Monthly Archive for April 2009
April 30, 2009
links for 2009-04-30
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Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review hosts the Health Wonk Review--The Best Health Care Posts on the Web!
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Metropolitan Milwaukee ranks among the top 10 cities in the country where industrial pollution falls disproportionately on poor and minority neighborhoods
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The NHS rationing body, NICE, has confirmed a ban on three out of four new treatments.
Posted by: Staff on April 30, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 28, 2009
links for 2009-04-28
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African Americans have about a one-in-100 chance of developing heart failure while still in their 30s or 40s, a far higher rate than in whites, and their risk of heart failure at that age is closely tied to whether they have hypertension, obesity, or renal dysfunction earlier in adulthood.
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Young adults have the worst access to mental health care and, despite links between offending behaviour, mental disorders and substance abuse, there are virtually no specialised adolescent forensic mental health services in Australia.
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The number of Latinos without health coverage is about 10 percent higher in Nevada compared to most states.
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In an upcoming issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers report that community health centers refer patients with heart problems to specialists less often than primary care providers in hospitals. It is unclear whether this reflects overuse by hospitals or underuse by community health centers.
Posted by: Staff on April 28, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Changes to the Health Disparities Blog
(This post appears as part of our Tech Tuesday series.)
Over the past few weeks there have been several updates made to the Health Disparities Blog. This installment of our Tech Tuesday feature will highlight a few of them.
You can now subscribe to a daily digest of updates to the blog. You will receive only 1 email per day and only on days when the blog is updated. These emails will contain the full content of all posts for that day. No longer will you need to click through to continue reading. Here is the link: Subscribe to the Health Disparities Blog Daily Digest.
The Health Disparities Blog and its companion site The Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities now utilize a customized Google search feature. Any search done on one site will automatically pull related results from the other. You can find the search box on the left side of any page.
If you like to Tweet you can follow the Health Disparities Blog on Twitter. Our Twitter ID is @ReduceDisparity.
At the top of each post you will find a single box that will allow you to share that post with your favorite bookmarking or sharing site. If you are on the main page and click the share button you will be sharing a link to the main page. To share a link to a specific entry you need to go to that entry's page. You can do this by clicking on the time of the entry which appears at the end of the post.
One of the best new features we have is Lunch Break Reading. Each weekday around noon EST links are posted to current news stories related to health disparities. You can view this directly by visiting our link page on Delicious.
And of course you can view video presentations on a range of topics in our Audio / Visual section.
Upcoming improvements to the blog may include videos of the Health Disparities Class that is offered each fall.
Stay tuned.
EXTRA: Someone's gotta watch the bottom line.
Posted by: Staff on April 28, 2009
Category: Customized Google Search; Delicious; Digg; Tech Tuesday; twitter
April 27, 2009
links for 2009-04-27
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Kidney cancer patients with Medicare as their primary payer were more likely to have their kidney surgically removed entirely (radical nephrectomy) whereas those with private insurance were offered surgery to preserve organ function (partial nephrectomy).
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Although the UK has a national health care plan age discrimination exists. Nearly half of British Geriatrics Society Doctors think the NHS is institutionally ageist.
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Study reports that medical residents at hospitals with interpreter services often went without an interpreter because it was easier to 'get by' without one.
Posted by: Staff on April 27, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Pollution and Health
Last week the BBC ran a story on how pollution in China's Shanxi region affects the health of those who live there. The following video explains the issue and is also available at bbc.co.uk.
Extra: Thanks to Twitter I stumbled across an amazing rendition of the classic "Stand By Me." You can read more about the cause at http://playingforchange.com. You can watch the video below or at vimeo.com.
Posted by: Staff on April 27, 2009
Category: Birth Defects; China; Health; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Malnutrition; Pollution; twitter
April 24, 2009
links for 2009-04-24
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There were 1.4 million Americans diagnosed with cancer last year. About 1,500 die daily from the disease nationwide, according to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. For black women, the cancer death rate is 41 percent higher than white women. For black men with prostate cancer, the death rate is 238 percent higher
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The World Health Organization says roughly 600 million people worldwide have disabilities. Eighty percent of them live in developing nations where disabilities are often viewed as shameful.
