Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services
BRYCS (http://www.brycs.org/) is pleased to present our newest publication, Raising Children in a New Country: An Illustrated Handbook. http://www.brycs.org/documents/RaisingChildren-Handbook.pdf This booklet was created as a tool for refugee and immigrant serving agencies, as they help newcomer parents adjust to the different laws, norms and practices around raising children in the United States. See the Publications page http://www.brycs.org/brycs_resources.htm if you prefer to download the handbook in smaller segments. To order print or CD copies of the Handbook, please email info@brycs.org or call 1-888-572-6500.
Culturally Competent Practice With Latino Families
Culturally Competent Practice With Latino Families, a training curriculum developed for the Georgia Division of Family and Children's Services, provides participants with an introduction to the basic concepts of culturally competent practice, and specific skills and knowledge for culturally competent practice with Latino families. Upon completion of the training, participants will be able to identify the basic concepts of cultural competence, and understand the current demographics of Latino populations throughout the nation, the complexity of diverse Latino populations and the phases of the migration experience. (Description summarized from source.) http://tinyurl.com/2enhgr
A family-centered program that improves parent-child dynamics and family functioning is more effective at discouraging Hispanic youth from engaging in risky behavior than programs that target specific behaviors, according to a study published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. http://tinyurl.com/2obhgt National Institute of Mental Health Science Update December 20, 2007
Developed with a grant from the Minnesota Literacy Council, see these ESL materials for use online or to print out with non-native speakers and with low level literacy students. The are available, along with translated version of the material in several languages at http://www.mcedservices.com/medex2/medex2.htm. These interactive health literacy exercises provide practice in 3 areas: Understanding food and reading a nutrition label, understanding basic information about diabetes and basic information about high blood pressure. They have introductions spoken and printable in English, Arabic, Hmong, Somali and Spanish. [posted on HealthLiteracy 1625]
As a result of a Department of Labor and Office of Refugee Resettlement collaboration, three new fact sheets on recertification/re-licensing of refugee professionals are now available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resources/ref_emp_collaboration.htm [posted on the HMONGHEALTH listserv]
As the first session of the 110th Congress draws to a close, the Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a summary of the legislative proposals that focus specifically on addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care that have been introduced. Key Health Disparities-Focused Legislation Introduced in the 110th Congress, available at http://www.kff.org/minorityhealth/7724.cfm, highlights more than a dozen of these legislative initiatives, such as the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act and the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007.
In addition, Kaiser has posted online an archived webcast and transcript of Friday's Today's Topics In Health Disparities, available at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=2448. It focused on current federal legislative efforts to address racial and ethnic health disparities.
Created by three health care institutions in Ohio, The Health Information Translations web site http://www.healthinfotranslations.com/index.php provides resources for health professions seving limited english proficient (LEP) patients. In addition to translated patient education materials, the web site also has developed a set of common hospital signs with multiple translations. These signs, while developed for a hospital setting, include signs that can be used in many other public places. Examples of translated signs include: "Turn off cell phones" , "Cafeteria", "Please do not leave your children unattended".
The Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) is now accepting applications for the 11th Annual Patty Iron Cloud National Native American Youth Initiative which will be held in Washington D.C., June 21- 29, 2008. American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) high school students, ages 16- 18, who have an interest in the health careers and/or biomedical research are encouraged to apply. The NNAYI scholarship pays for travel, lodging, and most meals during the program. NNAYI's curriculum is strategically designed to prepare students for admission to college and professional schools, as well as for careers in health and biomedical research.
To accompany the students, AAIP is accepting applications for counselors, age 21 and older, to serve as role models during the nine-day program. AI/AN college students and health professionls are encouraged to apply. Deadline for student application is April 18, 2008 and for counselor application is March 21, 2008. Please visit the NNAYI website: http://www.aaip.org/programs/nnayi/nnayi.htm to obtain detailed information and to access the on-line application. [posted on Digest for IndigenousNewsNetwork@topica.com, issue 1030]
The resources described below focus on the Asian Pacific community, but many of the resources are broad enough to be useful to all in public health
The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations has created two important tools to aid in emergency preparedness planning for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Both are available online at AAPCHO’s website, http://www.aapcho.org.
AAPCHO’s Emergency Preparedness Resource Guide brings together emergency preparedness information essential to individuals, community health centers and organizations, hospitals, health departments, and other stakeholders serving the AAPI population. Resources range from links to general emergency preparedness information, to multilingual materials in AAPI languages. The resource guide is located under Other Health Issues in the Resources and Services section of www.aapcho.org. Its direct link is: http://www.aapcho.org/site/aapcho/content.php?type=1&id=10114
AAPCHO’s Emergency Preparedness compendium highlights the successes, challenges, and lessons learned of five AAPI-serving Community Health Centers during emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. This compendium is available both as a downloadable PDF and an online resource, located under Health Education in the Resources and Services section of www.aapcho.com. Its direct link is: http://www.aapcho.org/site/aapcho/content.php?type=6&id=81
[posted on aapcho-path listerv]
Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations
Partnerships for the future: Supporting practitioners and advancing the field through innovation, policy and research
September 21-24, 2008
Minneapolis Marriott City Center
This conference, which has been held biennially since 1998, is one of the most respected and well-supported conferences on cultural competence and health disparities reduction in the United States. Co-produced by Drexel University School of Public Health’s Center for Health Equality, Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care, and the USDHHS Office of Minority Health, this meeting attracts over 600 attendees from North America and around the world. It features over 150 presentations during pre-conference intensive training sessions, plenary panels, roundtable sessions, concurrent workshops, a film festival and a resource center with exhibits and poster presentations. The theme for the Sixth National Conference will be “Partnerships for the future: Supporting practitioners and advancing the field through innovation, policy and research.” Please visit http://www.DiversityRxConference.org/ for more information about the conference, including agendas and presentation abstracts from previous years. The Call for Presentation Proposals will be posted on the website on December 15 with a submission deadline of January 31, 2008.
The National Dairy Council (NDC) is teaming up with the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) to improve the health of the nation’s Hispanic population through an education campaign that reinforces dairy’s nutrient package. The recently launched 3-Al-Dia microsite explains the 3-A-Day of Dairy for Stronger Bones program in Spanish. It includes information on dairy's nutrient package, support for 3 servings by USDA's MyPyramid, and links to a 3-A-Day of Dairy meal planner, recipes and partner sites. http://www.3aday.org/About-3-A-Day/Pages/EnEspanol.aspx
NEW!!! ¡NUEVO! OMH en español
OMH’s Spanish language website is now live! It provides health information and resources to address the specific needs of Latinos in the U.S. Take a quiz, check you BMI, or read about any health topic…en español. http://www.omhrc.gov/espanol/
Hey, We Are Blogging!
