Earlier this month, a report was released by the West Baltimore Community Commission on Police Misconduct and The No Boundaries Coalition based off of a quantitative study of 1,500 Sandtown-Winchester residents about their interactions with police. The report, titled Over-Policed, Yet Underserved: The People’s Findings Regarding Police Misconduct in West Baltimore is released at a time when the U.S. Justice Department is conducting investigations into police misconduct within many urban police forces.

Charles Cange, a visiting lecturer in health, administration, and policy, is a research consultant for the commission and classified the data that was collected during the study. The report received widespread media coverage in both national and local news outlets. A complete list can be found below.

Cange told The New York Times that the interviewers in the study “identified ‘common themes,’ including perceptions of racism in law enforcement and feelings of resentment toward the police.” He explained to The Guardian that the study is “purposive sampling, based on the purpose of the research which is very different than random sampling. We’re going out to find people who have these stories, because that’s the research question.”

The findings from the report will be released to the U.S. Department of Justice as it completes an investigation into the city’s police department and is one of the first community-led reports that will be included. As part of the study, Cange worked closely with Nick Jacobsen, a master’s student in sociology, who provided analytic support during the research process.

Media coverage:
Officer charged in Freddie Gray case ordered to testify against colleagues (The New York Times) 
Survey finds rampant police abuse in area where Freddie Gray was arrested (The Guardian) 
West Baltimore group highlights stories of police misconduct (Baltimore Sun) 
Freddie Gray: Baltimore residents call for police reforms to confront ‘institutionalized racism’ (Independent) 
West Baltimore community association releases police brutality report (Huffington Post/ABC 2 Baltimore)

Image: Photo by Carde Cornish. All rights reserved by West Baltimore Commission on Police Misconduct. 

UMBC took center stage as more than 13,000 public health professionals gathered in Chicago for the American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting, November 1-4, 2015. President Freeman Hrabowski presented the keynote address, which examined the conference theme “Health in All Policies” and highlighted UMBC’s national leadership in research related to the social and policy dimensions of health.

“You and I together, we have the responsibility of helping the general public [recognize the core importance of] this notion of public health,” President Hrabowski asserted during his opening remarks.

His talk focused on the need to understand and address the social determinants of health, and touched on the impact of UMBC’s interdisciplinary public health and health equity research. In the days that followed, faculty, staff, students and alumni from several UMBC social sciences departments and research centers presented important new insights in their fields.

Kevin Eckert, professor and chair of sociology and anthropology, and acting director of the health administration and policy program (HAPP), observed the connections between discussions of research on the social determinants of health and issues of social justice throughout the conference.

The APHA annual meeting established three central themes for future research in public health. “Health equity” refers to striving for the highest possible standard of health for all people, with special attention given to those at greatest risk of poor health. “Health in all policies” emphasizes that health is an important dimension of nearly all social policy. Through “generation public health,” APHA argues that significant improvements in public health can and should be achieved quickly, in a generation.

“There are social, cultural, and psychological dimensions to future policy directions related to public health,” Eckert explains. “Studying the social determinants of health is a national priority, and UMBC has tremendous strengths in these areas.”

UMBC’s department of sociology and anthropology is known particularly for its research on interventions to improve quality of life and the functional abilities of people with chronic disease and disability, reproductive health, social and economic determinants of fertility, and maternal and child health. The department-based Center for Aging Studies conducts large-scale community research in Maryland, including recent studies on the efficacy of programming at adult day services centers and the subjective experience of diabetes among urban adults.

Researchers in the UMBC School of Public Policy apply an interdisciplinary approach to studying public health and health equity. Drawing from fields such as sociology, psychology, political science, and statistics, faculty investigate a range of issues related to public health and recommend policies to encourage healthier behaviors and prevent poor health outcomes. Projects include examining the environmental impacts of lead poisoning on children and the role of Medicare and Social Security in improving the quality of life for adults with disabilities.

The doctoral program in gerontology, jointly offered by UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), provides an interdisciplinary and integrative perspective on the process and experiences of aging.

The APHA meeting highlighted several of these research areas.

Professor Nancy Miller, public policy, participated in a career development roundtable and presented her research related to disability and long-term care health policies among older adult populations. “My work fits closely with the theme of health equity,” explains Miller.

“I have had a longstanding interest in understanding state-level variation in Medicaid support for community-based long-term services and supports, both across states for a given group such as older adults, and within states for multiple groups, such as older adults versus individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

Charles Cange, visiting lecturer in HAPP, served as a panel moderator and presented five papers within his two research focus areas of post-conflict health and HIV/AIDS prevention in at-risk populations. He shared his research on understanding the impact of the Gulf War on community perceptions of cancer risk in Kuwait and the role of stigma and alienation on HIV treatment in Burkina Faso.

