Urban Justice Center

About: Urban Justice Center is a nonprofit organization based out in New York, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poison control & Domestic violence. The organization has 8 authors who have published 10 publications receiving 319 citations.

A Best Practice Approach to Community Reentry From Jails for Inmates With Co-Occurring Disorders: The Apic Model

Abstract: Almost all jail inmates with mental illness will leave correctional settings and return to the community Inadequate transition planning puts jail inmates who entered the jail in a state of crisis back on the streets in the middle of the same crisis The outcomes of inadequate transition planning include the compromise of public safety, an increased incidence of psychiatric symptoms, hospitalization, relapse to substance abuse, suicide, homelessness, and rearrest Although there are no outcomes studies to guide evidence-based transition-planning practices, there is enough guidance from the multisite studies of the organization of jail mental health programs to create a best practice model This article presents one such model

Religion and Intimate Partner Violence in Chile: Macro- and Micro-Level Influences

Abstract: The Catholic Church has had a strong influence on the Chilean legal and social landscape in ways that have adversely affected victims of intimate partner violence; e.g., it succeeded until just five years ago in blocking efforts to legalize divorce. At the same time, quantitative studies based on survey data from the United States and other countries show a generally favorable influence of religion on health and many other domains of life, including intimate partner violence. The present study explores the puzzle posed by these seemingly opposing macro- and micro- level forces. Results based on data from the 2005 Survey of Student Well-Being, a questionnaire on gender based violence administered to students at a large public university in Chile, show that moderate or low levels of religiosity are associated with reduced vulnerability to violence, but high levels are not. This non-linearity sheds light on the puzzle, because at the macro level the religious views shaping Chile's legal and social environment have been extreme.

Improving ethical and participatory practice for marginalized populations in biomedical HIV prevention trials: lessons from Thailand.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: This paper presents findings from a qualitative investigation of ethical and participatory issues related to the conduct of biomedical HIV prevention trials among marginalized populations in Thailand. This research was deemed important to conduct as several large-scale biomedical HIV prevention trials among marginalized populations had closed prematurely in other countries and a better understanding of how to prevent similar trial closures from occurring in the future was desired. METHODS: In-depth key informant interviews were held in Bangkok and Chiang Mai Thailand. Interviews were audio recorded transcribed translated and thematically analyzed. The Good Participatory Practice Guidelines for Biomedical HIV Prevention Trials (GPP) guided this work. RESULTS: Fourteen interviews were conducted: 10 with policymakers academic and community-based researchers and trial staff and four with representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Suggested ways to improve ethical and participatory practice centered on standards of HIV prevention informed consent communication and human rights. In particular the need to overcome language and literacy differences was identified. Key informants felt communication was the basis of ethical understanding and trust within biomedical HIV prevention trial contexts and thus fundamental to trial participants ability to exercise free will. DISCUSSION: Biomedical HIV prevention trials present opportunities for inclusive and productive ethical and participatory practice. Key informants suggested that efforts to improve practice could result in better relationships between research stakeholders and research investigative teams and by extension better more ethical participatory trials. This research took place in Thailand and its findings apply primarily to Thailand. However given the universality of many ethical considerations the results of this study can inform the improvement of ethical and participatory practice in other parts of the world where biomedical HIV prevention trials occur and where clinical trials in marginalized populations continue.