Health Disparities News and Research

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Health disparities (also called healthcare inequality in some countries) refer to gaps in the quality of health and health care across racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and socioeconomic groups.

African American and Latino diabetics far less likely to blood sugar under control

Despite decades of advances in diabetes care, African Americans and Latinos are still far less likely than whites to have their blood sugar under control, even with the help of medications, a new nationally representative study finds.

25 Sep 2007

Higher education brings healthier behaviors

Both education and income can determine whether a person will remain healthy, but those who stay in school longer have the best odds, largely because education so strongly influences income, say the authors of a new study.

18 Sep 2007

Study finds HIV patients lead chaotic lives - a barrier to regular medical care

Unstable and unpredictable lifestyles are significant factors in determining access to health care among low-income HIV-positive people, a new UCLA study has found.

13 Sep 2007

Higher education levels were strongly associated with decreased cancer mortality

A new American Cancer Society study finds having at least some education beyond high school is associated with a decreased risk of cancer death.

12 Sep 2007

Racial disparities in prostate cancer, why?

African-American men face a higher risk of developing prostate cancer in their lifetime, but researchers do not fully understand why.

5 Sep 2007

Urgent need for better understanding of bipolar disease in children and adolescents

The number of visits to a doctor's office that resulted in a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents has increased by 40 times over the last decade, reported researchers funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

4 Sep 2007

Study highlights the importance of patient-pharmacist communication

Despite years of effort in reaching out to their local communities, the role pharmacists play as health care providers still remains unclear to the people who need them the most elderly Americans with multiple medications for chronic diseases.

17 Aug 2007

Congress takes major step toward equitable payment for nurse-midwifery services

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act of 2007 (CHAMP)" (H.R.3162), which expands health care coverage to pregnant women and their children and addresses a long-standing inequity in reimbursement for services of certified nurse-midwives (CNMs).

7 Aug 2007

How medical homes promote equity in health care

Providing minority patients a medical home in which they have a regular doctor or health professional who oversees and coordinates their care would help eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities and promote more health care equity, says a new report from the Commonwealth Fund.

28 Jun 2007

Intravenous bisphosphonates drugs increase odds of jaw or face-bone disease

Treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates drugs used to reduce harm done to bones by cancer or cancer therapy increases the risk of jaw or facial bone disease or infection, a large-scale comparative study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) has found.

27 Jun 2007

Dentists need more training in oral cancer detection

More than 92 percent of Illinois dentists provide oral cancer examinations for their patients, but many are not performing the procedures thoroughly or at optimum intervals, according to a new University of Illinois at Chicago study.

30 May 2007

The cost-effectiveness of improving diabetes care in U.S. federally-qualified community health centers

The health benefits of a federal diabetes care program are clear, but now researchers say that program upgrades also are economically sound.

28 May 2007

Quality improvement effort pays off in diabetes care

Spending money to improve diabetes care at federally qualified community health centers is a sound investment, according to one of the first studies to examine the clinical and economic impact of quality improvement on diabetes care.

18 May 2007

Study of normal brain development

Children appear to approach adult levels of performance on many basic cognitive and motor skills by age 11 or 12, according to a new study coordinated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

18 May 2007

National Physician Assistant Conference to be held in Philadelphia

The largest annual gathering of the physician assistant (PA) profession – the fourth fastest-growing profession in the country – will convene Saturday, May 26, through Thursday, May 31, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

18 May 2007

Ethical reasoning and epidemiological studies

Medical research scientists in public health and other areas routinely make ethical value judgments, even if they're not aware of it, according to a new Weill Cornell Medical College research study.

15 May 2007

Health care experiences and health status of African-American veterans

African-American veterans of the armed forces often struggle to get the health care they need, says a new report from Northeastern University's Institute on Urban Health Research (IUHR).

4 May 2007

Drama can be an effective mechanism to educate and motivate

Drama certainly has the power to entertain, but can it also change behavior? A play about substance abuse was successful at prompting audience members to participate in substance abuse prevention activities, according to Allyn Howlett, Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

1 May 2007

Scientists isolate enzyme that could be used to predict survival for nasopharyngeal cancer

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center scientists, in collaboration with Chinese researchers, have isolated an enzyme that could be used to predict survival and recurrence rates for nasopharyngeal cancer -- a common cancer affecting people from Southeast Asia.

18 Apr 2007

Komen and AACR address cancer disparities

Uniting the world's oldest and largest scientific organization dedicated to cancer research with the world's largest network of cancer survivors and activists, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and Susan G.

17 Apr 2007