November 20, 2009
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The prevalence of diabetes is at least twice as high in some ethnic groups as it is in whites[,] even among people with similar body mass index (BMI) numbers, a large new study finds[: "Differences between] ethnic groups persisted in normal-weight and underweight participants". [T]here’s a lot more to Type 2 diabetes than weight. [Of] 187,000 people in Hawaii and California...11.6% reported having diabetes. However, age-adjusted...prevalence was 16.1% in Native Hawaiians, 15.8% in Latinos, 15% in African-Americans, 10.2% in Japanese-Hawaiians, and 6.3% in whites....The reason ethnic minorities, low-income people, and unemployed people have so much diabetes is NOT mainly due to health behaviors. [A[ll behaviors combined explain less than 40% of the difference between the healthiest and the least healthy groups. The rest of it is due to the higher stress levels of, say, being an immigrant, being isolated, having economic difficulties, or being discriminated against.'
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Many women and doctors have said they might not follow the new recommendations. But even under the former guidelines, many women have apparently not had the screening, often because they lack insurance.
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Vital Signs - U.S. Draws a D From the March of Dimes in Its Report on Premature Births - NYTimes.comMore than half a million babies — one out of eight — are born prematurely each year in the United States, prompting the March of Dimes to give the nation a D on its premature births report card.
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Ohio's rate of obesity is expected to be one of the highest in the nation, with only a handful of states at over 50 percent. The national average for obese adults is expected to be 43 percent in 2018, according to research by Kenneth Thorpe of Emory University, who projected the future costs of treating chronic disease attributable to obesity.
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New Health Disparities Lectures Online
More of the lectures for the health disparities course that is taught at Case Western Reserve University have been uploaded to the Center's website at www.ReduceDisparity.org. They are located under the EDUCATION tab. These are the included lectures:
- "Evaluation of Health Programs"
- "Introduction to Health Disparities"
- "Genetics and Health Disparities"
- "Measurement of Race, Ethnicity, and Health Status"
- "Insurance First: Why Simplify the Disparities Agenda"
- "The MetroHealth Cancer Center B.R.E.A.S.T. Program"
- "Health Disparities in Asthma"
- "Ethical Aspects of Health Disparities"
- "International Health Disparities: Focus on Uganda"
- "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health Disparities"
- "Legal Interventions"
- "Cultural Competency In Research"
- "Epidemiology of Oral Health Disparities"
There are 2 more still to come, "Health Disparities in ICU Care" and"Cultural Competency in Health Care". Both should be up on the website before Thanksgiving.
Category: Case; Disparities; Education; Genetics; Health; Health Disparities Course; LGBT; Ohio; Reserve; University; Western; competency; cultural; evaluation; insurance; law; oral; special
Posted by Staff
November 14, 2009
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Most children actively notice and think about race. A new study has found that children develop an awareness about racial stereotypes early, and that those biases can be damaging.
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New research published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that African-American patients with colorectal cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease and are less likely to undergo surgical procedures compared with Caucasians, suggesting that improvements in screening and rates of operation may reduce differences in colorectal cancer outcomes for African-Americans.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
November 12, 2009
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This report was released by the World Health Organization about both women’s health needs and their contribution to the health of societies. Using current data, it takes stock of what is known about the health of women's lives and across the different regions of the world.
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"There is room for you to make a difference."
That was the message last month at the New England Regional Minority Health Conference (NERMHC). Held from October 14 through 16 at the Westin Hotel in Providence and hosted by the RI Department of Health, the theme of NERMHC was “From Disparities to Equity: the Power to Make Change.”
Category: Lunch Break Reading
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Don't Forget About The Other Determinants of Health
Gail Wilensky, Senior Fellow Project HOPE has written a column for Kaiser Health News concerning what is being missed in the health care reform debate.
While recent discussion has become heated about insurance coverage, the focus on the health needs and disparities that cause poor health have largely been ignored.
Wilensky is former commissioner on the World Health Organization Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Her work there was focused on relationships of poverty, education, early childhood education, the treatment of women and individual empowerment to health and life expectancy issues. She points out,
"As we struggle through this first round of health care reform, it is important that we remember that the ultimate goal is to provide for a healthier America. Improving the conditions in which people are born and live, age and die may be at least as important as reforming health care in achieving this goal."
