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.

Children in non-English-speaking households experience multiple health disparities

Children in U.S. households where English is not the primary language experience multiple disparities in health care, a UT Southwestern Medical Center researcher has found.

11 Jun 2008

Kidney disease substantially worsens in a fourth of African Americans despite therapy for hypertension

The best available treatment for chronic kidney disease from high blood pressure did not keep the disease from substantially worsening in about a fourth of African-Americans studied, according to long-term results of a National Institutes of Health study published April 28, 2008, in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

5 May 2008

Life expectancy of a significant segment of the U.S. population is declining or at best stagnating

One of the major aims of the U.S. health system is improving the health of all people, particularly those segments of the population at greater risk of health disparities. In fact, overall life expectancy in the U.S. increased more than seven years for men and more than six years for women between 1960 and 2000.

21 Apr 2008

Report examines how social, economic factors contribute to health disparities in Alameda County

Higher rates of illness among low-income individuals and people of color in Alameda County, Calif., can be attributed to social, economic, transportation, housing, education and other inequalities, according to a report released on Thursday by the Alameda County Public Health Department, the Oakland Tribune reports.

18 Apr 2008

National Institutes of Health launches center to study genomics and health disparities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the establishment of the NIH Intramural Center for Genomics and Health Disparities (NICGHD), a new venue for research about the way populations are impacted by diseases, including obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

18 Mar 2008

Breast cancer in black women may be connected to neighborhood conditions

Researchers at the University of Chicago are studying possible connections between living in disadvantaged neighborhoods and the development of early onset breast cancer in a path-breaking project led by Sarah Gehlert, Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research.

18 Mar 2008

Growing US disparities in health not inevitable

In the public health field, there is an ongoing debate as to whether improvement in the overall health of the population is linked to increases or decreases in social inequities in health, that is, the inequities between higher-income and lower-income groups or people of different race/ethnicities.

27 Feb 2008

NCMHD announces HIV/AIDS expert as new senior policy advisor

Idalia Ramos Sanchez, a longtime fighter for health equity especially as it relates to HIV/AIDS, has been appointed senior policy advisor at the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH).

27 Feb 2008

Sense of personal control influences Latinas' decisions about sexual debut

A sense of personal control over sexual behaviors strongly influences Latina women's decisions of when to first engage in sex, report researchers from the University of Chicago Medical Center in the November issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health.

17 Jan 2008

New research advancements in the treatment of premature ovarian failure

Scientific Director of the Meharry Center for Women's Health Research and a team of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch and the University of Saskatchewan have recently discovered that the gene mutation believed to be a possible cause of premature ovarian failure may be corrected when an adenovirus compensating for the mutated gene is introduced. Findings were reported in the recent issue of Molecular Human Reproduction.

15 Jan 2008

Minorities less likely to receive pain-relieving opioid drugs in ER

Blacks and Hispanics who go to hospital emergency departments in pain are significantly less likely than whites to get pain-relieving opioid drugs, according to a new study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

7 Jan 2008

Smoking among New York City teens on the decline

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Jonathan Mintz released new data from the 2007 New York City Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showing that cigarette smoking among New York City teens declined by 20 percent between 2005 and 2007.

3 Jan 2008

Quality-improvement initiatives lead to progress in diabetes care

Two major initiatives designed to improve primary care treatment of type 2 diabetes have yielded significant benefits in largely minority, disadvantaged populations, according to a pair of studies in the December issue of Medical Care.

4 Dec 2007

Genetic differences point to ethnic and racial disparities in colorectal cancer risk

Risk of developing colorectal cancer is known to differ across ethnic and racial groups, and now an analysis of 26 studies, involving over 25,000 participants shows that some of these disparities might be explained by distinct patterns of genetic inheritance.

29 Nov 2007

Effects of weight, genetics and religious beliefs on prostate cancer

African-American men face an observable disadvantage versus Caucasian men when it comes to prostate cancer survival.

29 Nov 2007

Cancer risks for urban African-American women grow, healthy diets more difficult to maintain

Women living in the inner city have difficulty meeting dietary goals that could help prevent cancer, according to a report from Johns Hopkins University researchers.

29 Nov 2007

The science of cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities and the medically underserved

The latest biological, clinical and social research behind how cancer affects different racial and ethnic groups will be the focus of the first American Association for Cancer Research conference on the topic, entitled "The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved."

21 Nov 2007

Free medications ensure anti-HIV drugs are taken in Africa

HIV-infected patients in the African country of Tanzania were more likely to stop taking their medications and to fail treatment if they had to pay for the drugs themselves.

22 Oct 2007

$6.8 million grant to help UTEP tackle Hispanic health disparities

The Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center at the University of Texas at El Paso has received a $6.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health that will significantly advance the center's research in helping eliminate racial and ethnic health inequalities across the nation.

22 Oct 2007

NIH and India partner to develop low-cost health-care technologies

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of India, have entered into a bilateral agreement to develop low-cost health-care technologies aimed at the medically underserved.

22 Oct 2007

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

Children in non-English-speaking households experience multiple health disparities

Kidney disease substantially worsens in a fourth of African Americans despite therapy for hypertension

Life expectancy of a significant segment of the U.S. population is declining or at best stagnating

Report examines how social, economic factors contribute to health disparities in Alameda County

National Institutes of Health launches center to study genomics and health disparities

Breast cancer in black women may be connected to neighborhood conditions

Growing US disparities in health not inevitable

NCMHD announces HIV/AIDS expert as new senior policy advisor

Sense of personal control influences Latinas' decisions about sexual debut

New research advancements in the treatment of premature ovarian failure

Minorities less likely to receive pain-relieving opioid drugs in ER

Smoking among New York City teens on the decline

Quality-improvement initiatives lead to progress in diabetes care

Genetic differences point to ethnic and racial disparities in colorectal cancer risk

Effects of weight, genetics and religious beliefs on prostate cancer

Cancer risks for urban African-American women grow, healthy diets more difficult to maintain

The science of cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities and the medically underserved

Free medications ensure anti-HIV drugs are taken in Africa

$6.8 million grant to help UTEP tackle Hispanic health disparities

NIH and India partner to develop low-cost health-care technologies

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