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.

Global summit aims to develop sustainable network to support nursing and midwifery clinical research

On July 18-19, 2016, Columbia Global Centers | Amman and Columbia University School of Nursing will host the Global Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Research Development Initiative in Amman, Jordan.

6 Jul 2016

Discrimination linked to heavy and hazardous drinking

In the late 1980s, researchers across the United States began reporting a link between discrimination against African Americans and poor cardiovascular health within the African American population.

1 Jul 2016

Unwelcoming healthcare environments may affect cervical cancer screening among LGBT people

A new study found that certain factors affect cervical cancer screening among lesbian and bisexual women and transgender men. Some of these factors overlap with the general female population, whereas others are specific to the lesbian, bisexual, or queer identity.

30 Jun 2016

LGB adults experience higher rates of distress, impaired physical health than heterosexuals

In one of the largest, most representative health surveys conducted to date, lesbian, gay and bisexual adults reported substantially higher rates of severe psychological distress, heavy drinking and smoking, and impaired physical health than did heterosexuals.

28 Jun 2016

Media-awareness campaign aims to reduce binge drinking among ethnic-minority emerging adults

Health-promotion and disease-prevention efforts can no longer use a one-size-fits-all approach. Efforts targeting emerging adult populations - encompassing late adolescence and early adulthood - must embrace and utilize multi-pronged, multi-media approaches in order to be successful.

27 Jun 2016

NIH funds novel substance abuse treatment program that targets marginalized populations

The creators of a novel substance abuse treatment program have received an infusion of funding from a federal agency for an expanded study of their intervention, which targets marginalized populations who struggle with problems such as racism, sexism, poverty and histories of incarceration.

25 Jun 2016

Study helps identify traits that may cause elders to need help with medications

As age increases, older adults can develop problems taking their medications. But until now, few studies have examined the traits that might cause elders to need help with their medications, or how widespread a problem this might be.

23 Jun 2016

Patient navigators could help improve comprehensive cancer screening rates among low-income, ethnic minorities

A clinical trial conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital investigators has found that the use of patient navigators - individuals who assist patients in receiving health care services - may improve comprehensive cancer screening rates among patient populations not likely to receive recommended screenings.

21 Jun 2016

Black children more likely to have postsurgical complications after urologic surgery

Black children who undergo urologic surgery are more likely than white children to have postsurgical complications and hospital-acquired infections 30 days after the surgery.

17 Jun 2016

Alcohol-sleep relationship may vary by race and sex, study finds

A new study found that alcohol-sleep relationship differed importantly by race and sex.

14 Jun 2016

Surgeons take first step towards eliminating surgical care disparities

Surgeons and researchers, responding to the known prevalence of inequalities in U.S. surgical care, have taken the first steps toward eliminating surgical care disparities by grouping their causes into themes and identifying modifiable contributing factors.

13 Jun 2016

U.S. study shows adults with diabetes born in 1940s living longer with less disability

Older Americans with diabetes born in the 1940s are living longer and with less disability performing day to day tasks than those born 10 years earlier, according to new research published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

13 Jun 2016

Advanced imaging technique helps predict recovery in concussion patients

Using an advanced imaging technique, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System were able to predict which patients who'd recently suffered concussions were likely to fully recover.

10 Jun 2016

Study finds positive support from all racial/ethnic groups for physician-assisted death

Physician-assisted death was supported by a majority of California and Hawaii residents, regardless of their ethnicity, who responded to an online survey, according to a study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 Jun 2016

Researchers explore communication needs, preferences of older Latinos with advanced cancer

The way in which bad news is communicated to patients at the end of their lives influences their quality of care. Researchers at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work are examining the perceptions and preferences of older Latinos with advanced cancer--one of the fastest growing segments in the aging population--about receiving news on their diagnosis or prognosis.

1 Jun 2016

Overcoming barriers to move beyond race-based treatment decisions

Prescribing certain medications on the basis of a patient's race has long come under fire from those uneasy with using race as a surrogate for biology when treating disease.

28 May 2016

Majority of young adults with abdominal obesity unaware of CKD risk

Many young adults with abdominal obesity exhibit a readily detectable risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet the vast majority don't know they're at risk, according to a study of nationwide health data led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers that was published online today in the journal PLOS ONE.

26 May 2016

School obesity prevention program helps seventh graders lose weight over long-term period

A five-week obesity prevention program for seventh grade students in Southern California helped obese students lose weight over a long-term period, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

24 May 2016

New study explores impact of infant feeding practices on childhood obesity risk

Does the timing of introducing solid foods to the infant diet affect a child's risk of being obese by 6 years of age? A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data on infant feeding practices, with a 6-year follow-up to determine obesity, and also explored the potential impact of breast versus formula feeding.

12 May 2016

Scientists develop new technology that helps visualize translation of mRNA into proteins

For the first time, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a technology allowing them to "see" single molecules of messenger RNA as they are translated into proteins in living mammalian cells. Initial findings using this technology that may shed light on neurological diseases as well as cancer were published online today in Science.

9 May 2016