Towards Health Equity
From the Office of Minority Health Resource Center
October 18, 2012
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In This Newsletter ...
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Monthly Updates
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Reducing Cancer among Women of Color App Challenge
by Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health (Acting) and the Acting Director of the Office of Minority Health (from the HHS Digitalk Blog)
This month, as we reaffirm our commitment to promoting prevention and fighting cancer in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are turning to new platforms and new approaches in our effort to address cancer disparities. HHS has launched a new challenge to help turn the tide: the "Reducing Cancer among Women of Color" App Challenge. The challenge invites developers to create an application (app) for mobile devices that can help improve the prevention and treatment of breast, cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer. Up to $100,000 will be awarded for apps that provide high-quality health information to women and community health workers, interface securely with patient health records and strengthen communication across provider care teams. Read Dr. Gracia's full post on HHS Digitalk.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Resources
According to the National Cancer Institute, about 227,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. While breast cancer is diagnosed 10 percent less frequently in African American women than white women, African American women are 40 percent more likely to die from the disease. Similarly, Hispanic women are 30 percent less likely to have breast cancer as white women, but they also face a higher risk of dying from the disease. Early detection – including clinical and self exams and yearly mammograms over age 40 – is key to increasing the survival rate.
HHS Promotores de Salud Initiative: A Year of Accomplishments
Dr. J. Nadine Gracia was one of several federal agency and White House directors who participated in a Sept. 26 forum at the White House focusing on the impact of the Affordable Care Act and Promotores on Latino health. A year ago, HHS launched the first-ever HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, which outlines goals and actions HHS will take to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities, including increasing access to health care insurance and health care services, and strengthening the diversity of the health care workforce. The HHS Action Plan calls for increasing the use of promotores to stimulate participation in health education, behavioral health education, prevention and health insurance programs. Read about HHS Promotores de Salud Initiative activities and accomplishments. Hispanic Heritage Month Resources
National Hispanic Heritage Month is commemorated each year between Sept. 15 and Oct. 15. It is a time for celebrating the many ways that Hispanic people and culture have enriched America. As the observance month ends, it is also a time to remember that our work to close the access to health gap and to improve the health status of Latinos is not done. Throughout the month, the Office of Minority Health shared information and resources designed to empower, educate and inform. Check out the website and follow OMH on Twitter  in English and now in Spanish to get the latest information.
Striving for an AIDS-Free Generation: Q&A with the D.C. Health Department's Nestor Rocha
 In the nation's capital, 6 percent of Latinos live each day with HIV/AIDS, according to the D.C. Health Department 2011 HIV/AIDS Hepatitis and TB Epidemiology annual report. The report also found that men accounted for less than half of the District's residents, but almost three-quarters of people living with HIV. Of the 833 Hispanic people diagnosed with HIV in 2010, 85 percent were male. In this issue of Towards Health Equity, Nestor Rocha, bureau chief of prevention and intervention services at the D.C. Health Department, talks about emerging trends and new approaches to creating an AIDS-free generation amid the changing landscape of HIV prevention, intervention and treatment. Read the full Q&A with Nestor Rocha. HIV/AIDS Awareness Month Resources
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Awareness Month Resources
SIDS is the sudden death of an infant less than one year of age that cannot be explained by information collected during a thorough investigation. Although the overall rate of SIDS in the U.S. has declined by more than 50 percent since 1990, rates remain high among African American and American Indian/Alaska Native infants. Moreover, SIDS is still the third leading cause of infant deaths in the U.S. and the leading cause of death among infants 28–364 days old.
Office of Minority Health and Partners Mark National Infant Mortality Awareness Month
- On Sept. 22, Baltimore Healthy Start held its first-ever Baby Buggy Parade, which brought together nearly 100 moms and dads, kids and adults, neighbors and friends alike to raise awareness about disparities in infant deaths. The event provided an opportunity for families to participate in a 1.5 mile stroller walk and family-oriented activities, take part in healthy meal demonstrations by local chef Levita Mondie and receive health information and screenings. Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Acting Director of the Office of Minority Health; Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Maryland Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary; Dr. Oxiris Barbot, Baltimore City Health Commissioner and Arlee Gist of the Maryland Office of Minority Health were on hand to show their support. See photos from the Baltimore Healthy Start Baby Buggy Parade. | Read Baltimore Healthy Start CEO Alma Roberts' blog post on the organization's successful strategy for reducing perinatal disparities.
- The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition's text4baby campaign traversed the nation during September to raise awareness. From showcasing the innovation of maternity-related texts in Alabama, to hosting an infant mortality summit in Texas for more than 200 professionals, to joining Baltimore Healthy Start and the Office of Minority Health in supporting mothers and families, the text4baby campaign's reach continues to grow. Texts focus on prenatal care, exercise, appointment reminders, breastfeeding and safe-sleep pointers, among other topics, and are absolutely free to those who sign up for text4baby . Learn more about the text4baby initiative.
