Vital and Health Statistics Commons^™

Racial Disparities In Cancer Screening Among Women With Chronic Joint Pain, Edith M. Williams, Laurene Tumiel-Berhalter, Christopher Purdy, Adrianne Ransom, Judith Anderson

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Chronic pain related disorders and breast and cervical cancer are more prevalent among African-American women compared with non-Hispanic White women. However, few studies address how racial differences in the context of comorbidity may compound these disparities. This study used secondary analysis of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to assess racial differences in breast and cervical cancer screening and patient education among adult women with chronic joint pain conditions. Statistical analyses included chi-square and independent samples t-tests. African-American women compared with non-Hispanic White women were less likely to receive a pap smear or mammogram within the last two years and …

Not Always Black And White: Racial Bias For Birth Disparities From Excluding Hispanic Identification, Barbara L. Wilson, Cristi Coursen, Matthew Butler

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Despite gains in prenatal care (PNC) usage and birth outcomes for minority women during the past few decades, observed disparities between non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics persist. Using the National Center for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) natality files from 1981 through 1998, Alexander, Kogan, & Nabukera (2002) examined live births of U.S. residents by trimester in which PNC was initiated and the appropriateness of that care based on the Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index (APNCU) (Kotelchuck, 1994). They found racial disparities between White and Black women in both the trimester of PNC initiation and the number of PNC visits made. …

Breast Cancer Screening Practices Among American Indians And Alaska Natives In The Midwest, Christine M. Daley, Melissa Filippi, Aimee S. James, Sarah Brokenleg, Stacy Braiuca, K. A. Greiner, Won S. Choi

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women currently have some of the highest mortality rates from breast cancer for any racial/ethnic group in the United States and some of the lowest screening rates. However, current data are not available for regional differences in screening, which can result in dramatically different stage at diagnosis and mortality. We conducted surveys with 120 focus group participants in a needs assessment of mammography among AI/AN in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area and parts of Northeast Kansas. We found that among women under age 40, for whom recommended screenings include only annual clinical breast …

Race And Hepatitis C Management Within The Veterans Administration, Joahd Toure, Joshua Metlay, Sandford Schwartz, Knashawn Morales, David Kaplan, Peter Groeneveld

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objective: To examine black-white differences in hepatitis C treatment within the Veterans Administration (VA) and determine whether racial variation in specialty consultation explains differences in hepatitis C treatment between blacks and whites.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1040 veterans meeting VA eligibility criteria for hepatitis C treatment. We used multiple imputation to handle missing race data. Specialty consultation was determined from the VA outpatient medical dataset and hepatitis C treatment was determined from the VA decision support system. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the association between race and hepatitis C treatment as well as race …

Poverty And Mortality Disparities In Central Appalachia: Mountaintop Mining And Environmental Justice, Michael Hendryx

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Objectives. This study investigated the associations between poverty rates, Appalachian mountaintop coal mining, and age-adjusted total mortality rates to determine if persons exposed to this form of mining experience greater poverty and higher death rates compared to other types of mining or other areas of Appalachia.

Methods. Mortality rates, poverty rates, Appalachian designation and mining activity were examined for counties in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia (N=403). Linear least squares models tested for annual group differences from 2000-2007 in total and child poverty, and total mortality, based on mining type and Appalachian location. Nested linear models accounting for state-level …

Health Effects Associated With Foreclosure: A Secondary Analysis Of Hospital Discharge Data, Nancy Menzel, Sheniz Moonie, Melva V. Thompson-Robinson

Nursing Faculty Publications

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to assess the health effects of high home foreclosure rates in an area of the United States of America and the utility of hospital discharge data for this purpose. Methods. We analyzed hospital discharge data from three postal zip codes using the principal diagnosis for 25 Diagnostic Related Groups associated with stress. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize hospital discharge rates for each condition by year and zip code. To test for differences across time, the Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed. Results. Most conditions did not demonstrate a statistical change between …

Calcium Supplemental Usage And Potential Health Issues Sssociated With The Rate Of Usage In Las Vegas, Nv, Tanesha Nicole Moss

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Calcium is a very important nutrient and as such, it is very important that all humans consume sufficient amounts. However, some calcium supplements have been known to contain small quantities of lead. This research project used a retrospective approach to explore the trade-off between the benefits of calcium vs. the potential lead exposure amongst people who are taking these supplements. A survey consisting of 10 questions was used to try to assess the rate of consumption of specific types of calcium supplements. This research project obtained lead levels in calcium supplements from previous research and applied that data into this …

Modeling Mortality Rates For Leukemia Between Men And Women In The United States, Blessed Quansah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Leukemia related deaths increased dramatically over the last forty years. Leukemia is a malignant disease or cancer of the bone marrow and blood. It is characterized by the uncontrolled accumulation of blood cells. Leukemia is divided into two categories: myelogenous or lymphocytic, each of which can be acute or chronic. The terms, myelogenous or lymphocytic denote the cell type involved.

In this thesis, the proposed modeling techniques are applied to leukemia deaths data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER). In particular, annual deaths data from 1969 to 2007 are used in the data analysis, which includes three major …

The Determinants Of Colorectal Cancer Survival Disparities In Nevada, Lucas N. Wassira

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Different population groups across Nevada and throughout the United States suffer disproportionately from colorectal cancer and its after-effects. Overcoming cancer health disparities is important for lessening the burden of cancer. There has been an overall decline in the incidence of and mortality from colorectal cancer (CRC). This is likely due, in part, to the increasing use of screening procedures such as Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT) and/or endoscopy, which can reduce the risk of CRC mortality by fifty percent. Nevertheless, screening procedures are routinely used by only fifty percent of Americans aged fifty years and older. Despite overall mortality decreasing …