Public policy doctoral student Shariece Johnson received an Excellence in Program Planning Award. She served as program chair for the Community Health Planning and Policy Development section of the APHA.

Jamie Trevitt, assistant professor, and Andrea Kalfoglou, associate professor, both in the HAPP program, also represented UMBC. Kalfoglou participated in discussions on the lack of e-cigarette regulation and manufacturers’ marketing to children. Trevitt’s discussions focused on disparities in prenatal care, contraceptive access and counseling, and birth outcomes.

“In public health, it is important not only to do rigorous research, but to translate findings into policy and towards advocacy,” shares Trevitt. “I always leave this conference very excited to work in this growing field and educate the next generation of public health researchers and practitioners.”

Read more about the robust health policy research and education across disciplines in UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Visit the APHA website for more information about the 2015 Annual Meeting, and view President Hrabowski’s complete keynote address in the video below.

Image: UMBC Public Policy Building. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Social Sciences Forum
Guadalupe Moshan Álvarez, principal attorney, Fray Bartolomé Human Rights Center, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico
Bárbara Suárez Galeano, Interpreter, Autonomous University of Social Movements, Centro Autónomo de Albany Park, Chicago

Thursday, September 24 | 4:30 p.m.
Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery  

Mexico is at a critical moment: the forced disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa rural teachers and college students set off a tidal wave of indignation and massive protests. In the context of a war on drugs that has left more than 25,000 disappeared, Guadalupe Moshan Álvarez will speak on the human rights situation in Chiapas, Mexico, FrayBa’s work, and the role of international solidarity.

Co-sponsored by the Department of Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication; the Department Sociology and Anthropology; the Language, Literacy & Culture Program; the Global Studies Program and the Department of Political Science.

Joe Jones remembers the day vividly. After attending Freddie Gray’s funeral at New Shiloh Baptist Church on April 27, 2015, he walked to his office across the street at the Center for Urban Families (CFUF) and found his staff gathered around a television watching CNN footage of unrest just blocks away. As he shared that experience with a crowd of UMBC faculty, staff, and student leaders four months later, he emphasized that two words came to mind as CFUF planned how to move forward with community-building in Baltimore: respect and trust.

Jones ‘06, social work, was one of six UMBC alumni who participated in a panel discussion, August 19, 2015, at UMBC’s annual retreat for university planning. A full day of this year’s retreat focused on understanding the university’s connections with Baltimore through engaged scholarship, teaching, and community partnerships, and sharing ideas for building on those relationships.

“Many of our alumni are deeply involved in improving the lives of Baltimore citizens,” shared Kimberly Moffitt, associate professor of American studies, who moderated the panel. She said that the six alumni participants “represent a powerhouse of commitment and ideas.”

Kaliope Parthemos ’93, psychology, serves as chief of staff for Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. Alicia Wilson ’04, political science, is an attorney focused on employment and labor law at Gordon Feinblatt. Jones is the founder and CEO of the Center for Urban Families, and Ross Dionne ’14, M.A., applied sociology, is a researcher at the Friends Research Institute, an organization focused on substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, mental health, and criminal justice. Caryn Horrigan ’09, M.A., TESOL, is a teacher at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School, and Josh Michael ’10, political science, is teacher at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School.

At the start of the event, the alumni shared their personal experiences surrounding the April unrest, as well as how the spring’s events impacted the communities they serve.

Parthemos provided a powerful account of how she worked closely with the mayor and city staff to ensure the safety of Baltimore residents during the unrest. “For me, my story…is not only a story of the anger and disenfranchisement you saw with the community…but it’s also a story of how the community came together and stepped up and said this day is not going to define Baltimore,” Parthemos reflected. “It’s how we rebuild.”

Horrigan showed the broader context in which her students understood the unrest. She shared that they experienced April’s events not as isolated, but as a continuation of unrest following several incidents of police-involved deaths of African American men around the country. She emphasized that her students will continue to ask difficult questions about these incidents and their underlying causes throughout the upcoming school year.

In sharing their perspectives and their journeys, the panelists also helped the audience think about UMBC’s role in preparing students to address inequalities in Baltimore. They shared ideas for how the university community could be better equipped to understand and educate our students about the complexities of social and economic disparities.

“There are 100 reasons why it’s difficult to make partnerships in your work, whatever it may be, with an institution that’s engaging in an urban city…but we have to fight through that work because the engagement with students, youth, families, and communities in Baltimore is so rich,” asserted Josh Michael.