To read more of her column, click here to get the Kaiser Health News link.
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Category: Disparities; Education; Health; care; determinants; of; reform; social
Posted by Staff
November 04, 2009
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The Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a consortium of researchers from major research institutions around the country, examines health care disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases and has produced a special supplement of the Journal of General Internal Medicine examining Latinos and health care, shedding light on important issues that have been left out of the health care reform debate.
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The University of Kansas Medical Center has helped develop a program aimed at reducing smoking rates among residents of Native American Indian reservations, Indian Country Today reports.
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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has awarded grants of up to $258,500 each to seven organizations to support the development and testing of interventions aimed at reducing racial and ethnic care disparities, AHA News Now reports.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 29, 2009
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a user-friendly document to help risk assessors understand how children are exposed to pollution.
More information on the documents: http://www.epa.gov/childexpfactors/highlights
A new study by Oregon State University researchers shows that those in poverty in rural Oregon often know what kinds of foods they should be eating, but face tough choices between eating well and spending less money for meals.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 28, 2009
Health Disparities Lectures Posted on Website
During this fall semester at Case Western Reserve University, the Center for Reducing Health Disparities has been videotaping lecturers for the graduate health disparities course that is offered for nursing, medicine, public health, social work, epidemiology and biostatistics students. We are pleased to announce that we are posting those lectures to our website at www.ReduceDisparity.org. Please visit the education tab to see the variety of lectures offered including:
- Introduction to Health Disparities
- Evaluation of Health Programs
- Health Disparities in Asthma
- Model Community-Health Programs (breast cancer, re-entry, dental programs)
There are more lectures to come as well. Please visit our website for more information.
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Category: Breast Cancer; Cultural competency; Dental Care; Disparities; Genetics; Global Health Care Justice; Health Disparities; Health Disparities Class; Health Disparities Course; Hispanic Health; Ohio; Pollution; Public Health; Racial Disparities; Research; air quality; asthma; case western; health care access
Posted by Staff
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Three studies presented this week at the American College of Gastroenterology's 74th Annual Scientific meeting in San Diego underscore the growing disparities in gastrointestinal disease, particularly colon cancer and Barrett's Esophagus, among certain ethnic and gender populations, including African Americans, Latinos and women. These race- and gender-specific disparities underscore the need for education and vigilance among these populations and perhaps more aggressive screening tactics than the population in general.
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The study, reported in The Cereal Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score (FACTS) Report, was part funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and was conducted by researchers from Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. It is being presented at Obesity 2009, the 27th annual scientific meeting of The Obesity Society, in Washington on 27 October. One of the findings from the researchers was that not one the cereals targeted to children in the US meets the nutrition standard required to advertise to children in the United Kingdom..
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The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, examined data from national surveys taken from 1988 to 1994 and a second time period, from 1999 to 2004. In both time periods, men had more heart attacks than women. But the rates in men improved from 2.5% in the first time frame to 2.2% in the second time frame while women’s rates increased from 0.7% to 1%.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 15, 2009
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"End-of-life care discussions appeared to be more effective in ensuring that white patients' treatment preferences were honored," said Holly Prigerson, PhD, senior author of the report in The Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study is posted on the journal's web site and will be published in a future print edition.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 14, 2009
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A new study recently published online by the American Heart Journal shows that more than half of all randomized clinical trials, or RCTs, for cardiovascular disease are not reporting vital information about the study populations race or ethnicity.
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The study published in the medical journal Chest, found that among 1,485 asthmatic children from four U.S. states, black children were twice as likely as white children to have gone to the emergency room for an asthma attack in the past year. Overall, 39 percent of black children had visited the ER, compared with 18 percent of white children.
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A study being published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine calculates that people who live in neighborhoods that are conducive to physical activity and healthy eating have a 38% reduced risk of developing diabetes compared with people who don’t.
