Monthly Archive for June 2008
June 30, 2008
links for 2008-06-30
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A national study conducted by UC Davis researchers reveals that blacks, Asians and Hispanics are less likely to undergo colorectal cancer screening than whites. Among blacks and Hispanics, the disparity in screening appears to be primarily due to socioeco
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"There is very strong evidence that hospital staff are more likely to suspect drug use on the part of black mothers and these mothers are more likely to have their children removed and put in foster care," said Dorothy Roberts, the Kirkland & Ellis profes
Posted by: Staff on June 30, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Technical innovation and the rising cost of health care
A recent NYTimes.com article talks about cardiologists buying CT scanners and the cost of using new technology in health care:
CT scans, which are typically billed at $500 to $1,500, have never been proved in large medical studies to be better than older or cheaper tests.
Some medical experts say the American devotion to the newest, most expensive technology is an important reason that the United States spends much more on health care than other industrialized nations — more than $2.2 trillion in 2007, an estimated $7,500 a person, about twice the average in other countries — without providing better care.
Vijay, who is a practicing radiologist in India, wonders why a CT scan cost so much in the US:
An abdomen scan at my department costs Rs. 350 (about $ 9 - yes nine dollars). We most often do not charge anything extra for an abdomen scan that goes on to become a transvaginal scan - as it would in case it turns out to be something like an ovarian cyst. So the lady gets two scans for the price of one.
Posted by: Staff on June 30, 2008
Category: Health Care; Health Care Costs
June 27, 2008
Foreclosures and Health
Switchboard Miami provides crisis counseling for residents of the Miami-Dade area. Looking at who is calling Switchboard we get some sense of the mental burden of the current housing crisis.
From MiamiHerald.com:
During the fiscal year that ends this June, Switchboard has processed 9,525 complaints from people with housing problems. Some 4,600 requested emergency shelter after being evicted from their homes. About 400 needed urgent psychological assistance for depression, anxiety or drug dependency. Two were suicidal.
The foreclosure debacle has not only resulted in millions of dollars in losses and thousands of homeless residents, but it has also caused mental and emotional turmoil. Agencies such as Switchboard can't do much more than attempt to treat the symptoms with therapy and referrals to credit counseling agencies.
A lengthy USAToday article on the subject reports that suicide rates increase during times of economic turmoil:
In an article published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press, researchers compared suicide data in Australia from January 1968 through August 2002 with economic problems such as unemployment and mortgage interest rates. The study found that economic trends are closely associated with suicide risk, with men showing a heightened risk of suicide in the face of economic adversity.
And an AP story says that the burden of stress from this financial storm can have a negative affect on health:
Although most people appear to be managing their debts all right, perhaps 10 million to 16 million are "suffering terribly due to their debts, and their health is likely to be negatively impacted," says Paul Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the results of the survey. Those are people who reported high levels of debt stress and suffered from at least three stress-related illnesses, he says.
That finding is supported by medical research that has linked chronic stress to a wide range of ailments.
Here in Cleveland, Project Hype participants were asked to photograph things that had an affect on their hypertension control. They responded with photos of abandoned houses in their Cleveland neighborhoods.
Clearly the housing crisis is not just a Wall Street problem. It's also a my street problem.
Posted by: Staff on June 27, 2008
Category: Health; Housing Crisis; foreclosure; foreclosure; hypertension; stress
links for 2008-06-27
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A new study suggests that American men are much more likely than women are to be unaware that they suffer from high blood pressure. African-American men with the condition are at the highest risk, with only one in seven both aware of their illness and ab
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One in five people put off a trip to the doctor or went without health care last year, often because of money.
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Will there be universal internet access before universal health care?
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A wonderful post by Dr. Val
Posted by: Staff on June 27, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
June 26, 2008
links for 2008-06-26
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As it stands, the contours of the national health system are steep and uneven. Health care quality, like education or justice, is one yardstick by which to measure nationhood as designated by functioning national institutions. More should be done by polic
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Until he was 17, Charles Goodwin spent most of his teen years living with foster families and interacting with caseworkers who never fully understood him for a basic reason: None shared his Native American heritage.
