This document discusses health disparities and resources for promoting health equity. It defines health disparities as significant disparities in disease rates or health outcomes between populations compared to the general population. It identifies four population groups that experience health disparities: African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, immigrants/refugees, and American Indian/Alaskan Natives. The document outlines unique health issues that affect these and other groups. It also describes several resources for finding health information, including MedlinePlus, the CDC, and databases like PubMed.

1. Health Disparities:
Don’t Despair,
Be Aware!
Jacqueline Leskovec, MLIS, MA, RN
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
Greater Midwest Region
DSLC St Mary’s College
March 2013

2. Objectives
Participants will:
•Understand the meaning of health disparities
•Be able to identify 4 population groups affected by
health disparities
•Learn 4 resources for promoting health equity

3. National Network of Libraries of
Medicine Greater Midwest Region Who We Are
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National
Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00005-C with
the University of Illinois at Chicago.

4. THE LITERATURE OF
PRESCRIPTION
MARCH 08, 2014 - APRIL 19, 2014

5. Getting to Know You

6. What happened?

7. Culture & Health

8. Culture and Patient
Health
• Beliefs about objects, symbols, food, the body,
blood, non-traditional medicine, etc.
• Communication styles and norms
• Role of relationships
• Ways of learning new information
• Role of translations and interpreters

9. The 4 C’s of Culture
1. What do you call your problem?
2. What do you think caused your problem?
3. How do you cope with your condition?
4. What are your concerns regarding the condition
and/or recommended treatment?
~The 4 C’s of Culture:
A Mnemonic for Health Care Professionals

10. Health Equity
• [The] attainment of the highest level of health for all
people. Achieving health equity requires valuing
everyone equally with focused and ongoing
societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities,
historical and contemporary injustices, and the
elimination of health and health care disparities.
~Healthy People 2020
HealthyPeople.gov

11. Health Disparities

12. Definition
• “A population is a health disparity population if
there is a significant disparity in the overall rate of
disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality
or survival rates in the population as compared to
the health status of the general population.”
o Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act United
States Public Law 106-525 (2000), p. 2498

14. Unique Health Issues

15. African Americans
• Heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, HTN
• Cancer, diabetes, unintentional injuries, maternal
and infant health, teen pregnancy,
• Smoking and tobacco use, overweight/obesity,
nutrition, physical activity, HIV/AIDS
• Seasonal influenza, asthma, TB

16. Hispanic/Latino
• Asthma, chronic lower respiratory disease, influenza
& pneumonia
• Chagas Disease
• Unintentional injuries, homicide
• Teen pregnancy
• Smoking & tobacco use
• Stroke
• Diabetes
• Chronic liver disease/cirrhosis

17. Immigrants/refugees
• Lack of health insurance
• Lack of immunizations
• Unfamiliarity with Western medicine
• Pesticide & other hazards exposure

18. Emerging Populations
~http://rhin.org/

19. American Indian/Alaskan Native
• Higher unemployment rate
• Shorter life expectancy
• IHS
• High rates of alcohol use, diabetes, infant mortality,
HIV/AIDS, obesity, mental health concerns, smoking
& tobacco use

20. Asian Americans
• Myth of the model minority
• Certain types of cancer, TB, hepatitis B
• Language & cultural barriers
• Stigma associated with certain conditions
• Lack of health insurance

21. Women’s Health Issues
• Heart disease
• Maternal and child health
• Breast and cervical cancer
• Binge drinking
• Intimate partner violence
http://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2009/index.htm

22. Men’s Health Issues
• Tendency to smoke & drink > women
• Shorter life expectancy
• Job related stress
• Prostate cancer
• Low testosterone

