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News & Announcements
Methamphetamine: The National Summit to Promote Safety for Critically Affected PopulationsPosted: August 24, 2011
The National Summit to Promote Public Health, Partnerships, and Safety for Critically Affected Populations (The Summit) was held November 16–19, 2008, in Washington, DC by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The selection of the three critically affected populations was based on a number of factors; one factor was data that indicate that methamphetamine use has a disproportionate impact on certain populations including incarcerated populations, LGBT individuals, women of childbearing years, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Latinos/Latinas, and Asian/Pacific Islander populations. Issues of funding and complexity focused the discussion on three critically affected populations. The Summit was designed to integrate public health and public safety through improved partnerships, collaboration, and outcomes using integrated strategies:
Access the report on the SAMHSA website. Download the report (pdf). State Profiles of Child Well-Being: 2011 KIDS COUNT Data BookPosted: August 23, 2011
Over the past decade, the economic well-being of low-income children has returned to the same level as the early 1990s, a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds. According to the foundation's annual KIDS COUNT Data Book (pdf), the official child poverty rate — a conservative measure of economic hardship — increased some 18 percent from 2000 to 2009, which means the number of children living in poverty grew by 2.4 million during the decade. While the Data Book found that five of the ten indicators of child well-being have improved since 2000 — including infant mortality rate, child death rate, teen death rate, teen birth rate, and the percentage of teens not in school and not high school graduates — three areas saw declines, including the percentage of babies born underweight, the child poverty rate, and the percentage of children living in single-parent families.
One of the many solutions offered in the report include:
Care for Cultural Competency? Check Out New HHS Website - Think Cultural HealthPosted: August 22, 2011
Think Cultural Health (TCH) is dedicated to advancing health equity at every point of contact. With growing concerns about health inequities and the need for health care systems to reach increasingly diverse patient populations, cultural competence has become more and more a matter of national concern. This site (www.thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov), sponsored by the Office of Minority Health, offers the latest resources and tools to promote cultural and linguistic competency in health care. You may access free and accredited continuing education programs as well as tools to help you and your organization provide respectful, understandable and effective services.
Think Cultural Health is the flagship initiative of the OMH Center for Linguistic and Cultural Competence in Health Care. The goal of Think Cultural Health is to Advance Health Equity at Every Point of Contact through the development and promotion of culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
How to Close the Race Gap in H.I.V.?Posted: August 21, 2011
An article in the New York Times discusses the implications of new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that show that HIV rates are increasing sharply among young gay black men. The article offers suggestions on how public health officials can fight the spread of H.I.V. among this population group. The author explains why H.I.V. prevention and testing strategies that solely focus on H.I.V., without addressing the underlying socioeconomic conditions that contribute to the epidemic, are destined to fail. The author recommends first fighting homophobia to fight AIDS among young black men who have sex with men - "We can't expect to resolve the crisis if people are too afraid to talk about it." In addition the author suggests providing resources so that young black men who have sex with men have health care, shelter, counseling and access to drug treatment if they test positive. Read the complete article on the New York Times website. Menthol May Make it Tougher to Stop Smoking for Blacks and Puerto RicansPosted: August 18, 2011
A new study reports that menthol cigarettes make it more difficult for smokers to quit, especially blacks and Puerto Ricans. Researchers at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) - School of Public Health analyzed tobacco use data from the U.S. National Cancer Institute and focused on white, black and Hispanic current and former smokers.
Overall, the use of menthol cigarettes was highest among females and young adults, aged 18 to 24. When examined by race/ethnicity, menthol cigarette use was much higher among blacks (71.8 percent) than among Hispanics (28.1 percent) or whites (21 percent). But there were wide variations among Hispanics: Puerto Rican origins (62 percent), Mexican origins (19.9 percent), and other Hispanic origins (26.5 percent), the investigators noted.
The study also found that smokers who used menthol cigarettes were less likely to quit than those who used non-menthol cigarettes, and that this association was strongest among blacks and those of Puerto Rican origin. "Because our evidence suggests that the presence of menthol may partially explain the observed differences in cessation outcomes, the recent calls to ban this flavoring would be prudent and evidence-based," the researchers said in a UMDNJ news release.
Read more on the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America website. Read the press release (pdf) on the UMDNJ website. Access the study (pdf) on the American Journal of Preventive Medicine website.
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The NNED is supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation Home • Contact | Web Site Maintained by |