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[M]embers of the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, spoke Wednesday about their work to improve access to education, reduce health disparities, encourage economic development and preserve cultural identity. The American Indian Center at UNC-Chapel Hill or
Posted by: Staff on June 26, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Thursday Photovoice - Photo 7
This is the seventh in a series of entries that will highlight photographs taken as part of the photovoice component of Project HYPE.
You can read more about Project HYPE and see other photographs at our photovoice page.
Check back next Thursday when we will highlight another photograph.
EXTRA: New York City is promising a HIV test for everyone.
Posted by: Staff on June 26, 2008
Category: Photo Voice; hypertension; medications; photovoice
June 25, 2008
links for 2008-06-25
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The number of underinsured has risen by 60 percent since 2003. When added to those who are uninsured at some point during the year, 42 percent of all adults—and 72 percent of those with incomes below twice the poverty level—are inadequately or unstabl
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A study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that lower-income children made almost twice as many visits to hospital emergency departments than higher-income children in 2005.
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Black men in Jacksonville, Fla., are less likely than white men to have a primary care physician or health insurance, according to a recent report by the Duval County Health Department, the Florida Times-Union reports.
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Availability of the gold standard treatment for heart attack varies across England and Wales, a report says.
Posted by: Staff on June 25, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Cool Whip #7
Wealthy, private health care consultants.
You can find other comics from the series here.
EXTRA: Everyone's a Little Bit Biased (Even Physicians)
Posted by: Staff on June 25, 2008
Category: Cool Whip; Health Care; Health Care Costs; Patient Navigators
June 24, 2008
links for 2008-06-24
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How do you navigate the complex U.S. health care system? Easy, you hire a $100,000/year tour guide.
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"Despite all the worsening economic news we are hearing - from the housing slump, to gas surpassing $4 a gallon, there is some light. We do not have to face a darker economic outlook in health care if we properly address health disparities. That's a cost
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Determinants of racial/ethnic CRC screening disparities vary among minority groups, suggesting the need for different interventions to mitigate those disparities. Whereas socioeconomic, access, and language barriers seem to drive the CRC screening dispari
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[John Babb] cited estimates that place the number of medically uninsured Latinos in the United States at around 37 percent. The number of uninsured for the rest of America is at 16 percent. He estimated that only one of 11 Latinos with a mental health dis
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..children across the city experienced many improvements in health, economic and educational status during 2006 – yet disparities in health, wealth and opportunity for New York City's young persist between various neighborhoods and ethnicities, accordin
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Overcrowded hospitals that try to cope with growing patient loads by churning them through more quickly may be helping the spread of drug-resistant germs, Australian researchers
Posted by: Staff on June 24, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Disparities in colon cancer screening rates
From EurekAlert:
Blacks and Hispanics appear less likely to undergo colorectal cancer screening than whites because of socioeconomic, health care access and language barriers, according to a report in the June 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. However, other factors may contribute to screening disparities experienced by Asians.
You can find the full study at the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Posted by: Staff on June 24, 2008
Category: Cancer; Colorectal Cancer; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Screening Rates
June 23, 2008
links for 2008-06-23
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Officials say the region's No. 1 health care disparity is the lack of a Level 2 trauma center, which provides comprehensive trauma care and 24-hour availability of essential personnel and equipment. Last week's announcement that the trauma center at St. J
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Cancer patients with low socioeconomic status (SES) have more advanced cancers at diagnosis, receive less aggressive treatment, and have a higher risk of dying in the five years following cancer diagnosis, according to a new study. The study, which will a
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The report by the Florida Council for the Social Status of Black Men and Boys highlights a number of disparities between black males and the rest of society:
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Citing other disparities, such as how the poor must pay more for utility deposits, [Barbara Ehrenreich], ''So let's have a little less talk about how the poor should learn to manage their money, and a little more attention to all the ways that money is be
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In a 6-3 decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that businesses that administer their own plans or insurance companies that administer a company plan have a financial conflict of interest because they save money virtually every time they re
Posted by: Staff on June 23, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Conflict of interest in most insurance denial claims
From Ohio Health Policy Review:
In a 6-3 decision announced yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that businesses that administer their own plans or insurance companies that administer a company plan have a financial conflict of interest because they save money virtually every time they reject claims filed by their employees
Posted by: Staff on June 23, 2008
Category: Conflict of Interest; Health Care; insurance
June 20, 2008
links for 2008-06-20
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Overall, the 2,407 people who participated in the $1.2 million program were much sicker than the general population, with higher than normal rates of high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes and other conditions, according to results released by public....
