Initiatives Nationwide Address Minority Health Issues, Including Disparities, HIV/AIDS, Maternal Health
The following summarizes recent news coverage of minority health initiatives across the nation addressing health disparities, HIV/AIDS, mobile medical treatment, heart health and maternal health.
- Baltimore: CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield is teaming up with the Baltimore Medical System on an initiative to address health disparities, the Baltimore Business Journal reports. CareFirst on May 8 at a presentation will contribute $271,260 toward a program for Hispanics and blacks in the Belair-Edison and Highlandtown communities. The funds will be used to hire additional community health workers, as well as establish and maintain electronic health records for chronically ill patients. The initiative also will focus primarily on obesity, physical inactivity, diabetes and cardiovascular health (Baltimore Business Journal, 5/3).
- Chicago: Nearly 100 black churches in the city participated in "I Need You to Survive Sunday," which coordinated preachers to discuss HIV/AIDS awareness with their congregations, the Chicago Tribune reports. The effort, organized by the Let's Talk, Let's Test Foundation, also included a collection during the service to raise funding for HIV/AIDS programs in the city (Long, Chicago Tribune, 4/30).
- DeKalb County, Ga.: The Wellness on Wheels van, sponsored by the DeKalb Medical Center, provides basic medical services to community residents, many of whom are Hispanic immigrants, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The van has been offering services such as mammograms, immunizations, health screenings and diagnostic testing since 1999. The van -- which served 3,574 residents last year, 800 more than in 2005 -- also serves the Center for Pan Asian Community Services and a refugee resettlement agency in Stone Mountain (Varela, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/30).
- NPR's "News & Notes:" The program on Thursday launched a new weekly segment on blacks' health. The segment, to air every Thursday, will feature discussions with medical experts about the top health news stories of the week (Cox, "New & Notes," NPR, 5/3). Audio of this week's segment is available online.
- San Bernardino County, Calif.: The Black Infant Health Project, a program that aims to improve the pre-natal and post-natal health of black women and their infants, on Thursday held its 10th annual Black Infant Health Healthy Babies Awards Celebration, the San Bernardino County Sun reports. The program, which has 11 locations throughout the county, provides personal support, education and links to resources for black mothers and pregnant black women to reduce infant mortality rates (Rogers, San Bernardino County Sun, 5/4).
- Seattle: A pilot program, called Power to Live Smart, is training local barber and beauty shop owners in the black community to educate their clients about cardiovascular health, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. Each participating owner receives a digital blood pressure machine provided by the American Heart Association, and they learn how to read the device and relay the information to clients. Fourteen owners from King and Pierce counties attended the first training session (Black, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4/30).
- Ventura County, Calif.: In an effort to improve HIV/AIDS community outreach among the Hispanic male community, researchers on Thursday held a forum at California Lutheran University to discuss research findings and cultural barriers to prevention and treatment, the Ventura County Star reports. The Ventura County Latino HIV/AIDS Task Force, which seeks to identify issues and behaviors that contribute to the HIV/AIDS rate among Hispanic men, was formed in the last several months to also address such issues. The task force conducted a series of focus groups, and findings will be presented later this month (Klampe, Ventura County Star, 5/4).
