Nkansah-Amankra, Stephen
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11875/4658
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Browsing Nkansah-Amankra, Stephen by Author "Diedhiou, Abdoulaye"
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Item Adolescent suicidal behaviors, self rated health and multiple health risk behaviors: Exploring new perspectives in suicide prevention research(Academic Journals (Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology), 2010) Nkansah-Amankra, Stephen; Diedhiou, Abdoulaye; Walker, Ashley Dawn; Agbanu, Harry; Clark, AlenaWe sought to evaluate the extent to which self-rating of health, gender, and the co-occurrence of other health risk behaviors were related to suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Cross-sectional survey data of Colorado middle and high school students aged 12 to 18 years were analyzed using logistic regression. Main outcome variables were suicide ideation, suicide planning, and suicide attempt. Predictors included self-rated health, self-reported health behaviors, perception of body image, expression of sadness and hopelessness, self-reported sexual abuse, self-reported access to lethal weapon, and expression of school safety concerns. Adjusted results showed respondents with poor health rating had significantly higher odds of suicidal ideation (OR: 2.22), suicidal planning (OR: 1.35), and suicide attempt (OR: 2.23). Reporting of hopelessness was the most consistent predictor of suicidal behaviors with odds ratios ranging from 5.57 (for suicidal ideation) to 17.40 (for suicidal attempt). Factors associated with different adolescents’ suicidal behaviors were different for boys and girls. Findings suggest the need to consider gender differences as regards self assessment of health in order to improve the effectiveness of suicide interventions among adolescents.Item Elaborating on Population Health Inequalities in the United States: Maternity Care in the Era of Free Market System of Neoliberalization(MedCrave (International Journal of Pregnancy and Child Birth), 2018) Nkansah-Amankra, Stephen; Diedhiou, Abdoulaye; Mendoza, JustinWhile there is an extensive array of literature examining the impacts of neoliberal markets on population health and social outcomes, few studies have focused on the impact of neoliberalism on maternity care and women’s health in the United States. We provided a critical review of the literature by examining mechanisms linking the emergent neoliberal market systems to maternity care, infant health and women’s health outcomes while assessing the population-wide shifts in risk exposures associated with contexts of emergent neoliberalized markets in the country over the last thirty years. The findings from studies showed a correlated pattern of increasing poor health outcomes among women in the United States compared with other industrialized countries over the past three decades. Overall, the health system in the country does not make provisions for some of the most important determinants occurring prior to pregnancy, and often fails to place these concerns in the context of women’s health across the life course. Increasing medicalization of pregnancy and birthing processes reflect a dominance of the market-oriented approach of the country’s health system. We conclude that many aspects of the emergent neoliberal market influences bear greatly on maternity care and women’s health in particular. We further propose that it is only the collective decisions of society (particularly governments at different levels) that can consciously redirect and modify policy interventions to benefit women over the life course rather than on specific periods of pregnancy and childbirth.