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In Multnomah County, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to die from diabetes and two to six times more likely to be diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. Across America, 40 percent of black men die prematurely from cardiovascular....
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Listen to Doctor Anonymous on BlogTalkRadio with Dr. David Loeb who is pediatric cancer doctor. He is author of Doctor Davids Blog. BlogTalkRadio is the leading social radio network with thousands of shows from....
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Large disparities in young people’s health and health-related behaviours across Europe and North America and strong but complex relationships between adolescent health and the socioeconomic status of families: these are the main findings of a new and....
Posted by: Staff on June 20, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Cultural and Linguistic Competency: Implications for Research
This symposium focused on designing research projects sensitive to the cultural dynamics of patient populations. Presented and facilitated by Tawara Goode, M.A.
Part 1
Part 2
Sponsored by the Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities, the Clinical & Translational Science Collaborative, and the Francis Payne Bolton School of Nursing.
Posted by: Staff on June 20, 2008
Category: Audio / Video; Cultural competency; Linguistic Competency; Patient Populations; Research
June 19, 2008
links for 2008-06-19
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This day (June 19) marks the moment when slaves throughout the South were informed that the "peculiar institution'' of slavery had been abolished.
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Health and education are two sides of the same coin, each impacts the other and they combine to impact ultimately the well-being of our residents and our communities. Inequities in health status and education for communities of color are real in our state
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The United States spends substantially more per person on health care than any other country, and yet US health outcomes are the same as or worse than those in other coutries.1-2 In 2005, the last year for which comparative statistics are available, the U
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Doctor confesses he's thinking about quitting medicine to open up a convenience store.
Posted by: Staff on June 19, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
June 18, 2008
links for 2008-06-18
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There was no better place than New Orleans — devastated by vast inequalities in health care and other social supports even before Hurricane Katrina — for the release of a report, Lifeline to Health Equity: Policies For Real Health Care Reform.
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There is a clear north-south divide in patterns of binge drinking and unhealthy eating which help explain a growing life expectancy gap, new analysis shows....
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In Oregon, Native Americans and Hispanics are far less likely to have health insurance or to receive adequate prenatal care. Whites in Multnomah County have a significantly higher rate of care during early pregnancy than other county residents.
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Asian-Pacific Islanders are 16 percent more likely than whites to die from serious, but treatable, complications in U.S. hospitals, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
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Ben S. Bernanke told Congress that health spending would “rise relentlessly” unless lawmakers overhauled the health care system.
Posted by: Staff on June 18, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Cool Whip #6
New food safety scare takes toll on consumers.
You can find other comics from the series here.
EXTRA: Did you know that there is a clear gap in life expectancy between those that live in northern and southern England?
Posted by: Staff on June 18, 2008
Category: Cool Whip; rising food prices
June 17, 2008
links for 2008-06-17
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California prison medical release legislation: is it compassionate, or just dumping expensive patients? (Thanks Les Morgan for the lead.)
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How does your state compare in maternal and childhood health?
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Nutrition experts say children in low-income families are far more likely to be obese than those from wealthier homes. A study by Dr Jenny O'Dea, associate professor of child health research at the University of Sydney, revealed that childhood obesity is
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As many of us know, the government-sponsored Medicare health insurance system is running out of funding. The high cost of life-prolonging medical technologies combined with a dramatically increased demand for them (as our population becomes older and sick
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Every patient-physician relationship is unique. But some research shows that a patient's race can be a particularly strong indicator of how successful some relationships are in achieving treatment goals.
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Life expectancies for women living in South Carolina’s poorest areas appear to be stagnating or getting shorter. Data collected and examined during a 16-year span (1983-1999) by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Wa
Posted by: Staff on June 17, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
June 16, 2008
links for 2008-06-16
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Thirty- eight percent were receiving special education services. In adjusted analyses, Black children were less likely than White children to receive these services (odds ratio [O.R.] = 0.78); among the children in special education, Black children were m
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Blacks are more likely than whites to die of breast and prostate cancer. Researchers want to know why.
