AIDSVu: Interactive Online Map on National and State-wise HIV Data

AIDSVu is an online tool that makes detailed, yet easy-to-understand, data on persons living with an HIV infection diagnosis in the United States accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. The site provides users with a visual way to understand HIV prevalence data - that is, the number of people who have been diagnosed and are living with HIV - in communities across the country. AIDSVu offers a new and unique way to understand HIV on both a national and local level. AIDSVu also cross-references HIV data with other important information, like population demographics, the location of HIV testing sites and the estimated proportion of HIV diagnoses that are made late in the course of HIV disease.

CDC Survey Features Data & Statistics on Minority Health

Data from a survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) features the health of minority populations such as obesity and physical activity, tobacco use, chronic conditions and clinical care, and screening and immunization.  This data is being collected by the CDC in order to make effective community-level changes to eliminate disparities. To download the data and learn how the CDC is this data to implement, monitor, and evaluate intervention programs in each community. To download the data and read the report, Surveillance of Health Status in Minority Communities --- Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the U.S. (REACH U.S.) Risk Factor Survey, United States, 2009 visit the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report website.

The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the U.S. (REACH U.S.) Risk Factor Survey is conducted annually in minority communities by the CDC. The survey focuses on black, Hispanic, Asian (including Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander), and American Indian (AI) populations. To learn more about REACH visit their website.

New Innovations for Building Cultural and Linguistic Competence (posted 6/3)

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has posted a new resource on their Innovations Exchange website that features new innovations for building cultural and linguistic competence. The page features innovative programs and quality tools that organizations can use to improve cultural and linguistic competence as well as reduce health care disparities for vulnerable populations, including racial and ethnic minorities. Vist this webpage to find new ways your organization can improve cultural and linguistic competence and serve minority populations more effectively.

A Culturally Targeted Approach to Substance Abuse Recovery

The Chicago Times covers the opening of a new Oxford House in Illinois that focuses on reaching out to Latinos in need of substance abuse recovery treatment. Oxford House is a nationwide network of addiction recovery homes that are democratically run, and self-supporting with a focus on communal living.  What makes Oxford House unique is its focus on Latinos.

"Latinos lag behind others in getting help, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Only 7.7 percent of the 2.6 million Hispanic Americans with alcohol disorders received treatment, a 2009 study by the agency found; for the 1.1 million with drug problems, only 15.1 percent ever found their way to treatment or halfway houses.

...

It's this peer support that makes the difference, explained Leonard Jason, a psychology professor and director of the Center for Community Research at DePaul University. Jason has studied the network for 20 years. He followed a group of 150 addicts two years after leaving treatment, of whom half were assigned to Oxford Houses in the metropolitan area.

Of that group, about 70 percent remained clean compared with 35 percent for the non-Oxford House cohort. Additionally, the savings to taxpayers in a single year of residents holding jobs, paying rent and not using services such as emergency rooms came to $8,173 per Oxford House member. The findings were published in 2006 in the American Journal of Public Health."

Read the full article on the Chicago Times website.

National Council Magazine Features the NNED

The latest issue of the National Council magazine focuses on issues related to the behavioral healthcare workforce.  America's most respected healthcare leaders and experts share their views and opinions, including Larke Huang, Trina Dutta, and Rachele Espiritu of the National Network to Eliminate Disparities in Behavioral Health (NNED).  The article frames the issue of behavioral health care disparities in terms of access, quality, and outcomes, and offers some solutions for how to address these disparities at the local level, including the NNED.

To read the article visit the National Council website.

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