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.

HIV epidemic in MSM could be helped by better interaction with their health system

The second paper in The Lancet Series on HIV in MSM focuses on clinical care, and says that optimum clinical care for sexual and gender minorities is a fundamental human right. “MSM deserve to be treated with respect, and health-care providers need to interact with them in ways that promote disclosure of actionable health information,” say the authors, led by Dr Ken Mayer, Fenway Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

20 Jul 2012

New roadmap provides expert guidance on how to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities

Major disparities exist along racial and ethnic lines in the United States for various medical conditions, but guidance is scarce about how to reduce these gaps. Now, a new "roadmap" has been unveiled to give organizations expert guidance on how to improve health equity in their own patient populations.

18 Jul 2012

Researchers uncover mechanism by which aging may weaken immune response

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have uncovered one of the mechanisms by which aging may compromise the ability of the immune system to fight infections and respond to vaccines.

18 Jul 2012

Victims of stray-bullet shootings are often children, females

Most people killed or wounded in stray-bullet shootings were unaware of events leading to the gunfire that caused their injuries, and nearly one-third of the victims were children and nearly half were female, according to a new nationwide study examining an often-overlooked form of gun violence.

11 Jul 2012

Connections between daily stressors of police work and obesity, suicide

The daily psychological stresses that police officers experience in their work put them at significantly higher risk than the general population for a host of long-term physical and mental health effects. That's the overall finding of a major scientific study of the Buffalo Police Department called Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) conducted over five years by a University at Buffalo researcher.

11 Jul 2012

SUNY Downstate receives PCORI award to develop mobile phone apps for stroke patients

SUNY Downstate Medical Center has received an award to develop mobile phone applications for stroke patients and their caregivers. Steven R. Levine, MD, professor of neurology and emergency medicine and vice chair of neurology at SUNY Downstate, is scientific principal investigator on the $500,000 award, which is from the federally funded Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

10 Jul 2012

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $4.8 million grant to study the molecular mechanism that allows the Ebola virus to cause infection and spread in animals.

10 Jul 2012

Extra weight not necessarily linked with higher risk of death

An evaluation of national data by UC Davis researchers has found that extra weight is not necessarily linked with a higher risk of death.

7 Jul 2012

Site of care linked to racial imaging disparities in stroke

Patients with stroke are less likely to undergo carotid artery imaging if they are treated at a hospital that serves a population with a high proportion of minority ethnicities, say researchers.

2 Jul 2012

Running down the varied state reaction to the health law decision

State leaders reacted to the Supreme Court health law decision in varied ways: Some hailed the decision as a victory for everyday Americans while others warned the decision will harm citizens. Still others, however, including Va. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, saw a mixed bag.

30 Jun 2012

California selects Accenture to implement CalHEERS

Accenture has been selected by the State of California, following a competitive bid process, to implement a statewide health insurance exchange, the California Healthcare Enrollment, Eligibility and Retention System (CalHEERS).

28 Jun 2012

Federal government makes $13 billion in duplicative payments to veterans

A new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that the federal government made about $13 billion in duplicative payments to provide health-care services to veterans who were simultaneously enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans from 2004-2009.

27 Jun 2012

High-calorie food images stimulate brain's appetite control center

A picture may be worth a thousand calories, a new study suggests. Looking at images of high-calorie foods stimulates the brain's appetite control center and results in an increased desire for food, according to the study, which will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston.

27 Jun 2012

GUMC receives NIH grant to establish Center of Excellence for Health Disparities

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a $6.1 million grant over the next five years to Georgetown University Medical Center to establish the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities in Our Nation's Capital.

27 Jun 2012

100BMOA releases official statement on prostate cancer

100 Black Men of America, Inc., Chairman Albert E. Dotson, Jr., the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of 100 Black Men of America, Inc. release an official statement on prostate cancer, in an effort to save lives of countless men who are at the highest risk of developing prostate cancer.

18 Jun 2012

Under ACA 90% of Californians below age of 65 will be enrolled in health insurance programs

Nine out of 10 Californians under the age of 65 will be enrolled in health insurance programs as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to a joint study by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

15 Jun 2012

Disparities in managing depression among HIV-positive pregnant women

It seems logical that programs to screen and manage depression in pregnant, HIV-positive Medicaid patients should already be in place, but they aren't. It's the kind of glaring oversight that Rajesh Balkrishnan, associate professor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, said he finds all the time in his research on health disparities.

13 Jun 2012

Two studies report sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background

Two studies scheduled for presentation today at SLEEP 2012 are reporting sleep disparities among Americans based on racial and ethnic background.

13 Jun 2012

Hepatitis C more prevalent among homeless adults in downtown Los Angeles

Recent government studies show that hepatitis C, which can destroy the liver and necessitate a liver transplant, now kills more American adults than AIDS, and new UCLA research shows just how prevalent the disease is among homeless adults in downtown Los Angeles.

12 Jun 2012

Vitamin D deficiency may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates

A paper just published in Dermato-Endocrinology suggests that vitamin D deficiency may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates between African and White Americans.

10 Jun 2012