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 Culturally Tailored, Family-Centered, Behavioral Obesity Intervention for Latino-American Preschool-aged Children(2012) Barkin, S. L.; Gesell, S. B.; Po'e, E. K.; Escarfuller, J.; Tempesti, T.Item Genetic and environmental influences in sedentary behavior during adolescence(2012) van der Aa, Niels; Bartels, Meike; te Velde, Saskia J.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Brug, JohannesObjective: To investigate the degree to which genetic and environmental influences affect individual differences in sedentary behavior throughout adolescence. Design: Cross-sectional twin-family design. Setting: Data on self-reported sedentary behavior from Dutch twins and their nontwin siblings. Participants: The total sample consisted of 5074 adolescent twins (aged 13-19 years) and 937 siblings (aged 12-20 years) from 2777 families. Main Outcome Measures: Screen-viewing sedentary behavior was assessed with survey items about weekly frequency of television viewing, playing electronic games, and computer/Internet use. Based on these items, an overall score for screen-viewing sedentary behavior was computed. Results: The genetic architecture of screen-viewing sedentary behavior differed by age. Variation in sedentary behavior among 12-year-olds was accounted for by genetic (boys: 35%; girls: 19%), shared environmental (boys: 29%; girls: 48%), and nonshared environmental (boys: 36%; girls: 34%) factors. Variation in sedentary behavior among 20-year-olds was accounted for by genetic (boys: 48%; girls: 34%) and nonshared environmental (boys: 52%; girls: 66%) factors. Conclusion: The shift from shared environmental factors in the etiology of sedentary behavior among younger adolescents to genetic and nonshared environmental factors among older adolescents requires age-specific tailoring of intervention programs.Item The Role of Local Food Availability in Explaining Obesity Rsik Among Young School-Aged Children(2012) Lee, HelenIn recent years, research and public policy attention has increasingly focused on understanding whether modifiable aspects of the local food environment – the types and composition of food outlets families have proximate access to – are drivers of and potential solutions to the problem of childhood obesity in the United States. Given that much of the earlier published research has documented greater concentrations of fast-food outlets alongside limited access to large grocery stores in neighborhoods with higher shares of racial/ethnic minority groups and residents living in poverty, differences in retail food contexts may indeed exacerbate notable child obesity disparities along socioeconomic and racial/ethnic lines. This paper examines whether the lack of access to more healthy food retailers and/or the greater availability of “unhealthy” food purveyors in residential neighborhoods explains children’s risk of excessive weight gain, and whether differential food availability explains obesity disparities. I do so by analyzing a national survey of U.S. children followed over elementary school (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort) who are linked to detailed, longitudinal food availability measures from a comprehensive business establishment database (the National Establishment Time Series). I find that children who live in residentially poor and minority neighborhoods are indeed more likely to have greater access to fast-food outlets and convenience stores. However, these neighborhoods also have greater access to other food establishments that have not been linked to increased obesity risk, including large-scale grocery stores. When examined in a multi-level modeling framework, differential exposure to food outlets does not independently explain weight gain over time in this sample of elementary school-aged children. Variation in residential food outlet availability also does not explain socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differences. It may thus be important to reconsider whether food access is, in all settings, a salient factor in understanding obesity risk among young children.Item Explaining Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Children’s Dental Health: A Decomposition Analysis(2012) Guarnizo-Herreño, Carol Cristina; Wehby, George L.Abstract available at publisher's website.Item Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health and Health Care among U.S. Adolescents(2012) Lau, May; Lin, Hua; Flores, GlennAbstract available at publisher's website.Item Racial and Ethnic Differences in Utilization of Mental Health Services Among High-Risk Youths(2005) Garland, A. F.Abstract available at publisher's website.Item Disparities in Children’s Health(2012) UNSPECIFIEDA child’s health is strongly affected by the family and community environment in which he or she lives, learns and plays, as well as by access to high-quality health care, high-quality early learning and educational opportunities, and nurturing relationships with parents and other adults. Reducing disparities in child health requires community-based strategies and health care policies that support children’s healthy development at home, at school and in the community. Health insurance and health care are vital to children’s health status as a means of preventing or mitigating health problems and educating families about health issues. Health disparities are associated with family income, educational status, race and ethnicity, and geography. Poor and low-income children have higher rates of mortality and disability than higher income children and are more likely to be in fair or poor health. Research shows that as neighborhood poverty levels increase, child well-being and opportunities for success decrease. One in ten Rhode Island children lives in a neighborhood of concentrated poverty (defined as census tracts with poverty rates of 30% or more). African American and Latino children are more likely than White children to live in these neighborhoods. Black and Latino children are more likely to be in poor health than their White counterparts. Children who are poor, of color or uninsured are more likely to lack access to appropriate health care. Rhode Island’s children are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity and income. In 2010 in Rhode Island, 72% of children under age 18 were White, 8% were Black or African-American, 3% were Asian, less than 1% were Native American, 9% were Some other race and 7% were Two or more races. Twenty-one percent of Rhode Island children were Hispanic.Item Understanding Traditional Hmong Health and Prenatal Care Beliefs, Practices, Utilization and Needs(2011) Bengiamin, Marlene; Chang, Xi; Capitman, John A.Objective: To increase understanding of traditional Hmong health and prenatal care beliefs, practices, utilization and needs and their perceptions toward the utilization of Western health care. Specific Aims: The aims of this project are: 1) Collect primary quantitative and qualitative data on the prenatal health care beliefs, practices, utilization, and needs of the Hmong men and women from three of the highest Hmong populated counties in Central California; 2) Better understanding of traditional Hmong prenatal and health care practices; 3) Highlight barriers to prenatal care for Hmong; and 4) Use findings to inform next steps. Setting: California’s Central Valley Hmong American Communities: Fresno, Merced, and San Joaquin counties. Methods: A convenience sample of 99 Hmong women of child-bearing age (18-35) and 74 Hmong men of child-bearing age (18-45) were recruited through partnership with a Hmong health collaborative and within communities by word of mouth and snowball sampling. Hmong, bilingual graduate students obtained informed consent and conducted 45-60 minute face-to-face interviews including structured and other questions. Descriptive bivariate analysis and multivariate modeling explored how receipt of appropriate prenatal care is related to Hmong respondent demographics, cultural perspectives and health care experiences Findings: Hmong residents utilize both Western and traditional medicines due to lack of complete trust in Western medicine. Respondents reported using over the counter pregnancy tests and more than half (52%) sought prenatal care six weeks after confirming pregnancy. Almost half (45%) are not satisfied with their experience using Western medicine. About 60% report a disconnect between Western and Hmong medicine. Language access and lack of cultural competence training were also at the forefront of the concerns. Conclusion: Hmong residents utilize and rely on Western health care, yet they cannot abandon their cultural and traditional health care practices due to new cultural setting. In order to provide equitable and effective health care, clinicians need to be able to function effectively within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs of consumers and their communities. Failing to provide culturally supportive and respectable health care for Hmong residents can increase costs for individuals and society through increased hospitalizations and complications.Item Are You Talking to ME? The Importance of Ethnicity and Culture in Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management(2012) Peña, Michelle-Marie; Dixon, Brittany; Taveras, Elsie M.Abstract available at publisher's website.Item Community First: Fighting Childhood Obesity in American Indian and Alaska Native Youth(2012) Hawk, Larry EchoNo abstract available.