Visit our National African Health Initiative (NAHI) Blog to learn about what organizations like yours are doing to enhance the culture of health prevention, education and care among the African refugee and immigrant communities through advocacy, outreach and research. http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=5661&lvl=2&lvlID=66
Request for Applications from Community-Based Organizations
The NACDD is receiving applications from community-based organizations to conduct a project to explore the relationship and consequent impact of acculturation and certain mental health conditions on chronic diseases among Latino immigrants. Deadline January 11, 2008. http://www.chronicdisease.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3614
[posted on OMHRC E*NEWS FLASH! http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlID=297]
The release date has been announced for the upcoming PBS documentary "Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?" The four-part series will air on consecutive Thursdays this spring: March 27, April 3, 10, and 17, 2008. Please visit http://www.unnaturalcauses.org for more information on the documentary and on the issue of social determinants of health. This Web site is a temporary "placeholder" for the fully interactive companion Web site that is now under construction.
“The Impact of Poverty, Culture, and Environment on Minority Health”
http://minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2008/
Featuring the 10th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture by Nancy Krieger, M.S., Ph.D.
The William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center, Chapel Hill, NC
Keynote Lecture will be broadcast by satellite and Internet at 2:00-3:30pm EST on February 29, 2008
The Minority Student Caucus at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health invites you to submit abstracts for the poster presentations during the 29th Annual Minority Health Conference on February 29, 2008. All abstracts must be received by January 11, 2008. Please submit your abstract online by visiting: http://minority.unc.edu/sph/minconf/2008/abstracts/
The Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER) is now accepting abstract submissions for the annual meeting scheduled to be held in Chicago, Illinois, June 24-27, 2008. The overall theme of the SER meeting is the social determinants of health. There will be a contributed paper session on Race and Class Inequalities in Health. Accepted abstracts will be distributed at the June meeting and will also be published in a Supplement issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. Abstracts must be submitted online at the following web address: http://epiresearch.org/abstracts/ Submissions will be accepted until February 1, 2008, 11:59 p.m. EST. For more information see http://www.epiresearch.org/ [posted on CBPR listserv]
The Joint Commission Resources is hosting a 90-minute audio conference on December 12, from 11:30-1:00pm. CST: “Creating Effective Systems for Erasing Language Barriers".
Amy-Wilson Stronks, MPP, CPHQ, The Joint Commission and Mara Youdelman, LLM, JD, National Health Law Program will explore the current landscape of providing language services within health care. This audio presentation will address the need for creating effective systems for dealing with language barriers and will provide some examples of creative processes employed by hospitals around the nation.This 90-minute audio conference will consist of 60 minutes of formal presentation followed by a 30-minute moderated Q&A session via telephone. The fee is $249 per connection. Organizations can sign up for one telephone connection with multiple attendees participating in one conference room. Audio tapes and CDs of the session are available for purchase. To register, go to http://www.jcrinc.com/26814/audioconf/25548/ [posted on a Joint Commission Resource update email]
Free, accurate information on many neurological disorders is now available on a new Spanish language website from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The website is available at http://espanol.ninds.nih.gov. Health information featured on the new website includes publications on stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and autism, as well as many other neurological disorders. The publications can be downloaded or ordered free of charge. The website also provides information on clinical studies, links to non-profit organizations that offer information and assistance on neurological disorders, and a contact form where people can submit questions on topics related to health and biomedical research. Read the complete NIH News Release online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec2007/ninds-07.htm
Today's Topics In Health Disparities - What Are the Current Federal Legislative Efforts to Address Health Disparities between Racial and Ethnic Groups?
This LIVE webcast begins at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, December 14, 2007
Nearly a dozen bills have been introduced in the 110th Congress that focus on addressing health disparities or minority health, and other legislative initiatives have included provisions to address disparities. On Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, at 9 a.m. ET, the Kaiser Family Foundation will host a live, interactive webcast discussing current federal legislative efforts to address health disparities between racial and ethnic groups, and the factors that may influence the outcome of these efforts.
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/todaystopics/14dec07 [posted on CLAStalk-list]
Every January, Families USA, in conjunction with a wide range of national organizations, organizes a grassroots health advocacy conference in Washington, DC. It's a great place to learn and share strategies with other advocates around the country and to recharge for the year ahead. Come to Health Action 2008, National Grassroots Meeting, January 24-26, 2008, Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Washington, DC
For more information go to http://www.familiesusa.org/conference/health-action-2008/ or write or call Families USA: 1201 New York Ave., NW, Suite 1100, Washington, DC 20005, 202-628-3030, field@familiesusa.org.
The December issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now online at http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/. In this issue:
Raise a Toast to Healthy Holidays: Celebrate the Season Without Risky Drinking
If you’re celebrating the holidays with family and friends, there’s a good chance alcohol will be part of the picture. People drink for many reasons, but if you overdo it there’ll be little to celebrate the next day.
Dealing With Hearing Loss:Hearing Aids Can Help
Hearing loss can be frustrating. It can make it hard to understand and follow a doctor’s advice, to respond to warnings and to hear doorbells and alarms. But there are ways to treat hearing loss. The most common is to wear a hearing aid.
Health Capsules:
Lack of Sleep Disrupts Emotional Controls
Diabetes Rates Increasing Among Youth
Featured Web Site: Aging and Health en Español http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol
The University of California- Berkeley’s School of Public Health released a report “Immigration, Health & Work: The Facts Behind the Myth,” dispelling misperceptions held by the public regarding health status, use of public health services, and exposure to hazardous occupations by immigrants in the U.S. The report also offers policy considerations to address these issues. http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/uc-report-on-immigration-myths_1.pdf [posted in Minority Health Connection: November 2007]
Healthy Roads Media's http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/index.htm health information materials are in multiple formats - handouts, audio, multimedia, web-video and (some) iPod videos. The multimedia, web-videos and iPod videos all show the text as it is being narrated - similar to what closed-captioning does. While our main goal is to try to reach non-English speakers in healthcare settings, we have heard from many ESL and adult education teachers that the English language materials are very helpful because they allow for various learning styles. Also, the ability to take home a handout with the same content is useful. Since it is possible to connect an iPod to a TV and create tailored play lists that are appropriate to the particular situation (classroom, waiting room, hospital, home visits, etc.) we are in the process of converting more of our materials to the iPod video format to make some multilingual health information content available for anyone who is interested to trying this strategy. Everything is free. Here is a link to the Healthy Roads Media iPod videos that have been created so far http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/ipodvideos.htm A number of new mental health topics have been added this week. [an email from Mary Alice Gillispie, MD, Healthy Roads Media, Director]
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) http://www.usmayors.org/, in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the HIV/AIDS Prevention Grants Program to strengthen local capacities to carry out effective HIV/AIDS prevention activities. There will be six grants at $70,000 each, for the implementation of HIV Prevention Projects for Women of Color at High Risk. The Request for Proposals can be downloaded from the USCM website. Links are on the main page, in a green box with a red ribbon. The link to the RFP is http://usmayors.org/hivprevention/rfp08.pdf
