Health Disparities:Health Disparities:Don’t Despair,Don’t Despair,

Be Aware!Be Aware!

Jacqueline Leskovec, MLIS, MA, RN

National Network of Libraries of MedicineGreater Midwest Region

DSLC St Mary’s CollegeMarch 2013

ObjectivesObjectivesParticipants will:•Understand the meaning of health disparities•Be able to identify 4 population groups affected by health disparities•Learn 4 resources for promoting health equity

National Network of Libraries of Medicine Greater Midwest Region Who We AreWho We Are

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-

00005-C with the University of Illinois at Chicago.

THE LITERATURE OF THE LITERATURE OF PRESCRIPTIONPRESCRIPTION

MARCH 08, 2014 - APRIL 19, 2014

Getting to Know You

What happened?What happened?

Culture & HealthCulture & Health

Culture and Patient Culture and Patient Health Health

• Beliefs about objects, symbols, food, the body, blood, non-traditional medicine, etc.

• Communication styles and norms • Role of relationships• Ways of learning new information• Role of translations and interpreters

The 4 C’s of CultureThe 4 C’s of Culture1. What do you call your problem?2. What do you think caused your problem?3. How do you cope with your condition?4. What are your concerns regarding the condition

and/or recommended treatment?

~The 4 C’s of Culture:

A Mnemonic for Health Care Professionals

Health EquityHealth Equity• [The] attainment of the highest level of health for

all people. Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and health care disparities.

~Healthy People 2020HealthyPeople.gov

Health DisparitiesHealth Disparities

DefinitionDefinition• “A population is a health disparity population if

there is a significant disparity in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates in the population as compared to the health status of the general population.”o Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act

United States Public Law 106-525 (2000), p. 2498

Unique Health IssuesUnique Health Issues

African AmericansAfrican Americans• Heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, HTN• Cancer, diabetes, unintentional injuries, maternal

and infant health, teen pregnancy,• Smoking and tobacco use, overweight/obesity,

nutrition, physical activity, HIV/AIDS• Seasonal influenza, asthma, TB

Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino• Asthma, chronic lower respiratory disease,

influenza & pneumonia• Chagas Disease• Unintentional injuries, homicide• Teen pregnancy• Smoking & tobacco use• Stroke• Diabetes• Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis

Immigrants/Immigrants/refugeesrefugees

• Lack of health insurance• Lack of immunizations• Unfamiliarity with Western medicine• Pesticide & other hazards exposure

Emerging Populations~http://rhin.org/

American Indian/Alaskan American Indian/Alaskan

NativeNative• Higher unemployment rate• Shorter life expectancy• IHS• High rates of alcohol use, diabetes, infant

mortality, HIV/AIDS, obesity, mental health concerns, smoking & tobacco use

Asian AmericansAsian Americans• Myth of the model minority• Certain types of cancer, TB, hepatitis B• Language & cultural barriers• Stigma associated with certain conditions• Lack of health insurance

Women’s Health Women’s Health IssuesIssues

• Heart disease• Maternal and child health• Breast and cervical cancer• Binge drinking• Intimate partner violence

http://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2009/index.htm

Men’s Health IssuesMen’s Health Issues• Tendency to smoke & drink > women• Shorter life expectancy• Job related stress• Prostate cancer• Low testosterone

LGBTILGBTI Social stigma

Rejection by family members

Abuse and violence

Unfair treatment in the legal system

Hiding some or all aspects of one’s life

Lacking health insurance

Shortage of culturally competent health providers

Senior Health IssuesSenior Health Issues• Balance problems, risk for falls• Diseases and injuries to bones and joints• Hearing loss• Diabetes• High blood cholesterol• Kidney disease• Problems with smell, taste; dry mouth• Stroke• Peripheral arterial disease

Health Information Health Information ResourcesResources

Scholarly Scholarly Resources/DatabasesResources/Databases

• PubMedo MeSH Terms

• Google Scholar• CINAHL• PsycINFO

ARRA & ACAARRA & ACA• Proposed Data Collection Standards• Plan for Health Data Collection on Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Populations• Preventive care, coordinated care, diversity and

cultural competency, health care providers for underserved communities, ending insurance discrimination, affordable insurance coverage

MedlinePlusMedlinePlus• http://medlineplus.gov• Health Topics• Drugs & Supplements• Videos & Cool Tools• Medical dictionary• Population groups

o African-American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, LGBT, seniors, children’s health and more

• En español• Free!

CDCCDC• Health & Safety Topics

o Diseases & Conditions; Healthy Living; Emergency Preparedness & Response; Injury, Violence & Safety

o Data & Statistics: FastStats

• For Specific Groupso Travelers’ Health; Life States & Populations; State, Tribal, Local &

Territorial

• Office of Minority Health & Health Equity• Women’s Health• http://www.cdc.gov

• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health knowledge path

• Health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, and researchers

• Racial and ethnic health disparities, health equity, and removing barriers to care; http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_race.html

Men’s HealthMen’s Health• CDC Men’s Health

o http://www.cdc.gov/men/

• NIH Men’s Health Topicso http://health.nih.gov/category/MensHealth/

• AHRQ Healthy Meno http://ahrq.gov

NIH Senior HealthNIH Senior Health• Basic health and wellness information• Topics of concern for seniors

o Bones and Jointso Cancero Diseases and Conditionso Healthy Agingo Heart and Lungso Memory and Mental Healtho Treatments and Therapieso Vision and Hearing

http://nih.seniorhealth.gov

http://go4life.nia.nih.gov/

LGBTLGBTMedlinePlus•http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gaylesbianbisexualandtransgenderhealth.htmlNational Institutes of Health: Gay/Lesbian Health•http://health.nih.gov/topic/GayLesbianHealthAIDS.gov: http://aids.govAIDSinfo / infoSIDA: http://aidsinfo.nih.govGMHC: http://www.gmhc.org/Lesbian Health & Research Center

• http://www.lesbianhealthinfo.org/

The Mautner Project• http://www.mautnerproject.org/

RHINRHINRefugee Health Information Network•http://www.rhin.org •Multilingual health information (more than 80 languages) for health providers, refugees and asylees•Large section on cultural guidance•Country Conditions Reports•Multiple formats (print, audio, video)

EthnoMedEthnoMed• http://ethnomed.org • Merged material from former 24 Languages

Project• Background information on cultures and cultural

competency• Patient education materials

DiversityRxDiversityRxImproving Health Care for a Diverse World•http://www.diversityrx.org •Webinars•Cultural Competence

o http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/ o Multiple languages; multiple formats

• Includes iPod video and multimedia

Health Information Health Information TranslationsTranslations

o http://healthinfotranslations.org/ o Health topics include Diagnostic Tests and

Disaster Preparednesso Linked to from MedlinePlus!

Follow, Fan and Follow, Fan and Connect with NLMConnect with NLM

• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/index.html

Others?Others?Questions?Comments?

Thank you!Thank you!Jacqueline LeskovecSMC Class of 1974leskovec@uic.edu1.800-DEV-ROKS

Slideshare: leskovec

NN/LM Greater Midwest Regionhttp://nnlm.gov/gmr/

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00005-C with the University of Illinois at

Chicago.