurmountable challenges when attempting to find a job. Effective evidence-based therapy would alleviate the barriers and allow such individuals to be employed and realize their full potential.

The problem requires a comprehensive approach, implying effective intervention on all levels. First of all, children from low-income families demonstrate higher risks of developing mental illnesses from a young age. Therefore, evidence-based therapy is essential through both educational systems and afterschool programs. This way, it might be easier to fight the problem through prevention rather than treatment, as it would help alleviate social constraints put on children from low-income families. As far as adults are concerned, the key solution might consist of affordable psychotherapy. The research suggests that low-income individuals often avoid counseling simply because they do not have enough money to spend on it. It might be useful to implement a range of social programs that would promote social integration and inclusiveness through non-profit organizations. In addition, the increasing role of the government could make a significant contribution, as well. It is likely that individuals, who obtain adequate care through the programs mentioned above, will be willing to give back to the community that helped them succeed, thus ensuring the programs functioning in the long run.

In conclusion, the situation regarding mental illnesses and their inverse correlation with poverty remains alarming. People with low income form the risk group, as they are more likely to develop anxiety, depression, and PTSD. In the long term, these conditions may become worse without proper therapy and cause even more debilitating disorders. Several obstacles impede the solution to this problem, including low-income individuals inability to afford treatment along with their unwillingness to seek counseling in the first place. Furthermore, practitioners often ignore the needs of specific demographics, even though evidence-based therapy has proved useful, according to various studies. Overall, this problem can be solved only through combined comprehensive efforts made on all levels, which would significantly improve the countrys social landscape.