Youth Anti-Tobacco Event, Weight-Loss Program, Health Conference, Mobile Screening Unit Target Minorities

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 16 Jun 2008 - 9:00 PST

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The following highlights recent efforts by groups and communities to improve health awareness among various minority groups.

• Hagerstown, Md.: The No Smoking Youth Club this week held a three-day program that discussed the effects of smoking among different minority groups, the Herald-Mail reports. Each day focused on a different group, with Chinese-American issues starting the program, followed by Hispanic and American Indian issues. The club is sponsored by Brothers United Who Dare to Care and funded by the Washington County Health Department (Shaw, Herald-Mail, 6/12).
  
  
• Indianapolis, Ind.: Cecilia Acosta, executive director of the Hispanic Latino Minority Health Coalition of Greater Indianapolis, was recently recognized for her group's efforts to encourage healthy eating and weight loss in minority women. Indianapolis Woman Magazine featured Acosta for launching an obesity prevention program designed specifically for each minority group (PRWEB release, 6/8).
  
  
• Fort Worth, Texas: The Fort Worth Business Press recently examined two informational sessions that were part of the third annual Texas Conference on Health Disparities held in May. The conference is hosted by the University of North Texas Health Science Center and the Texas Center for Health Disparities. The two sessions -- "What Would a Race-Specific Drug Look Like?" and "Race, Biology and Health" -- "pointed out that one of the central debates in researching health disparities is how to define various groups who are treated differently," according to the Business Press. During the presentations, researchers discussed studies, data and quality improvement measures related to racial health disparities (Bassett, Fort Worth Business Press, 6/9).
  
  
• Wausau, Wis.: Aspirus Women's Health beginning this month will launch an outreach program for minority and rural women to receive preventive health screenings, the Wausau Daily Herald reports. As part of the program, AWH will provide the screenings to women at community clinics using a mobile imaging unit that has mammography and bone density testing equipment. The program will target women ages 50 to 64 who live in rural areas, as well as minorities. The unit will be available four days per week at outlying clinics that do not have such testing equipment on site (Olson, Wausau Daily Herald, 6/9).

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