Alicia Wilson described her undergraduate volunteer experience tutoring adults learning how to read so they could help their school-age children with homework. She highlighted the importance of continuing the work of the Shriver Center, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program, Choice Program, and other groups on campus—sentiments echoed by Ross Dionne with his experience as a Shriver Peaceworker Fellow—to expose students to experiences beyond the classroom that will expand their worldviews and sense of how they can have a career with impact.

“Those experiences helped me put names to faces and to the issues we think about in the abstract,” Wilson shared. “The more concrete experiences I think the students have, the better off they are, and the better…leaders they can be in the communities that we serve.”

Following the panelists’ remarks, Moffitt left the audience with a charge to explore how UMBC can expand and deepen engagement with Baltimore City. “Yes, we’ve done well…but it’s now time to raise the bar to the next level of work that needs to be done.”

“Thank you so much for your time and for sharing your stories,” Moffitt told the panelists, sharing a comment from a UMBC community member in the audience. “You have challenged us to do more and to do better.”

Image (left to right): President Freeman Hrabowski, Kaliope Parthemos ’93, psychology, Joe Jones ’06, social work, Alicia Wilson ’04, political science, Caryn Horrigan ’09, M.A., TESOL, Josh Michael ’10, political science, Kimberly Moffitt, associate professor of American studies, Ross Dionne ’14, M.A., applied sociology. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

The Erickson School and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology were featured in a recent Baltimore Sun article about the opening of senior emergency departments at St. Agnes and Holy Cross hospitals. Both hospitals turned to The Erickson School for assistance and consultation in developing the programs.

Erickson School Dean Judah Ronch was quoted in the article and shared insight into the growing demand for senior emergency departments. He also discussed how the new facilities are calmer, safer, and targeted to geriatric conditions. “The pediatric emergency room was really the genesis for senior emergency rooms,” said Ronch. “The need was pretty evident, and places that saw success with that said OK what is the next opportunity.”

John Schumacher, an associate professor of sociology and anthropology, was also quoted in the article and said that there are 85 emergency departments across the country doing some type of senior-focused emergency medicine, less than 2 percent of hospitals nationwide. He added that implementation varies, with about 30 percent of departments having a separate space for seniors, while the rest designate beds within the existing emergency room.

The Erickson School’s work with St. Agnes was also recently featured in the Baltimore Business Journal.

An article published in The Gerontologist by the Center for Aging Studies on stigma and distress with multilevel senior housing residents was recently featured in Reuters. The article, published by Erin Roth, Center for Aging Studies senior research analyst, Kevin Eckert, professor and chair of sociology and anthropology, and Leslie Morgan, professor of sociology and co-director of the UMBC/UMB Ph.D. program in gerontology, found that “residents and places reflecting the highest levels of care are stigmatized in a context where people are monitored for health changes and required to relocate. Consequently, residents self-isolate, develop a diminished sense of self, and hide health and cognitive conditions out of fear of relocation.,” according to the study’s abstract.

The researchers conducted 470 interviews with 367 residents, family, staff and administrators at seven facilities to better understand how stigma and distress are experienced in an environment where residents are grouped by levels of functioning.

“For senior housing developers, multilevel senior housing has proven to be profitable in many ways – it’s heavily marketed and has become the prevalent model for senior housing and care,” said Kevin Eckert in the Reuters article. “It is more cost-effective, profitable, and convenient to group people together by levels.”

“The social challenges that result are often recognized by staff and administrators but the difficulty for everyone is in imagining a true alternative, when the model so thoroughly dominates the senior housing landscape,” he added.

The researchers found that few residents in lower levels of care enjoy mingling with others in different levels of care: “Many people shopping for a senior housing setting are not wanting to face the possibility of these next moves – and so staff have said that some people will decline the part of the tour that includes the nursing care center,” Erin Roth said. “This points to a deeper sociocultural fear of death and decline that is so pervasive and is a contributing factor to the problems we layout in the article.”

To read the full article in Reuters, click here. To read the article “Stigma and Discontinuity in Multilevel Senior Housing’s Continuum of Care” in The Gerontologist, click here.

In response to recent events that have transpired in Baltimore over the last several days, several UMBC faculty have engaged in thoughtful reflection and dialogue in the news around the complex challenges facing the Baltimore community. The substantive commentaries come from different viewpoints and add various perspectives to the ongoing conversation of the past week’s events.

