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.
Browse
11 results
Search Results
Item Charting the Course(National Institute of Health - Office of Disease Prevention, 2014) UNSPECIFIEDItem Item NIH Conference on Understanding and Reducing Disparities in Health: Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Contributions(2007) UNSPECIFIEDThe conference focuses on three broad areas of action influencing health disparities: policy, prevention, and healthcare. It emphasize both basic research on the behavioral, social, and biomedical pathways giving rise to disparities in health and applied research on the development, testing, and delivery of interventions to reduce disparities in these three action areas. The conference employs a multi-level analytic framework (i.e., ranging from individuals to societies). It includes research relevant to a wide range of population groups (e.g., variation by SES, race, ethnicity, gender) residing in the United States, while not attempting to provide detailed analyses of each and every group. Consideration is given to multiple public health issues and their interactions (e.g., multiple morbidities rather than single illnesses) and to risk factors or causal processes common to various health conditions (e.g., smoking, diet, exercise, access to health care). http://obssr.Item NIH State-of-the-Science Conference on Tobacco Use: Prevention, Cessation, and Control(2006) UNSPECIFIEDObjective To provide health care providers, patients, and the general public with a responsible assessment of currently available data on tobacco use: prevention, cessation and control. Participants A non-DHHS, non-advocate 14-member panel included experts in the fields of medicine, general and pediatric psychiatry, addiction medicine, nursing, social work, population science, cancer prevention, minority health and health disparities, clinical study methodology, clinical epidemiology, and a public representative. A listing of the panel members and their institutional affiliations is included in the draft conference statement. In addition, 15 experts from pertinent fields presented data to the panel and conference audience. Evidence Presentations by experts and a systematic review of the literature prepared by the RTI International-University of North Carolina Evidence-based Practice Center, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Scientific evidence was given precedence over anecdotal experience. Conference Process The panel drafted its statement based on scientific evidence presented in open forum and on published scientific literature. The draft statement was presented on the final day of the conference and circulated to the audience for comment. The panel released a revised statement later that day at http://consensus.nih.gov. This statement is an independent report of the panel and is not a policy statement of the NIH or the Federal Government. Conclusions Tobacco use remains a very serious public health problem. Coordinated national strategies for tobacco prevention, cessation, and control are essential if the United States is to achieve the Healthy People 2010 goals. Most adult smokers want to quit, and effective interventions exist. However, only a small proportion of tobacco users try treatment. This gap represents a major national quality-of-care problem. Many cities and states have implemented effective policies to reduce tobacco use; public health and government leaders should learn from these experiences. Because smokeless tobacco use may increase in the United States, it will be increasingly important to understand net population harms related to use of smokeless tobacco. Prevention, especially among youth, and cessation are the cornerstones of strategies to reduce tobacco use. Tobacco use is a critical and chronic problem that requires close attention from health care providers, health care organizations, and research support organizations.Item Researchers Publish Results of Largest Genome-Wide Linkage Study of Prostate Cancer Among African American Men(2006) UNSPECIFIEDBethesda, Md. — Researchers from 12 institutions, including the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced the results of the first genome-wide linkage study of prostate cancer in African Americans. Using genetic markers, researchers identified several regions of the human genome that likely contain genes that, when altered, increase the risk of developing prostate cancer.Item YOUR GUIDE TO Lowering Your Cholesterol With TLC(2005) UNSPECIFIEDHigh blood cholesterol can affect anyone. It’s a serious condition that increases the risk for heart disease, the number one killer of Americans—women and men. The higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your risk. Fortunately, if you have high blood cholesterol, there are steps you can take to lower it and protect your health. This booklet will show you how to take action by following the “TLC Program” for reducing high blood cholesterol. TLC stands for Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes, a three-part program that uses diet, physical activity, and weight management. Sometimes, drug treatment also is needed to lower blood cholesterol enough. But even then, the TLC Program should be followed. The booklet has four main sections: It explains why cholesterol matters and helps you find your heart disease risk; describes the TLC Program; talks about a condition called the metabolic syndrome that can also be treated with TLC; and