HRSA has launched a new Web-based health communications training tool designed to improve interaction between health care providers and their patients. The interactive training course, “Unified Health Communication: Addressing Health Literacy, Cultural Competency, and Limited English Proficiency,” aims to raise the quality of provider-patient interactions by teaching providers and their staff how to gauge and respond to their patients' health literacy, cultural background, and language skills. The course's five modules take four to five hours to complete. Modules 1 through 4 provide an introduction to health communication, health literacy, cultural competency, and limited English proficiency. In Module 5, participants can apply information learned in previous modules to test their ability to communicate effectively with patients. Self-paced instruction allows participants to complete one or more modules at a time. http://www.hrsa.gov/healthliteracy/training.htm Read the entire Press Release at http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/NewsBriefs/2007/HealthLiteracy.htm
The Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum has added a new page to their website that is a compilation of cultural competency resources. See the page at http://www.apiahf.org/resources/culturalcompetency.htm [posted on aapcho-path listserv]
"A growing number of health care stakeholders are recommending that we look across the Atlantic to explore the health systems in countries that cover all of their citizens. In a new column, Health Care Solutions Without Borders, Commonwealth Fund president Karen Davis highlights the findings of The Commonwealth Fund's recently released 2007 International Health Policy Survey, which shows that we have much to learn from such countries on issues of affordability, safety, and access to care. The survey found, for example, that financial barriers prevent many U.S. adults from getting the care they need. Thirty-seven percent of all U.S. adults surveyed skipped medications, did not see a doctor when sick, or did not obtain recommended care because they could not afford it. By contrast, only 5 percent of adults in the Netherlands and 8 percent in the U.K. reported problems accessing care due to costs." Read the complete column online at http://tinyurl.com/34usfl [posted on The Communwealth Fund email alert]
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has a web page about the Journal of Genreal Internal Medicine supplement issue with studies on the consequences of language barriers to non-English speaking patients. http://tinyurl.com/23n9u2
"Patients in the United States who speak little or no English are less likely to receive all recommended health care services than English-speaking patients, a new report finds. Non-English speakers are also less likely to have received documentation that provides informed consent before they undergo invasive procedures, according to studies published in a special supplement of the Journal of General Internal Medicine." Read the complete news story at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_57786.html [posted on MedlinePlus Health News, Tuesday November 20, 2007]
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), marks World AIDS Day on December 1st with the launch of its new, national public service campaign to educate Hispanic teens on the link between non-injection drug use and HIV transmission. The campaign features an innovative television spot blending English and Spanish; a "Webisode" series that will launch soon on http://www.hiv.drugabuse.gov ; outdoor, transit and print placements; community events and partnerships. Read the entire NIH News Release online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2007/nida-26.htm
Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer Featuring Cancer in American Indians and Alaska Natives
The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer shows a continuing decline in cancer death rates and includes a special section on cancer in American Indians and Alaska Natives. http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CancerReport/ The PDF file is available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/116330621/PDFSTART
Pre-graduate School Programs
Graduate Horizons is offering a pre-graduate school program for Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native students. The program is a four-day "crash course" for Native college students, master's students or alumni to help prepare them for graduate school. It will take place from July 12-15, 2008 at the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Complete program cost is $150 (includes tuition, room, meals, transportation to and from Tucson airport). Students are responsible for their own airfare, but substantial funds are available for travel and tuition assistance (in 2007, 72% of our students received travel awards). To learn more about the program, see http://collegehorizons.org/index.php?page=graduate-horizons
[posted on [NS_Education] Digest Number 586]
Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Health Care for American Indian and Alaska Native Elders
http://www.uppermidwestrhrc.org/pdf/policybrief_native_elders.pdf
Policy brief reporting findings from a study assessing health insurance coverage and access to health care among American Indian and Alaska Native elders (Native elders), using data from a national survey that included more than 8,300 Native elders.
Organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
National Trends in the Perinatal and Infant Health of Rural American Indians (AIs) and Alaska Natives (ANs)
Have the Disparities Between AI/ANs and Whites Narrowed?
http://depts.washington.edu/uwrhrc/uploads/RHRC_WP111_1Pager.pdf
Brief overview of findings from a study examining trends in prenatal care receipt, low-birthweight rates, neonatal and postneonatal death rates, and cause of death among rural American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and whites between 1985 and 1997.
Organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
[posted in Rural Assistance Center Health Update]
Native American students living on Arizona’s Hopi and Navajo Indian reservations are spending summer vacations discovering their vocation in life while providing hope for their communities.The Indigenous Pride Health Worker (IPHW) program exposes high school students to professional health careers with the aim that they will eventually return to serve their people on the reservation. http://www.raconline.org/newsletter/web/fall07.php#iphw [posted on New Issue of the Rural Monitor]
Find resources, including a Tribal Meth Toolkit at http://www.ncai.org/Meth_in_Indian_Country_Initiat.192.0.html
Read up on the intiative at: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,224180.shtml
Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the National Congress of American Indians Introduce First National Campaign Targeting Methamphetamine Abuse in Indian Country
Posted : Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:31:28 GMT
Author : Partnership for a Drug-Free America
DENVER, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, at the 64th Annual Conference of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the Partnership for a Drug- Free America and NCAI previewed a new communications campaign designed to raise awareness and reduce use of the highly addictive drug methamphetamine in Native communities. The research-based campaign, which includes public service messages for radio and print, as well as posters, is the first national meth prevention initiative developed specifically for Indian Country. [posted on Digest for IndigenousNewsNetwork@topica.com, issue 1012]
NEW!!! ¡NUEVO! OMH en español
http://www.omhrc.gov/espanol/
OMH’s Spanish language website is now live! It provides health information and resources to address the specific needs of Latinos in the U.S. Take a quiz, check you BMI, or read about any health topic…en español.
Funding Focus
http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=2
The focus in this issue is on community grants. Do you know of any organization that is doing great work but could use an infusion of funds? If so, please send them here.
[posted in the OMHRC E*NEWS FLASH!]
Your Diabetes Is My Diabetes: A Bilingual Family Matter
http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=5742&lvl=3&lvlID=287
Back in his native Venezuela, Manuel Hernandez was working for a company which required a mandatory annual physical examination among its employees. It helped him find out about his diabetes.
At Risk Asian Americans Battle Diabetes in New Ways
http://www.omhrc.gov/npa/templates/content.aspx?ID=43&lvl=2&lvlid=4
People come to the National Alliance to Nurture the Aged and Youth to attend a workshop or class. Sometimes, they end up on "the couch," the one elders rest on when they have unexpected dizzy spells brought on by diabetes, as someone calls for help.
[posted in the OMHRC E*NEWS FLASH!]
The Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working with Madison's Freedom, Inc., has produced a new Hmong-language DVD with English subtitles. Body and Spirit, Healing Your Way, is an 18-minute video that explores holistic health and healing, featuring interviews with Hmong-American individuals with distinct perspectives: shaman, nurse, patient, young adult, elder. They talk about the need to exercise, eat healthy foods, and maintain a regular schedule of check-ups with healthcare professionals. At the same time, they discuss how they have integrated their traditional beliefs and practices with the good things that the US medical system has to offer.
