HEALTH DISPARITIES BLOG http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/ Information and Research on the topic of Health Disparities. en-us Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:04:28 EST Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:04:28 EST david.porter@case.edu david.porter@case.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 links for 2009-07-02 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/07/02/links_for_20090702 Mental Health Cuts Put Strain On Melrose Emergency Room (WBUR audio) The emergency room at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital is seeing more patients over the past six months. Many with behavioral... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/07/02/links_for_20090702 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:04:28 EST
  • Mental Health Cuts Put Strain On Melrose Emergency Room (WBUR audio)
    The emergency room at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital is seeing more patients over the past six months. Many with behavioral problems such as depression. The local police chief says they are making frequent trips to the ER.
  • AMA Switching Stance on Government-Sponsored Health Insurance? (CNN Video)
    Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and AMA president Dr. J. James Rohack discuss health care reform.
  • Cuyahoga Health Access Partnership threatened by hospitals' reluctance to commit funds, resources
    A two-year effort to create a countywide health program for Cuyahoga County's poor and uninsured is at risk of falling short of its ultimate goal as the group's members debate exactly how much money and other resources they are willing to commit.
  • New Kind of Film Noir
    Documentaries about health-care and food are all the rage. Cue the lights - bring the music up - action.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-07-01 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/07/01/links_for_20090701 Insured but Unprotected, and Driven Bankrupt by Health Crises Health insurance is supposed to offer protection — both medically and financially. But as it turns out, an estimated three-quarters... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/07/01/links_for_20090701 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:05:02 EST
  • Insured but Unprotected, and Driven Bankrupt by Health Crises
    Health insurance is supposed to offer protection — both medically and financially. But as it turns out, an estimated three-quarters of people who are pushed into personal bankruptcy by medical problems actually had insurance when they got sick or were injured.
  • Cost-Effectiveness of Cancer Drugs Is Questioned
    The widespread use of expensive cancer drugs to prolong patients’ lives by just weeks or months was called into question by an article published Monday in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
  • Is Medicaid or Private Insurance Better for the Poor Uninsured?
    The disagreement centers on a critical issue: What’s the best way to cover impoverished Americans? Is it by expanding Medicaid? Or by providing subsidies for the poor to buy private insurance on new health insurance exchanges to be created by the legislation?
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-30 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/30/links_for_20090630 Even those with health insurance are going broke Because Insurance policies come with limits even the insured may not get access to new drugs or a needed transplant.... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/30/links_for_20090630 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:04:17 EST
  • Even those with health insurance are going broke
    Because Insurance policies come with limits even the insured may not get access to new drugs or a needed transplant.
    • ]]>         Race origins and health disparities http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/30/race_origins_and_health_disparities An article out of the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science tries to connect the dots between race origins and health disparities. Efforts to simplify the complexities of race—... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/30/race_origins_and_health_disparities Health Disparities Health Inequality Health Inequities Minority Health Race Racial Health case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST An article out of the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science tries to connect the dots between race origins and health disparities.

    Efforts to simplify the complexities of race— including genetic, cultural and socioeconomic variations—have made race-related research “a minefield of often premature and ultimately wrong conclusions,” [lead author Nina T. Harawa said.]

    To understand health disparities in the various population groups, she said, researchers need to understand how today’s racial categories evolved from the negative assumptions made hundreds of years ago to justify slavery.


    The article appears in Ethnicity and Disease Journal and a pdf version of the first page can be found here.

