At Risk in America : The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States

"This updated second edition of At Risk in America provides a detailed analysis of those key population groups most vulnerable to disease and injury in the United States today - including homeless persons, refugees and immigrants, people living with AIDS, alcohol and substance abusers, high-risk mothers and infants, victims of family or other violence, and the chronically or mentally ill. Lu Ann Aday reviews the major theories and knowledge concerning these at-risk groups and offers new approaches and methodologies for tracing the social determinants and societal influences on health. She examines the specific health needs and risks faced by these groups, their experience in the health care system, the current policies and programs that serve them, and the research and policy initiatives that might be undertaken to help reduce their vulnerability.". "Drawing from the latest theoretical, empirical, and policy developments, At Risk in America, Second Edition, updates the data and sources presented in the earlier edition as well as substantially expanding the conceptual framework, research needs, and policy implications initially introduced. The book also examines emerging new trends in the health care system, such as the accelerating influence of managed care, and looks at how public health as a profession is being redefined by these forces. No other source has pulled together, in systematic fashion, such a wide array of information or identified the cross-cutting policy and research issues surrounding the increasing numbers of the at-risk population."--BOOK JACKET.

Whose health is most at risk in our country today'At Risk in America, Second Edition, offers a unique and essential source of information-substantially revised and updated-on the public health challenges facing vulnerable populations in the United States. This critical resource for public health professionals and health policy experts presents a framework for identifying and studying vulnerable populations, data on their needs, issues regarding the access, cost, and quality of their care, programs and policies developed to address their needs, and new research and policy initiatives aimed at decreasing their vulnerability. The book is unique as a single-source reference for information and evidence about these at-risk populations."This updated and extended portrait of America's most vulnerable populations provides an extraordinary amount of important information for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and students. Aday reliably presents the challenges in reducing risk and improving health in the years ahead."—David Mechanic, director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University"As we bask in the longest economic boom in history and an unprecedented accumulation of wealth, Aday relentlessly reminds us of the dire health needs of our vulnerable populations. This new edition will be as valuable as the first was to researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and ethicists."—Mary Ruggie, professor, J. F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University"Lu Ann Aday has done it again. The second edition of At Risk in America will be an indispensable resource for health care providers, public health officials, and health services researchers, and it should be taken especially seriously by anyone concerned with health care policy in the United States."—Bruce C. Vladeck, professor of health policy and geriatrics, and director, Institute for Medicare Practice, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Complete reference on the characteristics & health care needs of the homeless, refugees, mentally ill, AIDS victims.

At Risk in America......Page 1 Contents......Page 10 Figures and Tables......Page 12 Foreword, by Ronald M. Andersen......Page 14 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 22 The Author......Page 24 1 Who Are the Vulnerable?......Page 28 2 How Many Are Vulnerable?......Page 43 3 Who Is Most Vulnerable?......Page 81 4 Why Are They Vulnerable?......Page 118 5 What Programs Address Their Needs?......Page 144 6 Who Pays for Their Care?......Page 186 7 How Good Is Their Access to Care?......Page 206 8 How Much Does Their Care Cost?......Page 227 9 What’s the Quality of Their Care?......Page 246 10 What Do We Still Need to Know?......Page 266 11 What Programs and Policies Are Needed?......Page 291 Resource A: National Data Sources on Vulnerable Populations......Page 306 Resource B: Source Notes on the Data Tables......Page 316 References......Page 322 Name Index......Page 380 Subject Index......Page 391 For policy makers and researchers, Aday analyses the health needs and risks of population groups that are most vulnerable to disease and injury in the US - among them homeless people, refugees and immigrants.