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Background: In the United States, social determinants of health (SDOH) and the marginalization of Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) populations often result in negative health outcomes, but may miss the underlying historical causes for these disparities. While the health and human services (HHS) workforce is trained to recognize and address negative SDOH, it is unclear how historical trauma impacts this contemporary work. Materials and Methods: As part of a broader ethnographic study, 2 MLP affiliates and 6 BIPOC women HHS workforce members who had taken SDOH trainings were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Themes were explored around the language of SDOH and how the medical and legal system responses to SDOH results in negative health outcomes and historical trauma. Results: Themes emerged around American medical and legal institutions, meant to care for patients, have been wearied by the power struggle between politics, budgets, and the value of financial profit. Under such competing loads, workforce members feel trapped in financially-based hierarchies and established risk-designations. This current conceptualization of the language and coding of SDOH has created a globalization or commodification of suffering that mirrors historical hierachies in slavery. Conclusions: The variable naming of SDOH draws attention away from the root causes of inequities and the individualization of the social risks creates a cycle of commodification of suffering, instead of addressing the historical and structural antecedents. Future work should explore how to adapt to these intersections.

This paper analyzes, from a cross-national perspective, publicized incidents of wrongdoing by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). A content analysis of media reports of “scandals” over the past four years involving NGOs was conducted to identify issues and trends in governance and management problems. The analysis is confined to NGOs that are involved in the financing and/or delivery of health and human services in order to facilitate comparisons. International and U.S. cases of wrongdoing, covering the gamut of embezzlement to mismanagement, are identified and the common elements and unique features of these cases are examined. The underlying problems that allowed these cases to occur and their implications in regard to NGO credibility and public trust are identified and options for enhancing accountability explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ultimately, the health and quality of life of all human beings depend upon the environment and ecosystems to which we are directly and indirectly connected. The papers in this special edition address a number of the critical environmental health issues on which U.S. government agencies and their collaborating partners are engaged internationally. The agencies are members of the International Environmental Health Subcommittee, chaired by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The activities described span the range from global policy to country-level field activities. While environmental factors related to infectious disease dominate the global burden of environmentally-related disease, acute and chronic exposures to chemicals are increasingly important public health issues at the local, national, and regional levels; arsenic in drinking water is a good example. Intersectoral action involving governments (at all levels), the private sector, and civil society working together in partnership is absolutely critical to sustainably resolving the problems touched on this overview and meeting the environmental health challenges of the twenty-first century. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law nearly a decade ago. The ADA is designed to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination in nearly every aspect of American life. This article focuses on a number of recent court rulings that help to clarify important components of the ADA. It is critical for health and human services professionals to be aware of these recent rulings because they affect the delivery of services. It is concluded that professionals working in the health and human services should have ongoing training and education concerning the changing legal interpretations of the ADA. Many of these changes have important implications for service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the United States, social determinants of health (SDOH) and the marginalization of Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) populations often result in negative health outcomes, but may miss the underlying historical causes for these disparities. While the health and human services (HHS) workforce is trained to recognize and address negative SDOH, it is unclear how historical trauma impacts this contemporary work., Materials and Methods: As part of a broader ethnographic study, 2 MLP affiliates and 6 BIPOC women HHS workforce members who had taken SDOH trainings were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Themes were explored around the language of SDOH and how the medical and legal system responses to SDOH results in negative health outcomes and historical trauma., Results: Themes emerged around American medical and legal institutions, meant to care for patients, have been wearied by the power struggle between politics, budgets, and the value of financial profit. Under such competing loads, workforce members feel trapped in financially-based hierarchies and established risk-designations. This current conceptualization of the language and coding of SDOH has created a globalization or commodification of suffering that mirrors historical hierachies in slavery., Conclusions: The variable naming of SDOH draws attention away from the root causes of inequities and the individualization of the social risks creates a cycle of commodification of suffering, instead of addressing the historical and structural antecedents. Future work should explore how to adapt to these intersections., Competing Interests: No competing financial interests exist., (© Garssandra Presumey-Leblanc and Megan Sandel 2022; Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.)