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...female veterans aren't getting the same quality of outpatient care as men in about one-third of the VA's 139 facilities that offer it, the report said. That appeared to validate the complaints of advocates and some members of Congress who have said mor
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For years, doctors have struggled to get some TB patients to take all their medication, which generally involves a six-month regimen of multiple drugs.
Now a student-led group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed a way to use cell p
Posted by: Staff on June 16, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Women with diabetes and the control of risk factors
From Medical News Today:
"Our study shows that in patients with diabetes there is a clear disparity between men and women in the control and treatment of important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease," Gouni-Berthold said. "Women have worse control of their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels compared to men and are given cholesterol-lowering medications less often."
BONUS: A doctor in Maine opens up a no-insurance practice.
Posted by: Staff on June 16, 2008
Category: Health Disparities; diabetes; gender differences; insurance; risk factors
June 13, 2008
links for 2008-06-13
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Michael Murphy, a part-time real estate agent and college instructor, has a frank and dismal view of what will happen if the Russian River Dental Clinic no longer accepts Medi-Cal. "My teeth would rot in my skull," said Murphy, a Camp Meeker resident whose jobs don't offer medical benefits.
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"Continuing the trend for elderly patients over the next few years could cause the emergency care system to collapse," said Mary Pat McKay, MD, of the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC.
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On examination, Mr L was a chronically ill–appearing man whose breathing was aided by nasal oxygen and who sat on a bedside "neuro" chair. He had a fourth cranial nerve palsy and disconjugate gaze, facial droop, hoarse voice, absent gag reflex, and coar
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WhiteCoat Rants tells us the answer is, 'A squirrel with mange.' I'm not sure I want to know the question.
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Did I drink raw milk as a kid? Occasionally, yes. Were my parents super-careful about the cleanliness of the milk? Yes. Did I ever get sick from raw milk? No. Would I give raw milk to my kids? No.
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Health Wonk Review: Washington Week
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black Medicare patients in Wisconsin with diabetes and circulation disorders are more likely to have a leg amputated than whites in the state with the same medical conditions, according to a study of Medicare claims commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson
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From her Mediterranean-style townhouse, a high school dropout named Rita Campos Ramirez orchestrated what prosecutors call the largest health-care fraud by one person. Over nearly four years, she electronically submitted more than 140,000 Medicare claims
Posted by: Staff on June 13, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Congressional Testimony on Health Disparities
Congresswoman Solis testifies before the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health regarding health disparites.
Part I
Part II
Transcript at the Congresswoman's website.
BONUS: The Lancet will publish a theme issue devoted to social determinates of health. This special issue will be published on November 8, 2008. More information at The Lancet. Subscription is required.
Posted by: Staff on June 13, 2008
Category: Health Care; Health Disparities; Medicare; interpreter advocates; racial differences
June 12, 2008
links for 2008-06-12
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Full transparency is important for the public - and especially the doctors' fellow practitioners in the treatment of children - to judge study results by the doctors who report favorably on the use of antipsychotic drugs that are usually prescribed for adults and have serious side effects.
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Walgreen’s plans to open retail clinics in Massachusetts is stirring up new controversy over whether such outlets pose a threat to more traditional forms of primary care.
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The average American is living past age 78, though life spans are still shorter than in other developed countries, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Join us tonight for The Doctor Anonymous Show number 38. Our scheduled guests are from the site called The Doctors Channel. But, still as of this posting, I have not received confirmation that they are indeed coming to the show tonight. So this show shoul
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Nartey related a story about an African immigrant family who perplexed staff with their insistence that their dying matriarch's swollen leg be drained. Nartey spoke with the family and realized that villagers back home would think the swollen leg had been
Posted by: Staff on June 12, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Thursday Photovoice - Photo 6
This is the sixth in a series of entries that will highlight photographs taken as part of the photovoice component of Project HYPE.
You can read more about Project HYPE and see other photographs at our photovoice page.
Check back next Thursday when we will highlight another photograph.
BONUS: Dr. Val reviews Tom Daschle's take on the healthcare crisis.
