Minority Health and Health Equity Archive
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769
Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.
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Item Obese African-American Women’s Perspectives on Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery(2007) Lynch, Cheryl Sterling; Chang, Judy C.; Ford, Angela F.; Ibrahim, Said A.BACKGROUND: African-American (AA) women have higher rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases but are less likely than other women to undergo bariatric surgery or have success with conventional weight loss methods. OBJECTIVE: To explore obese AA women’s perceptions regarding barriers to weight loss and bariatric surgery. DESIGN: Focus groups to stimulate interactive dialogueabout beliefs and attitudes concerning weight management. PARTICIPANTS AND APPROACH: We partnered with acommunity organization to recruit women who were AA, were ≥18 years old, and had a body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m2. We audiotaped the 90-minute focus groups and used content analysis for generating and coding recurring themes. RESULTS: In our sample of 41 participants, the mean age was 48.8 years and mean BMI was 36.3. Most participants were unmarried, had some postsecondary education, and reported good or fair health. About 85% knew someone who had undergone bariatric surgery. Qualitative analysis of 6 focus group sessions revealed that the most common barriers to weight loss were lack of time and access to resources; issues regarding selfcontrol and extrinsic control; and identification with a larger body size. Common barriers to bariatric surgery were fears and concerns about treatment effects and perceptions that surgery was too extreme or was a method of last resort. CONCLUSIONS: Only through the elimination of barriers can AA women receive the care needed to eliminate excess weight and prevent obesity-related morbidity and mortality.Item Health Disparities: The Importance of Culture and Health Communication(2004) Thomas, Stephen B.; Fine, Michael J.; Ibrahim, Said A.The root causes of health disparities are numerous and relate to individual behaviors, provider knowledge and attitudes, organization of the health care system, and societal and cultural values. Disparities have been well documented,even in systems that provide unencumbered access to health care, such as the VA Healthcare System, suggesting that factors other than access to care (e.g., culture and health communication) are responsible. Efforts to eliminate health disparities must be informed by the influence of culture on the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of not only minority populations but also public health policymakers and the health professionals responsible for the delivery of medical services and public health interventions designed to close the health gap. There is credible evidence suggesting that cultural norms within Western societies contribute to lifestyles and behaviors associated with risk factors for chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular disease). This is the context in which smoking cessation, increased physical activity, and dietary regulation are prime targets for intervention.