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 Awareness and Preferences Regarding BRCA1/2 Genetic Counseling and Testing Among Latinas and Non-Latina White Women at Increased Risk for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer(2011) Gammon, Amanda Dawn; Rothwell, Erin; Simmons, Rebecca; Lowery, Jan T.; Ballinger, Lori; Hill, Deirdre A.; Boucher, Kenneth M.; Kinney, Anita YeomansAbstract available at publisher's web site.Item Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Use of Nicotine Replacement Therapy and Quit Ratios in Lifetime Smokers Ages 25 to 44 Years(2008) Fu, S. S.; Kodl, M. M.; Joseph, A. M.; Hatsukami, D. K.; Johnson, E. O.; Breslau, N.; Wu, B.; Bierut, L.Abstract available at publisher's web site.Item Integrated connection to neighborhood storytelling network, education, and chronic disease knowledge among African Americans and Latinos in Los Angeles.(2011) Kim, Yong-Chan; Moran, Meghan B; Wilkin, Holley A; Ball-Rokeach, Sandra JCombining key ideas from the knowledge-gap hypothesis and communication infrastructure theory, the present study aimed to explain the relations among individuals' education, access to community-based communication resources, and knowledge of chronic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, and prostate cancer) among African Americans and Latinos in Los Angeles. Rather than explore the effect of isolated communication resources, this study explored the effect of an integrated connection to community-based storytellers on chronic disease knowledge. The authors hypothesized that individuals' access to a community-based communication infrastructure for obtaining and sharing information functions as an intervening step in the process where social inequality factors such as education lead to chronic disease knowledge gaps in a local community context. With random samples of African Americans and Latinos in Los Angeles, the authors found that access to community-based communication resources plays a mediating role in the case of breast cancer and diabetes knowledge, but not in hypertension and prostate cancer knowledge. The authors discussed these findings on the basis of communication infrastructure theory and knowledge-gap hypothesis.Item Salud America! Developing a National Latino Childhood Obesity Research Agenda.(2011) Ramirez, Amelie G; Chalela, Patricia; Gallion, Kipling J; Green, Lawrence W; Ottoson, JudithU.S. childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with one third of children overweight or obese. Latino children have some of the highest obesity rates, a concern because they are part of the youngest and fastest-growing U.S. minority group. Unfortunately, scarce research data on Latinos hinders the development and implementation of evidence-based, culturally appropriate childhood obesity interventions. In response, the Salud America! network conducted a national Delphi survey among researchers and stakeholders to identify research priorities to address Latino childhood obesity and compare differences by occupation and race or ethnicity. The resulting first-ever National Latino Childhood Obesity Research Agenda provides a framework to stimulate research and collaboration among investigators, providers, and communities, and inform policy makers about the epidemic's seriousness and specific needs for priority funding. The agenda ranks family as the main ecological level to prevent Latino childhood obesity--followed by community, school, society, and individual-and ranks top research priorities in each level.Item Health Care Access Among Latinos: Implications for Social and Health Care Reforms(2010) Perez-Escamilla, R.According to the Institute of Medicine, health care access is defined as “the degree to which people are able to obtain appropriate care from the health care system in a timely manner.” Two key components of health care access are medical insurance and having access to a usual source of health care. Recent national data show that 34% of Latino individuals do not have health insurance and 27% do not have access to a usual source of health care. This article identifies barriers and solutions for improving health care access among Latino individuals.Item The role of acculturation in nutrition, lifestyle, and incidence of type 2 diabetes among Latinos.(2007) Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; Putnik, PredragLatinos have become the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. and will become 25% of the population by 2050. The purpose of this critical review is to examine the influence of acculturation on type 2 diabetes and corresponding risk factors, including 1) dietary intake, 2) physical activity patterns, 3) smoking and alcohol consumption, and 4) obesity. Among Latinos, acculturation has been associated with obesity risk, suboptimal dietary choices including lack of breast-feeding, low intake of fruits and vegetables, a higher consumption of fats and artificial drinks containing high levels of refined sugar, smoking, and alcohol consumption. In contrast, acculturation has been positively associated with physical activity and a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes among Latinos. However, findings have been inconsistent across acculturation indicators and appear to be strongly modified by Latino subethnicity and gender. It is important to improve existing acculturation measures available. Mexican Americans have been the target group in the majority of studies. Research in this group must continue but it is important to conduct additional research with other Latino subgroups that have been left out of most of the acculturation, lifestyles, and health outcomes research. Differences between acculturation and health-related outcomes may be confounded by socio-economic status, age, and movement from urban to rural areas. Longitudinal