In The Conversation, School of Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short wrote about three background factors that should be considered when asking why the violence and riots took place in response to the death of one young man: the momentum of the police brutality narrative, the lack of trust between police and minority black populations, and the stifled economic opportunities and limited social mobility of many inner-city residents. “This country needs to address structural issues of poverty and economic opportunity as well as immediate concerns of how we make the streets safer for all our citizens,” Short wrote.

Kate Drabinski, lecturer of gender and women’s studies, wrote about decades of disinvestment in Baltimore and uneven development that have disadvantaged largely low-income communities. “One of the dangers of seeing the riot as an event is precisely this danger of losing historical perspective about the ways the neighborhoods burning on television are the very ones that have been cut off from the growth of the city’s downtown core,” she wrote. Drabinski was also featured in a Bicycling Magazine article about her observations of Monday’s events.

Kimberly Moffitt, an associate professor of American studies, examined Baltimore City Schools and the important element of focusing on the mental health needs and frustrations of many students. “Now we are faced with the next generation of marginalized youth who demand to be heard, even as they are seen as counterproductive by those who continue to ignore their physical, academic, and psychological needs to be successful in an educational setting,” Moffitt explained. She also participated in a roundtable discussion on Southern California Public Radio about her thoughts on this issue.

Rita Turner, a lecturer of American studies, wrote an article for The Conversation that focused on environmental health issues: “Environmental injustice may seem like a secondary issue in the face of massive police brutality, poverty, and civil uprising, and I don’t suggest that it should preempt conversations about other forms of systemic racism. But as we talk about the devaluing of black lives and black bodies that has taken place in Baltimore and across the country and the world, we cannot ignore the ways that this manifests in a subtle and constant disregard for the health of marginalized communities,” she wrote.

In a Baltimore Sun op-ed, Suzanne Lea, an adjunct professor of sociology, wrote about an in-depth study she conducted with her students to examine trends in police deadly force incidents that have occurred in the Baltimore/DC area over the last 25 years. The column outlined five key findings from the research, including the vast majority of incidents occurred early in an officer’s career. “Too often, without a video, police officers are exonerated via internal investigations based on rules that prioritize officers’ accounts. Let’s start collecting the data we need to track and systematically examine such incidents and use it to challenge and improve upon our policing until it fully reflects the integrity of our American ideal of equality under the law,” Lea wrote.

In the Huffington Post, Amy Bhatt, an assistant professor of gender and women’s studies, examined the question “what does it mean to be safe?” In her article, Bhatt discussed her experience living in the Federal Hill neighborhood and provided a closer look at discussions of property, race, and resources in light of recent events. “When we talk about safety, we need to look beyond our neighborhoods and ask how we decide who stays safe and who does not,” she wrote.

In his column in the Baltimore Sun, Thomas Schaller, professor and chair of political science, discussed the impact of inequality on the past week’s events. “Rather, the fact of social protest is prima facie evidence of political disgruntlement, and of an extant imbalance between those who wield power and those subjected to it. When these inequities persist and have no other form of expression, there will be unrest. And in this case, those suffering from Baltimore’s power imbalances are disproportionately black.”

Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice of English, wrote a column in Reuters in which he discussed his observations and experience living in Baltimore for 35 years after moving from Maine. In his article, “Baltimore’s truth in Freddie Gray’s life and death,” Corbett examined the history and current state of many of the city’s neighborhoods in the context of the events of the last several days.

Jana Kopelentova Rehak, a visiting professor of anthropology, recently published an article on her applied anthropology collaborative project in Baltimore in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to address urban inequality, poverty, and health in relation to housing.

To read the complete news coverage, click below:

Baltimore riots: the fire this time and the fire last time and the time between (The Conversation)
Why Baltimore burns for Freddie Gray (Baltimore Sun)
Baltimore’s truth in Freddie Gray’s life and death (Reuters)
Baltimore cyclist catches riots in action (Bicycling Magazine)
Keeping ‘Us’ Safe in Baltimore (Huffington Post) 
Freddie Gray: death by legal intervention (Baltimore Sun)
The slow poisoning of Freddie Gray and the hidden violence against black communities (The Conversation)
Baltimore could become key election issue (The Philadelphia Tribune)
Black and young in Baltimore: a roundtable discussion (KPCC Radio)
With little choice, O’Malley defends Baltimore tenure (Washington Post)
Mayor Martin O’Malley Versus Governor Martin O’Malley (Governing)
Riots invoked as lobbying tool (Baltimore Sun)
Media coverage and politics (Midday with Dan Rodricks) 
Practicing urban anthropology in Baltimore

An April 13 article in the New York Times took an in-depth look at the Henry Rayhons case which has drawn national attention in recent weeks.

