health equity
Everyday discrimination literally raises women’s blood pressure
Ed Yong, The Atlantic, October 9
A new study adds to the evidence that routine moments of disdain, distance, and disrespect have health consequences. These little hits of everyday discrimination are the daily realities for many women and people of color. They are indignities so ostensibly subtle that people who don’t experience them firsthand often think nothing of them.
Why are black women less likely to stick with a breast cancer follow-up treatment?
Mara Gordon, NPR, October 9
Breast cancer is less common in black women, yet they’re about 40 percent more likely to die from it than are white women. One reason for this is that black women more often have advanced cancer once they do get into treatment, partly because they are less likely to have health insurance or to get screening mammograms. Another reason, a new study suggests, may be that black women are less consistent with follow-through with the years-long course of daily endocrine therapy prescribed for certain common types of breast cancer.
In Hartford, a few blocks can make all the difference for children growing out of poverty
Rebecca Lurye, Hartford Courant, October 5
A new national map confirms what many in Hartford have known for years — that a child’s chance of growing out of poverty is somehow linked to the neighborhood they live in.
delivery system
Spurred by convenience, millennials often spurn the ‘family doctor’ model
Sandra G. Boodman, Kaiser Health News, October 9
Many young adults are turning to a fast-growing constellation of alternatives to the primary care doctor visit: retail clinics carved out of drugstores or big-box retail outlets, freestanding urgent care centers that tout evening and weekend hours, and online telemedicine sites that offer virtual visits without having to leave home. Unlike doctors’ offices, where charges are often opaque and disclosed only after services are rendered, many clinics and telemedicine sites post their prices.
How church communities can help lower African-Americans’ blood pressure
Naomi Thomas, CNN, October 9
A new study finds that reducing rates of hypertension in black communities may start in the church. Researchers at the NYU School of Medicine found that people who received therapeutic lifestyle advice and motivational interviewing sessions in a church environment from community health workers had a greater reduction in systolic blood pressure levels than those who received only health education in churches.