The Role and Impact of Integrated Care in Mental Health
More than 60 years ago, the World Health Organization defined health as not just the absence of disease or infirmity but "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being." This description of wellness as a mind and body connection may not be a new concept, but integrating physical and behavioral health care is a relatively new model that is gaining national traction as a preferred approach to providing effective and efficient care in the very places where patients are most likely to ask for it—the primary care doctor's office. Read the full story. Mental Health Resources
A key finding of the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity (2001) was that living in poverty has measurable effects on the rates of mental illness. Racial and ethnic minorities are overrepresented among the poor. People in the lowest socioeconomic positions are at least 2-3 times more likely than those in the highest positions to experience a mental disorder, and the overall rate of poverty among most racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. is much higher, than that of non-Hispanic whites. Racism and discrimination are highly stressful and can adversely affect health and mental health. Learn more: Mental Health 101 and Mental Health Data and Statistics from the Office of Minority Health. Office of Minority Health Resource Persons Network: The Know-How You Need
Are you looking for one-time or short-term technical assistance in the areas of program and organizational development, grant proposals, reports, speeches and presentations, and advisory boards and committees? Free technical assistance from experienced professionals is available through the OMHRC Resource Persons Network. Members of the Resource Persons Network provide technical and capacity building assistance on a volunteer basis to community-based organizations serving minority populations. Contact the Office of Minority Health Resource Center at 800-444-6472 or rpn...@minorityhealth.hhs.gov to request assistance. Learn more about requesting assistance or become an RPN member. What's New in the Knowledge Center
The Knowledge Center at the Office of Minority Health Resource Center is the largest repository of health disparities information in the world, with a collection of 10,000 documents, reports, books, journals and media, and more than 30,000 articles related to the health status of racial and ethnic minority populations. The library collection also includes sources of consumer health material in more than 35 languages.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
Healthy People 2020: Focus on Substance Abuse, Oct. 24
Healthy People 2020's Leading Health Indicators are a comprehensive set of 10-year, national goals and objectives for improving the health of all Americans. Each month, Healthy People 2020 will focus on one Leading Health Indicator. Join Healthy People 2020 for the next webinar Who's Leading the Leading Health Indicators? , focused on adolescent substance abuse, on Wed., Oct. 24 at 12 PM ET. Participants will learn about the prevalence of alcohol and drug abuse in the United States and how one coalition has worked to solve substance abuse issues among adolescents in their community. Follow information about this webinar series on Twitter using the hashtag #LHI . Register .
American Diabetes Association's Fifth Disparities Partnership Forum, Oct. 22-23, Washington, DC
Registration is now open for the American Diabetes Association's Fifth Disparities Partnership Forum on diabetes care in high risk populations. The goal of the forum is to encourage collaboration with partners to address the disparity of cultural competency, health literacy and health equity in diabetes care, specifically in populations at highest risk for type 2 diabetes, such as African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, older adults, women, low-income and uninsured persons. Scheduled speakers include:
- Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health (Acting) and the Acting Director of the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- Dr. Augustus A. White III, Author and Professor of Medical Education and Orthopedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School
- Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, Chair of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute
- Dr. Pedro Jose Greer, Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Humanities Health and Society at Florida International University
For more information on the forum, please contact Monique Lindsy at mli...@diabetes.org.
2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit, Oct. 31-Nov. 3, National Harbor, MD
Registration is open for the 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit, the leading scientific gathering on health disparities. Thousands of participants will attend more than 100 sessions to exchange new knowledge, and learn about progress, successes, challenges and opportunities in implementing innovative research. Sessions will also feature practice and policy interventions to inform health disparities science, and highlight the power and impact of multi-sector partnerships in tackling the social, behavioral, environmental, economic and biological factors that cause health disparities. The theme is Building a Healthier Global Society: Integrating Science, Practice and Policy. Register online by Oct. 19 and get hotel information on the summit website.
Research Corner
This month, Research Corner provides scholarly resources on health disparities in treatment and prevention of breast cancer.
Racial and Ethnic Variation in ADHD, Comorbid Illnesses, and Parental Strain . Hinojosa, M. S.; et. al Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 2012.
Analyses of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in U.S. Inpatient Mental Health Treatment . Paul H. Johnson, Jr. PhD. The Internet Journal of Mental Health, 2102
African AmericansEthnic Differences in Mental Illness and Mental Health Service Use among Black Fathers . Doyle, O.; et. al American Journal of Public Health, 2012.
Mental Health Screening of African American Adolescents and Facilitated Access to Care . Husky, Mathilde M.; et. al. Community Mental Health Journal, 2012.
Hispanic/LatinoMental Health Service Utilization for Psychiatric Disorders Among Latinos Living in the United States: The Role of Ethnic Subgroup, Ethnic Identity, and Language/Social Preferences . Keyes, K. M; et. al. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2012.
Sociocultural influences on mental health service use by Latino older adults for emotional distress: Exploring the mediating and moderating role of informal social support . Hansen, Marissa; Aranda, Maria P. School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 2012.
Asian American/Pacific IslanderDiscrimination, Family Relationships, and Major Depression among Asian Americans . Chae, D. H. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2012.
Religious Involvement Effects on Mental Health in Chinese Americans . Bu Huang, Hoa B; et.al, Asian Culture and History, 2012.
Native American/Alaska NativeReview of American Indian Veteran Telemental Health . Shore, Jay; et.al. Telemedicine and e-Health, 2012.
Environmental Toxins and Depression in an American Indian Community . Morse, Gayle Skawennio. Journal of Indigenous Research, 2012. |
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