Posted by: Staff on June 12, 2008
Category: Photo Voice; abandoned; foreclosure; housing; photovoice
June 11, 2008
links for 2008-06-11
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many inhabitants live amidst the disintegration of services, finds a basic services assessment published by regional governments on Tuesday. Those bearing the brunt of the inequality are children and the elderly.
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... blacks typically were less likely to receive recommended care than whites within a given region. But the most striking disparities were found from place to place.
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Compared with children in English-primary-language households, children in non-English-primary-language households experienced multiple disparities in medical and oral health, access to care, and use of services.
Posted by: Staff on June 11, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Cool Whip #5
NHS ordered to end care bias against men.
You can find other comics from the series here.
Posted by: Staff on June 11, 2008
Category: Cool Whip; Men's Health
June 10, 2008
links for 2008-06-10
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Alan Johnson outlined fresh plans to tackle health inequalities today as he admitted that the health gap between rich and poor is widening
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A study finds that white patients on average fare better than black patients treated by the same doctors
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Editoral from the Archives of Internal Medicine
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Racial differences in DM outcomes are primarily related to patients' characteristics and with-physician effects, wherein individual physicians achieve less favorable outcomes among their black patients than their white patients.
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NYTimes.com article on the recent Achives of Internal Medicine article.
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The number of underinsured Americans - those with health insurance but also high medical expenses compared with their incomes - rose 60 percent from 2003 to 2007 and hit middle- and higher-income families hardest, a new study found.
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The number of underinsured U.S. adults—that is, people who have health coverage that does not adequately protect them from high medical expenses—has risen dramatically, a Commonwealth Fund study finds. As of 2007, there were an estimated 25 million un
Posted by: Staff on June 10, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Health disparities and race in diabetes care
From NYTimes.com:
As researchers ponder growing evidence that blacks have worse outcomes than whites in the treatment of chronic disease, they often theorize that members of minorities suffer disproportionately from poor access to quality care. Now a new study of diabetes patients has found stark racial disparities even among patients treated by the same doctors.
From the Archives of Internal Medicine:
White patients (N = 4556) were significantly more likely than black patients (N = 2258) to achieve control of HbA1c (47% vs 39%), LDL-C (57% vs 45%), and blood pressure (30% vs 24%; P < .001 for all comparisons). Patient sociodemographic factors explained 13% to 38% of the racial differences in these measures, whereas within-physician effects accounted for 66% to 75% of the differences. Physician-level variation in disparities was not associated with either individual physicians' overall performance or their number of black patients with DM.
And from an editorial which also appears in the Archives:
What will it take to close the gap for one of the most important chronic disease clusters affecting all nations? The bottom line is that public reporting on performance has had an important impact on processes of care under the control of a physician or health system (ordering tests), but our collective knowledge of which strategies are most effective for which patients is substantially underdeveloped compared with our knowledge of scientific evidence. In other words, we know and understand far more about what to do than who specifically needs what care and how to do it consistently and reliably.
Bonus: Did you know that flip flops might be bad for you?
Posted by: Staff on June 10, 2008
Category: Health Disparities; Health Inequities; diabetes; health care access; racial differences
June 09, 2008
links for 2008-06-09
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An increase in neighborhood SES was shown to correlate with an increase in intake of fruit and vegetables.
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Black patients in the Rochester area have their legs amputated from complications with diabetes or vascular disease at a rate more than six times that of white people, a disparity that far exceeds the racial gaps in other parts of western New York, a stud
Posted by: Staff on June 09, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
China wants students to exercise eyes
From Reuters:
China's students should exercise their eyes twice a day to ward off nearsightedness that has reached near-epidemic proportions because of their long hours spent hitting the books, the education ministry has urged.
Below is a short clip of some primary school students in Shanghai doing their morning eye exercises.
BONUS: Michael Tomasello writing at NYTimes.com asks, "How are humans unique"?
Posted by: Staff on June 09, 2008
Category: China; Health Care; eye exercises; eyesight
June 06, 2008
links for 2008-06-06
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Race and place of residence can have a staggering impact on the course and quality of the medical treatment a patient receives, according to new research.