    ]]>         links for 2009-06-29 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/29/links_for_20090629 Minnesota's Medicare payment disparity could be impetus for national reform More tests don't always equal better care. The Contribution of Health Literacy to Disparities in Self-Rated Health Status and... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/29/links_for_20090629 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:03:36 EST
  • Minnesota's Medicare payment disparity could be impetus for national reform
    More tests don't always equal better care.
  • The Contribution of Health Literacy to Disparities in Self-Rated Health Status and Preventive Health Behaviors in Older Adults
    From the journal Annals of Family Medicine
  • HIV Testing for Teens and Other Health News
    Almost 50 percent of HIV-positive American teens and young adults don't know they are infected, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Lobbyists Jockey For Position In Health Care Debate
    As the lobbyists watched the 22 senators, NPR watched the lobbyists — took panoramic photos of them, in fact.
  • Stimulus money boosts health clinics serving poor
    Health clinic executives say the money will allow them to keep their doors open as the rolls of uninsured patients grow. An estimated 64 million people use rural health clinics, a number that is expected to rise as people lose their jobs and health insurance.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-26 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/26/links_for_20090626 Jobs' liver transplant shows money can make a difference No one can buy a transplant - but knowing how the system works is a definite advantage. June 27 is... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/26/links_for_20090626 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:03:46 EST
  • Jobs' liver transplant shows money can make a difference
    No one can buy a transplant - but knowing how the system works is a definite advantage.
  • June 27 is National HIV Testing Day
    One out of five—that’s the latest CDC estimate of how many people living with HIV in the U.S. are unaware of their HIV status. Stigma around HIV remains a barrier for HIV testing. National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is an opportunity to reduce HIV testing stigma and promote testing!
  • Baldwin Bill Seeks to End LGBT Health Disparities
    Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today introduced the Ending Health Disparities for LGBT Americans Act (ELHDA), the first comprehensive approach to improving all areas of the health care system where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans face inequality and discrimination.
  • What Is Different In Reflux Esophagitis Between African-Americans And Non-Hispanic Whites?
    Research study finds that endoscopic and histological Barrett's esophagus was present more often in non-Hispanic whites than in African Americans.
  • Getting health care coverage for most people is pretty easy
    It’s not difficult to get most Americans health-care coverage. If you make it accessible and affordable most people will buy it.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-25 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/25/links_for_20090625 The Future of U.S. Global Health Policy (PBS) Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Michele Moloney-Kitts and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy, answer... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/25/links_for_20090625 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:03:24 EST
  • The Future of U.S. Global Health Policy (PBS)
    Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Michele Moloney-Kitts and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy, answer viewer questions on President Obama's global health initiative and how it will shift U.S. global health priorities. (Transcript and mp3 available at link)
  • State cuts its health coverage by $115m
    Massachusetts will cut some dental services, slow enrollment, and may eliminate coverage for legal immigrants from their 'universal' health coverage.
  • Greater Cleveland diabetes patients show improvements in treating the disease, but insurance cuts threaten progress
    Greater Cleveland diabetes patients are showing health improvements in areas such as blood sugar control, but the gains are threatened by a growing number of people losing insurance coverage.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-24 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/24/links_for_20090624 UNICEF Canada reports on the health disparities in aboriginal children Aboriginal children are among the most marginalized children in Canadian society. Despite some advances, in almost any measure of... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/24/links_for_20090624 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:04:12 EST
  • UNICEF Canada reports on the health disparities in aboriginal children
    Aboriginal children are among the most marginalized children in Canadian society. Despite some advances, in almost any measure of health and well-being, Aboriginal children – including First Nations, Inuit and Métis -- are at least two or three times worse off than other Canadian children. As children, they are less likely to see a doctor. As teens, they are more likely to become pregnant. And in many communities, they are more likely to commit suicide.
  • A county-by-county cancer risk map
    Huge geographic differences exist in cancer risk
  • EPA study: 2.2M live in areas where air poses cancer risk
    Almost 2.2 million people lived in neighborhoods where pollution raised the risk of developing cancer to levels the government generally considers to be unacceptable. There, toxic chemicals were significant enough that people who breathed the air throughout their lives faced an extra 100-in-1 million risk of getting cancer.
  • Low-income women more prone to illness
    The team of more than 30 researchers found that low-income women not only have more chronic diseases -- such as hypertension, arthritis and diabetes -- than their higher income sisters, but that their condition degenerates more quickly.
    • ]]>         Blogging and Tweeting about donating a kidney http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/24/blogging_and_tweeting_about_donating_a_kidney Pamela Paulk, the VP of Human Resources at Johns Hopkins is keeping a blog about her experience donating a kidney. She writes: I am writing this blog in hopes of... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/24/blogging_and_tweeting_about_donating_a_kidney Blog Health Care Organ Donation Social Media twitter case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:45:00 EST Pamela Paulk, the VP of Human Resources at Johns Hopkins is keeping a blog about her experience donating a kidney.