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In 2005, medical care amenable mortality was the largest source of absolute black-white mortality disparity, contributing 30% of the black-white difference in all cause mortality among men and 42% among women
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Doctors will triage their conversations with patients, categorizing discussions about advanced directives or risky medications as “high stakes,” and those that occur during routine rounding on a stable patient as “low stakes.” Doctors will then tend to use interpreters in “high stakes” conversations but will muddle through “low stakes” topics themselves, resorting to gestures, mimicry or bilingual family members in order to communicate.
Posted by: Staff on April 24, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
A Right to Care
Actress Sarah Jones gives a wonderful performance in A Right to Care, a play that looks at how race and ethnicity affects health and health care. You can view portions of the play by clicking the link below:
(Note - you need to be able to play Windows Media Player files to view this presentation.)
You can read a full review of the play at TheTriangle.org.
EXTRA: Next Thursday St. Vincent's Charity Hospital will host the final viewing of Unnatural Causes. You can view the flyer for this event at this link.
Posted by: Staff on April 24, 2009
Category: A Right to Care; Health Care; Health Disparities; Sarah Jones
April 23, 2009
When Insurance Companies Say No
NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health recently published the results of a telephone survey on the health care delivery system in the U.S.
Among the questions asked was whether a patient had their doctor's recommended treatment denied by their insurance company.
In the past year, has a doctor ever recommended a treatment or prescription drug for you, but you found out your insurance company wouldn't pay for it, or hasn't this happened?
The graphic below shows the distribution of responses.
40% of those who had the recommended treatment declined went without treatment or had to pay for it themselves.
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In an abcnews.com story Cynthia Toussaint recounts how her insurance company said no to the prescribed drugs that were working at the time:
"Eighteen years ago, my insurance company switched me from Axid, which I was using to treat CRPS in my vocal cords, to a cheaper medication," she recalled. "As a result, I couldn't speak and even experienced pain when whispering. I was forced to 'fail' on two cheaper medications before getting the medication my physician originally prescribed."
Toussaint said that she had a similarly negative experience when her insurance company switched her off her brand name Klonopin -- a pain and anxiety drug -- to a cheaper alternative that left her in pain and experiencing hallucinations.
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NYTimes.com tells of a husband and wife who have been looking for insurance for their 21-year-old son with metastic testicular cancer. Although he has been cance-free for a year the cost of regular monitoring is making finding insurance a tough road. Because the family owns their home the federal government says no to any federal subsidized insurance plan.
Neither of the Walkers has been able to land a job with the kind of large group coverage that would disregard Jake’s health status. His cancer history effectively makes him uninsurable on the individual market. He is too old to qualify for Medicaid as a child, and it is virtually impossible in Texas to qualify as an able-bodied adult.
Posted by: Staff on April 23, 2009
Category: Cancer; Health Disparities; Health Equity; Healthcare Costs; Universal Health Care; health insurance
April 22, 2009
links for 2009-04-22
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"If we look at the rate of an Aboriginal child dying compared to a non-Aboriginal child dying, the rate of difference is around three to four times that for Aboriginal children for infant mortality, for higher rates of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, childhood injury, suicide, accidental death"
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State law requires hospitals that receive Hospital Care Assurance Program money to provide free care to patients earning up to the federal poverty level ($22,050 for a family of four). Beyond that, every hospital can decide how much assistance it wants to provide.
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"There are so many types of payment systems, both public and private, that it's hard to understand," said Silbaugh. "No one pays the same price on anything.""There are so many types of payment systems, both public and private, that it's hard to understand," said Silbaugh. "No one pays the same price on anything."
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Since Danna Walker lost her $37,000-a-year salary, the government’s recently enacted 65% break on Cobra health-insurance costs would still mean paying $476 a month for continuing coverage.
