Efforts, Events Encourage Healthier Lifestyles Among Blacks, Raise HIV/AIDS Awareness, Other Health Issues Among Hispanics

Main Category: Public Health
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 15 Sep 2008 - 5:00 PDT

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The following summarizes efforts and events that seek to reduce racial health disparities.

• Lorain County, Ohio: The National Urban League's Save Our Sons African-American Health Project is hoping to encourage more black men to lead healthy lifestyles through behavioral changes. For six weeks, adult black men pledge to eat healthier, exercise and learn about diabetes. In Lorain County, the project is being run by the Lorain County Urban League. While 45% of county participants at the start of the project said they did not exercise at all, 60% now have gym memberships. Pharmaceutical company Pfizer will review the program's results, which will be made public in January. If proven successful, the project could be launched in 35 cities across the nation (Hawk, Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, 9/8).
  
  
• Rochester, N.Y.: The Third Annual Latino Community Faith-based HIV Conference was held in Rochester last week, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports. The event seeks to encourage Hispanics to speak openly about HIV/AIDS in the religious community, according to Doris Irizarry, the conference organizer and caseworker from the Ibero-American Action League. The league sponsored the event along with the AIDS Community Health Center, Project WAVE New York, the Center for Community Health and the Fraternity of Hispanic Pastors of Rochester. The event included no-cost HIV testing, education on the spread of HIV/AIDS and testimonials from people living with HIV and a question and answer period (McDermott, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 9/7).
  
  
• Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center: The health science center on Sept. 27 will host the Speaking of Women's Health Conference, which will address health issues facing the Hispanic population, the Amarillo Globe-News reports. Hispanics are the fastest-growing population in the state, according to the Globe-News. The sold-out event will present data on a range of health topics and discuss cultural and other issues affecting the group's access to care (Pittman, Amarillo Globe-News, 9/11).
  

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