Every 'municipal' community has certain entrenched ecologic and cultural traditions involving the adverse "deference and demeanor" attributes of its social interactions. Ultimately, these become sustained by the community's inability to prevent, mitigate, and ameliorate the occurrence of poverty. As we linger about the prominent SDOH related to social stigma, Erving Goffman comes to mind. I would recommend heartedly his essay "The Nature of Deference and Demeanor", viz. 26 pages and easily located on Google Scholar. First published in 1956, its Conclusion will surprise you. As each 'municipal' community struggles to remove the adverse "deference and demeanor" social interaction attributes of its municipal life, the generational character of poverty must also be attended. Otherwise, each community's ecologic and cultural traditions are likely to develop new traditions of stigma-based social interactions. To define poverty, I offer the following: One person or a family of persons with a 'continuing inability' to plan, acquire, and implement the adaptive skills necessary to establish a household and its associated requirements for supporting a personal-Survival-plan for each person or persons of the household for which the 'continuing inability' progressively impairs the future expression of their own human capabilities as an independent person or persons. The epigenetic forces underlying this view are profound, especially as we continue to encounter the future realities of the cosmological Anthropocene Era.
Submitted by
Paul J Nelson
on Wednesday, January 19th, 2022 at 23:12 pm
A new commentary in Health Services Research outlines what AcademyHealth has learned from our prior work in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and our response to the events of 2020, summarizes the recommendation of an External Advisory Group on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and shares our approach to charting a course for higher impact, more equitable health services research. More information on AcademyHealth’s formation of an Advisory Group on DEI can be found here. Read an update on AcademyHealth efforts against structural racism in the field, which include forging meaningful partnerships, developing new resources, and supporting efforts that advance health equity for all.
Read the full commentary here.