Events Address Racial Health Disparities, HIV/AIDS, Health Services
The following highlights minority health-related events and conferences in California Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
- Cincinnati: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D) on April 13 discussed his Health Link initiative, which aims to expand health insurance, at the Center for Closing the Health Gap Conference and Expo, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. According to Strickland, expanding access to care and improving care quality can help to eliminate racial health disparities (O'Farrell, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/14).
- Kansas City, Mo.: The Center for Health Policy at the University of Missouri-Columbia, state agencies and other groups this week held the second annual health equity conference, the Kansas City Star reports. In addition, health policy experts from the MU and Washington University in St. Louis are forming a Health Disparities Collaborative Network, made up of health care providers, not-for-profit groups and researchers (Karash, Kansas City Star, 4/17).
- Louisville, Ky.: The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and NorthWest AHEC on Wednesday sponsored a no-cost workshop, titled "Not in My Family -- AIDS in the African-American Community." The workshop covered the role of denial in managing HIV/AIDS, help for parents to teach their children about safer-sex, outreach strategies and how to include clergy members in HIV/AIDS discussions (Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness release, 4/16).
- Pittsburgh: The Metro-Urban Institute of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary on April 28 will hold a day-long workshop to encourage congregations to address minority health needs. The workshop is cosponsored by the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and the Center for Minority Health at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health (Dyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/18).
- San Diego: Celebra La Vida Con Salud (Celebrate a Healthy Life), a national Hispanic health campaign, this weekend will launch its spring 2007 health festival tour in San Diego. The campaign aims to provide Hispanics with health information and administer no-cost medical screenings. The festival also will feature an educational exhibit on cervical cancer and the human papillomavirus, which is sponsored by Merck, the maker of an HPV vaccine (Celebra La Vida Con Salud release, 4/19).
- San Diego: Participants in the 24th Statewide Black Health Conference on Thursday in a special preconference forum discussed how the closure of urban hospitals affects access to care for blacks. The conference itself was expected to focus on individual and community efforts to address racial health disparities (California Black Health Network release, 4/18).
- South Carolina: In observation of Minority Health Month, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control has launched a campaign to raise awareness of racial health disparities, as well as to develop and implement strategies to address the disparities, the Greenwood Index-Journal reports (Rosier, Greenwood Index-Journal, 4/13).