To preview the video or to order your copy, visit: http://www.law.wisc.edu/patientadvocacy/resources/multicultural.html [posted on HMONGHEALTH]
A webinar from the National Cancer Institute
December 6, 2007, 12:00 – 1:30pm PT
Beti Thompson, PhD, & Gloria Coronado, PhD, will present on their recent work to reduce health disparities among Hispanics/Latinos. This presentation will address strategies for improving colorectal cancer screening among Hispanics/Latinos using both community and clinic based approaches. Data from the NCI-funded Hispanic Community Network to Reduce Cancer Disparities program in the Yakima Valley of Washington, as well as data from Sea Mar Community Health Centers in Seattle, WA will be presented.
The Webinar is free, but registration is mandatory to participate. To register, please e-mail your contact information to Jennifer Tudor by Friday, November 30, 2007 at jtudor@fhcrc.org.
Call-in information and instructions will be e-mailed to registered participants on December 3, 2007.
A report released ... by the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) describes the diverse views of stakeholders from across the United States regarding the certification of health care interpreters. Amid the growing clamor for national certification for health care interpreters as a means to improve the quality of health care services for patients with limited English proficiency, the report reveals the complexities of developing a credible and technically sound certification process. A free copy of the report can be requested via email (joyconnell55@aol.com). More information, including National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care and other working papers on related topics, are available at http://www.ncihc.org [posted on CLAStalk-list]
HHS Announces Project to Help 3.6 Million Consumers Reap Benefits of Electronic Health Records
Oct 31, 2007 -- In a move that will improve health care for millions of Americans, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced a five-year demonstration project that will encourage small to medium-sized physician practices to adopt electronic health records (EHRs). http://www.raconline.org/news/news_details.php?news_id=7530
Broadband Enables Better Health Care at Reduced Cost for More Americans
Oct 25, 2007 -- Business Wire article reports that the expansion of broadband internet service has facilitated the development of telemedicine technologies improving healthcare to more Americans at a reduced cost, according to a new study commissioned by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA). http://tinyurl.com/yrxw49
Healthy Start Initiative-Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities
Application deadline: Dec 6, 2007
Under this program, grants will be awarded to address significant disparities in perinatal health indicators. http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1721
Healthy Behaviors in Women
Application deadline: Dec 7, 2007
Grants to develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate novel approaches that concurrently address the relationship between women's healthy eating and mental health during the perinatal period. http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1722
Grants for Native Americans and Native American Caregiver Support Program
Application deadline: Jan 22, 2008
Funding for programs to increase home and community based services to older Indians, Alaska Natives and native Hawaiians, which respond to local needs and are consistent with evidence-based prevention practices. http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=1724
[posted on Rural Assistance Center Health Update]
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes of Health, has launched three new portals to feature Spanish health materials and resources on its website. People looking for information about diabetes, digestive diseases, or kidney and urologic diseases in Spanish can now go directly to the appropriate Spanish-language portal page, where they will find an A to Z list of topics and titles. The NIDDK has 40 diabetes-related publications, 10 publications about digestive diseases, and 18 kidney and urologic publications in Spanish and will be adding more than 30 Spanish publications in the future, including one-page fact sheets that are part of the NIDDK's Awareness and Prevention series. The NIDDK website also links to the Spanish portals for MedlinePlus and the National Kidney Disease Education Program. The new Spanish portals are available at
-- http://www.diabetes-espanol.niddk.nih.gov for diabetes information
-- http://www.digestive-espanol.niddk.nih.gov for digestive diseases information
-- http://www.kidney-espanol.niddk.nih.gov for kidney and urologic diseases information
Read the entire NIH News Release at http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/nov2007/niddk-05.htm
Our cities, our health, our future: Acting on social determinants for health equity in urban settings
Chair and Lead Writer: Tord Kjellstrom
Report of the Knowledge Network on Urban Settings, WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
Prepared by the WHO Centre for Health Development, Kobe, Japan - 2007
Available online as PDf file [70p.] at: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/knus_report_16jul07.pdf
“…..A conceptual framework for urban health was suggested by Vlahov et al. (2006, 2007) and was adapted for the report (Figure 4). The core concept is that the social and physical environments that define the urban context are shaped by multiple factors and multiple players at multiple levels. Global trends, national and local governments, civil society, markets and the private sector shape the context in which local factors operate. Governance interventions in the urban setting must consider national and municipal determinants and should strive to influence both the urban living and working environments as well as intermediary processes that include social process and health knowledge." [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity listserv]
Hablamos Juntos is pleased to announce the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM) published a special supplement on language barriers today. The supplement is sponsored by Hablamos Juntos, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to 1) highlight state of the art research about the effects of language barriers on access, quality and cost of health care; 2) provide insight for clinicians, educators, researchers, administrators, and policy makers on addressing language barriers in healthcare settings; and 3) draw attention to unexplored areas of research and education. You can now access the online version of this supplement here: http://tinyurl.com/278l3w [posted on Hablamos Juntos eBrief November 2007]
Urban Indian Health Commission Report Reviews the Prevalence of Depression, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
Nearly seven out of every 10 American Indians and Alaska Natives live in or near cities, and that number is growing. This change in lifestyle has left many in dire circumstances and poor health. Unfortunately, this patient population is seemingly invisible to health care providers and federal and state policy-makers and yet faces significant health care disparities.
A new report, Invisible Tribes: Urban Indians and Their Health in a Changing World, released by the Urban Indian Health Commission, a select group of leaders convened by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Seattle Indian Health Board's Urban Indian Health Institute, examines the health care issues currently facing millions of urban American Indians and Alaska Natives. Find more information at http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=23195&pid=1142&c=EMC-CA133 Download the report at http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/uihc2007report.pdf [posted on RWJF Content Alerts]
See statistics from the US Census Bureau. http://tinyurl.com/2c78tf
The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments, to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National American Indian Heritage Month.” Similar proclamations have been issued every year since 1994. This Facts for Features presents data for American Indians and Alaska Natives, as this is one of the six major race categories.