    She writes:

    I am writing this blog in hopes of bringing more attention and awareness to the need for kidney donors … and to show that ordinary people can be donors. My hope is that maybe one person who reads this will hear about someone else needing a kidney and will say, “Hey, I can do that. I can give my kidney.”

    Her most recent blog post was made prior to the day of the surgery. However she updated her Twitter feed up to and after the surgery.

    Click on the image for a full sized version or click here.


    Twitter is becoming an important tool for getting information out to friends and family members. Last month a transplant team used Twitter to keep a family updated while their 3 year-old received a new kidney.

    ]]>         links for 2009-06-23 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/23/links_for_20090623 Racial disparities in health care (CNN Video) Insurance Companies Refuse Autism Coverage Parents struggle to get insurance companies to pay for the newest treatment. Americans struggle to pay for... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/23/links_for_20090623 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:04:49 EST
  • Racial disparities in health care (CNN Video)
  • Insurance Companies Refuse Autism Coverage
    Parents struggle to get insurance companies to pay for the newest treatment.
  • Americans struggle to pay for healthcare
    Americans are struggling to pay for healthcare in the ongoing economic recession, with a quarter saying they have had trouble in the past 12 months.
    • ]]>         Racial disparities in health care (CNN Video) http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/23/racial_disparities_in_health_care_cnn_video Tony Harris and Elizabeth Cohen talk about health disparities. Embedded video from CNN Video EXTRA: The Center for Reducing Health Disparities in now on Facebook. You can become a fan... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/23/racial_disparities_in_health_care_cnn_video Health Disparities Racial Disparities case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST Tony Harris and Elizabeth Cohen talk about health disparities.


    EXTRA: The Center for Reducing Health Disparities in now on Facebook. You can become a fan here.

