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.

African Americans more likely than Caucasians to develop and die from lung cancer

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., takes a particularly heavy toll on African Americans. Despite their lower smoking rates, African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to develop and die from lung cancer.

21 Sep 2011

Study assesses impact of ethnicity on second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

Racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to develop cancer and die from it than the general U.S. population. However, as the next generation of cancer medicines are being evaluated, only 17 percent of clinical trial participants are, in fact, minorities.

21 Sep 2011

Long-term immunosuppressants improve survival for lupus patients with ESKD

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have shown that close supervision by rheumatologists and the use of immunosuppressant drugs improve the survival of lupus patients with end-stage kidney disease—a finding that could reverse long-standing clinical practice.

21 Sep 2011

MRI screenings for breast cancer benefit high-risk, underserved women

Using breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) screenings among targeted, high-risk, underserved women significantly decreased diagnostic cost and increased patient compliance rates with follow-up compared to using general risk mammography screenings.

21 Sep 2011

African-American men living in low sunlight areas more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency

African-American men living in areas with low sunlight are up to 3 - times more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency than Caucasian men and should take high levels of Vitamin D supplements, according to a new study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

21 Sep 2011

Genetic differences play a role in prostate cancer disparities

Genetic differences in prostate cells seem to be a root cause of the prostate cancer disparities between African-American men and white men, according to findings presented at the Fourth AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health Disparities, held here Sept. 18-21, 2011.

21 Sep 2011

Poor neighborhoods linked to higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac deaths

People living in poor neighborhoods are at higher risk of dying of heart disease outside a hospital than are people who live in wealthier neighborhoods, research suggests.

21 Sep 2011

Exercise helps teens quit smoking

Research has shown that a program that combines counseling with physical activity may offer teens a more effective way to stop smoking. Less than 5 percent of those who were assigned to a brief smoking cessation intervention had quit smoking after three months. But, in the group of teens that received smoking cessation counseling coupled with physical activity, almost 14 percent were off cigarettes at the three-month mark. And, the findings were most dramatic for boys. Nearly a quarter of the boys in the combination group had quit smoking at the end of three months.

20 Sep 2011

Trauma patients more likely to die at hospitals serving predominantly minority populations

Seriously injured patients cared for at hospitals serving larger numbers of minorities are significantly more likely to die than those treated at hospitals serving mostly whites — regardless of the race of the patient, new Johns Hopkins research suggests.

20 Sep 2011

Mammography rates among immigrant women remain lower than the native-born

Fewer immigrant women receive mammograms than native-born American women, according to Penn State researchers, who note that more immigrant women are getting mammograms now than a decade ago.

20 Sep 2011

Funding for international family planning programs critical for reproductive health efforts

In an opinion piece in Population Service International's "Impact" magazine, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) writes, "Unfortunately, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has empowered extremists with zeal for both broad, haphazard budget cuts and a commitment to rolling back women's health rights,"

17 Sep 2011

Psychological stress of racial discrimination may contribute to health disparities

The consequences of psychological stress, resulting from racial discrimination, may contribute to racial health disparities in conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other age-associated diseases.

15 Sep 2011

MSU professor uses federal grant to help overcome disparities among health, medical researchers

A Michigan State University professor is using a $1.1 million federal grant to help overcome the racial and socioeconomic disparities seen among health and medical researchers.

15 Sep 2011

IDF, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to host Global Diabetes Symposium

While infectious diseases tend to grab media headlines and public attention, non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory diseases together comprise the number one killer in the world and represent a serious social and economic burden to developed and developing countries alike.

14 Sep 2011

Einstein led consortium to spearhead Central Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS

In 2004, the global community acted in earnest to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. As a result, millions of Africans are now receiving the same advanced antiretroviral therapy (ART) that has long been available in the developed world. While research shows that AIDS death rates in Africa have stabilized, little is known about the actual deployment and circumstances of treatment.

9 Sep 2011

DotWell partners with INX to implement Cisco VoIP phone and voicemail solution

INX Inc., has been contracted to deploy a Cisco-centric network and Unified Communications solution for DotWell.

8 Sep 2011

UM educator named RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar

Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor at the University of Miami, School of Nursing & Health Studies, has won a competitive grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to develop, manualize, and test an intervention for preventing teen dating violence among Hispanics. Gonzalez-Guarda is one of just 12 nurse educators from around the country to receive the three-year $350,000 Nurse Faculty Scholar award this year.

8 Sep 2011

UC Merced, UCSF to examine effectiveness of state and local antismoking programs

Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco, and UC Merced will examine the effectiveness of state and local antismoking programs across the United States in an effort to make sure health authorities are able to use their increasingly limited resources to support and defend the most effective approaches.

8 Sep 2011

New bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy can benefit patients with degenerative disc disease

Neurosurgery researchers at UC Davis Health System have used a new, leading-edge stem cell therapy to promote the growth of bone tissue following the removal of cervical discs -- the cushions between the bones in the neck -- to relieve chronic, debilitating pain.

7 Sep 2011

Link between age-related changes, health and cognition

Critical life course events and experiences - in both youth and middle adulthood - may contribute to health and cognition in later life, according to a new supplemental issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

2 Sep 2011

Health Disparities News and Research

Further Reading

African Americans more likely than Caucasians to develop and die from lung cancer

Study assesses impact of ethnicity on second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

Long-term immunosuppressants improve survival for lupus patients with ESKD

MRI screenings for breast cancer benefit high-risk, underserved women

African-American men living in low sunlight areas more likely to have Vitamin D deficiency

Genetic differences play a role in prostate cancer disparities

Poor neighborhoods linked to higher risk of out-of-hospital cardiac deaths

Exercise helps teens quit smoking

Trauma patients more likely to die at hospitals serving predominantly minority populations

Mammography rates among immigrant women remain lower than the native-born

Funding for international family planning programs critical for reproductive health efforts

Psychological stress of racial discrimination may contribute to health disparities

MSU professor uses federal grant to help overcome disparities among health, medical researchers

IDF, Albert Einstein College of Medicine to host Global Diabetes Symposium

Einstein led consortium to spearhead Central Africa International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS

DotWell partners with INX to implement Cisco VoIP phone and voicemail solution

UM educator named RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholar

UC Merced, UCSF to examine effectiveness of state and local antismoking programs

New bone marrow-derived stem cell therapy can benefit patients with degenerative disc disease

Link between age-related changes, health and cognition

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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