23. LGBTI

Social stigma

Rejection by family members

Abuse and violence

Unfair treatment in the legal system

Hiding some or all aspects of one’s life

Lacking health insurance

Shortage of culturally competent health providers

24. Senior Health Issues
• Balance problems, risk for falls
• Diseases and injuries to bones and joints
• Hearing loss
• Diabetes
• High blood cholesterol
• Kidney disease
• Problems with smell, taste; dry mouth
• Stroke
• Peripheral arterial disease

25. Health Information
Resources

26. Scholarly Resources/Databases
• PubMed
o MeSH Terms
• Google Scholar
• CINAHL
• PsycINFO

27. ARRA & ACA
• Proposed Data Collection Standards
• Plan for Health Data Collection on Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Populations
• Preventive care, coordinated care, diversity and
cultural competency, health care providers for
underserved communities, ending insurance
discrimination, affordable insurance coverage

28. MedlinePlus
• http://medlineplus.gov
• Health Topics
• Drugs & Supplements
• Videos & Cool Tools
• Medical dictionary
• Population groups
o African-American, Latino/Hispanic, Asian Americans, American Indians,
Alaskan Natives, LGBT, seniors, children’s health and more
• En español
• Free!

30. CDC
• Health & Safety Topics
o Diseases & Conditions; Healthy Living; Emergency Preparedness &
Response; Injury, Violence & Safety
o Data & Statistics: FastStats
• For Specific Groups
o Travelers’ Health; Life States & Populations; State, Tribal, Local & Territorial
• Office of Minority Health & Health Equity
• Women’s Health
• http://www.cdc.gov

33. • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health knowledge
path
• Health professionals, program administrators,
policymakers, and researchers
• Racial and ethnic health disparities, health equity,
and removing barriers to care;
http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_race.ht

34. Men’s Health
• CDC Men’s Health
o http://www.cdc.gov/men/
• NIH Men’s Health Topics
o http://health.nih.gov/category/MensHealth/
• AHRQ Healthy Men
o http://ahrq.gov

35. NIH Senior Health
• Basic health and wellness information
• Topics of concern for seniors
o Bones and Joints
o Cancer
o Diseases and Conditions
o Healthy Aging
o Heart and Lungs
o Memory and Mental Health
o Treatments and Therapies
o Vision and Hearing
http://nih.seniorhealth.gov

36. http://go4life.nia.nih.gov/

37. LGBT
MedlinePlus
•http://
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gaylesbianbisexualandtransgend
National Institutes of Health: Gay/Lesbian Health
•http://health.nih.gov/topic/GayLesbianHealth
AIDS.gov: http://aids.gov
AIDSinfo / infoSIDA: http://aidsinfo.nih.gov
GMHC: http://www.gmhc.org/
Lesbian Health & Research Center
• http://www.lesbianhealthinfo.org/
The Mautner Project
• http://www.mautnerproject.org/

38. RHIN
Refugee Health Information Network
•http://www.rhin.org
•Multilingual health information (more than 80
languages) for health providers, refugees and asylees
•Large section on cultural guidance
•Country Conditions Reports
•Multiple formats (print, audio, video)

39. EthnoMed
• http://ethnomed.org
• Merged material from former 24 Languages Project
• Background information on cultures and cultural
competency
• Patient education materials

40. DiversityRx
Improving Health Care for a Diverse World
•http://www.diversityrx.org
•Webinars
•Cultural Competence

41. o http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/
o Multiple languages; multiple formats
• Includes iPod video and multimedia

42. Health Information
Translations
o http://healthinfotranslations.org/
o Health topics include Diagnostic Tests and
Disaster Preparedness
o Linked to from MedlinePlus!

43. Follow, Fan and Connect
with NLM
• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/socialmedia/index.html

44. Others?
Questions?
Comments?

45. Thank you!
Jacqueline Leskovec
SMC Class of 1974
leskovec@uic.edu
1.800-DEV-ROKS
Slideshare: leskovec
NN/LM Greater Midwest Region
http://nnlm.gov/gmr/
This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of
Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHS-N-276-2011-00005-C with the University of Illinois at
Chicago.