Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
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Pharmacies that sell over-the-counter (OTC) syringes are a major source of sterile syringes for injection drug users in cities and states where such sales are legal. In these cities and states, however, black injectors are markedly less likely to acquire syringes from pharmacies than white injectors. The present analysis documents spatial and temporal trends in OTC pharmacy access in New York City health districts over time (2001-2006) and investigates whether these trends are related to district racial/ethnic composition and to local need for OTC pharmacies. ⋯ Conclusions were consistent across both measures of "need" and persisted after controlling for local poverty rates. In both high- and low-need districts, spatial access to OTC pharmacies was greater in "Whiter" districts in 2001; in high-need districts, access also increased more rapidly over time in "whiter" districts. Ensuring equitable spatial access to OTC pharmacies may reduce injection-related HIV transmission overall and reduce racial/ethnic disparities in HIV incidence among injectors.
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Though altruism and patient advocacy are promoted in medical education curricula, students are given few opportunities to develop these skills. Student-run clinics focusing on the health needs of the underserved can provide important health services to needy patients while providing students with career-influencing primary care experiences. The Columbia-Harlem Homeless Medical Partnership (CHHMP)-a project initiated by medical students to provide primary care to Northern Manhattan's homeless population-serves as a new model of service learning in medical education. ⋯ CHHMP has recruited a committed group of volunteers and continues to engender an interest in the health needs of the underserved among students. Not only does CHHMP provide a "medical home" for homeless patients, it also provides a space in which students can develop skills unaddressed in large teaching hospitals. This project, a "win-win" for patients and students, serves as a unique model for community health-based service learning in medical education.
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Previously published analyses showed that inequalities in mortality rates between residents of poor and wealthy neighborhoods in New York City (NYC) narrowed between 1990 and 2000, but these trends may have been influenced by population in-migration and gentrification. The NYC public housing population has been less subject to these population shifts than those in other NYC neighborhoods. We compared changes in mortality rates (MRs) from 1989-1991 to 1999-2001 among residents of NYC census blocks consisting entirely of public housing residences with residents of nonpublic housing low-income and higher-income blocks. ⋯ Diseases amenable to prevention including malignancies, diabetes, and chronic lung disease contributed to the increased overall mortality disparity between public housing and lower-income residents. These findings temper previous findings that inequalities in the health of poor and wealthier NYC neighborhood residents have narrowed. NYC public housing residents should be a high-priority population for efforts to reduce health disparities.
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Transactional sex refers to selling sex (exchanging sex for money, drugs, food, shelter, or other items) or purchasing sex (exchanging money, drugs, food, shelter, or other items for sex). These activities have been associated with a higher risk for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in a variety of populations and settings. This paper examines correlates of purchasing and selling sex in a large sample of drug users, men who have sex with men, and sex partners of these groups. ⋯ There was also a significant difference by race. For men, the factors associated with selling and buying sex include being homeless, bisexual behavior, and not being in a relationship. Although neighborhood violence and disorder show significance in bivariate associations with the outcome, these associations disappear in the structural equation models.
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Incarceration is associated with multiple and concurrent partnerships, which are determinants of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV. The associations between incarceration and high-risk sex partnerships may exist, in part, because incarceration disrupts stable sex partnerships, some of which are protective against high-risk sex partnerships. When investigating STI/HIV risk among those with incarceration histories, it is important to consider the potential role of drug use as a factor contributing to sexual risk behavior. ⋯ Men with both illicit drug use and incarceration histories may experience particular vulnerability to STI/HIV, as a result of having disproportionate levels of concurrent partnerships and high levels of unprotected sex. We hypothesize that incarceration works in tandem with drug use and other adverse social and economic factors to increase sexual risk behavior. To establish whether incarceration is causally associated with high-risk sex partnerships and acquisition of STI/HIV, a longitudinal study that accurately measures incarceration, STI/HIV, and illicit drug use should be conducted to disentangle the specific effects of each variable of interest on risk behavior and STI/HIV acquisition.