News Archive: Diversity and Health
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2006
Culturally-appropriate survey for evaluating care captured from existing instrument — Dec. 2006
The Group Health Association of America survey instrument was refined and augmented to uncover health care concerns of African Americans from varying socioeconomic backgrounds. The resulting instrument includes three new domains: respect, health education, and discrimination/stereotyping. The survey tool is practical for evaluating care delivered to both African Americans and Whites.
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Maximum risk for initiation into smoking is during teen years — Nov 30, 2006
This 10-year study used hazard modeling to determine when initiation to smoking is most likely to occur, and familiar and demographic influences towards initiation in a group of 6,255 youths (aged 5-23). Those at highest initiation risk are between the ages of 10 and 18 years. Having highly educated parents was found to be a protective influence against teen smoking.
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Undocumented immigrants use only a small fraction of U.S. public health care dollars — Nov. 2006
According to new research from RAND Labor and Population, health care costs for undocumented immigrants averages about $11 in annual taxes per U.S. household. Immigrants in general, documented and undocumented, appear to be healthier than their native-born counterparts and therefore spend less on treatment.
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Neighborhood parks associated with more physical activity in adolescent girls
Adolescent girls who live near parks engage in more metabolic physical activity than those who do not, particularly if the parks have walking trails and active features. Presently, 70% of adults in the United States indicate that they live within walking distance of a park or playground.
Challenges lay ahead in serving substance-abusing mothers who receive welfare — Nov. 2006
National data spanning a twelve year period was examined to explore the changing relationship between substance-use, welfare reform, and substance-abuse treatment among low-income mothers. Conclusions indicate new challenges exist in serving this population after welfare reform.
Adolescent birth rates in Hispanic neighborhoods possibly influenced by shared values — Oct. 2006
Shared community goals in Hispanic neighborhoods may be an important factor in reducing adolescent pregnancies within those neighborhoods. Accompanying factors include cultural variation and availability of childrearing networks.
Quality of prescription drug care for U.S. adults is lacking — Oct. 2006
This study found significant deficits in the quality of prescription drug care for U.S. adults, particularly with regards to the underuse of appropriate medications. Low performance was also found for medication monitoring and for education and documentation. Some differences in quality were associated with patients' ethnicity, but insurance status did not appear to have an effect.
Troubled Cambodian refugees likely to seek help for mental health problems — Oct. 2006
In a survey of Cambodian refugees in California, nearly 70 percent of those with mental health disorders sought medical help for emotional or psychological problems in the previous year, contradicting the common belief that Asians are less likely to seek mental health services.
Sociodemographic factors may influence treatment for bladder cancer — Sep. 2006
For patients with bladder cancer, a technique called continent urinary diversion offers the best quality of life after reconstructive treatment. But some patients, such as older African American patients, may be less likely to receive this procedure. Male patients with higher education levels were more likely to receive this procedure.
Sociodemographic characteristics of African Americans related to conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS and birth control — Aug. 2006
African Americans who were male and had lower incomes were more likely to have stronger conspiracy beliefs regarding HIV/AIDS and black genocide. Males with strong religious beliefs were also more likely to believe in contraceptive safety conspiracies.
RAND Health researcher receives 2005 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers — Aug. 2006
Kathryn Pitkin Derose, Health Policy Researcher at RAND, is the recipient of the 2005 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers in recognition of the innovative work she is doing in building community partnerships to promote health and address health disparities. The Award is the nation's highest honor for scientists and engineers at the beginning of their independent research careers whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge.Disparities in health care among older adults may be related to English proficiency — Aug. 2006
Older adults with limited English proficiency experienced worse access to care and worse health status than their English-speaking counterparts. Providing language assistance services to patients may reduce barriers, improve access to care, and ultimately improve health status for these vulnerable populations.
Poverty affects treatment outcomes for mental health patients — Aug. 2006
Poor patients with panic disorder were more severely ill at both start and end of psychiatric treatment, despite responding as well as non-impoverished patients during the course of therapy. Treatment programs may need to be extended to treat residual symptoms in poor patients.
Trends in youth exposure to alcohol advertisement on television — July 2006
Boys are exposed to more alcohol advertising on television than girls, and African-American youth are exposed to more ads than Caucasians. The racial differences appeared to increase over time, but the differences between boys and girls appeared to increase with age.
Gender differences in teen willingness to use mental health services — July 2006
In seeking emotional support, girls tended to go to friends while boys turned to family members. Boys had less mental health knowledge and experience than girls, and also associated more stigma with mental health care. Girls were twice as likely to report willingness to use mental health services.
Disclosure of HIV status related to type of sexual relationship — June 2006
Participants from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS) were more likely to disclose HIV status to sexual partners during one-time encounters and occasional partnerships than when involved in short relationships. Women were less likely to have sex without disclosure than homosexual men.
Increasing costs of urinary incontinence among female Medicare beneficiaries — June 2006
Costs of urinary incontinence among older women nearly doubled between 1992 and 1998, from $128 million to $234 million, primarily due to increases in doctor visits and outpatient surgeries. The increase in total spending was due almost exclusively to the increase in the number of women treated for incontinence.