Wednesday, November 7th, 3pm-5pm EST
Join the "virtual cafecito" (informal discussion over coffee) to discuss women of color, cervical cancer prevention and the HPV vaccine. The call is open to all people interested in learning more about cervical cancer prevention and participating in a dialogue focused on women of color. We are inviting national organizational partners, particularly those focusing on reproductive rights, health or justice in communities of color. Allied groups and individuals are welcome to join the phone call, but the discussion will focus on communities of color and low-income women. It’s virtual (on the phone)! So bring your cafecito (coffee), and we will provide the call-in information. Please reply to Miriam@latinainstitute.org if you are interested in participating, and we will respond with the call info. http://www.latinainstitute.org/
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Spanish–language Web site, CDC en Español, http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/ has been re–launched with a new look and new features that will make it more usable and functional. The updated Web site is another step in CDC's efforts to provide accurate, up–to–date information in Spanish on health issues of special interest to Hispanic communities, including information on a wide range of health promotion and disease prevention topics like asthma, cancer, HIV/AIDS, immunizations, children′s health, diabetes and occupational hazards. Read more at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/r071019.htm Read the Spanish Language press release at http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2007/rs071019.htm
Megan M. Krischke, contributor
"In January 2007, the University of California-Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) launched its Transcultural Linguistic Care (TLC) nursing program under the leadership of Aida Calpo, RN, MS. The program, which has received rave reviews from doctors, nurses and patients, provides bilingual nursing care to patients in the three languages, other than English, that are most common among admitted patients." Read the complete article at http://www.nursezone.com/stories/SpotlightOnNurses.asp?articleID=16897 [posted on Hmonghealth listserv]
Strategies to improve health literacy for diverse populations should address literacy, language, and cultural barriers
Persons who find it difficult to obtain, process, and understand health information and navigate the health care system are considered to have limited health literacy. Racial and ethnic minority adults are more likely to have limited health literacy than white non-Hispanic adults. Several strategies have been developed to improve health literacy for individuals with limited health literacy, such as using simpler language and picture-driven media. However, materials should be relevant to the patient's language and culture as well.
Health literacy strategies must be integrated with those targeted to culturally diverse individuals and those with limited English proficiency (LEP), recommend Dennis P. Andrulis, Ph.D., M.P.H., of Drexel University School of Public Health, and Cindy Brach, M.P.P., of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, in a recent paper. See "Integrating literacy, culture, and language to improve health care quality for diverse populations," by Drs. Andrulis and Brach, in the American Journal of Health Behavior 31(Suppl 1), pp. S122-S133, 2007. Reprints (AHRQ Publication No. 07-R079) are available from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/order.htm#clear [posted on CLAS-talk]
AMA's new second edition "Office guide to communicating with limited English proficient patients."
This handy updated version of the previous brochure now includes more questions and answers, more tips for working effectively with interpreters, more resources, and a brief guide for when to use different interpretation resources. The guide is available at
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/433/lep_booklet.pdf
This guide provides information and resources that physicians and health care staff can use to provide better care to patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). With the LEP population rising in both rural and urban areas of the United States, language gaps between physicians and patients are increasing. This guide offers detailed information on the ways LEP can affect patient care and effective strategies to address the language needs of patients in a culturally, linguistically and ethically appropriate manner. [posted on CLAS-talk]
The delivery of health care services in a manner that is respectful and appropriate to an individual’s language and culture is more than simply a patient’s right, but is, in fact, a key factor in the safety and quality of patient care (Schyve, 2002). Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation is a three year cross-sectional qualitative study funded by The California Endowment designed to explore how 60 hospitals across the country provide health care to culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations. See the October 2007 project update at: http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/HLC/
October 16, 2007
WASHINGTON, DC – The 2007 VIDA Hispanic Health Leadership Awards, the nation's premier recognition for leadership in Hispanic health, were presented during a ceremony in Washington, DC last night. Award recipients were honored by prominent presenters including the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members Congressmen Xavier Becerra (D-CA) and Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX). See the link on the home page of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health http://www.hispanichealth.org/ [posted on National Alliance for Hispanic Health email update]
Measuring Health Disparities Computer-based Course MHDID0806
Michigan Public Health Training Center (MPHTC) - University of Michigan, School of Public Health
Course Website: https://www.sph.umich.edu/iscr/mphtc/site.php?module=courses_one_online_course&id=247
Blog: http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/mhd/home
“…..Measuring Health Disparities is a self-paced, interactive course which focuses on some basic issues for public health practice -- how to understand, define and measure health disparity. This [free] computer-based course examines the language of health disparity to come to some common understanding of what that term means; it also shows how to calculate different measures of health disparity. The purpose of this course is to provide a durable tool that is useful to daily activities in the practice of public health. The content is designed to be accessible to a broad audience of practitioners across all sectors of the public health workforce who are concerned about the issue of health disparity." [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity List]
Finding Answers Intervention Research (FAIR) Database
The FAIR Database contains 206 journal article summaries from a systematic review of racial and ethnic health disparities interventions published as a Special Supplement to the October 2007 issue of Medical Care Research and Review. Systematic literature reviews were conducted for the following health topics and intervention strategies: cardiovascular disease (CVD), depression, diabetes mellitus, breast cancer, cultural leverage and pay-for-performance incentives. Diseases examined in this database were chosen because they have a known high prevalence, cause significant morbidity and mortality, have clear standards of care, and have large documented disparities in care. Diseases outside the scope of the supplement (e.g., HIV/AIDS, asthma) are not included in this database. http://www.solvingdisparities.org/fair_database[posted on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation email list]
I was lucky enough to hear Dr. Daniel Blumenthal speak at Creighton University Medical Center last week, and want to recommend his article "A Community Coalition Board Creates a Set of Values for Community-based Research" as an example of a community case study in which the community truly is responsible for setting the research agenda. You can read the full text article, printed online in Preventing Chronic Disease, Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2006 at http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2006/jan/05_0068.htm
Preparing Racially And Ethnically Diverse Communities For Public Health Emergencies
Dennis P. Andrulis, Nadia J. Siddiqui and Jenna L. Gantner
Health Affairs September/October 2007
Dennis Andrulis, director of the Center for Health Equality at the Drexel University School of Public Health http://publichealth.drexel.edu/che/, and colleagues examined academic literature... [and] found that, compared with whites, ethnic and racial minorities had fewer concerns about public health emergencies, were more skeptical of warnings, were less likely to evacuate, were less likely to receive education on preparedness, and relied more on television and family for information. Researchers also reviewed 301 Web sites that provide information on preparedness for public health emergencies and found that only 12.6% considered the specific needs of ethnic and racial minorities. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/26/5/1269 [posted on Kaiser Health Disparities Report: A Weekly Look At Race, Ethnicity And Health]
The Northern California Indian Development Council is pleased to publish the Active NDN newsletter. This program is funded by a special grant from the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD). The newsletter is written for staff working with American Indian Youth to give them current information that can be helpful in promoting solutions to health risks caused by youth obesity. Please download and distribute this newsletter to appropriate staff and families at: http://www.ncidc.org/obesity/newsletters.html. There you can also find further articles that you can copy and paste into your own tribal newsletters. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future editions please contact us at activendn@ncidc.org [posted on [NS_Education] Digest Number 584]
National Approach to Improving Health Care
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will provide nearly $16 million in grants to develop and test a single national approach to bring consistency to efforts to measure and report on the quality and cost of patient care. The project will combine data from many national health plans and from Medicare to provide a broader picture of individual physicians' care across their entire practices. http://tinyurl.com/27wum4 [posted on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation email]
Endorsing a Framework and Preferred Practices for Measuring and Reporting Culturally Competent Care
The National Quality Forum (NQF) is now soliciting frameworks and practices for a new project, Endorsing a Framework and Preferred Practices for Measuring and Reporting Culturally Competent Care, which is being supported by The Commonwealth Fund and the California Endowment. The project seeks to endorse a comprehensive national framework for evaluating cultural competency across all health care settings, as well as a minimum set of preferred practices based on the framework. The framework and practices should focus on all aspects of cultural competency including, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, disabilities, sexual orientation, spirituality, and language preference. Frameworks and practices must be submitted by Friday, October 25, 2007, at 6:00 p.m., EDT. Please visit the NQF site at http://www.qualityforum.org/projects/ongoing/cultural-comp/ for the project summary, call for frameworks and practices, and practice submission form. [posted on The Commonwealth Fund email alert]
Equity-Oriented Tool Kit for Health Technology Assessment
WHO Collaborating Center for Knowledge Translation and Health Technology Assessment in Health Equity
The Institute of Population Health at the University of Ottawa
http://www.intermed.med.uottawa.ca/research/globalhealth/whocc/projects/eo_toolkit/index.htm
A needs-based health technology assessment model is used to provide methods to match the identified health needs of a population, to the most appropriate interventions. The existing tool kit focused on averages, but this ignored distributional issues and equity gradients. This toolkit is based on clinical and population health status and takes into account issues of gender equity, social justice and community participation. [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity List]
Over one hundred indigenous Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders throughout the continental U.S. and the Pacific Basin will gather in Washington, D.C., on October 10-11, 2007 to develop a Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander National Health Agenda that will mobilize a Call for Action to improve the health status specifically for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
The summit is sponsored by the U.S. Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Papa Ola Lokahi, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) and Weaving an Islander network for Cancer Awareness, Research and Training (WINCART), and will be held at the Academy for Educational Development Technology Center at 1825 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC on October 10-11, 2007.
