Examining health literacy disparities in the United States: a third look at the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL).

Background: In the United States, disparities in health literacy parallel disparities in health outcomes. Our research contributes to how diverse indicators of social inequalities (i.e.

Problem posing and cultural tailoring: developing an HIV/AIDS health literacy toolkit with the African American community.

The rate of HIV infection among African Americans is disproportionately higher than for other racial groups in the United States. Previous research suggests that low level of health literacy (HL) is an underlying factor to explain racial disparities in the prevalence and incidence of HIV/AIDS. The present research describes a community and university project to develop a culturally tailored HIV/AIDS HL toolkit in the African American community.

The association between aging inmate housing management models and non-geriatric health services in state correctional institutions.

One of the current debates in the literature on aging inmates asks, what is the most efficient housing/health care model for this "special needs" population? State and federal correctional systems place elderly inmates either in specialized segregated housing units away from the general inmate population, consolidate elderly inmates in housing units within the prison, or provide a combination of both models. In general, proponents of the segregated housing model argue that aging inmates will receive specialized medical services in geriatric units. However, proponents of consolidated housing model argue that aging inmates will have the benefit of both geriatric and non-geriatric health services.

Violence and the costs of caring for a family member with severe mental illness.

Drawing on the stress paradigm and using data from the Duke Mental Health Study, this paper investigates the links between violence by and against persons with severe mental illness and their caregivers' financial burden (e.g., number of financial contributions and perceived financial strain).