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.

Racial, ethnic and poverty disparities in human papillomavirus vaccination completion

Barriers that hinder young African-American, Hispanic and poor women from completing a series of three vaccinations to prevent human papillomavirus infection (HPV) also leave them at higher risk for cervical cancer and death.

30 Aug 2011

Morehouse School of Medicine to receive $1.5M SAMHSA grant for innovative behavioral health

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is awarding up to $1.5 million, over three years, to Morehouse School of Medicine to enhance the effort to network the 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities throughout the United States to promote behavioral health, expand campus service capacity and facilitate workforce development.

30 Aug 2011

People with disabilities more likely to experience poorer health

Compared to racial and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities are generally more likely to experience poorer health, according to a new report from the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability.

26 Aug 2011

Study finds biological indicators that help explain why obese people develop chronic diseases

UC Davis Health System researchers have discovered biological indicators that help explain why some obese people develop chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and others do not.

25 Aug 2011

AMIA president & CEO presents HIT's impact on healthcare disparities

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Health Equity Summit, convened by the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine (IAMMM), opens today as the long-awaited Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is unveiled and opens to the public on the National Mall.

24 Aug 2011

HHS HRSA awards $2.6 million in grants to CWRU dental school

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is supporting pre- and post-doctoral training programs in dental public health at Case Western Reserve University in an effort to combat disparities in oral health.

23 Aug 2011

Viewpoints: NY Times deconstructs health rulings; Issa on law & deficit; veterans' care needs boost

At a time when the nation's credit has been downgraded for the first time and our country is struggling to finance and reform existing entitlement programs, Obamacare's creation of new entitlements increases dependency on government and pushes our country deeper into a fiscal crisis of Greek proportion. As Congress and the president seek bipartisan ground to address the national debt, we must remember that the first step out of a hole is to stop digging.

23 Aug 2011

Disadvantaged, unhealthy mothers more likely to have sickly children

Disadvantaged, unhealthy mothers are much more likely to have sickly children than are disadvantaged moms who are relatively healthy—and this is not only due to genetics, suggests new research to be presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

22 Aug 2011

Study of Chicago neighborhoods tracks prevalence of five key public health issues

The south and southwest sides of Chicago suffer the most in terms of residents' health and access to basic health resources, according to a new study of 77 Chicago neighborhoods.

17 Aug 2011

Patient navigators can help eliminate cancer health disparities

Past research shows that minorities suffer higher rates of advanced cancer and deaths from all types of cancer compared to whites. According to an article in the August issue of Cancer, the role of "patient navigator" is emerging as a tool to address these disparities.

17 Aug 2011

Report highlights issues that affect Aboriginal maternal, child health in various regions

Today, the Health Council of Canada released Understanding and Improving Aboriginal Maternal and Child Health in Canada, a commentary highlighting the continuing health inequities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians as well as promising practices for change.

10 Aug 2011

AACE's five-tiered approach to elimination of endocrine healthcare disparities

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) today is announcing the adoption of a new policy reaffirming the Association's commitment to the elimination of endocrine healthcare disparities in the United States.

3 Aug 2011

Lifestyle factors of people with exceptional longevity

People who live to 95 or older are no more virtuous than the rest of us in terms of their diet, exercise routine or smoking and drinking habits, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

3 Aug 2011

RSS honors UNC researcher with 2011 Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award

Joanne M. Jordan, MD, MPH, director of the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has received the 2011 Distinguished Service to Rural Life Award from the Rural Sociological Society.

2 Aug 2011

Disparities persist despite insurance

A pair of studies highlights how health disparities continue to take shape and unravels some of the factors that are involved in differences in health outcomes.

1 Aug 2011

Journalism fellows to gather in Los Angeles to explore community health issues

USC Annenberg announced journalism awards totaling $53,500 to support investigative and explanatory reporting projects on topics ranging from health in America's underserved communities to the challenges for health reform and quality medical care.

30 Jul 2011

Case studies examine principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings

Today, the Global Health Delivery Project and Harvard Business Publishing released 21 teaching case studies examining the principles of health care delivery in resource-poor settings.

29 Jul 2011

Book examines impact of new racial science

In 2005, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug called BiDil as a therapy for heart failure specifically for African-American patients, claiming in a press release that this was a step toward personalized medicine.

29 Jul 2011

$3 million grant to aid minorities with uncontrolled diabetes

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy and College of Medicine have received a $3 million federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients.

28 Jul 2011

World's best genetic map now built in African-Americans

A group of researchers from the University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School and the University of Mississippi Medical Center has constructed the world's most detailed genetic map, a tool scientists can use to better understand the roots of disease and how DNA is passed generationally to create diversity in the human species.

21 Jul 2011