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.

Kaiser Permanente funds 700 grants targeting critical health issues in communities

Kaiser Permanente, one of the country's largest not-for-profit health care organizations, funded 700 grants nationwide totaling approximately $13 million in the second quarter of 2010. The grants this quarter focused on expanding access to healthy food, reducing childhood obesity, and increasing care for the underinsured.

5 Aug 2010

Arthritis treatment costs more than $128 billion a year in the U.S.

Arthritis is the single greatest cause of chronic pain and disability among Americans and the treatment of arthritis costs the nation more than $128 billion a year in medical care and lost earnings. Persistent, chronic joint pain determines the choices people make and limits their ability to perform basic tasks for themselves and their family. Eighty percent of Americans either have, or know someone who has, arthritis and these numbers continue to escalate.

4 Aug 2010

Mass. towns find savings in municipal-based health insurance plans; Conn. hospitals' earnings improve; Free dental clinic in Virginia

"Fourteen cities and towns that have moved their employees, retirees, and elected officials from their own municipal-based health care insurance plans into the state's much larger, more flexible system collectively saved more than $30 million their first year in the program, according to a new report. … The study relies on self-reported fiscal data on the communities' first year in the Group Insurance Commission, the state health care program, which covers some 300,000 state employees, retirees, and elected officials" (Murphy, 8/3).

4 Aug 2010

Free health clinic planned for D.C. area; University of Kansas to study Indian health; Ga. weighs health needs of older prisoners

In the run-up to this week's giant free clinic in the District, Nicole Lamoureux, the lead organizer, could tell that hearts were racing, blood pressure was increasing and tension was rising. Calls from patients scheduling appointments were starting to pour into her office, but there weren't enough volunteer medical workers to see them.

3 Aug 2010

NYU PRC receives $3.2M award to establish Comparative Effectiveness Research Program

The NYU Health Promotion and Prevention Research Center at the NYU School of Medicine announced it has received a $3.2 million award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish a Comparative Effectiveness Research Program focused on hypertension and colorectal cancer health disparities in African-American men in New York City.

2 Aug 2010

Albert Einstein College of Medicine receives research grant to help people with MDR-TB

For the third time in four months, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a research grant aimed at helping people infected with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Taken together, all three NIH grants total $8.57 million.

27 Jul 2010

Racial, ethnic disparities remain a challenge for patients in the U.S. health care system: ACP

Racial and ethnic disparities remain a challenge for patients in the U.S. health care system, the American College of Physicians said in an updated paper released today. Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, Updated 2010, an update to a policy paper that was originally released in 2003, outlines recommendations on how to close the gap between racial and ethnic minority patients and their white counterparts.

27 Jul 2010

Einstein scientists awarded $4.1M to test microbicide Carraguard against HPV

The National Cancer Institute has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University $4.1 million to test the microbicide Carraguard- against the human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. The research will evaluate the efficacy of Carraguard- - a clear gel made from the seaweed derivative carrageenan - in preventing new HPV infections in women.

26 Jul 2010

Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria cause death of 6 million of world's poorest children

A Johns Hopkins University scientist, whose team of researchers recently identified pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria as the primary causes of death of 6 million of the world's poorest children, today called on leaders in donor and developing nations to take action to address the terrible death toll.

23 Jul 2010

African Americans at increased risk of kidney failure caused by hypertension

Regardless of demographics, African American patients with hypertensive nephrosclerosis have a higher rate of developing end stage renal disease than dying prematurely, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.Earlier studies showed patients of all races with Chronic Kidney Disease were at greater risk of dying prematurely from cardiovascular disease than reaching ESRD.

23 Jul 2010

Accommodating patients may help reduce racial health disparities, improve patient satisfaction: Study

What if an emergency room patient wants a different doctor than the one who reports to their examination room? If the patient is a woman or a racial minority, emergency physicians are more likely to honor their request to see a doctor of their same gender, race or religious background.

22 Jul 2010

A look into HIV related issues

According to a report from US health officials, the poorer neighborhoods of America's cities harbour at least 1 in 50 heterosexual adults infected with HIV. These figures are more than elsewhere in the country. According to the research team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), being poor and getting HIV are linked and this was regardless of race or ethnicity.

