Monthly Archive for November 2009
« October 2009 | | December 2009 »
November 24, 2009
links for 2009-11-24
-
"Hospitals that disproportionately care for poor patients are less likely than other hospitals to have adopted health information technology," according to an October study published in Health Affairs, American Medical News reports. The economic stimulus legislation in February directed $19 billion in federal investments to help all types of hospitals adopt electronic records, but some researchers are concerned the money may not close that divide.
-
"With an emphasis on caution and patient safety, the DSS position statement boldly advances a revolutionary concept: the legitimacy of gastrointestinal surgery as a dedicated treatment for type 2 diabetes in carefully selected patients," explains lead author Dr. Francesco Rubino, director of the gastrointestinal metabolic surgery program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College and associate professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. "The recommendations from the Diabetes Surgery Summit are an opportunity to improve access to surgical options supported by sound evidence, while also preventing harm from inappropriate use of unproven procedures."
-
A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.
-
Greater access to anti-retroviral drugs has helped cut the death toll from HIV by more than 10% over the past five years, latest figures show.
Posted by: Staff on November 24, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
November 20, 2009
links for 2009-11-20
-
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.'
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Posted by: Staff on November 20, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
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.
Posted by: Staff on November 20, 2009
Category: Case; Disparities; Education; Genetics; Health; Health Disparities Course; LGBT; Ohio; Reserve; University; Western; competency; cultural; evaluation; insurance; law; oral; special
November 14, 2009
links for 2009-11-14
-
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.
-
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.
Posted by: Staff on November 14, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
November 12, 2009
links for 2009-11-12
-
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.
-
"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.”
Posted by: Staff on November 12, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
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.
Posted by: Staff on November 12, 2009
Category: Disparities; Education; Health; care; determinants; of; reform; social
November 04, 2009
links for 2009-11-04
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Posted by: Staff on November 04, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading