February 2017

February 27, 2017

February roundup: population health in the news

Kristin Harper

Congress debates what to do about the Affordable Care Act Although one of the Republican Party’s main goals for years has been to repeal the Affordable Care Act, just how to do it — and what to replace it with — has sparked much debate recently. GOP leaders provide new details about ObamaCare repeal (The Hill, 2/16/2017) Will Obamacare really go under the knife? (New York Times Magazine, 2/14/2017) GOP health bill draft would cut Medicaid, emphasize tax credits (NPR, 2/24/2017) Update on the CDC’s Winnable Battles initiative In a recent article in JAMA, Thomas Frieden and coauthors reported on the progress made in the 6 focus areas that the CDC identified as winnable battles in 2010. Read about what worked well and what didn’t work so well! What do we mean when we talk about health equity? IAPHS board member David Kindig recently published a Viewpoint in JAMA entitled Population Health Equity: Rate and Burden, Race and Class. In it, he argues that equity must address both the rates of poor health in different groups and the absolute numbers of affected individuals, and that working-class whites may often bear an equal or greater equity burden than racial minorities. Some […]

February 20, 2017

How the U.S. is taking the lead on preventing lead poisoning

Rachel Shaffer

Rachel Shaffer

The crisis in Flint, Michigan, returned our attention to a problem that we would have preferred to believe was behind us: lead poisoning. This incident highlighted the dangers of lead-lined water pipes, but, unfortunately, there are numerous other sources of lead exposure throughout the United States. I’ve written previously about risks from contact with contaminated soil or through the workplace. Lead-based paint, outdoor air, and manufactured products also pose risks. Because of these diverse sources, eliminating lead poisoning is challenging and requires coordination across multiple programs and policies. Understanding this complex need—and perhaps sensing the increased public concern regarding lead in the United States—the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children released a report entitled “Key Federal Programs to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Eliminate Associated Health Impacts” in November 2016. This report describes the numerous federal agencies, regulations, and programs that have been established to address lead exposures in children. It also marks progress towards the development of an enhanced lead strategy that will address existing policy gaps. The report is worth a read; you may be surprised by the number of existing policies and efforts aimed at mitigating lead exposure. There are almost […]

February 13, 2017

How does discrimination impact chronic disease and mental health issues? Part III

Elaine Meyer

Elaine Meyer

This is the third in a series of blogs featuring speakers from the Health Disparities Symposium at the New York University School of Medicine, held in October 2016. Many transgender patients suffer discrimination at the hands of medical providers, despite the fact that gender variance is not new. When transgender patients suffer discrimination from medical providers, how does this impact their health—and how can the medical establishment’s treatment of trans patients be changed? Prejudice toward and ignorance of transgender and non-gender nonconforming individuals has had a direct impact on their health, said Health Disparities Symposium speaker Aron Janssen, MD, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. Focusing in particular on the medical establishment, Dr. Janssen said that one in four patients have been kicked out of a doctor’s office when they expressed interest in gender transition, and 50 percent of transgender patients have had to teach providers about their own care. Trans health is almost never a part of medical school education, and the lack of data collected on this population is “horrific,” said Dr. Janssen, even though the number of trans people in this country is the same as the […]

February 13, 2017

How does discrimination impact chronic disease and mental health issues? Part II

Elaine Meyer

Elaine Meyer

This is the second in a series of blogs featuring speakers from the Health Disparities Symposium at the New York University School of Medicine, held in October 2016. Challenging the “model-minority” stereotype of Asian Americans According to the New York City Mayor’s office, what is the one ethnic group with the highest rate of poverty in New York City? Asian Americans. This fact comes as a surprise to many, given the prevailing “success” stereotype associated with Asian Americans. In fact, the Asian-American community has had to contend with a different type of discrimination, that of being thought of as the “model minority,” said Health Disparities Symposium speaker Nadia Islam, PhD, and assistant professor in the NYU Department of Population Health, during her talk at the Symposium. “The idea that they’re complacent, compliant, over-achieving, and correspondingly without problems is both long-standing, and it’s also a persistent idea that rears its ugly head in the media.” Dr. Islam, who is also the deputy director of the Center for the Study of Asian American Health at NYU School of Medicine, emphasized her point by sharing a 1987 Time magazine cover of an Asian American family with the headline “Those Asian American Whiz Kids.” […]

February 13, 2017

How does discrimination impact chronic disease and mental health issues? Part I

Elaine Meyer

Elaine Meyer

This is the first in a series of blogs featuring speakers from the Health Disparities Symposium at New York University School of Medicine, held in October 2016. Tipping the scales of health inequities by creating healthy communities What did W.E.B. Du Bois mean when he linked “race and place” in his observations about the mortality rate for whites compared to blacks? Aletha Maybank, MD, MPH, Deputy Commissioner at the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and founding director of its Center for Health Equity, described Du Bois’ research in a keynote address at the Health Disparities Symposium, which focused on the evolution of policies and attitudes related to race and place—and a recent shift to bringing back Neighborhood Health Action Centers. Dr. Maybank explained how data mapping and surveillance led to an awareness of the causes of high burdens of disease for African Americans. At the turn of the 20th century, she said, “The popular theory was that blacks were responsible for making the city unhealthy and dangerous.” The first time this notion started chipping away came with the 1899 publication of a report by then-Harvard graduate student W.E.B. Du Bois. He wrote about the health of […]

February 11, 2017

Social Disparities in Health – Call for Proposals, Due Feb 28th

IAPHS Staff

IAPHS Staff

The Network on Life Course Health Dynamics & Disparities in 21st Century America (NLCHDD) recently put out a call for proposals challenging researchers to investigate possible causes for the declining health of the U.S. population.

February 9, 2017

Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers Program (IUCRC)

Sue Bevan

Sue Bevan

NSF: develop long-term partnerships (research centers) among industry, academe, and government. Next full proposal deadline February 28, 2017. Thereafter, preliminary proposals due each year on the 3rd Wednesday of April and 3rd Wednesday of October; full proposals due each year on the third Wednesday in June and the third Wednesday in December.

February 9, 2017