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Problem of Ethnic and
Racial Disparities in Health
Despite notable progress in the nation's health, there continue to be
disparities in the burden of illness and death among African Americans,
Hispanics, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, and
Pacific Islanders. So regardless of medical advances, there is a growing
concern that the nation's ethnic and racial health gap is widening.
Examples:
- Today, diabetes has reached epidemic proportions among Native
Americans. Complications from diabetes are major causes of death and
health problems in most Native American populations. (Source:
American
Diabetes Association)
- 1 in 4 African American women over 55 yrs. of age has diabetes.
(Source: American Diabetes
Association)
- African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer
than are women of any other racial and ethnic group. (Source:
American
Cancer Society)
- Non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans are more likely to
suffer from high blood pressure than non-Hispanic whites. And
compared to whites, blacks develop hypertension at an earlier age,
and it is more severe in all age groups. (Source:
American
Heart Association)
The problem of racial and ethnic health disparities is just as
prominent in Tennessee as it is nationally and it may be even
worse. In order to help eliminate some of these disparities, the
Nashville REACH project is focusing on cardiovascular disease and type 2
diabetes among African Americans because of their extraordinarily high
racial disparity rates in the area. Furthermore, cardiovascular disease
and type 2 diabetes share common modifiable, behavioral risk factors so
a greater impact from a community-based effort can be reached with the
same amount of resources.
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