multivariate acculturation research is essential to disentangle these relations and to develop sound behavioral change theories that adequately predict behavioral change among Latinos.Item Beginning a discussion of nutrition and health disparities(2011) Lancaster, K. J.; Bermudez, O. I.In 2005, the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) created a Minority Affairs Committee (MAC). The goal of the committee is to enhance the participation of scientists from minority groups in the activities of the ASN. Because of the marked disparities in health conditions between white Americans and ethnic minority groups, the MAC also aims to promote scholarly interaction in the area of nutrition in health disparities. To that end, in 2010, the MAC held its first symposium at Experimental Biology. The goal of the symposium was to begin a discussion within the ASN of the role of nutrition in disparities...Item Acculturation, nutrition, and health disparities in Latinos(2011) Perez-Escamilla, R.BACKGROUND: Latinos have become the largest minority group in the United States and will represent 25% of the US population by 2050. Latinos experience a disproportionate burden of poverty and poor health outcomes. OBJECTIVES: We critically examined the evidence for a link between acculturation and health disparities in Latinos with a focus on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and nutrition-related risk factors and illustrated how acculturation principles can help design a culturally appropriate T2D self-management intervention in Latinos. DESIGN: Evidence presented in this article was drawn from 1) systematic reviews identified through PubMed searches, 2) backward searches that were based on articles cited, 3) experts in the field, and 4) the author's personal files. RESULTS: The preponderance of the evidence supported an association of acculturation with poor dietary quality and obesity. These associations appeared to be modified by several socioeconomic and demographic factors and were not always linear. The association between acculturation and T2D is unclear. CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal studies and more sophisticated analytic approaches are needed to better understand if and how acculturation affects health-disparity outcomes in Latinos. Tailoring interventions to the acculturation level of individuals is likely to help reduce health disparities in Latinos.Item HPV knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs among Hispanic men and women living on the Texas-Mexico Border(2009) Fernandez, Maria E.; McCurdy, Sheryl A.; Arvey, Sarah R.; Tyson, Sandra K.; Morales-Campos, Daisy; Flores, Belinda; Useche, Bernardo; Mitchell-Bennett, Lisa; Sanderson, MaureenBackground U.S., Hispanic women have higher cervical cancer incidence rates than non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans and lower rates of cervical cancer screening. Knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs may play a role in higher rates of infection of HPV and decisions about subsequent diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer. Study aim To explore the level of HPV knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs among Hispanic men and women on the Texas-Mexico border. Methodological Approach Informed by feminist ethnography, the authors used an interpretive approach to understand local respondents' concerns and interests. Focus group sessions were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Recruitment and sample Promotoras (lay health workers) recruited participants using convenience sampling methods. Group sessions were held in public service centers in Brownsville. Participants' ages ranged from 19 to 76 years. Methods analysis Focus group discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed in Spanish. Researchers read and discussed all the transcripts and generated a coding list. Transcripts were coded using ATLAS.ti 5.0. Key findings Participants had little understanding about HPV and its role in the etiology of cervical cancer. Attitudes and concerns differed by gender. Women interpreted a diagnosis of HPV as a diagnosis of cancer and expressed fatalistic beliefs about its treatment. Men initially interpreted a diagnosis of HPV as an indication of their partners' infidelity, but after reflecting upon the ambiguity of HPV transmission, attributed their initial reaction to cultural ideals of machismo. Men ultimately were interested in helping their partners seek care in the event of a positive diagnosis. Implications for practice Results suggest that understanding Hispanics' cultural norms and values concerning disease, sexuality, and gender is essential to the design and implementation of preventive interventions for HPV and cervical cancer.Item Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Emergency Department Analgesic Prescription(2003) Tamayo-Sarver, Joshua H.; Hinze, Susan W.; Cydulka, Rita K.; Baker, David W.Objectives. We examined racial and ethnic disparities in analgesic prescription among a national sample of emergency department patients. Methods. We analyzed Black, Latino, and White patients in the 1997–1999 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys to compare prescription of any analgesics and opioid analgesics by race/ethnicity. Results. For any analgesic, no association was found between race and prescription; opioids, however, were less likely to be prescribed to Blacks than to Whites with migraines and back pain, though race was not significant for patients with long bone fracture. Differences in opioid use between Latinos and Whites with the same conditions were less and nonsignificant. Conclusions. Physicians were less likely to prescribe opioids to Blacks; this disparity appears greatest for conditions with fewer objective findings (e.g., migraine).