    ]]>         links for 2009-06-19 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/19/links_for_20090619 Children Suffer as States Cut Health Budgets Hospitals are reducing the number of Medicaid patients they accept including children covered under SCHIP. Spend More, Get Less? The Health Care... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/19/links_for_20090619 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:03:57 EST
  • Children Suffer as States Cut Health Budgets
    Hospitals are reducing the number of Medicaid patients they accept including children covered under SCHIP.
  • Spend More, Get Less? The Health Care 'Conundrum'
    Audio program from NPR's Fresh Air.
  • New Doctors, Struggling for Balance
    Physician heal thyself.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-18 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/18/links_for_20090618 High blood pressure Researchers found that black children with high blood pressure are more likely than other children to develop a thickening of the left chamber of the heart.... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/18/links_for_20090618 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:04:05 EST
  • High blood pressure
    Researchers found that black children with high blood pressure are more likely than other children to develop a thickening of the left chamber of the heart. Known as left ventricular hypertrophy, or LVH, the condition can lead to heart failure, rhythm abnormalities and death.
  • Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage
    Executives of three of the nation's largest health insurers told federal lawmakers in Washington on Tuesday that they would continue canceling medical coverage for some sick policyholders, despite withering criticism from Republican and Democratic members of Congress who decried the practice as unfair and abusive.
  • Governor suggests $2 billion in cuts
    Gov. Ted Strickland has floated roughly $2 billion in cuts to help close a $3.2 billion shortfall in the two-year state budget, a plan that would slash health care and other safety-net services for Ohio's poor.
  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index: June 2009
    People are afraid of losing their insurance in coming year. Nearly one in four people (23.6%) fear losing their health insurance at some point in the next 12 months.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-17 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/17/links_for_20090617 Obama to extend some benefits to same-sex partners Reacting to a rising tide of anger from gay and lesbian supporters at a series of slights and deferred promises, President... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/17/links_for_20090617 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:05:03 EST
  • Obama to extend some benefits to same-sex partners
    Reacting to a rising tide of anger from gay and lesbian supporters at a series of slights and deferred promises, President Obama will tomorrow extend some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
  • Decline of the American male
    Despite the overwhelming evidence that men are being left behind, the U.S. government has never made a concerted effort to address male health issues. Right now, there are seven (seven!) offices of women's health in the U.S. government: six in the Department of Health and Human Services and one in the Department of Agriculture. And the Pentagon makes huge investments in women's health research. Yet there is not a single federal organization that encourages and disseminates physical and mental health research for and about men.
  • Public health officials report stark geographical disparities in L.A. County
    Residents in the poorest neighborhoods of Los Angeles County continue to face living conditions that are significantly more unhealthy than more affluent areas.
  • Lawmakers to insurers: Stop canceling policies of sick people. Insurers to lawmakers: No.
    Executives of three of the nation’s largest health insurers told federal lawmakers Tuesday that they would continue canceling medical coverage for some sick policyholders, despite criticism that the practice is unfair and abusive.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-16 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/16/links_for_20090616 The cancer divide: Men are most at risk because the NHS prefers to save women, says cancer expert | Mail Online Among cancers which affect both sexes, [in the... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/16/links_for_20090616 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:06:17 EST
  • The cancer divide: Men are most at risk because the NHS prefers to save women, says cancer expert | Mail Online
    Among cancers which affect both sexes, [in the UK] men are 60 per cent more likely to develop the disease and 70 per cent more likely to die from it.
  • Asthma Outcomes Worse For Black Children
    Children belonging to ethnic minority and low-income groups face an increased risk of suffering from asthma, new research shows.
  • Patients fume over Cleveland Clinic fee; hospital not alone in levying facility charge
    Insurance rules vary, but what often happens is that patients with private insurance end up paying all of the facility fee until they reach their deductible. At the nine Clinic facilities, for example, a person with a $25 co-pay now pays $80 for an office visit because of the $55 facility fee.
  • PROMISES, PROMISES: Indian health care needs unmet
    On some reservations, the oft-quoted refrain is "don't get sick after June," when the federal dollars run out. It's a sick joke, and a sad one, because it's sometimes true, especially on the poorest reservations where residents cannot afford health insurance. Officials say they have about half of what they need to operate, and patients know they must be dying or about to lose a limb to get serious care.
    • ]]>         New effort hopes to reduce the disparity in pneumococcal disease http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/16/new_effort_hopes_to_reduce_the_disparity_in_pneumococcal_disease A joint effort launched this week hopes to improve vaccination rates for pneumococcal disease in developing countries. The need is pressing. Pneumococcal disease takes the lives of 1.6 million people... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/16/new_effort_hopes_to_reduce_the_disparity_in_pneumococcal_disease AMC Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Flu Health Disparities Health Inequities Vaccines case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 16 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST A joint effort launched this week hopes to improve vaccination rates for pneumococcal disease in developing countries. The need is pressing.

    Pneumococcal disease takes the lives of 1.6 million people each year – including up to one million children before their fifth birthday. More than 90 percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. Pneumonia, the most common form of serious pneumococcal disease, accounts for one in every four child deaths, making it the leading cause of death among young children.

    Access to vaccines will be via an Advance Market Commitment. Donations will be used to help stabilize the price of vaccines once they enter the market. In theory, the promise of stable prices will motivate vaccine producers to invest resources for not only manufacture but also research and development.