Ann Christine Frankowski, associate director of the Center for Aging Studies, was quoted in the article and discussed how dementia symptoms tend to fluctuate and patients can often be lucid in the morning and significantly impaired in the afternoon. “What may be appropriate on one day may not be appropriate the next week, or at a different point that same day,” she said.

In the article, Frankowski also discussed what she has discovered in her research with some staff member attitudes towards sex in assisted living facilities:

In other facilities, though, Dr. Frankowski said: “I find staff members saying ‘It’s wrong. Old people don’t do this, they had spouses in the past, they have family member that would be concerned.’ ”

“Sometimes they will say to the resident, ‘Do you really want your daughter to know about this?’ And the staff members do really and truly believe they are doing the right thing.”

To read the full article in the New York Times, click here.

The Doctoral Program in Gerontology at UMB/UMBC, Department of Sociology and Anthropology and The Erickson School present “Aging Self-Stereotypes: Obstacle or Pathway to Health?” by Becca Levy, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Yale School of Public Health.

Dr. Levy’s research explores psychosocial factors that influence elders’ cognitive and physical functioning, as well as their longevity. She is credited with creating a field of study that focuses on how positive and negative age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, can have beneficial and adverse effects, respectively, on the health of older individuals.

This event will take place on April 13, 2015 at 2:00 pm in Commons 331.

UMBC’s Center for Aging Studies had a strong presence at the 2014 Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Meeting earlier this month in Washington, D.C. The conference brought together more than 4,000 leading researchers in the field of aging. The annual meeting is the premiere gathering of gerontologists from the United States and around the world. The theme of this year’s meeting was to challenge researchers to present aging-related connections and findings on alliances that improve policies and communities for older adults.

Center for Aging Studies researchers presented several papers, posters, and symposia. A complete list can be found below. Names in parentheses are researchers who are not currently affiliated with the Center. For more information on the 2014 GSA Meeting, click here.

GSA 2014 Symposia:

Implementing Autonomy into the Daily Lives of Residents with Dementia: Challenges in Assisted Living.  Symposium Chairs: Ann Christine Frankowski and Robert L. Rubinstein

Papers:

Autonomy in Assisted Living: Observations of Dementia as a Complicating Factor. P.J. Doyle, G.G. Tucker, (R. Perez)

Whose Autonomy? Challenges of Integrating Persons with Dementia in Assisted Living Populations. L.A. Morgan, A.C. Frankowski,  (R.P. Perez)

Behind Locked Doors: “Free” Expression of Autonomy in Dementia Care Units. A.D. Peeples, C.R. Bennett, A.C. Frankowski

Family Involvement in Dementia Care Units:  Promoting Autonomy in Everyday Life. A.C. Frankowski, C.R. Bennett, M.A. Brazda, G.G. Tucker, A.D. Peeples, M. Nemec, R. Hrybyk, (R. Perez)

Older Adults and Diabetes: The Social and Cultural Contexts Shaping Patients’ Illness Management.  Symposium Chairs: Sarah Chard and Kevin Eckert

Papers:

Defining ‘Healthy’ on Their Own Terms: Reflections of Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes. (A.M. Reese)

Exploring African-American Women’s Expressions of Power and Strength as a Means to Managing Diabetes. B.H. Wallace

“You’re Cured!” A Physician’s Words and Their Effects. E. Roth, L.M. Girling

Operationalizing Diabetes Self-Management: the Patient’s Perspective. S. Chard, (C. Quinn)

Connecting Researchers and Respondents: Ethical Dilemmas in Qualitative Research. Symposium Chairs: Colleen R. Bennett & Amanda D. Peeples

Papers:

Ethical Concerns as a Participant Observer: Physical Safety of the Researcher and Respondent. C. R. Bennett

“I know who that is…” Confidentiality and Anonymity in Ethnographic Research. A.D. Peeples, C. R. Bennett

“I’ll be your friend for a month”: Simulated Friendships and Recruiting Informants in Assisted Living. R. Hrybyk, C. R. Bennett

Ethically Analyzing and Reporting Data: Qualitative Considerations. L.M. Girling

GSA 2014 Posters:

Perceived Barriers to Exercise in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease.  L.M. Girling, L.A. Morgan

GSA Papers:

Childlessness, Chronic Illness, and Religion in Later Life Care Needs.  (S. Hannum), H. Black

Evaluating the Rapid Emergence of Geriatric Emergency Departments (GEDs).  J. Schumacher, (J. Hirshon, E. Couser, P.D. Magidson)