Population Health News Roundup: June

 IAPHS Members in the News

David F. Warner in The Gerontologist on breast cancer screening among midlife and older women: Although it goes against current screening guidelines, “Women with more favorable self-assessed health and perceived life expectancy were more likely to receive screening mammography even if they have poor clinical presentation or advanced age.” (June 2019)

Patricia Homan in American Sociological Review: Structural sexism at the U.S. state level is linked to chronic conditions, poorer self-rated health, and worse physical functioning among women. Men aren’t unscathed–state-level sexism is also associated with worse health (but better health within the marital dyad). Dr. Horman also won the 2019 Roberta G. Simmons Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Sociological Association section on Medical Sociology. (May 28, 2019)

Christy L Hughes in Race and Social Problems: How neighborhood interaction and participation boosts mental health in African American and Afro-Caribbean people. (Race and Social Problems, June 19, 2019)

Katie Dickinson in Environmental Science and Technology: A new framework for looking at oil & gas environmental justice in light of the use of unconventional resources such as fracking. (Environmental Science and Technology, May 22, 2019)

Margaret Hicken, Hedwig Lee, Jennifer Ailshire, Sarah Burgard, and David R. Williams in Race and Social Problems: “Every Shut-Eye, Ain’t Sleep” was part of the Race & Social Problems 10th anniversary issue as the most-cited article in 2013. (June 2019)

Disparities

Middle-income seniors may be betwixt and between: By 2029, many middle-income seniors may need housing and care that they won’t be able to afford, and they’ll have too many resources to qualify for Medicaid or subsidized housing. (Urban Institute, May 16, 2019)

Homelessness ages seniors and opens them to risk of violence: But housing reduces the risk of physical or sexual assault by half.  ( Nature May 21, 2019 and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, May 2019)

Childhood economic woes increase the risk of death later: Adults over age 50 who experienced financial difficulties were more likely to die than were those who reported no such difficulties. (Syracuse University Lerner Center For Public Health Promotion, Data Slice, May 21, 2019)

The ball play’s the thing: National Football League (NFL) players had higher rates of death from all causes than Major League Baseball (MLB) players did.  (JAMA Network Open, May 24, 2019) 

D’oh, it’s the SDOH: Restricted access to healthcare has only modest effects on life expectancy. (Annals of Family Medicine, May/June 2019). 

Place

Asthma and urban planning: In Philadelphia, community partnerships and initiatives are working to mitigate racial disparities in asthma through housing and urban planning initiatives.  (Next City, May 20, 2019)

Reversing the old redlines: Cities are using an old tool–redlining–in environmental justice projects. (Grist, May 12, 2019)

Texting instead of shooting: Is the advent of cellular phones contributing to the decline in homicides related to drug dealing?  (CityLab, June 6, 2019)

Tech Talk

High-tech app helps travelers who are blind or who have low vision: An app called Aira audio-describes visuals by connecting travelers to someone on the other end of a phone who uses the camera, an airport map, and GPS to guide travelers with low vision safely and with less anxiety. (NBC15 TV, Madison, Wisconsin, May 23, 2019)

Global Health

It’s better in Cuba: What Cuba can teach its neighbors to the North about health. (Clare Wenham from the LSES Latin America and Caribbean Centre)

Electronic waste is harming health in Ghana: Workers exposed to electronic waste experience skin disease and respiratory illnesses. The toxins are entering the food chain. The problem is expected to spread globally if it’s not addressed. (CityLab, May 29, 2019) 

Gold mines harming children: In Nigeria, lead waste from gold mines is poisoning children. (Aljazeera, June 6, 2019)

Programs & Policy

Washington State passes LTC Trust Act: A new payroll tax will help support Washington State seniors with long term care needs in the future. (Kaiser Health News, June 7, 2019)

Dialysis is doing equity right: Dialysis outperforms other healthcare systems. Can it be a model for broader health equity? (Stat News, May 29, 2019)

A nurse a day keeps the doctor away (and saves money): Registered nurses in schools saved money, averted medical costs, and reduced lost work time for parents and teachers. (Reuters, May 19, 2019)

Medicaid expansion and infant mortality: Medicaid expansion was associated with declines in state infant mortality rates. In contrast, infant mortality rose in non-expansion states. (Governing, May 22, 2019)