    The long term price (in a developing country) for a pneumococcal vaccine will be $3.50 if these AMCs are successful. In the U.S., the cost is around $70 per dose.

    ]]>         links for 2009-06-15 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/15/links_for_20090615 Often times those with HIV are the picture of Health HIV is impacting black women disproportionately, according to a recent report by the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/15/links_for_20090615 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:03:33 EST
  • Often times those with HIV are the picture of Health
    HIV is impacting black women disproportionately, according to a recent report by the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of HIV/AIDS. It has been the leading cause of death among black women age 25 to 44 in Florida for the past 15 years.
  • Men's 'stiff upper lip' may explain cancer death rate
    British men may be literally dying as a result of their reluctance to see the doctor, researchers said on Monday with a new study showing they are nearly 40 percent more likely to die from any form of cancer than women.
  • 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic
    Online version of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS report.
  • Cleveland-area lead poisoning rates down; still above national level
    Measures of lead poisoning among Cleveland-area children younger than 6 have reached an all-time low. Cleveland's lead poisoning rate dropped from 46.6 percent in 1994, the highest in recent history, to just over 8 percent in 2008, the Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council announced Friday.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-11 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/11/links_for_20090611 Minority Women Lag In Health Care Access : NPR NPR report on health disparities in minority women. Deal struck to post calorie counts at chain restaurants nationwide Hispanic patients... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/11/links_for_20090611 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:02:54 EST
  • Minority Women Lag In Health Care Access : NPR
    NPR report on health disparities in minority women.
  • Deal struck to post calorie counts at chain restaurants nationwide
  • Hispanic patients will suffer if MetroHealth loses control of Cleveland’s McCafferty center
    Bidding process for community health center may negatively affect Hispanic residents.
  • A.M.A. Opposes Government-Sponsored Health Plan
    As the health care debate heats up, the American Medical Association is letting Congress know that it will oppose creation of a government-sponsored insurance plan, which President Obama and many other Democrats see as an essential element of legislation to remake the health care system.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-10 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/10/links_for_20090610 Inequality in access to care should trouble all Americans Ensuring that every American or Ohioan is insured is not the same as ensuring that everyone receives equal treatment. Health... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/10/links_for_20090610 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:02:43 EST
  • Inequality in access to care should trouble all Americans
    Ensuring that every American or Ohioan is insured is not the same as ensuring that everyone receives equal treatment.
  • Health Disparities: A Case for Closing the Gap.
    HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius newly released report on Health Disparities.
  • Study Finds High Rates of Illness Among D.C. Black Women
    Black women in the District suffer from obesity, diabetes, heart disease and generally poor health in alarmingly high numbers, and white women do not.
    • ]]>         links for 2009-06-09 http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/09/links_for_20090609 Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight As part of the larger effort to overhaul health care, lawmakers are trying to address the problem that intrigues Mr. Obama so... http://blog.case.edu/ccrhd/2009/06/09/links_for_20090609 Lunch Break Reading case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:05:38 EST
  • Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight
    As part of the larger effort to overhaul health care, lawmakers are trying to address the problem that intrigues Mr. Obama so much — the huge geographic variations in Medicare spending per beneficiary. Two decades of research suggests that the higher spending does not produce better results for patients but may be evidence of inefficiency.
  • Parents’ Healthy Diet Has Little Influence
    Parents may try to set an example by eating a healthy diet themselves, but a new study has found that their children are not paying attention.
  • Minority lawmakers to highlight health disparities
    Black, Latino and Asian lawmakers want President Barack Obama to focus more on racial disparities reported in medical treatment as the White House works toward overhauling the nation's health care system.
  • Minorities, Poor Find Communicating With Doctors More Difficult
    Black and Asian patients were more likely than white patients to report communication difficulties with their doctors in 2005.
  • Sen. Grassley Twitters Health Reform: A Story In Tweets
    Grassley Tweets, "Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a "hammer" u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL."
    • ]]>