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Do Life Style Factors And Socioeconomic Variables Explain Why Black Women Have A Remarkably Higher Body Mass Index (Bmi) Than White Women In The United States? Findings From The 2010 National Health Interview Survey, Mohammad Siahpush, Courtney A. Pinard, Gopal K. Singh, Melissa Tibbits, Raees A. Shaikh, Amy Yaroch

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective: There are marked inequalities in body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity across ethnic groups. We sought to examine the extent to which lifestyle factors and socioeconomic variables explain the higher BMI in Black women compared to White women in the United States.

Methods: We used data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and limited the sample to non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White women (n = 9,491). We employed normal regression and compared the association of race with BMI before and after adjusting for lifestyle factors (diet, physical activity, smoking, and drinking) and socioeconomic variables (education, ratio …

A Systematic Review Of Pregnancy Prevention Programs For Minority Youth In The U.S.: A Critical Analysis And Recommendations For Improvement, Sarah B. Maness, E R. Buhi

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

African American and Latino youth experience disproportionate rates of both intended and unintended pregnancy in the United States. A public health priority to ameliorate the high rates among this population has been the creation and proposed expansion of pregnancy prevention programs designed specifically for minority youth. However, little is known about the role of incorporating cultural components into program curricula. To better understand the components and outcomes of existing programs for this population, this systematic review analyzed published outcome evaluations of adolescent pregnancy prevention programs for minority youth. This review of literature published from January 2002 to June 2012 and …

Up North They’Re Talking Sex: A Collaborative And Community Driven Model For Sexual Health Knowledge Mobilization, Karen Edwards, Steve Mitchell Phd, Nancy Gibson Phd, Cecilia Zoe-Martin, Anita Daniels, Jim Martin, Patrick Wansbrough Rn

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

To address high STI rates in their aboriginal communities, the Tłı̨chǫ of the Northwest Territories adopted a collaborative participatory research approach to sexual health based on four key stages of development. First was community initiation and engagement, where local leaders identified a priority need and began community discussions around sexual health. Secondly, identifying that existing government statistics did not provide them with adequate information, the Tlicho Community Services Agency partnered with the University of Alberta and CIETcanda to conduct a baseline study in all four Tlicho communities, designed and administered by community-based researchers. Third, a community action research team (CART) …

Variance In Patient Access To Support Persons By Race/Ethnicity And Language Preference: An Analysis Of Patient Survey Data, Andrew J. Jager, Matthew K. Wynia

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Regulatory and accreditation organizations have advocated open visitation policies and allowance of support persons of patients’ choosing, but it is unknown if support is allowed equitably. Data from hospitalized patients were analyzed to determine access to support persons, stratified by patient-reported race/ethnicity, language, sex, age, and education. A multivariate regression model was constructed using race and language, controlling for site and patient sex, education and age. Additionally, sites’ policies explicitly allowing support persons were correlated to reports of allowance of support persons. Among 1,196 respondents, 17% reported not being allowed a support person or being unsure. African American patients had …

Health Disparity And Structural Violence: How Fear Undermines Health Among Immigrants At Risk For Diabetes, Janet Page-Reeves, Joshua D. Niforatos, Shiraz Mishra, Lidia Regino, Andrew Gingerich, Robert Bulten

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Diabetes is a national health problem, and the burden of the disease and its consequences particularly affect Hispanics. While social determinants of health models have improved our conceptualization of how certain contexts and environments influence an individual's ability to make healthy choices, a structural violence framework transcends traditional uni-dimensional analysis. Thus, a structural violence approach is capable of revealing dynamics of social practices that operate across multiple dimensions of people’s lives in ways that may not immediately appear related to health. Working with a Hispanic immigrant community in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we demonstrate how structural forces simultaneously directly inhibit access …

Development, Implementation, And Assessment Of Health Equity Action Training (Heat): Implications For Local Health Departments, Karen A. D'Angelo, Carmen Chaparro, Rita Kornblum, Grace Damio, Rafael Pérez-Escamilla

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

As inequities in health persistently plague our nation, rates of chronic disease continue to escalate, and increasing health care costs further debilitate our economy, the profession of public health is faced with monumental challenges. As a central community health institution, the local public health department plays an essential role in eliminating health inequities and preventing chronic disease. With the objective of preparing the local public health workforce to address the root factors associated with health, the Health Equity Action Training project trained 85 staff of the Hartford Department of Health & Human Services in the social determinants of health, social …

The Effect Of Race/Ethnicity On The Age Of Colon Cancer Diagnosis, Matthew Katz, Maryann E. Parrish, Ellen Li, Yuanhao Zhang, Wei Zhu, Kenneth Shroyer, Roberto Bergamaschi, Jennie L. Williams

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States. Notably, racial/ethnic disparities exist in both incidence and mortality.

PURPOSE: The aim of this case study was to investigate the impact of race/ethnicity on age at diagnosis of colorectal cancer in a defined population in Suffolk County, NY.

METHODS: Data were retrospectively collected on race/ethnicity, health insurance status, age at diagnosis, stage at diagnosis, gender, smoking status, alcohol intake, tumor location, and body mass index for colorectal cancer patients with medical records in the Stony Brook University Medical Center database (2005-2011). Population-based data on Hispanic …

The Normative Dimensions Of Health Disparities, Andrew Ward, Pamela Jo Johnson, Mollie O'Brien

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Understanding what conditions must be satisfied for a health inequality to be a health inequity (disparity) is crucial for health policy makers. The failure to understand what constitutes a health inequity, and confusing health inequalities with health inequities threatens the successful creation of health policies by diverting needed attention and resources away from addressing health inequalities that are health inequities. More generally, the failure threatens to undercut our ability to tell what research is relevant to the creation of health policies that aim to mitigate or eliminate health inequities. With this in mind, the principal aim of the present paper …

Discrimination In Medical Settings And Attitudes Toward Complementary And Alternative Medicine: The Role Of Distrust In Conventional Providers, Tetyana Shippee, Carrie Henning-Smith, Nathan Shippee, Jessie Kemmick Pintor, Kathleen T. Call, Donna Mcalpine, Pamela Jo Johnson

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

This study examines the relationship between racial/ethnic discrimination in medical settings, distrust in conventional medicine, and attitudes toward complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among a racially/ethnically diverse sample. We also investigate how this relationship differs by nativity. Data are from a 2008 statewide stratified sample of publicly insured adults in Minnesota (N=2,194). Discrimination was measured as self-reported unfair treatment in medical settings due to race, ethnicity, and/or nationality. Outcomes are trust in conventional providers/medicine and attitudes toward CAM modalities. Discrimination in medical settings was positively associated with 1) distrust in conventional providers and 2) favorable attitudes toward CAM. Foreign-born …

A Diabetes Prevention Program Provided By Home Care Nurses To Residents Of Public Housing Communities, Robin Whittemore Phd, Alana Rosenberg Mph, Sangchoon Jeon Phd

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The purpose of this pilot study was 1) to modify the Diabetes Prevention Program protocol collaboratively with home care nurses, health professionals, and residents of public housing: 2) to evaluate the feasibility (reach and implementation) and the preliminary efficacy of the modified diabetes prevention program (mDPP) provided by home care nurses to adults at-risk for T2D on clinical, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes compared to an enhanced standard care control group. A mixed-method sequential design was used. The sample (n=67) was primarily female (79%), with a mean age of 40 years, and of diverse race and ethnicity (76% non-White). Home care …