Over 5 decades of economic and technical assistance to the countries of Africa and the Middle East have failed to improve the life prospects for over 1.4 billion people who remain vulnerable. Billions of dollars have been spent on such assistance and yet little progress has been made. Persistent hunger and hopelessness threaten more than individuals and families. These conditions foster political alienation that can easily metastasize into hostility and aggression. Recent uprisings in the Middle East are emblematic of this problem. Vulnerable people give rise to vulnerable states. This book challenges the dominant catechism of development assistance by arguing that the focus on economic growth (and fighting poverty) has failed to bring about the promised "convergence." Poor people and poor countries have clearly not closed the gap on the rich industrialized world. Pursuing convergence has been a failure. Here we argue that development assistance must be reconstituted to focus on creating economic coherence. People are vulnerable because the economies in which they are embedded do not cohere. The absence of economic coherence means that economic processes do not work as they must if individual initiative is to result in improved livelihoods. Weak and vulnerable states must be strengthened so that they can become partners in the process of creating economic coherence. When economies do not cohere, countries become breeding grounds for localized civil conflicts that often spill across national borders.

An in-depth look at disparities in health and health care, fully updated for 2021 Vulnerable Populations in the United States, 3rd Edition provides a general framework for studying vulnerable populations and summarizes major health and health care disparities by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and health insurance coverage. This updated contains the latest statistics and figures, incorporates new information related to Healthy People 2020, analyzes the latest data and trends in health and health care disparities, and provides a detailed synthesis of recent and increasingly expansive programs and initiatives to remedy these disparities. In addition, the Third Edition offers new coverage of health care reform, the "deaths of despair" (suicide, opioids, etc.), and the global primary care initiative. Based on the authors' teaching and research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, this landmark text is an important resource for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for learning about vulnerable populations. The book's Web site includes instructor's materials that may be downloaded. Gain a general understanding of health and health care disparities related to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and health insurance coverage Access online resources including editable PowerPoint slides, video, and more Delve into the programs and initiatives designed to remedy inequalities in health and health care, including Healthy People 2020 updates Enjoy new coverage of health care reform, the "deaths of despair" (suicide, opioids, etc.), and the global primary care initiative End of chapter revision questions and other pedagogical features make this book a valuable learning tool for anyone studying at the advanced undergraduate or graduate levels. Additionally, it will prove useful in the field for medical professionals, social and community workers, and health educators in the public sphere.

Lu Ann Aday has undertaken extensive research on vulnerable populations, and in this book, she provides a comprehensive reference on the characteristics and needs of many at risk groups in America today--including the homeless, refugees, and immigrants, people suffering from AIDS, alcohol and substance abusers, high-risk mothers and infants, victims of family or other violence, and the chronically or mentally ill. Aday offers a systematic and cross-cutting overview of the issues that affect all these groups, and she discusses the steps necessary to achieve a more community-oriented health policy that can be effective in decreasing vulnerability.

"Hatcher [posits that] state governments and their private industry partners are profiting from the social safety net, turning America's most vulnerable populations into sources of revenue"--

Based on the authors' teaching and research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, the second edition of this landmark text offers a general framework for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for learning about vulnerable populations. It contains in-depth data and information on major health and health care disparities by race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and health insurance coverage. It is thoroughly updated to include the latest data and trends and provides a detailed synthesis of recent and increasingly expansive programs and initiatives to remedy these disparities. To keep current with recent trends it incorporates the latest Healthy People 2020 objectives, includes new sections on real-world clinical examples, and discusses the impact of health care reform on vulnerable populations. The book's Web site includes instructor's materials that may be downloaded. Praise for the First Edition of Vulnerable Populations in the United States "An excellent primer for undergraduates and graduate students interested in vulnerable populations and health disparities." —New England Journal of Medicine "Combines thoughtful, coherent theory with a large amount of information available in a single source. It will prove to be a valuable resource for policymakers, researchers, teachers, and students alike for years to come." —Journal of the American Medical Association "A very worthwhile read for health care administrators, health policy analysts, public health and health promotion practitioners, students of public health, and health researchers." —Inquiry "It makes clear that, for political, social, and economic (as well as moral) reasons, the country must increasingly make vulnerable populations a national health policy priority." —Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved "I have reviewed a number of books looking for meaningful content to help my students understand and work with vulnerable populations. This is the most comprehensive, yet understandable book on the topic." —Doody's Reviews "Provides much-needed guidance to policymakers challenged with providing solutions to this embarrassing issue in the United States." —F. Douglas Scutchfield, MD, Peter P. Bosomworth Professor of Health Services Research and Policy, University of Kentucky Companion Web site: www.josseybass.com/go/shi

Organized into seven units - concepts, nursing theories, research, practice, programs, teaching-learning and policy - this text offers a broad focus on vulnerability and vulnerable populations in addition to extending nurses' thinking on the theoretical formulations that guide practice. It is a timely and necessary response to the culturally diverse vulnerable populations for whom nurses must provide appropriate and precise care.

An "analysis of deeper meaning behind the string of deaths of unarmed citizens like Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, providing ... [commentary] on the intersection of race and class in America today"--