sinai in the news
December 11, 2009
Dianne Hunter
Sinai Health System
773-257-5228
Melanie Scofield
The Scofield Company
312-280-7702
708-289-9047 (cell)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW STUDY REPORTS BLACK/WHITE HEALTH DISPARITIES CONTINUED TO WIDEN IN CHICAGO THROUGH 2005
Little or No Improvement Across U.S.; Chicago Faring Far Worse than Nation
Chicago – While racial gaps in health across the United States remained relatively constant from 1990 to 2005, black-white health disparities in Chicago grew much worse, according to research released today by the Sinai Urban Health Institute. Despite more than 15 years of time and effort devoted to reducing and eliminating disparities at both the national and local level, disparities persist and are in some cases widening.
According to the study, the majority of measures of health for both African Americans and Whites improved nationally and locally, but Whites improved much more, which resulted in increasing levels of disparity for many health measures.
Nationally, disparities between African-American and White people widened (grew worse) for six of 15 health status indicators. In Chicago 11 of 15 disparities widened. In 1990, mortality from all causes was 36 percent higher for African Americans than Whites. By 2005, this disparity had widened to 42 percent.
Of the 11 disparities that widened, five were found to be statistically significant: mortality from all causes, heart disease mortality, female breast cancer mortality, the percentage of women who received no prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy and the rate of tuberculosis cases.
Among the most disturbing findings, the mortality rate from breast cancer for African-American women was 99 percent higher than that of white women, a five-fold increase from a disparity of 20 percent in 1990. The disparity in mortality from heart disease, the leading killer of people in the United States, went from 8 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 2005. In 1990, African-American women were two times more likely to have no prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. By 2005, they were three times more likely.
"Chicago is faring far worse than the country as a whole when it comes to racial health disparities," said Steve Whitman, Director of the Sinai Urban Health Institute. "Not only are we not eliminating disparities, but in the majority of cases, we are not even reducing them. If all of these health indicators were equal, 3,200 fewer African-American men and women would die each year. While many disease-specific efforts to reduce disparities have been launched, we must call upon national and local policymakers and the entire medical community to mobilize broader strategies for reducing disparities."
ADD 1 – HEALTH DISPARITIES IN CHICAGO CONTINUE TO WIDEN
Researchers at the Sinai Urban Health Institute analyzed 15 health measures using data derived from Illinois birth and death records and Chicago communicable disease files. The resulting study, “Black-White Health Disparities in the United States and Chicago: A15-Year Progress Analysis” will be published in a February 2010 special edition of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). The results were discussed at a press conference today upon the on-line release of the AJPH article, featuring the authors of the report and public health advocates at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago.
Disparities in Chicago narrowed significantly for two health status indicators: the percentage of low-birthweight babies and the primary and secondary syphilis case rate. The narrowing of the disparity for low birthweight was due to an increase in the rate for Whites, not an improvement for African Americans.
"Black-White Health Disparities in the United States and Chicago: A 15-Year Progress Analysis" was written by Jennifer M. Orsi, MPH; Helen Margellos-Anast, MPH; and Steven Whitman, PhD. of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.
This report builds upon Sinai research released in January 2004, also published in AJPH, which first raised awareness of broad black-white health gaps in Chicago, and led to a city-wide disparities conference sponsored by the Institute of Medicine and the creation of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force. Sinai Urban Health Institute also released a groundbreaking community-level study in 2004, the “Improving Community Health Survey,” which detailed major health indicators in six Chicago neighborhoods.
"The Sinai Urban Health Institute is a unique resource for the people of Chicago," said Alan Channing, President and CEO of Sinai Health System, "Their important work helps fulfill Sinai’s vision for serving as the national model for the delivery of urban health care. The Sinai Urban Health Institute's passion for Sinai’s core value of integrity has again added definition to what we know about Chicago’s health disparities. These findings provide direction for our “"pre-primary care" model through which we educate, empower and engage the people in the community in behaviors that will lead to better health for themselves and their families."
Call to Action
Although the United States has touted the reduction (Healthy People 2000 initiative) and eventual elimination (Healthy People 2010 initiative) of disparities as a major goal, authors of the article pointed out a general lack of research on disparities across multiple health indicators, as opposed to isolated, disease-specific studies. They also called for researchers in other cities to conduct similar disparities studies to compare how other major urban areas are doing, how disparities differ in urban versus rural areas and to gain a better understanding about how to eliminate disparities.
While differences in socioeconomic status may contribute to some disparity, they do not entirely explain racial disparities in health. Several studies have shown that even within the same income and education levels, African Americans have worse health compared to Whites. Additional research has shown that racism is also a contributing factor. Studies have shown that racial segregation in health care and housing are prominent causes of poor health.
"We must develop and enact more interventions and programs one disease at a time, on the ground, starting now," Whitman said, "while at the same time addressing the fundamental causes of racism and poverty."
In Chicago, several disease-specific initiatives have already been launched, including the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, the Greater Humboldt Park Community Campaign Against Diabetes, the North Lawndale Diabetes Action Project and Community Organizing for Obesity Prevention in Humboldt Park. Sinai Health System is an active partner in these initiatives and continues to be on the forefront of working to address this issue.
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ADD 2 – HEALTH DISPARITIES IN CHICAGO CONTINUE TO WIDEN
The American Journal of Public Health is dedicated to original work in research, research methods, and program evaluation in the field of public health. All published papers have undergone rigorous peer review. AJPH is the official journal of the American Public Health Association.
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About Sinai Health System
For 90 years the hospitals and caregivers of Sinai Health System have provided medical care and social services to communities in west and south Chicago. The Sinai Hospitals, including Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Children’s Hospital, and Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital offer general acute, specialty, and rehabilitation care as well as home health.
Sinai Community Institute provides social service outreach for the lifestyle issues that contribute to health while the Sinai Urban Health Institute researches the prevalence of chronic disease in Chicago neighborhoods. Collectively these organizations and the caregivers who staff them support the Sinai vision of being the national model for urban health care through community connection. Sinai Health system has an unwavering commitment to quality as evidenced by Mount Sinai Hospital being in the top ten percent nationally on over 75% of the CMS Core Measures for quality and Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital’s 25 plus years of CARF accreditation.
For more information on Sinai Health System, go to www.sinai.org.
For more information about the Sinai Urban Health Institute, go to www.suhichicago.org.
For additional information contact Dianne Hunter, Director of Public Relations and Communications, Sinai Health System: 773.257.5228.
