More Liquor Stores; More Risk for African Americans Who Drink (posted 5/11)

Previous studies have shown a strong link between neighborhood alcohol environments and outcomes such as drunk driving and violence. This study investigated linkages between neighborhood liquor stores, on-premise outlets, convenience stores, and supermarket densities and at-risk drinking among African Americans, reports the Addiction and Tecnology Transfer Network (ATTC). Researchers found that a neighborhoods liquor-store density had a significant impact on at-risk drinking among African Americans who consumed alcohol, particularly for women who drink.

"There has been limited research on this topic among specific minority groups or by sex," said Katherine P. Theall, associate professor in the department of community health sciences at Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. "Researchers have only recently begun to examine in greater detail the impact of the neighborhood and other distal factors on health outcomes."

Katherine P. Theall, Brooke P. Lancaster, Sara Lynch, Robert T. Haines, Scott Scribner, Richard Scribner, Vimal Kishore. (May 2011). Neighborhood alcohol environment and at-risk drinking among African Americans. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER). 35(5): 996-1003.

Read the abstract on the Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research journal website. Read the ATTC article on the ATTC website.

May 19th is National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

May 19 is National Asian and Pacific Islander (API) HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The Banyan Tree Project Exit Disclaimer—a national campaign to end the silence and shame surrounding HIV/AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander communities—is the lead for this day. This year’s theme is “Saving face can't make you safe. Talk about HIV - for me, for you, for everyone.” The focus is on Asian and Pacific Islander women in particular. For more information visit the Banyan Project website.

While HIV is still seen as a men's issue, the disease continues to rise unchecked among A&PIs and A&PI women in particular. Recent analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that A&PIs have the highest rate of increase in new HIV infections in the nation, the only statistically significant growth among any racial or ethnic group, and yet two-thirds of A&PIs have never been tested for HIV. The rate of increase for A&PI women is actually higher than that of A&PI men, but the misconception that A&PIs are not at risk for HIV persists—even among healthcare providers who discourage A&PIs from getting tested.

A number of factors contribute to the HIV risk for A&PI women, including a lack of targeted HIV prevention information for women, unequal power dynamics in sexual relationships, biological differences and the fact that a woman's HIV risk is often indirect. A woman's HIV risk is her partner's HIV risk and many women in monogamous relationships are shocked when they test positive. Contrary to popular belief, the vast majority of A&PI women living with HIV got it through heterosexual contact (86%).

What you can do:

• Watch and share this year's video PSA.
• Join an event in your community.  Visit the event listing.
  
• Follow the conversation on Twitter. Use the hashtag #May19
• Get tested! Find an HIV testing location near you by using this widget.
  

The Digital Divide and Access to Health Information Online (posted 5/9)

The Affordable Care Act calls for a greater reliance on the internet as a means of communicating health and coverage information, yet variations in the current usage of the internet by some populations have important implications for implementation. Based on the results of The Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University Race and Recession Survey, six in 10 adults overall say they have ever used the Internet to access health information, and access differs by race and income. Forty-three percent of Hispanics report having ever used the Internet to access health information, while 56 percent of blacks and 65 percent of whites report doing so. The differences are even more striking among those with lower incomes. Just three in ten Hispanics with incomes under $40,000 say they have ever used the Internet to access health information, compared with 44 percent of blacks and half of whites with similar incomes.

To download the data visit the Kaiser Family Foundation website.

National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 5/3

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day on May 3, 2011 is a day to join the Substance Abuse Mental Health Serivces Administration (SAMHSA), communities, organizations and agencies, and individuals nationwide in raising awareness that positive mental health is essential to a child's healthy development from birth. This year, the national theme will focus on building resilience in young children dealing with trauma.

Young children exposed to five or more significant adversities in the first 3 years of childhood face a 76 percent likelihood of having one or more delays in their cognitive, language, or emotional development.

With help from families, providers, and the community, young children can demonstrate resilience when dealing with trauma. Learn more about the impact of trauma on childhood development and pass the information on to observe National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day.

 

What you can do:

• Download the short report!
• Update your status on Facebook and Twitter using the #1in5 hash tag
• Attend an event in your state or local community: http://www.samhsa.gov/children/communityevents_2011.asp
• Watch the national event live: http://www.newmediamill.com/webcasts/samhsa/registermay032011/
  

Study Suggests Flaw In Methods Used To Measure Racial Health Disparities (posted 4/27)

Just weeks after HHS released the first national strategy to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities, a new study titled "Does Multiracial Matter? A Study of Racial Disparities in Self-Rated Health" published in the journal Demography suggests there is a flaw in the method used to measure racial health differences: it does not adequately account for people of mixed race. The Affordable Care Act imposed new reporting requirements to track health disparities. But one of the major national health surveys currently conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics asks multiracial individuals to select which race "best describes" their background, and public health analysts often lump them in with single-race groups based on this "best race" designation (Feder, 4/22). 

To access the article visit the Politico Pro website (a subscription is required). The full text of the study can be downloaded on the SpringerLink website.

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