Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities
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J Racial Ethn Health Disparities · Oct 2020
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Household Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Nationally Representative Study.
Previous research has demonstrated that the burden of household food insecurity is disproportionately high among racial/ethnic minority groups, yet no peer-reviewed studies have systematically examined racial/ethnic disparities in household food insecurity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study on household food insecurity during COVID-19 used data from a nationally representative sample of US households through the 2020 Household Pulse Survey (HPS) (including all 50 states and the District of Columbia, n = 74,413 households). Six generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were estimated, and the results indicated that households headed by Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, or other racial/ethnic minorities were not significantly more food insecure than White households during the pandemic. ⋯ Moreover, racial/ethnic minorities were significantly less confident about their household food security for the next 4 weeks than Whites. The coronavirus pandemic crisis has exposed and exacerbated the food injustice in American society. Policymakers and local officials should take concerted actions to improve the capacity of food supply and ensure food equality across all racial/ethnic groups.
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J Racial Ethn Health Disparities · Oct 2020
ReviewBarriers to Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities: a Systematic Review.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with poor health outcomes, including cervical cancer. Racial/ethnic minority populations experience poor health outcomes associated with HPV at higher rates. A vaccine is available to protect against HPV infections and prevent HPV-related sequelae; however, vaccination rates have remained low in the United States (U.S.) population. Thus, there is an urgent need to increase the HPV vaccination rate. Moreover, little is known about barriers to HPV vaccination in racial/ethnic minority groups. This paper highlights the most recent findings on barriers experienced by these groups. ⋯ Provider recommendations and accurate distribution of information must be increased and targeted to racial/ethnic minority populations in order to bolster the rate of vaccine uptake. To effectively target these communities, multi-level interventions need to be established. Further, research to understand the barriers that may affect unvaccinated adults in the catch-up age range, including males, may be beneficial, as majority of the previous studies focused on either parents of adolescents or women.
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J Racial Ethn Health Disparities · Oct 2020
Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Alliance Against COVID-19: One Step Forward.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the data of Department of Health in United Kingdom (UK) showed an increase mortality and morbidity among the Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population. This high mortality can be due to social factors, genetic and immunological factors. Metabolic factors like high prevalence of diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and hypertension were also found to contribute to the increased risk of COVID-19 infection in BAME population. ⋯ Therefore, future research should address all these factors and generate the correct health policy that will allow us to combat the danger of COVID-19. We recommend the establishment of BAME alliance against COVID-19 in order to improve occupational risks and hazards, adequate income protection, culturally and linguistically appropriate public health communications and decreasing barriers in accessing healthcare. The BAME alliance will initially focus on (i) development of central system to record data about COVID-19 patients from BAME population (ii) involvement of healthcare professionals and researchers from ethnic minorities and (iii) multidisciplinary and inter-institution collaboration; for example, civil engineers and architects need to think about house design and ventilation that decrease risk of COVID-19 especially in BAME populations.
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J Racial Ethn Health Disparities · Oct 2020
Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Access to High-Quality Dialysis Treatment in Chicago: Does Neighborhood Racial/Ethnic Composition Matter?
Blacks and Hispanics face a higher incidence rate of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and tend to experience poorer access to quality health care compared with Whites. Income, education, and insurance coverage differentials are typically identified as risk factors, but neighborhood-level analyses may provide additional insights. We examine whether neighborhood racial composition contributes to racial/ethnic inequities in access to high-quality dialysis care in Chicago. ⋯ Expanding opportunities for Blacks and Hispanics to gain access to racially integrated and minority neighborhoods may help alleviate racial/ethnic inequities in access to quality care among kidney disease patients.