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ERIC Number: EJ1275729
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Nov
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0164-775X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Physical Health Disparities as a Social Justice Issue: Actions School Psychologists Can Take at the Systems Level
Tan, Samantha X. L.; Harvey, Jenadra; Kendrick-Dunn, Tiombe Bisa; Proctor, Sherrie L.
Communique, v49 n3 p1, 16-18 Nov 2020
As noted in the first article in this National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Social Justice Committee (SJC) series on health disparities (see Proctor et al., 2020), health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or in opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged racial, ethnic, and other population groups and communities. Health disparities exist when differences in health outcomes or health determinants are observed between populations. Health disparities can result from multiple factors, but addressing health disparities from a social justice lens requires school psychologists to move beyond explanations for disparities which center causal factors such as biology and individual behavior (Sullivan et al., 2020). Consistent with the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2017) definition of social justice, school psychologists who seek to engage in social justice action to address physical health disparities must understand how social structures and conditions in the United States lead to disproportionately negative health outcomes for certain populations of children and families. Thus, the purpose of this article is to: (1) review a few of the more common medical conditions that result in physical health disparities in children and adolescents; (2) discuss several social determinants of health that illustrate the powerful contribution of some longstanding structural features of U.S. society (e.g., racism) to physical health disparities; and (3) because it is important for school psychologists who engage social justice practice within systems to effect change, provide examples of ways school psychologists might approach addressing physical disparities at the systems level. [For the first article, "Social Justice Committee 2020-2021 Focus: Health Disparities and Social Justice," see EJ1269560.]
National Association of School Psychologists. 4340 East West Highway Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814. Tel: 301-657-0270; Fax: 301-657-0275; e-mail: publications@naspweb.org; Web site: http://www.nasponline.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A