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Document 0494
DOCN M9490494
TI Health status of vulnerable populations.
DT 9411
AU Aday LA; University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston 77225.
SO Annu Rev Public Health. 1994;15:487-509. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
MED/94331077
AB The notion of risk underlying the concept of vulnerability implies that
everyone is potentially vulnerable (or at risk), that is, there is
always a chance of developing health problems. The risk is, however,
greater for those with the least social status, social capital, and
human capital resources to either prevent or ameliorate the origins and
consequences of poor physical, psychological, or social health. The
completeness and accuracy of information on the health status of the
vulnerable populations examined here varies substantially across groups.
Methodological work is needed to derive standardized definitions of
terms, specify the content and timing for collecting information for
minimum basic data sets, and develop uniform standards for evaluating
and reporting data quality on the health status of vulnerable
populations. The variety of indicators of vulnerable populations
examined indicates that during the decade of the 1980s the incidence of
serious physical, psychological, and/or social needs increased (at
worst) and was unameliorated (at best) for millions of Americans. AIDS
emerged as a new and deadly threat from a handful of cases classified as
Gay-Related Immune Deficiency in the early part of the 1980s to what now
may be over a million Americans who are HIV-positive. The number of
homeless has increased an average of 20% a year to estimates now ranging
up to one million men, women, or children homeless on any given night to
twice that number who may be homeless sometime during the year. Over
seven million people immigrated to the United States during the period
from 1981 to 1990--an increasing proportion of whom are refugees
carrying with them the physical, psychological, and social wounds of
war. The number of children abused by family members or other intimates
has burgeoned to an estimated 1.6 to 1.7 million per year, and with the
greater use of firearms, intentional acts of violence towards oneself or
others are becoming increasingly deadly in their consequences. Though
fewer Americans smoke, drink, and use illicit drugs in general than was
the case earlier in the decade of the 1980s, the use of cocaine (and
particularly crack) among hard-core addicts has resulted in increases in
the number of drug-related deaths.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
DE Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/EPIDEMIOLOGY Adult Chronic
Disease/EPIDEMIOLOGY Disabled Female Health Resources Health
Services Needs and Demand Health Services Research *Health Status
*Health Status Indicators Homeless Persons Human Infant Mortality
Infant, Low Birth Weight Infant, Newborn Maternal Mortality Mental
Disorders/EPIDEMIOLOGY *Population Surveillance Refugees Risk Factors
Substance Abuse/EPIDEMIOLOGY Transients and Migrants United
States/EPIDEMIOLOGY JOURNAL ARTICLE REVIEW REVIEW, TUTORIAL
SOURCE: National Library of Medicine. NOTICE: This material may be
protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).