Mental health care for depression and substance abuse not influenced by gender — June 2006
Detection and care of mental health and substance use problems for patients with major depression is not influenced by the gender of patient and provider. However, depressed female patients may have greater unmet needs for alcohol and drug use counseling than their male counterparts.
Ethnicity affects information received by low-income men with prostate cancer — May 2006
Information and understanding are needed for men with prostate cancer to manage their disease, but there are disparities in the information desired and received by low-income men of different ethnicities.
Improvements needed to ensure safety of impoverished women — May 2006
Impoverished women living in shelters or low-income housing experienced many different types of violence that were distinct and severe. Improved screening and intervention is necessary to ensure the safety of impoverished women.
Victimization among young homeless women associated with physical and behavioral health problems — May 2006
Young women in homeless shelters who had experienced physical victimization as children or young adults were more likely to have a sexually-transmitted disease, drug abuse, and depression.
Public health insurance can improve access and health for vulnerable children — Apr. 2006
Uninsured children in California who are eligible for public health insurance have poorer access to care than enrolled children, and those with the highest levels of risk have poorer health status. Providing insurance to these children may lead to improved access and health.
Exploring stress and coping among urban African American adolescents — Mar. 2006
African American urban teens identified sources of stress as school, friends, and family. However, they also relied on these same individuals for support: friends helped teens cope with romantic relationship stress and family helped with job, school, and family stress. Girls used coping strategies more frequently than boys did.
HIV testing rates vary across residential ZIP codes — Mar. 2006
Residents of ZIP code areas with higher concentrations of African Americans were more likely to get tested for HIV than residents of White or Latino areas, regardless of individuals' own race/ethnicity or the number of AIDS cases or testing sites in those areas.
Neighborhood access to alcohol linked to gonorrhea rates — Mar. 2006
An examination of the effects of neighborhood changes on certain sexually transmitted diseases found that gonorrhea rates are linked to the number of neighborhood alcohol outlets.
All socio-demographic groups at risk for poor quality health care — Mar. 2006
Virtually every person in the U.S. is at risk of failing to receive needed care regardless of race, gender, income or insurance status. While some disparities in care do exist, they are small relative to the gap between what everyone needs and what they are receiving.
Successful STD screening in low-income Brazilian communities — Mar. 2006
Results suggest that screening for STDs in Brazil in non-clinical settings is feasible and can help many young adults in low-income communities. This kind of screening can identify STD infections in populations who are unlikely to be tested or treated otherwise.
Medical safety net plays key role in care for uninsured children — Mar. 2006
Uninsured rural children are more likely to receive some type of medical services if they live closer to "safety net" providers or if there are more primary care physicians nearby.
Prostate cancer screening rates suggest preference for certain risk factors — Feb. 2006
Prostate cancer screening rates among higher risk African-American men were no different than the rates among lower risk white men, suggesting that some risk factors for prostate cancer are associated with preferential testing.
Close-knit neighborhoods may help prevent childhood obesity — Feb. 2006
Adolescents living in close-knit neighborhoods where adults provide social support—such as watching out for youngsters and seeking to correct their misbehavior—are half as likely to be overweight or nearly overweight as other children.
Few cardiovascular surgeons recognize extent of ethnic disparities in care — Feb. 2006
Although some surgeons acknowledge that racial and ethnic disparities in cardiac care occur, very few agree that they occur often. In order to help physicians address disparities, educational efforts must consider their knowledge and beliefs about the underlying causes of the disparities.
Discrimination among African American women seeking family planning services — Feb. 2006
Findings suggest there is a perception of race-based discrimination in obtaining family planning services among African American women in the U.S. 67% of women who reported having seen a health care provider for family planning or birth control services reported race-based discrimination.
Public park use and physical activity in Los Angeles neighborhoods — Feb. 2006
Los Angeles residents enjoy their neighborhood parks, and are most likely to use them if they are close to home and have supervised activities. Officials should consider adding park space throughout the city and including more facilities such as running tracks and trails.
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Racial disparities in medication use among veterans with bipolar disorder — Jan. 2006
Findings suggest that race is associated with patterns of psychotropic medication use among veterans with bipolar disorder. African Americans were significantly less likely to receive lithium and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and significantly more likely to receive antipsychotics.
Effect of television on adolescent sexual behavior may differ between ethnic groups — Jan. 2006
This study investigated whether exposure to sexual content on television would influence adolescents' expectations about sex and their use of safe-sex practices, and also whether those effects would impact sexual initiation. Findings suggest some impact among African Americans and Whites, but not among Hispanics.
Differences in childhood asthma among hispanic children in the U.S. — Jan. 2006
Puerto Rican children had the highest rates of lifetime asthma and recent asthma attacks, compared to non-Hispanic children and Mexican children. These high rates are not explained by previously identified sociodemographic risk factors.
Disparities in primary care for vulnerable children — Jan. 2006
Vulnerable children who have the greatest health care needs also have the greatest difficulty obtaining primary care. However, once access to health care has been established, adolescents at higher risk are more likely to receive health promotion counseling.
Racial differences in the treatment of veterans with bipolar disorder — Jan. 2006
African Americans were less likely than whites to have an outpatient follow-up visit within 90 days of being diagnosed with bipolar disease.
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