Health News

USDA Puts Food Deserts On the Map

Kendall Alexander — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:42:18 -0400

May 6, 2011 Miller-McCune

In Northeast Washington, in a census tract just two miles east of the U.S. Capitol building, 61 percent of residents are both low-income and have little access to healthy food options. The area does not have a single supermarket. The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls this area inside the nation's capital a "food desert."

Govt plans steps to reduce health disparities, but that will take work beyond doctorsâ€™ offices

Kendall Alexander — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:40:53 -0400

April 8, 2011 The Washington Post

From cradle to grave, minority populations tend to suffer poorer health and get poorer health care than white Americans. In a first-of-its-kind report, the government is recommending steps to reduce those disparities.

The plan being released Friday runs the gamut from improving dental care for poor children to tapping "promotoras," savvy community health workers who can help guide their Spanish-speaking neighbors in seeking treatment.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is for Everyone!

Kendall Alexander — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:23:16 -0400

Enjoy the following PSA on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from the Michigan Minority Health Coalition:

Bad job or no job? Guess which hurts more

Kendall Alexander — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:20:50 -0400

March 15, 2011 MSNBC

Being unemployed can be stressful, but the psychological toll of having a poorly paid, demanding job can be just as bad for mental health as having no job at all, a new study finds.

In addition, becoming employed isn't always a boon for mental health. Study participants who transitioned from being unemployed to being employed in a poor-quality job showed a worsening of their mental health, the researchers, from The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, say.

Equality, a True Soul Food

Kendall Alexander — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:30:21 -0500

January 1, 2011 The New York Times

John Steinbeck observed that "a sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ."

That insight, now confirmed by epidemiological studies, is worth bearing in mind at a time of such polarizing inequality that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans possess a greater collective net worth than the bottom 90 percent.

Where we live can determine how long we live

Kendall Alexander — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:24:19 -0400

October 11, 2010 St. Louis Beacon

Larry Chavis, George Banks, Tracy Blue and Carolyn Dickerson are from different neighborhoods in north St. Louis, but all four have at least one thing in common. They have health problems that are largely preventable and far more prevalent among African Americans than the rest of the city's population.

Coping with lead poisoning has turned Larry into an unusually quiet 4-year-old. His mother hopes treatment will help him ward off any long-term consequences.

Designing Healthier ZIP Codes

Kendall Alexander — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 10:03:36 -0400

October 12, 2010 Star Tribune

A study released by the Amherst Wilder Foundation last week documents the powerful influence of income and race on longevity, which varies by up to ten years or more among Twin Cities neighborhoods. The analysis cites evidence that health care and individual behavior accounts for only half of overall health outcomes.

New National Media Campaign Inspires Black Americans to Take Action to Stem Spread of HIV

Kendall Alexander — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:41:09 -0400

October 5, 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation

Online report card shows S.F. health disparities

Kendall Alexander — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:09:41 -0400

September 23, 2010 The San Francisco Chronicle

San Franciscans who live in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood can expect to live 14 fewer years on average than people who live on Russian Hill.

Suicide is the fourth-leading cause of early death among whites in San Francisco, but the eighth-leading cause among Latinos.

Racial Disparity in School Suspensions

Kendall Alexander — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:05:37 -0400

September 13, 2010 The New York Times

In many of the nation's middle schools, black boys were nearly three times as likely to be suspended as white boys, according to a new study, which also found that black girls were suspended at four times the rate of white girls.

School authorities also suspended Hispanic and American Indian middle school students at higher rates than white students, though not at such disproportionate rates as for black children, the study found. Asian students were less likely to be suspended than whites.

Leading Civil Rights Organizations Unite to Fight Childhood Obesity

Kendall Alexander — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 14:15:12 -0400

September 7, 2010 PR Newswire

A $2 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is bringing together five civil rights organizations with the prominence and strength to help reverse childhood obesity, especially in African-American and Latino communities where the epidemic continues to hit hardest.

Childhood Obesity May Be Underreported

Kendall Alexander — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:51:20 -0400

PR Newswire September 1, 2010

As the U.S. launches its first-ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month today, scientists say the problem may be even more widespread than was thought. Researchers have found that parents tend to underreport their children's weight. Estimates of obesity and body mass index (BMI) based on parent-supplied data may miss one in five obese children.