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Our proposed reorganization, Medicare Expansion, would build a national care system by expanding on the existing Medicare program for citizens over the age of 65 years, with a gradual phasing out of state administered Medicaid programs. This restructuring would involve gradual changes in the age of eligibility into the Medicare system to include the most needy first, until eventually the entire population is covered. The first step in the Medicare Expansion program would be to enroll children under 5 years of age and pregnant women by the end of 2010.
Posted by: Staff on April 22, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 21, 2009
links for 2009-04-21
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Globally the impact of poverty is pronounced; over 101 million children are deprived of a primary school education; 26,000 children under the age of 5 die each day, almost entirely due to preventable causes. Children that live with poverty are often said to suffer a double disadvantage, this refers to the fact that there are very strong correlations between poverty and negative outcomes (ill-health, shorter life expectancy, less education): a fact that is true for relative and absolute poverty.
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"These findings provide strong circumstantial evidence that universal health insurance coverage sharply narrows disparities," wrote Ashwini R. Sehgal, M.D., of Case Western Reserve University, in an accompanying editorial.
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Twenty percent of Americans say they have delayed or postponed medical care, mostly doctor visits, and many said cost was the main reason
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Every so often reports on black and minority ethnic (BME) staff or service issues in the NHS are published. Each one is seized on by the media, BME organisations and the NHS itself to see what it has uncovered or recommended, and what its impact may be.
Posted by: Staff on April 21, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Alternatives to Google
(This post appears as part of our Tech Tuesday series.)
Without a doubt Google is the number one player in the area of search. Whenever your brand becomes a verb you know you've made it. But there are more than a few reasons to utilize other search engines.
Google has a bit of a bad track record in the area of free speech. They have been known to change results on their image pages to satisfy the censors in certain countries. Others are concerned with Google's scan first and ask permission second policy. And privacy advocates are concerned with Google using your personal data for targeted behavioral advertising.
So if not Google then who?
Scroogle is a terrific website that queries Google's search engine on your behalf. As a result, Google never stores a cookie on your computer and they never see your IP address.
Cuil boasts having what may be the deepest index of the web. With over 120 billion pages searched you are bound to find what you're looking for. They also boast a simple privacy policy that includes the statement, "We do not keep logs of our users’ search activity."
Kosmix has decided to throw the plain interface that Google made cool out the window. A search on the Kosmix page will return information from a wide variety of sources and mediums. You'll find info from Twitter, Reuters, Google, Facebook, YouTube, and even Ebay. Note - Kosmix's privacy policy states they do collect information such as your IP address and they do track your search activity with a cookie.
Ixquick states on their privacy page that:
In June 2006 we started to delete our users' privacy data within 48 hrs.
As of January 2009 we do not even record our users' IP addresses at all anymore.
Ixquick's biggest selling point is that they are a metasearch engine. They query 11 search sites with your request and score the results. A result is given 1 star for each search engine that places it in the top 10. More stars mean more search engines agreed on a particular result.
Finally, looking forward Twitter Search may be the next big thing as it allows you to see in real time how your keywords are being used.
Do you have issues with Google? What search engines do you use?
Posted by: Staff on April 21, 2009
Category: Cuil; Google; Ixquick; Kosmix; Scroogle; Search; Search Engines; Tech Tuesday; Twitter Search; twitter
April 20, 2009
links for 2009-04-20
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More than one-quarter of Arizona residents do not speak English at home, according to the most recent Census data. Federal laws require any organization that receives government funds to provide interpretation services.
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There have been substantial disparities in receiving recommended treatments between blacks and whites, and these disparities have been relatively stable without a significant trend of narrowing during the past 12 years. Efforts should focus on providing appropriate quality treatment and educating blacks on the value of having these treatments to reduce these disparities in receipt of treatment for NSCLC.
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That is the beneficiary's only cost for up to 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period. Many beneficiaries buy supplemental policies, known as "Medigap," to pay for deductibles and other costs not covered by Medicare.
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A new study on patient empowerment in 31 European countries has found that there are great disparities in how health care consumers are treated among the different countries, in areas ranging from access to test results and specialists' opinions to the frequency of under-the-table payment for medical care.
