Monthly Archive for November 2006
« October 2006 | | December 2006 »
November 30, 2006
Cultural Competency: An Intervention to Reduce Health Disparities
The Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities will hold the next in our works in progress series on Friday, December 8, 2006 from 3-4pm.
Cultural Competency: An Intervention to Reduce Health Disparities will be presented by Sonja Harris-Haywood, MD, MS.
Dr. Harris-Haywood is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Family Medicine-Research Division at Case Western Reserve University.
The location for this event is the Case Medical School- T503, 10900 Euclid Avenue.
Please RSVP your attendance to Sharon Lowstetter at slowstetter@metrohealth.org or by phone 778-8484. We look forward to seeing you there!
Posted by: Staff on November 30, 2006
Category: Works in Progress
November 29, 2006
Socioeconomic Status and Risk Factors for CVD
In the most recent edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine appears an article on SES and trends in disparities in risk factors for CVD.
The conclusion says it all:
Despite the general success in reducing CVD risk factors in the US population, not all segments of society are benefiting equally and improvements may have slowed. Education- and income-related disparities have worsened for smoking, and increases in diabetes prevalence have occurred primarily among persons with a lower socioeconomic status. Diabetes prevention and smoking prevention and cessation programs need to specifically target persons of lower income and education.
Posted by: Staff on November 29, 2006
Category: CVD; Health Disparities; Socioeconomic Status
November 27, 2006
Hospitals Seeking Greener Pastures
The Kaiser Network is reporting some hospitals are building in more affluent areas and the health disparities of city dwellers may be affected.
The [Wall Street] Journal reports that "[m]uch of the construction is occurring in fast-growing suburbs, as hospitals target the most affluent, insured patients who can afford to pay for top care." Meanwhile, "many urban hospitals -- which often treat poorer people -- are struggling financially, and scores have had to shut their doors," the Journal reports. Sixteen percent of city-based public hospitals closed between 1996 and 2002, according to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
We blogged about this topic back in June with a post mentioning that some hospitals are now offering 5-star amenities.
Posted by: Staff on November 27, 2006
Category: Health Disparities
November 21, 2006
Racism Leads To Poorer Health
In the upcoming edition of the Annual Review of Psychology there is an interesting article that speaks to how racism affects health.
from Webwire:
"This is not to say that every African American has poor health," said Vickie Mays, the report’s lead author, a UCLA professor of psychology and health services and director of the Center for Research, Education, Training and Strategic Communication on Minority Health Disparities. "However, African Americans — as a group of people — have not been able to gain as much ground as other ethnic groups. That’s when you need to worry and look at missing factors that can explain these health disparities."
When a person experiences discrimination, the body develops a cognitive response in which it recognizes the discrimination as something that is bad and should be defended against, Mays said. She said this response occurs for the most part even if the person merely perceives that discrimination is a possibility.
Starting with the brain’s recognition of discrimination, the body sets into motion a series of physiological responses to protect itself from these stressful negative experiences, Mays said. These physiological responses include biochemical reactions, hyper-vigilance and elevated blood pressure and heart rate. With many African Americans, these responses may occur so frequently that they eventually result in the physiological system not working correctly.
Posted by: Staff on November 21, 2006
Category: Health Care; Health Disparities; Health Inequities
November 14, 2006
Health Disparities in Men
Earlier we posted that perhaps men deserve another look when research dollars are considered.
Today, NYTimes.com is reporting that "...statistics show that men are more likely than women to suffer an early death." Dr. Demetrius J. Porche, an associate dean at Louisiana State University’s Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in New Orleans goes on to say that men die at a higher rate for almost every disease and no one knows why.
One interesting fact provided in the story is, "...even though more baby boys are born, among people in their mid-30s, women outnumber men. Among people age 100, women outnumber men by 8 to one."
Here is a link to the original article, a subscription or registration may be required.
Posted by: Staff on November 14, 2006
Category: Health Disparities; Health Inequities