Health News

NIH Seeks to Break New Ground in Reducing Health Disparities

August 25, 2010     DiabetesHealth

Doctors have long known that different populations have different risks for chronic illness. Certain ethnic groups, for instance, are more likely to develop type 2diabetes than others. But why? The National Institutes of Health aims to find out. It's Network on Inequality, Complexity, and Health will take a broad look at factors that influence disease and aim to make positive changes.

Health Care Gap May Raise Rates of Colorectal Cancer Death in Blacks

August 25, 2010     U.S. News & World Report

Unequal health care may explain why black colorectal cancer patients have a much higher death rate than white patients, a new U.S. study suggests.

Researchers analyzed national colorectal cancer death rates between 1960 and 2005. During that time, there was a 54 percent reduction in deaths among white women and only a 14 percent reduction among black women.

Baltimore's New Health Commissioner: Technology Can Help Fix Public Health Challenges

August 20, 2010     Kaiser Health News

Dr. Oxiris Barbot, a pediatrician who will be Baltimore's health commissioner starting Monday, has an up-close understanding of many of the city's public health challenges.

"I think my experience growing up," she says of her childhood in New York City's infamous South Bronx projects, "gave me a broader perspective on how important health is in communities that may not have the same level of resources as other communities."  

Black AIDS Institute, in Partnership with Merck, Launches Dynamic National HIV/AIDS Treatment and Care Advocacy Network

August 10, 2010     Webwire

Today, the Black AIDS Institute (The Institute), with support from Merck, announced the launch of the Black Treatment Advocates Network (BTAN). BTAN, the first collaborative Network of its kind, will train and mobilize a team of treatment advocates with a mission to link Black Americans with HIV into care and treatment; strengthen local and national leadership; raise HIV science and treatment literacy in Black communities; and advocate for policy change and research priorities.

Health is a top concern for African-Americans

August 8, 2010     The Kansas City Star

It may take an Oprah-like TV personality to get people to turn away from bad eating and other habits to set the U.S. population on a healthier course.

The data for obesity, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and heart disease don't look good - particularly for African-Americans. The death rate for them is among the highest, with no sign of changes to prevent a premature demise.

New Research Shows Neighborhoods Have a Major Influence on the Health of African-American Men

July 5, 2010     UrbanMecca.com

New research funded by The California Endowment finds that African-American and Latino boys and young men are much more likely to experience poor health outcomes than white boys and young men. Most of these differences in health are directly related to the neighborhoods where they grow up.

To improve health outcomes for boys and young men, researchers suggest the need for systems-based solutions that are implemented at the community level.

Food stamp recipients gain access to area farmers markets

June 27, 2010     KansasCity.com

The value of a farmers market is fairly evident: fresh, healthful produce, grown locally.

But for the more than 115,000 people in the Kansas City area who rely on government food assistance, the markets were virtually off limits. Many farmers take cash only, and not many have a scanner for the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards that food stamp recipients use.

Ford Foundation Initiative to Tackle HIV Crisis in United States

June 2, 2010     PR Newswire

The Ford Foundation today announced a $25 million effort to fight the disproportionate yet largely hidden impact of HIV/AIDS on marginalized communities in the United States.

The initiative will target the District of Columbia and nine states in the South that rank among the highest in new AIDS cases. It will also support efforts to address the spread of HIV among African Americans, women and Latinos. The effort will build upon investments made by Ford over the past several years to address the impact of HIV in these communities and to fight the discrimination that allows the epidemic to spread. It is informed by decades of Ford work tackling difficult human rights issues facing highly marginalized communities.

The Significance of Childhood Obesity in Communities of Color

June 14, 2010     Center for American Progress

To read this memo, visit the Center for American Progress online, here.

The Social Mission of Medical Education: Ranking the Schools

June 15, 2010     Annals of Internal Medicine

To read "The Social Mission of Medical Education: Ranking the Schools", visit The Annals of Internal Medicine online, here.

McDermott Announces Hearing to Review Responsible Fatherhood Programs

Advisory from the Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family
For Immediate Release
June 10, 2010
Contact: (202) 225 - 1025

Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the Committee on Ways and Means, announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing to evaluate the effectiveness of responsible fatherhood programs.  The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 17, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. in B-318 Rayburn House Office Building.  In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only.  However, any individual or organization not scheduled to appear may submit a written statement for consideration by the Subcommittee and for inclusion in the record of the hearing.

Putting Data and Innovation to Work to Help Communities and Consumers Improve Health

June 2, 2010     U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Institute of Medicine President Harvey Fineberg today launched a national initiative to share a wealth of new community health data that will drive innovation and lead to the creation of new applications and tools to improve the health of Americans.  

To help citizens, clinicians and local leaders use data to improve health and value of health care, the Community Health Data Initiative (CHDI) is turning to Web application developers, mobile phone applications, social media, and other cutting-edge information technologies to "put our public health data to work."