Posted by: Staff on April 20, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 17, 2009
links for 2009-04-17
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A statewide initiative now being circulated would create two kinds of birth certificates: one for the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants and one for everyone else. The measure also would deny publicly funded health benefits to the children of illegal immigrants.
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M. Eileen Collins, 48, of Indianapolis, tried to scrimp on her medication last fall after her husband lost his job and with it their insurance. Without money for insulin, test supplies and other medicines, she asked for free samples and also got a few drugs through $4-a-month generic programs. But she stopped taking most of her drugs and cut her insulin doses in half to stretch her budget.
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Health researcher fired because he didn't delay report on health disparities.
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"The results of this study possibly reflect negative views, attitudes and behaviour of healthcare professionals towards older patients," say the authors, adding that: "rationing of care on the basis of age has occurred in other medical areas."
Posted by: Staff on April 17, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 16, 2009
links for 2009-04-16
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recent reports have characterized West Virginia’s system for treating the mentally ill as one of the worst in the country
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Latino workers were prohibited from speaking Spanish to Spanish-speaking nursing home residents, disciplined for speaking their native tongue in the parking lot on breaks and subjected to other forms of discrimination and harassment
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Do we need any more proof that the phrase “health care marketplace” is an oxymoron? Looks more like administered prices by monopolists to me.
Posted by: Staff on April 16, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
New Website for Kids with Asthma
The National Asthma Council of Australia has a new website on asthma designed with kids in mind.
http://www.kidswithasthma.com.au
The educational site includes a section on basic facts about asthma, a section on how to manage asthma, it talks about what to do during an attack, and it has a game section that makes learning about asthma and looking for triggers fun.
The design of the site is excellent. It contains lots of vivid colors that will attract kids. The large tabs across the top make navigation a breeze.
I would like to say that the website seems to not reflect Australia's rich ethnic diversity. I hope that a future update might help all children to see themselves in those pages.
EXTRA: On April 18th MetroHealth will provide free health screenings for those in the Latino community. For more information check out Cleveland.com or contact Ami Peacock at (216) 778-8328.
Posted by: Staff on April 16, 2009
Category: Australia; Children's Health; Health Screening; asthma
April 14, 2009
links for 2009-04-14
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"Today's economic woes are like none any of us have ever seen and the same is true for hospitals," said Caroline Steinberg, vice president for trends analysis at the American Hospital Association. "People are scared."
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More and more, doctors and other health practitioners are asking patients — even those with insurance — to pay their share of the costs up front, either before they are treated or before they leave the office.
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Black patients suffering from lung cancer are less likely to receive recommended chemotherapy and surgery than white lung cancer patients, a disparity that shows no signs of lessening.
Posted by: Staff on April 14, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
How to spot a fake link
(This post appears as part of our Tech Tuesday series.)
Nearly every day I get an email that seems to come from a bank or PayPal asking me to click a link and enter my information to correct some error or issue. These are almost always attempts to steal personal information. Let's look at how this scam works.
Typically a link is created using code similar to this:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">http://www.yahoo.com</a>
Which ends up being displayed as:
The link (actually text) you see displayed is what appears just before the </a>.
I could place any text in that space and the link would still work. For example:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">http://www.LOOKATME.com</a>
would display as:
but still direct you to www.yahoo.com. You can check to see where the link directs by mousing over the link and looking in status area of your browser. Usually this is in the bottom left hand corner.
So the code that creates the link has two distinct parts - the actual link to where you will go if you click on it - and whatever is displayed.
In fact, what is put in the second part of the code doesn't even need to look like a link. I can do something like this:
<a href="http://www.yahoo.com">Cleveland is nice in the summer.</a>
and the link would still lead to yahoo.com if you clicked on it.
Now we can see that the way a fake link works is the first part of the code directs you to a bad website but the second part of the code leads you to believe that you are going to someplace legit.
If I take the time to add more context around the fake link it becomes even easier to fool someone.
With the falling economy it is important that every dollar you have invested works hard for you. You can visit our site where you can learn how to get great interest rates.
Go ahead and click on that link. It's ok.
