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.

Concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time

Patients vary widely in their response to concussion, but scientists haven't understood why. Now, using a new technique for analyzing data from brain imaging studies, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found that concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time

8 Jun 2012

Kaiser Permanente expands relationship with NMF to address shortage of physicians

As more patients from underserved populations start to enter the health care system through health care reform, there will be an increasing need to have more African-American and Latino physicians to help provide quality health care. Kaiser Permanente is working to address the shortage of physicians by expanding its relationship with National Medical Fellowships and contributing $1 million to support medical students through education and training programs.

8 Jun 2012

Regular meditation could reduce risk of cardiovascular disease among teens

Regular meditation could decrease the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in teens who are most at risk, according to Georgia Health Sciences University researchers.

7 Jun 2012

First study to correlate dietary fiber intake with inflammatory markers in adolescents

Adolescents who don't eat enough fiber tend to have bigger bellies and higher levels of inflammatory factors in their blood, both major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, researchers report.

2 Jun 2012

Einstein receives NIH grant to create new vaccine against TB

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University a five-year, $5.9 million grant to develop a new vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), including the toughest-to-treat forms of the disease known as multi drug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant. The grant will build on a new approach to TB vaccine design that is based on genetically altered Mycobacterium smegmatis, which is closely related to the bacterial species (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that causes TB in humans.

1 Jun 2012

Personality traits may also be part of the longevity genes mix

"It's in their genes" is a common refrain from scientists when asked about factors that allow centenarians to reach age 100 and beyond. Up until now, research has focused on genetic variations that offer a physiological advantage such as high levels of HDL cholesterol. But researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology of Yeshiva University have found that personality traits like being outgoing, optimistic, easygoing, and enjoying laughter as well as staying engaged in activities may also be part of the longevity genes mix.

25 May 2012

Exposure to toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in underserved children

Environmental health advocates responded to the new Duke University-led study of 83 North Carolina toddlers, published today in Environmental Health Perspectives, suggesting exposure to potentially toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in non-white toddlers than in white toddlers.

24 May 2012

VCU Center on Health Disparities to research into preterm birth

The Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Health Disparities has been awarded a five-year grant renewal totaling $6.2 million from the National Institute of Health's Institute on Minority Health Disparities for research, research training and community outreach in the area of preterm birth.

23 May 2012

'Discharge bias' disproportionally hurts large and academic hospitals

In-hospital mortality for ICU patients is often used as a quality measure, but discharge practices may bias results in a way that disadvantages large academic hospitals, according to a recently conducted study.

22 May 2012

New insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer

Research from the University of Alberta provides new insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer-information that ultimately will help physicians improve care strategies for patients provincewide.

16 May 2012

KLF15 molecule inhibits action of estrogen in the endometrium

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered a molecule that inhibits the action of estrogen. This female hormone plays a key role in the growth, maintenance and repair of reproductive tissues and fuels the development of endometrial and breast cancers.

10 May 2012

Study offers new insight on known link between exposure to violence and sexual risk-taking

Women who have experienced multiple forms of violence, from witnessing neighborhood crimes to being abused themselves, are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, according to a new report in the Psychology of Violence.

9 May 2012

Obese women more likely to have children with lower cognitive function

Women who are obese before they become pregnant are at higher risk of having children with lower cognitive function - as measured by math and reading tests taken between ages 5 to 7 years - than are mothers with a healthy prepregnancy weight, new research suggests.

9 May 2012

Primary-care physicians hard to find in low-income Hispanic metropolitan neighborhoods

New research into "health care deserts" finds that primary-care physicians are especially hard to find in predominantly Black and/or low-income Hispanic metropolitan neighborhoods.

5 May 2012

IGF-axis proteins may have a role in development of type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in collaboration with Nurses' Health Study investigators have shown that levels of certain related proteins found in blood are associated with a greatly reduced risk for developing type 2 diabetes up to a decade or more later. The findings, published today in the online edition of Diabetes, could open a new front in the war against diabetes.

4 May 2012

Scientists address mental health and well-being at Association for Psychological Science's annual meeting

Are our existing treatments for mental health issues working? Can we design new and better approaches to intervention? Can we even tell which factors promote mental health? Clinical psychological scientists will be addressing these and many other questions related to mental health and well-being at the Association for Psychological Science's 24th annual meeting in Chicago, May 24-27, 2012.

3 May 2012

MD Anderson, UH Graduate College of Social Work announce new joint venture

The University of Houston (UH) will soon open its doors to the Center for Health Equity & Evaluation Research (CHEER), a new joint venture between the UH Graduate College of Social Work (GCSW) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. CHEER will expand to conduct research at both MD Anderson and the newly opened center at UH GCSW.

2 May 2012

ACOEM releases 10 point Agenda for Change

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has released its 10 point Agenda for Change - an advocacy plan intended to improve the health of America's workers and at the same time integrate workplace health more closely with the nation's overall health improvement strategies.

21 Apr 2012

Research roundup: Caring for dual eligibles; Antitrust policy and the health law

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this report notes a systematic difference in life expectancy across region and race. "Within in each sex-race group, there are striking geographical differences in the probability of survival to age 70. ... These differences are larger for males than females within each race and larger for blacks than whites within each sex."

21 Apr 2012

JHSPH to host International Conference on Health in the African Diaspora

On July 5-8, 2012, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will host the first major international conference on the health of the descendants of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The International Conference on Health in the African Diaspora - ICHAD 2012 - will explore the health status of people of African descent living throughout the Western Hemisphere - from Canada to Argentina.

21 Apr 2012

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

Concussion victims have unique spatial patterns of brain abnormalities that change over time

Kaiser Permanente expands relationship with NMF to address shortage of physicians

Regular meditation could reduce risk of cardiovascular disease among teens

First study to correlate dietary fiber intake with inflammatory markers in adolescents

Einstein receives NIH grant to create new vaccine against TB

Personality traits may also be part of the longevity genes mix

Exposure to toxic flame-retardant chemicals may be higher in underserved children

VCU Center on Health Disparities to research into preterm birth

'Discharge bias' disproportionally hurts large and academic hospitals

New insight into treatment patterns for people with stage two and three rectal cancer

KLF15 molecule inhibits action of estrogen in the endometrium

Study offers new insight on known link between exposure to violence and sexual risk-taking

Obese women more likely to have children with lower cognitive function

Primary-care physicians hard to find in low-income Hispanic metropolitan neighborhoods

IGF-axis proteins may have a role in development of type 2 diabetes

Scientists address mental health and well-being at Association for Psychological Science's annual meeting

MD Anderson, UH Graduate College of Social Work announce new joint venture

ACOEM releases 10 point Agenda for Change

Research roundup: Caring for dual eligibles; Antitrust policy and the health law

JHSPH to host International Conference on Health in the African Diaspora

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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