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“We have an all-out crisis here,” said Carol Meyer, the director of governmental relations for the Los Angeles County Health Services Department. “In terms of lack of access to care, emergency room overcrowding and total underfunding of the health c
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the majority of "diabetes studies fail to track the results patients care about the most, including pain, ability to function, and survival,"
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According to the report that appears in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, this is the first study to find no racial disparities in long-term liver transplantation outcomes.
Posted by: Staff on June 06, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
June 05, 2008
"Four Recommendations For Preventing Diabetes and Obesity"
Presented by Roxanne B. Sukol MD, MS. University Hospitals. Hosted by Cleveland State University's Center for Health Equity.
Video also available at Viddler.com.
Posted by: Staff on June 05, 2008
Category: Audio / Video; diabetes prevention
Health Disparities Podcasts
Project HYPE - Voices of High Blood Pressure Revealed through a Community Lens.
This video provides an excellent overview of the Photovoice component of Project HYPE. It is excellent viewing for those interesting in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR.)
Download link (video podcast)
"Four Recommendations For Preventing Diabetes and Obesity"
Presented by Roxanne B. Sukol MD, MS. University Hospitals. Hosted by Cleveland State University's Center for Health Equity.
Download link (video podcast)
Community Based Participatory Research - Are the scales balanced?
Presented by Maghboeba Mosavel, PhD, Karen Tabb, MSW, Catherine Oakar, BA, Ayella Shams, BS.
Dr. Mosavel and her team discuss the challenges, rewards, lessons learned, and 'what's next' for their CBPR projects.
Download link (audio and slides)
Download link (audio only)
"Addressing the Mental Health Disparities Evident in the African American and Latino Communities - A Grassroots Approach." Presented by Marsha Mitchell Blanks, M.S.W., L.S.W.
Download Link (Video Podcast)
"Elder Abuse: Framing the Issue."
Presented by Georgia Anetzberger, PhD, ACSW, LISW. Hosted by Cleveland State University's Center for Health Equity.
Download Link (Video Podcast)
"Using the Primary Socialization Theory to Predict Adolescent Substance Use and Sexual Risk Taking Behaviors." Shelley A. Francis, MPH, DrPH, CHES.
Download Link (Video Podcast)
Posted by: Staff on June 05, 2008
Category: Elder Abuse; Health Disparities; Mental Health; Podcasts; Primary Socialization Theory; Risk Taking; Video Podcasts; community based participatory research
links for 2008-06-05
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A recently released U.S. government report said that black patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) account for 33 percent of all patients on the kidney transplant wait-list, even though blacks make up only 13 percent of the general population. Blacks
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The greatest disparity between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is in rates of coronary heart disease, which are twice as high in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the report found.
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while risky sexual activity has become less prevalent among whites and blacks since the biennial survey began in 1991, no change has occurred among Hispanic students.
Posted by: Staff on June 05, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Thursday Photovoice - Photo 5
This is the fifth in a series of entries that will highlight photographs taken as part of the photovoice component of Project HYPE.
You can read more about Project HYPE and see other photographs at our photovoice page.
Check back next Thursday when we will highlight another photograph.
Posted by: Staff on June 05, 2008
Category: Photo Voice; food cost; groceries; photovoice
June 04, 2008
links for 2008-06-04
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In the United States between 1950 and 2005 (the last year for which data are available) the death rate from cancer declined by 5 percent, an amount that is mostly due to the decline in cigarette smoking. By contrast the death rate from heart disease fell
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The risk [of stroke] surges between ages 45 and 54. In those years, women are more than twice as likely as men to have strokes. And at every age, strokes are harder on women — they're more likely than men to wind up physically and mentally impaired.
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A major report found just 31% of people in need of treatment in low and middle-income countries had access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2007.
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Massachusetts's ambitious program to move toward universal health insurance nearly halved the number of adults without coverage from about 13 percent to 7 percent in the first year....
Posted by: Staff on June 04, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Cool Whip #4
Scientists move a step closer to mind reading.
You can find other comics from the series here.
Posted by: Staff on June 04, 2008
Category: Cool Whip; mind reading; twitter
Stroke risk in women
An MSNBC.com article talks about the disparity in risk of stroke between men and women.