Here is the code for that:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0">great interest rates.</a>
To make matters even more complicated these scammers register domain names and create subdomains with names that are the same as popular financial institutions.
A scammer might register the domain name - importantsecuritycheckforyou.com - and create the subdomain of metropolisbank. So a link to this fake page would lead you to:
metropolisbank.importantsecuritycheckforyou.com
At first glance this looks legit. But the first part of the web address is NOT the actual website but rather a subdomain of the actual website. An example of how this could be used is:
We are sorry to inform you that your account may have been compromised. Please log into your account at http://www.metropolisbank.com.
So what is a web user to do? Never click on a link to any financial website. If you do click on a link make sure you are coming from a reputable webpage and that you have checked in the status area of your web browser to see the actual address you are being directed to.
The WOT (Web of Trust) Firefox add-on is a useful tool to help keep you safe while on the web. (You did check to make sure that link was legit didn't you?)
Note - the problem is even greater when you consider link shortening services like tinyurl.com. These services reduce the length of the link making them more friendly for social media sites like Twitter. But beware, it is very difficult to know in advance where you will be taken if you click on a tinyurl link.
Posted by: Staff on April 14, 2009
Category: Bad URL; Fake Links; Internet Scams; Link Fraud; Social Media; Tech Tuesday; Tinyurl; twitter
April 13, 2009
links for 2009-04-13
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Non-profit hospitals in the Chicago area are sending some poor patients away, advising them to get care at the county’s publicly funded hospital
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While the health of most Utahns improved significantly over the last two decades, minority populations continue to face higher rates of death and disease.
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African-Americans have a higher cancer death rate than Caucasians, and this circumstance largely appears to be due to discrepancies in the incidence numbers for this disease
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While cities have shown considerable racial disparities in cancer survival, those racial disparities virtually disappear among smaller populations, such as neighbourhoods within that city.
Posted by: Staff on April 13, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 10, 2009
Cancer Survivor/Cancer Caregiver Photo Exhibition
Dr. Maghboeba Mosavel from the Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities and Kimberly Sanders from NEON Health Services, Inc. would like to invite you to attend "The Cancer Survivor/Cancer Caregiver Photo Exhibition" on Wednesday, May 13. This exhibit will be on display at MetroHealth Medical Center in Rammelkamp R170 from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact Meia Jones at 216-778-8456 or at mjones@metrohealth.org
(click on the image below for a larger size)
Posted by: Staff on April 10, 2009
Category: Cancer; Cancer Caregiver; Cancer Survivor; Health Care; Healthcare; photovoice
April 09, 2009
links for 2009-04-09
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to eliminate racial/ethnic disparities in alcohol-related problems, public health efforts must do more than reduce heavy drinking.
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"Excuse me, sir," a Mexican man politely asks in accented English. "Are you looking for a good dentist?"
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Too many minority women are ignoring their health before they get pregnant, and an alarming disparity in infant mortality is the result, Florida's top health officials warned Wednesday as they marked National Minority Health Month.
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Recent trends in health care costs, health care coverage, and household income have contributed to growing disparities between different income groups in the United States.
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Indian Americans may be at a higher risk for Vitamin D deficiency because of the amount of melanin in their skins, says the author of a new study, published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Too many minority women are ignoring their health before they get pregnant, and an alarming disparity in infant mortality is the result, Florida's top health officials warned today as they marked National Minority Health Month.
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"California is making history through the implementation of this language access law, which will end the unnecessary distress and confusion many" limited English speakers experience.
Posted by: Staff on April 09, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 08, 2009
links for 2009-04-08
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Both the insured and uninsured are seeing their doctor less.
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While African-Americans make up only 12% of the U.S. population, they represent nearly half of new HIV infections and AIDS deaths every year, the CDC said. Many of those at the highest risk of HIV infection don't realize the level of risk they face or believe that HIV is no longer a serious health threat, according to officials.
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TAP-IN -- the Third Age Professionals Initiative -- held its first volunteer recruitment open house in Northeast Ohio at the end of March. The organization plans two more in the coming month.