19 Jul 2010

Children's National and George Washington University receive NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award

Children's National Medical Center, in partnership with The George Washington University Medical Center, has received a prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the National Center for Research Resources of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Jul 2010

White House introduces comprehensive action plan for the U.S. response to HIV/AIDS

Today, the White House introduced a comprehensive action plan for the U.S. response to HIV/AIDS. The landmark plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, community organizations, and the public on how to reduce new HIV infections, get people living with HIV into care, and decrease HIV-related health disparities in the United States.

14 Jul 2010

Pelosi applauds Obama Administration's release of National HIV/AIDS Strategy

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy represents the nation's first comprehensive plan to reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS in this country. The strategy sets specific targets and provides detailed implementation information on the steps we must take to increase access to high quality HIV/AIDS care and treatment, decrease new HIV infections, and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

14 Jul 2010

Eban-based HIV/STD risk-reduction intervention improves safe-sex habits among high-risk African-American couples

A new study has found that heterosexual African American couples in which only one partner is HIV-positive practiced safer sexual behaviors after participating in a culturally specific intervention program designed to reduce the risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

14 Jul 2010

Release of National HIV/AIDS Strategy demonstrates Obama’s commitment, dedication

Today's release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) by the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) demonstrates the dedication and commitment of the Obama administration to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. The three pillars of the NHAS -- Reducing Incidence, Increasing Access to Care and Reducing Health Disparities – offer a blueprint for an effective response to the disease domestically, and an opportunity for all of us in the corporate, philanthropic and HIV communities to come together to establish clear goals and measurable outcomes to affect real change.

14 Jul 2010

UMMC receives $26M to identify risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

The University of Mississippi Medical Center and four collaborating academic medical centers have received $26 million from the National Institutes of Health to identify risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related forms of cognitive decline, said Dr. Thomas Mosley, UMMC professor of geriatric medicine and one of the new study's lead investigators.

14 Jul 2010

Unified National HIV/AIDS Strategy outlines goals to address HIV epidemic in the U.S.

For the first time in its history, the United States will have a unified National HIV/AIDS Strategy. The plan released today outlines goals and an agenda to address the HIV epidemic in the U.S. This afternoon, administration officials will brief the public on the main features of the strategy.

14 Jul 2010

New research shows there is great need for culturally-appropriate Alzheimer care resources

Racially and ethnically diverse older adults are one of the fastest growing population segments in the United States and new research presented today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2010 in Honolulu reveals that older African-Americans and Latinos with significant cognitive impairment have a lower likelihood of nursing home placement and longer survival than White older adults in the study.

14 Jul 2010

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

Kaiser Permanente funds 700 grants targeting critical health issues in communities

Arthritis treatment costs more than $128 billion a year in the U.S.

Mass. towns find savings in municipal-based health insurance plans; Conn. hospitals' earnings improve; Free dental clinic in Virginia

Free health clinic planned for D.C. area; University of Kansas to study Indian health; Ga. weighs health needs of older prisoners

NYU PRC receives $3.2M award to establish Comparative Effectiveness Research Program

Albert Einstein College of Medicine receives research grant to help people with MDR-TB

Racial, ethnic disparities remain a challenge for patients in the U.S. health care system: ACP

Einstein scientists awarded $4.1M to test microbicide Carraguard against HPV

Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria cause death of 6 million of world's poorest children

African Americans at increased risk of kidney failure caused by hypertension

Accommodating patients may help reduce racial health disparities, improve patient satisfaction: Study

A look into HIV related issues

Children's National and George Washington University receive NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award

White House introduces comprehensive action plan for the U.S. response to HIV/AIDS

Pelosi applauds Obama Administration's release of National HIV/AIDS Strategy

Eban-based HIV/STD risk-reduction intervention improves safe-sex habits among high-risk African-American couples

Release of National HIV/AIDS Strategy demonstrates Obama’s commitment, dedication

UMMC receives $26M to identify risk factors for Alzheimer's disease

Unified National HIV/AIDS Strategy outlines goals to address HIV epidemic in the U.S.

New research shows there is great need for culturally-appropriate Alzheimer care resources

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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