Efforts Seek To Address Health Disparities Among Minorities

Main Category: Preventive Medicine
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 18 May 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The following highlights efforts that seek to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities

• Cleveland: In June, the Cleveland Clinic will expand its community outreach efforts in underserved communities with a pilot program designed to provide beauty salon and barbershop patrons with blood-pressure tests and health education, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The Clinic's Taussig Cancer Institute has run a similar cancer outreach program for the last year. The efforts call for training barbers and stylists on how to talk with their clients about the importance of health screenings. A patient navigator from the Clinic works with the clients to schedule appointments and any follow-up care. Other programs targeting barbershops and beauty salons also are available in the city, including one targeting Hispanic women for breast health education (Towsend, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 5/12).
  
  
• Media: Essence and CNN on Wednesday announced a collaborative series of weekly news segments called "What Matters," which will focus on topics important to the black community, including health issues. The "What Matters" on-air and online segments will be hosted on CNN by Tony Harris and Don Lemon with contributions from Roland Martin, Fredricka Whitfield and T.J. Holmes. The segments will also be hosted on HLN by anchor Richelle Carey. In addition, Essence.com will feature related articles, additional commentary and blog discussions. The "What Matters" series is sponsored by McDonald's (CNN release, 5/13).
  
  
• Minnesota: A feature on the Minnesota Department of Health Web site now allows health care providers to locate medical interpreters through a searchable database as part of an effort to improve access to care for patients who face language barriers, the St. Cloud Times reports. The database includes interpreter resources for more than 20 languages. In addition, the feature provides information about available interpreters such languages spoken, availability, experience in medical specialty areas, gender, network affiliations and contact information (St. Cloud Times, 5/8).
  
  
• Oregon: The Multnomah County Health Department recently made recommendations for its Health Equity Initiative, which seeks to address nearly two dozen health disparities, the Oregonian reports. The department recommends a countywide equity inventory to identify actions and policies that lead to racial inequity; a requirement that county managers participate in institutional racism training; the creation of a process for managers and policymakers to consider equity in decision making, practices and hiring; and the adoption of a policy that requires each department to develop two new strategies that promote health equity before 2014. Next, the initiative plans to establish relationships with community organizations, employers and other cities to help them examine how their practices may promote inequities, according to the Oregonian (Hannah-Jones, Oregonian, 5/7).
  

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