Posted by: Staff on April 08, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Identifying and Tackling Disparities in Diabetes
The Center for Health Equity is hosting the next lecture in our Works in Progress Series.
"Identifying and Tackling Disparities in Diabetes in the Central Neighborhood" will be presented by Leslie Andrews, RN, BS, MPA.
Location:
Cleveland State University, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs - Sweet Seminar Room, UR 241, 1717 Euclid Avenue.
Date:
Friday, April 10th from 3:00-4:00 p.m.
If you are interested in attending this lecture, please contact Kendra Daniel, at 216-687-4704 or k.daniel@csuohio.edu.
Posted by: Staff on April 08, 2009
Category: Health Care; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Healthcare; Racial Disparities; Works in Progress; diabetes
April 07, 2009
links for 2009-04-07
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Obesity is twice as common in young American Indian/Native Alaskan children as it is in white and Asian children, according to new research offering the first nationally representative analysis of obesity prevalence among preschool-aged kids in five major racial/ethnic groups. The analysis also shows that obesity prevalence is higher in Hispanic and black children than it is in whites and Asians.
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A new Consumer Reports investigation finds that many people who believe they have good health insurance actually have coverage so riddled with loopholes, limits, and exclusions that it won't come close to covering their expenses if they fall seriously ill.
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About 500,000 working-age Californians have lost their health insurance since the economic recession began in November 2007
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Between 2005 and 2007, 87 percent of low-income children in Rhode Island lived in older housing, compared with 74 percent of all Rhode Island children, according to the 2009 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook released today.
Posted by: Staff on April 07, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
My Firefox Extensions
(This post appears as part of our Tech Tuesday series.)
The single biggest reason why Firefox is my browser of choice is the wide variety of add-ons.
Here is a list of my Firefox tweaks and extensions with a short explanation of each.
Delicious Bookmarks - allows me to quickly post links to our Health Disparities Blog page at Delicious.
Feed Sidebar - this add-on allows any RSS feeds you have in your Live Bookmarks to be displayed in the sidebar.
Adblock Plus - helps to make webpages less noisy by restricting many banners and advertisements.
Firefox PDF Plugin for Mac OS X - one of the most annoying things on a Mac is clicking on a PDF file only to have it download to the desktop before opening. This plugin will allow Firefox to open the PDF directly.
Twitterfox - allows you to view tweets and update your status via Firefox. Also allows you to manage multiple accounts.
Zotero - a terrific add-on that allows you to save snapshots of webpages for offline viewing. It can also be used as a reference manager similar to EndNote and works with Microsoft Word and Open Office. Version 1.5 Beta includes a sync function where you can store your reference library in the cloud for access from a different computer.
CustomizeGoogle - My favorite feature of CustomizeGoogle is the streaming search results. No longer do you need to click page after page to get more results. As you near the bottom of the first page of results CustomizeGoogle streams the next page of results. All you need to do is continue scrolling down.
What are your favorite FF tweaks and add-ons?
Posted by: Staff on April 07, 2009
Category: Firefox; Tech Tuesday; end note; tech stuff; zotero
April 06, 2009
links for 2009-04-06
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The continuing lack of appropriately-trained interpreter services for migrant women has been highlighted in the media in the last couple of years, including one case of a young son who had to translate for his mother, who had just had a miscarriage.
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One in five Americans does not have a family doctor and even many who do often are shut out of care, translating to higher rates of illness and death, and higher costs.
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“Although we have made advances in reducing health disparities among minorities, we need to continue to work to eliminate these disparities. Statistics show minorities are heavily impacted by STDs, which is one of the reason numerous Minority Health Month events are focusing on education and awareness of STD/HIV/AIDS.
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Experts warn that driven by profits from selling medicine, some doctors from Indonesia to Hong Kong are overprescribing medicines, a practice they say will be disastrous in the longer term.