Unnatural Causes is a four-hour documentary series produced by California Newsreel with Vital Pictures, Inc. Presented for PBS broadcast by the National Minority Consortia of Public Television. Public Impact Campaign in association with the Joint Center Health Policy Institute. http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/
Unnatural Causes, a seven-part series for PBS broadcast and DVD release, will, for the first time on television, sound the alarm about our glaring socio-economic and racial disparities in health--and seek out root causes. But those causes are not what we might expect. While we pour more and more money into drugs, dietary supplements and new medical technologies, it turns out there is much more to our health than bad habits, health care or unlucky genes. The social conditions in which we are born, live and work profoundly affect our well-being and longevity. http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/documentary.html
DreamCatchers has joined forces with Navajo Health Promotions, a division of the Indian Health Service on the Navajo Nation, to produce a health and fitness 2 video set; REZ ROBICS and REZ ROBICS FOR COUCH POTATO SKINS. The project is inspired by the fact that Diabetes has become one of the most serious threats to the health of Indian people both on the reservations and in urban settings. Copies of the videos are being distributed free of charge throughout the Indian communities of North America. While Navajo Health Promotions distributes on and around The Navajo Nation via clinics, schools and video stores, DreamCatchers oversees distribution to the rest of "Indian Country". There is no FBI warning on the programs. Instead, the opening message states, "Please make copies and give them to your friends and relatives". To find out more, and to learn how to get copies, see http://www.dreamcatchers.org/rezrobics/ [posted on Digest for IndigenousNewsNetwork@topica.com, issue 986]
Getting the Word Out: Effective Outreach to Cultural Communities
http://www.medtronic.com/downloadablefiles/outreach_brochure.pdf
published by the Medtronic Foundation
"Getting the Word Out is a guide to effective outreach for health organizations. In particular, this guide is intended for patient support organizations that would like to make their information, referral, support and advocacy services more accessible to people from a variety of cultural communities." [posted on CLAStalk-list]
Racial Categories in Medical Practice: How Useful Are They?
Vol. 4(9) September 2007 The PLoS Medicine
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040271
Racial Categories in Medicine: A Failure of Evidence-Based Practice?
Vol. 4(9) September 2007 The PLoS Medicine
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0040287
A new issue brief from Speaking Together: National Language Services Network highlights how data are helping hospitals improve the way they provide language services to America's increasingly diverse patient populations. A Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program, Speaking Together is helping 10 hospitals nationwide identify, test and assess strategies to effectively provide language services to patients with limited English proficiency. The hospitals are now shifting from tracking performance to implementing and testing innovations. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/2pwxlh Download the issue brief at http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/speakingtogetherbrief102007.pdf [posted on RWJF Content Alert]
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
20th Anniversary: Cultivating Traditions of Wellness and National Technical Assistance Conference
March 10 and 11, 2008
Washington Court Hotel
Washington, D.C
The two day conference will feature technical assistance and trainings designed specifically for culturally and linguistically appropriate health care providers, along with a celebration of AAPCHO's 20 years of dedication to improving the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders with a fundraising gala in Washington, D.C.
http://www.aapcho.org/site/aapcho/section.php?id=11128
[posted on aapcho-path listserv]
The collection of data on patient race, ethnicity and primary language is helping hospitals improve the quality of their care and reduce racial and ethnic disparities, according to a new issue brief from Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care, a national program sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Read more at http://tinyurl.com/2a6cmd Download the report at http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/esissuebrief092007.pdf [posted on Robert Wood Johnson Foundation email alert]
The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants has recently posted 13 health brochures in KAREN and BURMESE on their website. http://www.refugees.org/article.aspx?id=1854 Other languages available on this site include Somali, Arabic, English, Kurundi, Russian and Vietnamese. All the brochures are available for download free of charge. [posted on the Hmonghealth listserv]
The Sixth National Conference on
QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR CULTURALLY DIVERSE POPULATIONS
September 21-24, 2008
Marriott City Center in downtown Minneapolis, MN
This conference, which has been held in cities around the country biennially since 1998, is one of the most respected and well-supported conferences on cultural competence and health disparities reduction in the United States. Co-produced by the Drexel University Center for Health Equality, Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care, and the USDHHS Office of Minority Health, this meeting attracts over 600 attendees from around the world, and features over 150 presentations during pre-conference workshops, plenary panels, roundtable sessions, concurrent workshops, a film festival, and a resource center featuring exhibits and poster presentations. Regular sponsors and participants include The California Endowment, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Joint Commission, NCQA, several USDHHS agencies, and a host of other health care foundations and organizations (please see http://www.diversityrx.org/ccconf/06/SUPPORTERS_06.htm for a complete list of supporters).
Please visit http://www.diversityrx.org/ccconf/ formore background about the conference, including agendas and presentation abstracts from previous years.
The Call for Presentation Proposals will be posted on the website on December 15 with a submission deadline of January 31, 2008.
Toxie, the ToxMystery guide cat, has gone back to school and can now speak Spanish. ToxMystery gamers can now move between English and Spanish as they explore the ToxMystery "house of hazards." The new ToxMystery en español has a "Para los padres" page giving parents more detailed information about potential household hazards. The "Para maestros" page is for teachers and has lesson plans and downloadable classroom activity pages in Spanish. ToxMystery can be used in science, health, and even for teaching in Spanish and English language classes. ToxMystery (http://toxmystery.nlm.nih.gov) is purrfect for 7-11 year olds (and fun for all ages) to learn about possible chemical hazards around the home. ToxMystery is an e-learning game that uses animation, sound effects and positive reinforcement to teach students about environmental health hazards around the home.