offers advice on how to make heart healthy lifestyle changes. Within the sections you’ll find tips on such topics as how to: communicate better with your doctor and other health care professionals, read food labels, make and stick with lifestyle changes, plan heart healthy menus for the whole family, and make heart healthy choices when you eat out. Anyone can develop high blood cholesterol—everyone can take steps to lower it.Item Policy Issues Associated with Undertaking a New Large U.S. Population Cohort Study of Genes, Environment, and Disease(2007) UNSPECIFIEDThis report describes the efforts of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health, and Society (SACGHS) to assess the need and readiness for a new large population study (LPS) in the United States and presents recommendations to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) so that this concept can be further explored. The HHS Secretary established SACGHS in 2002 as a public forum for deliberation on the broad range of human health and societal issues raised by advances in genetics and, as warranted, the development of advice on these issues. In a March 2004 priority-setting process, SACGHS identified 11 high-priority issues warranting its attention and analysis. One of those issues was the need for an analysis of the opportunities and challenges associated with conducting an LPS aimed at understanding the relationships between genes, environments,1 and their interactions and common complex diseases. Among the considerations that led the Committee to this decision was the fact that discussions were underway at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about whether the United States should mount a new large population-based study. In June 2005, as SACGHS factfinding efforts were beginning, NIH Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni requested that the Committee develop a report on the preliminary questions, steps, and strategies that would need to be addressed before considering the larger question of whether the United States should undertake a new LPS. Specifically, the Committee was asked to (1) delineate the questions that need to be addressed for policymakers to determine whether the U.S. Government should undertake a new LPS to elucidate the influences of genetic variations and environmental factors on common complex diseases; (2) explore the ways in which, or processes by which, the questions identified in step 1 can be addressed, including any intermediate research studies, pilot projects, or policy analysis efforts needed; and (3) determine the possible ways in which these questions could be addressed, taking into account the feasibility of those approaches expect the Committee to recommend solutions to the questions raised. The next section summarizes exploratory work by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and factfinding and consultative efforts by SACGHS on this issue. Chapter II presents the scientific basis for an LPS. Chapter III outlines the key policy issues that SACGHS has identified as warranting further attention. Chapter IV discusses the critical role that public engagement must play in determining the willingness of U.S. citizens to support and participate in such an endeavor. In keeping with its agreed upon charge, throughout this report the Committee explores the ways in which the identified policy issues could be addressed and describes possible approaches for the HHS Secretary’s consideration.Item Comprehensive Strategic Plan To Reduce and Ultimately Eliminate Health Disparities(2002) UNSPECIFIEDDespite progress in biomedical science over the past several decades that has increased longevity and improved quality of life for many in our Nation, a heavier burden of disease continues to be borne by some populations, particularly minorities, the poor and underserved. For example, the death rate from prostate cancer among African American men is almost twice that of white men, and stomach cancer mortality is substantially higher among Asian-Pacific Islanders, including Native Hawaiians, than other populations. Cervical cancer incidence in Hispanic women has been consistently higher at all ages than for other women, and African American women have the highest death rate from cervical cancer. Overall, men are about 50 percent more likely than women to die from cancer, and among all women, Alaskan Natives are about 30 percent more likely to die from cancer. It is these disturbing statistics coupled with the fact that reductions in cancer incidence and mortality are occurring in many, but not all, sectors of our Nation, that prompts NCI to examine major determinants of cancer health disparities (e.g., poverty, culture, and social injustice). It is the interrelationship among these factors that must be carefully weaved into the cancer research agenda in order to remedy the unequal burden of cancer.Item Five-Year Strategic Plan for Reducing Health Disparities(2002) UNSPECIFIEDNCRR intends to mobilize its research resources and other infrastructure components to continue to facilitate initiatives of other NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) to study Health Disparities (HDs), with the ultimate goal of eliminating the disparities frequently observed among ethnic and minority populations. NCRR provides funds to support institutional and faculty development as well as research on diseases that disproportionately impact minority and other special populations.