Posted by: Staff on April 06, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
This Is What Public Health Does
From the American Public Health Association:
Posted by: Staff on April 06, 2009
Category: Public Health
April 03, 2009
links for 2009-04-03
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This updated fact sheet shows variations across states and racial and ethnic groups for six key health and health care indicators. It provides a quick glance at disparities in rates of infant mortality and diabetes-related mortality and AIDS cases in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as similar breakdowns showing the percentage of each group in each state that is uninsured, enrolled in Medicaid, and living in poverty.
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The Cleveland Clinic announced Thursday that it will take over Medina General Hospital, investing $40 million in capital improvements.
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The fact that a child's race, ethnicity and family income can be linked to their quality of health and care from doctors and dentists surprised nobody in the room of 225 people at Columbus State Community College yesterday.
Posted by: Staff on April 03, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 02, 2009
links for 2009-04-02
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The researchers are with Project REECH. The word stands for research, engagement and education for community health. The project is an effort by the Case Center for Reducing Health Disparities and MetroHealth.
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Some 20% of Medicare patients discharged from the hospital are readmitted within a month, and 34% return within three months, according to a study published in the current New England Journal of Medicine. Unplanned rehospitalizations cost Medicare $17.4 billion in 2004, the study says.
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EARLY this year, Barbara Plumb, a freelance editor and writer in New York who is on Medicare, received a disturbing letter. Her gynecologist informed her that she was opting out of Medicare.
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Inequality is Unhealthy: Dr. Stephen Bezruchka on How Economic Inequality is Dangerous to our HealthWatch the video at DemocracyNow.org
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Chief Executive of the Alzheimer's Society, Neil Hunt, said: "One in three people over 65 will die with dementia, yet there is widespread failure to provide good quality care for people with this devastating condition.
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Nearly half of Hispanics and American Indians in New Mexico went without health insurance at some point in 2007 and 2008, compared with 28% of whites
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Minority groups are substantially underrepresented in New York's physician work force compared to their share of the general population, according to a study from the University at Albany.
Posted by: Staff on April 02, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
April 01, 2009
links for 2009-04-01
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Poor harvests, drought and rising food prices could have serious health implications for people living in developing countries
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Reed said a study of third-graders in Ohio showed the average body mass index, a scale for measuring obesity, is higher among those children living in rural areas. And adults in rural areas also are going without proper medical care. Reed said the diabetes rate in adults is 45 percent higher in rural areas of Ohio and heart disease rates are 52 percent higher.
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If you have been a patient at one of Walgreens in-store clinics, you lose your job and have no health insurance, the clinic will treat you -- and qualifying family members -- for the rest of 2009 for free.
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the rate of graft failure among African Americans was approximately 2-fold higher than for white patients over the entire study period. Graft survival has improved slightly more for African American than white pediatric patients over the past 25 years. However, graft survival for African American pediatric patients remains poor compared with white patients.
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Are There Enough Doctors in My Rural Community? Perceptions of the Local Physician Supply
Posted by: Staff on April 01, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Malnutrition in Uganda
The Guardian puts a face on the issue of malnutrition in developing countries.
The article tells the story of Hellen Apale who is eight months pregnant and has no food.
"We had a really bad harvest, there was a drought which came early last year and it has affected everyone," she says, gesturing to the scrubby field outside her home, where cassava plants wilt in the brown cracked earth. "It's not how it used to be when we could easily grow enough to feed everybody. Children are falling sick easily, sometimes we can only feed the family one meal a day."
Bad weather last year has left Apale's family with little choice but to restrict meals. Her children went without dinner the previous week.
In addition to missing dinner at home as many as 90% of the children in the Katine area go without food while at school. And rising food prices only add to the difficulties.
According to the article, the World Bank paints an even bleaker picture:
The World Bank has predicted that child deaths in developing countries could be 200,000 to 400,000 per year higher on average between 2009 and 2015 than they would have been in the absence of the economic and financial crisis.
EXTRA: In a blog post Halle Tecco talks about Kiva.org and asks, "Would you lend to someone in the United States?"
Posted by: Staff on April 01, 2009
Category: Access to Care; Global Health Care Justice; Healthy Foods; Human Rights; Malnutrition; Maternal Health; Nutrition; Women's Health; rising food prices