The National Kidney Disease Education Program (NKDEP), an initiative of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has created an educational brochure tailored specifically for African Americans at risk for kidney disease. The brochure - "Kidney Disease: What African Americans Need to Know" http://www.nkdep.nih.gov/resources/African_American_brochure.htm -- explains the connection between diabetes, high blood pressure, and kidney disease, and encourages those at risk to talk to their health care providers about getting tested. African Americans are disproportionately affected by kidney failure due in part to higher rates of diabetes and high blood pressure -- the two leading causes of kidney failure. The brochure explains the blood and urine tests used to detect kidney disease in simple, easy-to-read language. It also outlines several steps to protect one's kidneys. Read the entire press release at http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/sep2007/niddk-20.htm
Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health is a major national objective, one of two overall goals for Healthy People 2010. A new synthesis of rigorous national studies examines the prevalence and causes of disparities in access to and quality of health care, and the policy implications of these findings. You can access the report Racial and ethnic disparities in access to and quality of health care at http://www.rwjf.org/pr/synthesis/reports_and_briefs/issue12.html?c=EMC-CA142 The Synthesis Project will host a Webinar briefing to present the results of the report on September 21st from 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT. The Webinar will feature a presentation from the author and reactor comments from Nicole Lurie, MD, Director of the RAND Center for Population Health and Health Disparities and Romana Hasnain-Wynia, PhD, Vice President, Health Research and Educational Trust. To sign up, please send an email message with your name, organization and phone number to cwilliams@azaconsult.com [posted on RWJF Content Alerts]
Achieving Health Equity: From root causes to fair outcomes
Website: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/
This is the Interim Statement of the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. It sets out the Commission’s vision and goals, the problems it seeks to ameliorate, and the intellectual foundation for a social determinants approach. In doing so, the Interim Statement is a resource for stakeholders concerned with social determinants of health and health equity, as they build towards a global movement.Recommendations for action, based on the evidence gathered across all the Commission’s work streams, will be made in the Final Report in May 2008.
Download the full statement [pdf 535kb] http://www.who.int/entity/social_determinants/resources/csdh_media/csdh_interim_statement_07.pdf
[posted on PAHO/WHO Equity listserv]
Prostate Cancer Education Program Targets Black Men in Barbershops
[Sep-07-2007]
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=47375
Providing black men with information about prostate cancer during visits to their local barbers has been an effective educational and screening tool, according to Virgil Simons, founder of The Prostate Net http://www.prostate-online.org/, a prostate cancer awareness organization, HealthDay/Forbes http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2007/09/06/hscout607992.html reports. Studies have shown that black men have a 60% higher risk of prostate cancer than whites and are almost 2.5 times more likely to die from the disease. The disparity has been attributed to a lack of access to routine health care.
Cultural Beliefs Affect New Immigrants' Use of Mental Health Services
[Sep-05-2007]
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=47287
The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/31/AR2007083101792.html on Tuesday examined how "cultural differences ... can have profound implications" on immigrants' access to mental health services. Francis Lu, a professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California-San Francisco, said, "Often there isn't even a concept that a problem is a mental illness." Many immigrants are reluctant to seek early intervention for mental health issues, and it is more common for immigrants to experience treatment delays of months, which can lead to "a long-festering problem that has spiraled into a full-blown crisis requiring immediate hospitalization," according to the Post.
[posted on Kaiser Health Disparities Report: A Weekly Look At Race, Ethnicity And Health]
Accurate, up-to-date information on health issues affecting Hispanic seniors is now available online in Spanish from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The user-friendly website has information on a wide range of health topics, including diseases such as Alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes. Helpful tips on choosing a doctor and maintaining a healthy lifestyle also are available at http://www.nia.nih.gov/Espanol
A new issue brief from the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), "From Policy to Action: Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the Ground Level," http://www.chcs.org/publications3960/publications_show.htm?doc_id=519202 outlines practical strategies that states and managed care organizations are implementing to address inequalities in care. It highlights the need for standardized collection of race, ethnicity, and language data; culturally competent approaches; and the participation and commitment of multiple stakeholders. The brief draws from CHCS' national initiatives, supported by The Commonwealth Fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to identify realistic solutions to reduce health care disparities and improve quality. To download the issue brief and access other resources from CHCS, please visit: http://www.chcs.org. [posted on The Commonwealth Fund e-mail alert]
This toolkit is designed to help decision-makers, advocates, and elected officials get better results in their work by providing equitable opportunities for all. The approach described in the toolkit deals specifically with policies and practices that contribute to inequitable outcomes for children, families, and communities. The toolkit presents a specific point of view on addressing unequal opportunities by race and simple, results-oriented steps to help you achieve your goals. http://www.aecf.org/KnowledgeCenter/PublicationsSeries/RaceMatters.aspx [posted in Minority Health Connection: August 2007]
Launched in March, Your Congress–Your Health solicited feedback from PARADE magazine’s 74 million readers through its Web site, which received an unprecedented spike in comments on the topics of health and research. Based on this public response, Research!America and its partners, including the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, developed 15 questions and invited all members of Congress to address them. The Your Congress–Your Health Web site presents Congressional members’ responses in an easy-to-use format searchable by ZIP code, state and member name. To date, nearly one-fourth of the current Congress has responded, and participation continues to grow. To see complete poll results and responses from Congress, visit http://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/index.php?language=english (English) or http://www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/espanol (Spanish). [from The National Alliance for Hispanic Health]
The Summer 2007 issue of CAM at the NIH is now available online. This publication, focusing on complementary and alternative medicine, is produced by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In this issue learn about the use of placebos in controlled experiments and an individuals response to those placebos that might enhance health and health care. http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2007_summer/
Also, be sure to read the article on Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D, author of the autobiography The Scalpel and the Silver Bear: The First Navajo Woman Surgeon Combines Western Medicine and Traditional Healing . http://nccam.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2007_summer/perspective.htm
Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy's Library http://www.kpihp.org/publications/ includes several articles on health disparities.
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Issue Brief – Kate Meyers, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, Oakland, CA May 2007 http://www.kpihp.org/publications/docs/disparities%5Fhighlights.pdf
Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Influences, Actors, and Policy Opportunities Kate Meyers, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, Oakland, CA March 2007 http://www.kpihp.org/publications/docs/disparities.pdf
Reducing Disparities: Goals, Roles, and Opportunities Kate Meyers, Kaiser Permanente Institute for Health Policy, Oakland, CA Dec 2006 http://www.kpihp.org/publications/docs/disparities_summary.pdf
In addition to these articles, see this one from AARP: Racial and ethnic disparities in influenza and pneumococcal immunization rates among Medicare beneficiaries – 2007 (AARP) http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/health/ib83%5Fdisparities.pdf
HEALTH COMM Web sites Aug 2007, compiled by Marcia Zorn, MA, MLS
Lists are Archived by the Coalition for Health Communication at http://www.healthcommunication.net/Online_Resources.html
The AHRQ Health Care Innovations Exchange is a new program designed to support health care professionals in sharing and adopting innovations that improve health care quality. http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/ The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) is partnering with the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) “Health Care Innovations Exchange Initiative,” to identify Hispanic physicians and other healthcare professionals who have made significant contributions reducing health disparities in the Hispanic community in the clinical setting.