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Children in Philadelphia who attended public schools and shopped at corner stores before or after school purchased almost 360 calories of foods and beverages per visit, according to new research published in Pediatrics.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 12, 2009
Children On Medicaid Still Face Difficulty Getting Dental Care
The Associated Press is reporting on the continuing problem of getting children proper dental care. Medicaid does cover dental care, but finding dentists that accept Medicaid is a challenge.
State officials told the GAO that many children can't find dentists who accept Medicaid, and dental providers cite low reimbursement rates and patients skipping appointments as challenges to treating kids in the federal-state health insurance program for the poor.
Part of the problem is that there is no way of knowing how many of the children on Medicaid actually see a dentist. The Government Accountability Office recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "develop a plan for sharing promising practices among states and reviewing dental services in states with low access rates."
Click here to read the article.
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October 10, 2009
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Discussion of a new report by the Commonwealth Fund that shows the wide disparities in health care across the U.S. and how each state fares in comparison.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 06, 2009
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"Women's health advocates say issues such as maternity coverage and fair pricing affect far more women, who have received inadequate care and coverage for too long."
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The rates are highest in Africa, but North America follows closely behind, concludes the first part of the report, a collaboration with the World Health Organization. The report, and its implications, are to be discussed this week at a child health meeting in India.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
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Breast Reconstruction Varies By Race
Researchers (Amy Alderman et al) at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have published a study on the October 5 online version of the Journal of Clinical Oncology where they found that language barriers in non-English speaking Latinas were a factor in whether or not reconstructive breast surgery occurred.
Receipt of breast reconstruction varied significantly by patient race/ethnicity (40.9% of whites, 33.5% of African Americans, 41.2% of highly acculturated Latinas, and only 13.5% of less acculturated Latinas; P < .0001). Nearly 14% of less acculturated Latinas said they did not know how to get breast reconstruction, compared with less than 2% for all other groups (P<.001).
The lower rates in limited English speaking populations did not represent a lack of interest in reconstruction. The researchers suggest that there should be increased efforts to present breast reconstruction options to patients. Stronger efforts should be made particularly to those who speak limited English.
For more information, you can read a description in Medical News Today or the article at the Journal of Oncology webpage.
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October 02, 2009
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"Before 1990, the mortality rate for both rural and urban communities had been about the same — and both were decreasing. Death rates in rural and urban America have continued to decrease since 1990, but the rate of decline has been much faster in urban areas" reports the Daily Yonder.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
October 01, 2009
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This 8 page brief uses data from the 2008 Ohio Family Health Survey and identifies disparities in health behaviors, risk factors, family income and other issues.
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Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2009-2010 was released September 30, and it shows that breast cancer deaths have been falling in the US since the early 1990s, with the biggest drops in women under 50. However, as of 2006, breast cancer death rates were 38 per cent higher in African American women than white women. The report provides possible explanations for that disparity.
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There is rejoicing today at agencies that work with recipients of food vouchers through the Women, Infants and Children program in California. Starting Thursday, WIC recipients -- more than 8 million of them -- will be able to use vouchers to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, under a program revision that has been years in the making.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
September 30, 2009
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The State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 released includes information, policy, and behavioral indicators of fruit and vegetable consumption.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
September 29, 2009
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A new study finds that diabetes significantly increases a woman’s risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a common and potentially dangerous irregular heart rhythm that doctors often miss.
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Prostate cancer patients of low socioeconomic status are more likely to die than patients with higher incomes. That is the finding of a new study from Swiss researchers to be published in the December 1, 2009 issue of Cancer.
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Posted by Staff
September 28, 2009
Dialysis Patients Often Not Told About Transplant Options
Are people told about the full range of options when they begin dialysis? Information detailed in the Sunday edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review suggests that they are not. Kidney transplants can add years to a patient's life, and is overall, a much cheaper procedure than long-term dialysis care. Some key factors are fear, education of kidney disease and options, organ "availability" and the insurance associated with care.
The Tribune conducted its own four month investigation and found:
More than 32,000 of the 105,653 people who started treatment for kidney failure in 2006 were not informed about the option of kidney transplantation, according to the latest available information reported to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The article also spoke with some dialysis providers who dispute the claim that they don't provide information on transplants to enough of their patients.
Read the story on the Pittsburgh Tribune website.
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