APA Annotated Bibliography on Public Health

Introduction

In today’s world of pandemic, most people have finally understood the significance of public health. In this direction, one should highlight the drawbacks for minor populations and risk groups. Accordingly, in this assignment, six articles related to hand-hygiene standards, locus of control and marginalized populations, children with type 1 diabetes and ASD, pregnant adolescent woman, elder neglect in US, and the impact of financial crisis on healthcare have been annotated.

Annotation

Augustine, L., McCollum, W., Brown, R., & Mourning-Star, P. (2019). A qualitative case study exploring hand-hygiene standards in an intensive care unit. International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, 18(1).

Augustine et al. (2019) are focused on investigating intensive care units in terms of hygiene standards. The article was published in the International Journal of Applied Management and Technology, which is considered a highly credible source of information in the field. According to the article, during the hospitalization, there are many instances of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). and healthcare professionals aim to reduce the rate of HAIs by implementing high standards of hygiene across hospitals and healthcare facilities. In this sense, one can highlight that “HAIs are a critical challenge to public health in the United States” (Augustine et al., 2019, p. 18). In this direction, the authors of the article wanted to highlight the fact that how noncompliance with healthcare standards affect patients in intensive care units. Also, they want to list the behavioural factors and best practices that have an impact on such compliance incidents in healthcare facilities and intensive care units. After all, the authors present recommendations for healthcare authorities and managers to combat high rates of HAIs in the United States. In terms of methodology, the authors selected a qualitative method and qualitative case study design; sampling method and instrumentation have been used for this article.

Stephenson-Hunter, C., & Dardeck, K. L. (2019). Locus of control and health promotion for marginalized populations. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 13(1).

Stephenson-Hunter et al. investigated health status and promotion for minor populations and the locus of control (2019). The study was published in the Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Science, which is among the most credible sources of the branch. According to the study, the United States has not been able to solve the socioeconomic health disparities completely, such as diseases and preventable illnesses. The objective of the paper is to highlight the role of locus of control (LOC) and its outcomes. The method of cross-sectional survey with 136 adults have been performed. The findings of the study have claimed that the relationship between healthy lifestyles and socioeconomics was mediated by the LOC. Also, internal LOC does not provide psychological assistance for low socioeconomic populations. Furthermore, the study lists a few recommendations to help a low socioeconomic population overcome psychological distress. In terms of methodology, authors have used a cross-sectional survey with snowball sampling. Also, a demographic questionnaire and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, were applied (Stephenson-Hunter & Dardeck, 2019). In order to test the hypotheses, the authors made use of bivariate analyses and hierarchical regression.

Oser, T. K., Oser, S. M., Parascando, J. A., Grisolano, L. A., Krishna, K. B., Hale, D. E., Litchman, M., Majidi, S., & Haidet, P. (2019). Challenges and successes in raising a child with type 1 diabetes and autism spectrum disorder: Mixed methods study (Preprint).

According to Oser et al. (2019), there are many challenges and success factors when raising a child with austism or type 1 diabetes. The article was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, which is among the leading internet journals today. According to the study, there are many challenges for people with T1D, their caregivers, and people with ASD during daily life. Although they are mostly unstudied, even more, complex challenges arise. Accordingly, the objective of the research is to better understand the facilitators and barriers of raising a child with ASD or T1D. The findings of the research have shown that there exists a drastic lack of understanding when it comes to people with ASD, T1D, and their caregivers. Also, the interviews during the study commonly included frustration and challenges in school settings and increased emotional burden for people with ASD or T1D. After all, caregivers and children with T1D and ASD face extreme challenges during daily life. Therefore, understanding these challenges will eventually result in the greater good of a psychologically and socioeconomically healthy society. In terms of methodology, the study used a mixed-method. Forum posts and blog posts were analyzed; an interview was created by the common challenges and answers. A survey method was applied, and interviews were transcribed. The study used NVivo qualitative data management software.

Bledsoe, S. E., Rizo, C. F., Wike, T. L., Killian-Farrell, C., Wessel, J., Bellows, A. O., & Doernberg, A. (2017). Pregnant adolescent women’s perceptions of depression and psychiatric services in the United States. Women and Birth, 30(5), e248-e257.

Bledsoe et al. have analyzed psychological services and perception of depression for pregnant adolescent woman in the United States (2017). The article was published in the journal of Women and Birth, which is publicly known by many researchers and individuals. According to the study, adolescent mothers and their children face the extreme risk of psychological distress and depression in terms of economic, social, health, and educational aspects. Although the number is quite high, not many adolescent mothers and their children are able to get psychological assistance. Especially, the rate is even lower when it comes to adolescent mothers with ethnic minority and low income. In this direction, the aim of the study is to explore “psychiatric services and barriers in a low income and racial minority adolescent women” (Bledsoe et al., 2017, p. 248). Authors’ goal is to highlight the psychological status of such women and recommend effective strategies to overcome the issue. According to their findings, participants did not recognize their depressive symptoms, and they lacked the experience of getting psychiatric assistance. After all, authors believe that “culture may affect Latina adolescent women’s perceptions of depression and stress, and if such services reduce psychological and practical barriers”, it would be much better for adolescent women who face income and psychological problems (Bledsoe et al., 2017, p. 248). In terms of methodology, twenty pregnant women have been recruited. They were checked for depressive symptoms in prenatal clinics in the U.S. The study was qualitative.

Acierno, R., Hernandez, M. A., Amstadter, A. B., Resnick, H. S., Steve, K., Muzzy, W., & Kilpatrick, D. G. (2010). Prevalence and correlates of emotional, physical, sexual, and financial abuse and potential neglect in the United States: The national elder mistreatment study. American Journal of Public Health, 100(2), 292-297.

Correlated physical, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse, along with their prevalence and neglect in the U.S., have been analyzed by Acierno et al. (2010).The article was published in the American Journal of Public Health, which requires no proof of credibility as it is a widely known and respected source of information. The authors have investigated mistreatment and potential neglect of adults aged over sixty in a randomly selected sample. According to their findings, abuse of the elderly is quite prevalent. In this direction, public health implications can result from channelling low social support in terms of preventive interventions. In terms of the methodology, the study was qualitative. The authors analyzed data from about 6000 respondents, and they used computer-assisted telephone interviewing.

Heretick, Donna. (2013). Heretick, D. M. L. (2013). Clinicians’ reports of the impact of the 2008 financial crisis on mental health clients. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 7(1). Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences. 7.

The article, written by Heretick (2013) investigates the impacts of 2008 economic crisis on psychologically-unstable clients. The article was published in the Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, which is quite credible. According to the study, over a hundred psychologists from different states took part in an online survey. The authors used the Lazarus’ stress theory, the finances-shame model, and social identity theory. The findings have suggested that female and male clients generally showed the same results, being equally stressed. However, their stress responses were different. The predictors of stress are the financial roles and previous mental status—men with moderate-income faced instability in their social status—finance shame. The study also discussed the clinical competence and further research. In terms of methodology, the article was qualitative, and the authors used a survey/sample design.

Conclusion

In this assignment, six research articles related to healthcare, drawbacks, and risk groups have been annotated. Although many research has been conducted on risk groups and aforementioned populations, one can readily highlight that scholars should further investigate the drawbacks faced by these groups. Also, government and healthcare authorities should implement constructive legislation to combat problems in their daily life. After all, I believe these articles are worthy of research and they will be quite useful in my research.