The Disparity Reducing Advances Project (the DRA Project) is a multi-year, multi-stakeholder project developed by the Institute for Alternative Futures (IAF) to identify the most promising advances for bringing health gains to the poor and underserved and accelerating the development and deployment of these advances to reduce disparities. With over 50 partners, the DRA Project has identified several important disparity reducing advances for the U.S. http://www.altfutures.com/DRA/
On May 30, 2007, the National Center on Minority Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for the NCMHD Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Initiative in Reducing and Eliminating Health Disparities: Intervention Research Phase (R24). (See: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/rfa-md-07-003.html- applications are due August 31).
Subsequently, the NCMHD held a telephone conference call to provide technical assistance in the RFA process and to answer as many questions as possible. As a result, answers to frequently asked questions were developed and are posted at http://www.ncmhd.nih.gov/faq1.asp For additional information, please contact Dr. Nathaniel Stinson, Acting Program Official, NCMHD Community-Based Participatory Research Program, at stinsonn@mail.nih.gov [posted on CBPR listserv]
The United States is the third ranking country in the world in terms of Hispanic population. It is led only by Mexico as first and Columbia as second! September 15 - October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. For more facts from the Census Bureau, see http://tinyurl.com/344faz Provide your clients with a handout filled with Latino/Hispanic Health Information Resources http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/docs/latino_american_resources.rtf
The Cultural Orientation Resource Center http://www.cal.org/co/ provides important orientation resources for refugee newcomers and service providers throughout the United States and overseas. Housed at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), the COR Center combines CAL's linguistic expertise, the cross-cultural and technical knowledge of COR's many consultants, and the field experience of refugee service practitioners.
Make sure to take a look at the publications section http://www.cal.org/co/publications/ for Cultural Profiles and Refugee Backgrounders.
The downside of diversity
By Michael Jonas The Boston Globe Published: August 5, 2007
"It has become increasingly popular to speak of racial and ethnic diversity as a civic strength. From multicultural festivals to pronouncements from political leaders, the message is the same: our differences make us stronger. But a massive new study, based on detailed interviews of nearly 30,000 people across America, has concluded just the opposite. Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam -- famous for "Bowling Alone," his 2000 book on declining civic engagement -- has found that the greater the diversity in a community, there are fewer people who vote, people volunteer less, they give less to charity and work less on community projects.....
The study is part of a fascinating new portrait of diversity emerging from recent scholarship. Diversity, it shows, makes us uncomfortable -- but discomfort, it turns out, isn't always a bad thing. Unease with differences helps explain why teams of engineers from different cultures may be ideally suited to solve a vexing problem. Culture clashes can produce a dynamic give-and-take, generating a solution that may have eluded a group of people with more similar backgrounds and approaches."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/05/news/diversity.php [posted on CLAStalk-list]
Primary health care as a strategy for achieving equitable care: a literature review commissioned by the Health Systems Knowledge Network
Prof. J. De Maeseneer, S. Willems, A. De Sutter, I. Van de Geuchte, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University. Belgium.
M.Billings Global Health through Education, Training and Service, Attleboro, USA.
March 2007
The Health Systems Knowledge Network - WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health
Available online at: http://www.wits.ac.za/chp/kn/De%20Maeseneer%202007%20PHC%20as%20strategy.pdf
“….The health system plays a role as a social determinant of health :
· at the macro-level: through public policy and equitable resource allocation processes;
· at the meso- level (the community): through performance of the decentralized policy;
· at the micro-level: through factors related to the organisation of the health care system (physical, financial, psycho-social, cultural and administrative access) as well as factors related to the health care provider (skills, knowledge, approach to the patient). This is where primary health care systems may contribute to comprehensive care….” [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity listserv]
From the American Friends Service Committee: list of resources in English and Spanish on how to be prepared in case of a raid, what to do if a family members is detained and also about knowing your rights. http://www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/news/raids_resources.htm
Charting the future of community health promotion: recommendations from the National Expert Panel on Community Health Promotion
Navarro AM, Voetsch KP, Liburd LC, Giles HW, Collins JL.
Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) - Volume 4: No. 3, July 2007
Published by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC
Available online at: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/jul/07_0013.htm
".....In the decades since chronic illnesses replaced infectious diseases as the leading causes of death, public health researchers, particularly those in the field of health promotion and chronic disease prevention, have shifted their focus from the individual to the community in recognition that community-level changes will foster and sustain individual behavior change.
Navarro A, Voetsch K, Liburd L, Bezold C, Rhea M. Recommendations for future efforts in community health promotion: report of the National Expert Panel on Community Health Promotion. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adult and Community Health; 2006.
PDF [22p.] available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/pdf/community_health_promotion_expert_panel_report.pdf [posted on PAHO/WHO Equity listserv]
Active Living Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has announced a call for presentation and paper abstracts for its annual conference to be held April 9-12, 2008, in Washington, D.C. The theme of the conference is "Connecting Active Living Research to Policy Solutions." Abstracts on all topics related to active living policies and environments are welcome. Deadline: September 17.
Active Living Research has also issued a call for nominations for the "Translating Research to Policy" award, which will be presented at the conference. This national award will recognize innovators who have successfully harnessed research to impact policy and environmental changes. Deadline: September 17. For more information, visit http://www.activelivingresearch.org/ [posted on CBPR listsserv]
On Thursday, August 2, 2007, at 1 p.m. EDT, the Kaiser Family Foundation will host a live, interactive webcast to discuss racial disparities in HIV/AIDS, with a focus on the African- American community. African-Americans account for more people estimated to be living with AIDS and HIV-related deaths than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.. Today, African-Americans make up about 12 percent of the U.S. population, but account for half of all new AIDS cases. And, despite medical advances, the HIV death rate is still significantly higher for African-Americans than for other groups. Watch the live webcast on http://www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=2213 on Thursday, August 2, 2007, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EDT. The panel of experts will take your questions via email. Send questions in advance of or during the program to TodaysTopics@kaisernetwork.org.
The New Routes to Community Health News and Views Blog can be viewed at http://www.newroutes.org/blog You can also subscribe to recieve weekly updates from the blog on this page. This week's entries include:
Migration - How Free Is Our Freedom to Move?
Shouldn't people everywhere have the right to choose where to live? Must there be a limit...
http://newroutes.org/node/4884
Community Tool Box
The Mission: Promoting community health and development by connecting people, ideas and resources. The Tool Box provides... http://newroutes.org/node/4726
Are Immigrants