The risk [of stroke] surges between ages 45 and 54. In those years, women are more than twice as likely as men to have strokes. And at every age, strokes are harder on women — they're more likely than men to wind up physically and mentally impaired.
On average, women get to the emergency room an hour later than men when a stroke hits, partly because stroke isn't on their mental checklist of ER-worthy dangers. And when they reach the hospital, it takes women about an hour longer to be examined by a neurologist.
Posted by: Staff on June 04, 2008
Category: Health; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Women's Health; gender disparities; stroke
June 03, 2008
links for 2008-06-03
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The quality of children's health care in America varies widely from state to state, as does their access to insurance and care and the likelihood of living long and healthy lives.
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For most of these predominantly low-to-middle-income Americans, the underlying problem is not lack of desire for health insurance; rather. their income is insufficient to reasonably afford a health insurance policy or pay its deductible and other out-of-p
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The number of uninsured adults in Massachusetts fell by almost half last year, says a study released today, while the state's Revenue Department reports that 86,000 people paid a state tax penalty rather than buy insurance.
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In a country with high out-of-pocket expenditures on health, increasing costs mean the common man has to bear a heavier burden.
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The first myth that Florida debunks is this: Those without health coverage do not work. Well, Florida, the state that has been leading the nation in job creations over the past few years, has seen its uninsured rate steadily increase from 16.8 percent in
Posted by: Staff on June 03, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Health disparities in India
The International Herald Tribune has a story posted that speaks to health disparities in India. The article contrasts the care provided by two very different hospitals.
Wockhardt is a state-of-the-art private hospital that provides 5-Star service. Patients have private rooms overlooking gardens. Cable TV and computers are just a few steps away. There is even ice cream in a mini fridge in case of an afternoon craving.
The government run hospital, Bowring, is a different story. Patients are brought by family members to a place with no dialysis machines, no ventilators, and no ICU. Dinner is a few slices of white bread on a plate.
One of the issues discussed in the article is that of utilization. The private hospital has plenty of life saving equipment that goes unused. So while patients die from lack of dialysis at Bowring dialysis machines sit idle at Wockhardt.
At Bowring, one of the young doctors, named Harish, said a ventilator and a dialysis machine would have allowed him to keep half of his patients alive. The most severe case, Mohammed Amin, was breathing with the aid of a hand pump that his wife squeezed silently.
Harish sent the relative of one man to get blood tests done at the nearest private hospital; there was no equipment to do the test here.
According to the article a survey of Indian households found that across social classes people prefer private care over government facilities. Why? Because of quality.
The government run health centers in India are understaffed. 53% of pediatric positions are not filled. Government doctors earn less than private doctors and aggressive recruiting by private hospitals allow them to lure physicians who have worked and trained abroad.
Ironically, the luxurious private hospitals in India are bargains for Americans looking to save money. One American, Robin Steeles, paid $20,000 to have a mitral valve repaired. According to the article, that's about 10% of what it would cost in the U.S.
EXTRA: Just noticed that the Connecticut Health Policy Project has a blog focused on health care in Connecticut. They've been added to my RSS feed.
Posted by: Staff on June 03, 2008
Category: Health Disparities; Socioeconomic Status; class differences; health care access; icu
June 02, 2008
links for 2008-06-02
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Gotham Gazette takes on health care in New York City's jails.
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African-American neighborhoods have an incidence rate of amputations from diabetes five times higher than that of white neighborhoods, researchers say.
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HealthCore researchers found the factors predicting worse outcomes for African-American vs. Caucasian women with newly diagnosed breast cancer in a fully insured population were consistent with those factors identified by the current medical literature fo
Posted by: Staff on June 02, 2008
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Racial disparity in amputation rate
From UPI:
African-American neighborhoods have an incidence rate of amputations from diabetes five times higher than that of white neighborhoods, researchers say.
The study, published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery, found that in the South and West sides of Chicago, African-Americans comprised less than 15 percent of the population, but accounted for 27 percent of all amputation discharges for 33,775 patients at 171 hospitals during the study period of 1987 to 2004.
The study can be found in the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
EXTRA: Aggravated Doc Surg is not happy with JCHAO.
Posted by: Staff on June 02, 2008
Category: African-American Health; Amputations; Health Disparities; diabetes; racial differences