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NIH Uncovers Racial Disparity in Grant Awards
No full textAn in-depth analysis of grant data from the U.S. National Institutes of Health on page 1015 of this week's issue of Science finds that black Ph.D. scientists—and not other minorities—were far less likely to receive NIH funding than a white scientist from a similar institution with the same research record. A black scientist's chance of winning NIH funding was 10 percentage points lower than that of a white scientist. The NIH-commissioned analysis, which lifts the lid on confidential grant data, may reflect a series of slight advantages white scientists accumulate over the course of a career, the authors suggest. But the gap could also result from "insidious" bias favoring whites in a peer-review system that supposedly ranks applications only on scientific merit, NIH officials say. The findings have shaken NIH. Director Francis Collins and Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak have co-authored a response on page 940
Obesity disparities among disadvantaged men: National adult male inmate prevalence pooled with non-incarcerated estimates, United States, 2002–2004
No full textObesity prevalence among inmates in the United States is unknown. Since incarceration disproportionately affects minorities, excluding inmates from surveys may bias national obesity estimates. Including inmates may also help explain racial obesity disparities among men. This descriptive study summarizes obesity prevalence among US male inmates and analyzes the effect of incarceration on national prevalence estimates. Data for male inmates came from the 2002 Survey of Inmates in Local Jails and the 2004 Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities. Data for the non-incarcerated US adult male population came from the 2004 National Health Interview Survey. Self-reported weight and height data were analyzed from men aged 25-59 years for all surveys (obesity equaled BMI ≥ 30.0 kg/m(2)). Pooled inmate obesity prevalence was less than non-incarcerated estimates across all race/ethnic-education subgroups. However, unlike non-incarcerated estimates, inmates had obesity disparities between Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites. Merging inmate and non-incarcerated estimates lowered obesity prevalence among men aged 25-39 with lower education levels. Merged estimates showed a positive obesity gradient within Whites by education. This study indicates that the exclusion of inmates from national obesity estimates leads to overestimates in obesity prevalence, particularly for low SES White and Black men
HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
Get PDFThe HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities outlines goals and actions HHS will take to reduce health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. With the HHS Disparities Action Plan, the Department commits to continuously assessing the impact of all policies and programs on racial and ethnic health disparities. It will promote integrated approaches, evidence-based programs and best practices to reduce these disparities. The HHS Action Plan builds on the strong foundation of the Affordable Care Act and is aligned with programs and initiatives such as Healthy People 2020, the First Lady's Let's Move initiative and the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy
Estimated HIV Incidence in the United States, 2006–2009
No full textBackground
The estimated number of new HIV infections in the United States reflects the leading edge of the epidemic. Previously, CDC estimated HIV incidence in the United States in 2006 as 56,300 (95% CI: 48,200–64,500). We updated the 2006 estimate and calculated incidence for 2007–2009 using improved methodology.
Methodology
We estimated incidence using incidence surveillance data from 16 states and 2 cities and a modification of our previously described stratified extrapolation method based on a sample survey approach with multiple imputation, stratification, and extrapolation to account for missing data and heterogeneity of HIV testing behavior among population groups.
Principal Findings
Estimated HIV incidence among persons aged 13 years and older was 48,600 (95% CI: 42,400–54,700) in 2006, 56,000 (95% CI: 49,100–62,900) in 2007, 47,800 (95% CI: 41,800–53,800) in 2008 and 48,100 (95% CI: 42,200–54,000) in 2009. From 2006 to 2009 incidence did not change significantly overall or among specific race/ethnicity or risk groups. However, there was a 21% (95% CI:1.9%–39.8%; p = 0.017) increase in incidence for people aged 13–29 years, driven by a 34% (95% CI: 8.4%–60.4%) increase in young men who have sex with men (MSM). There was a 48% increase among young black/African American MSM (12.3%–83.0%; p<0.001). Among people aged 13–29, only MSM experienced significant increases in incidence, and among 13–29 year-old MSM, incidence increased significantly among young, black/African American MSM. In 2009, MSM accounted for 61% of new infections, heterosexual contact 27%, injection drug use (IDU) 9%, and MSM/IDU 3%.
Conclusions/Significance
Overall, HIV incidence in the United States was relatively stable 2006–2009; however, among young MSM, particularly black/African American MSM, incidence increased. HIV continues to be a major public health burden, disproportionately affecting several populations in the United States, especially MSM and racial and ethnic minorities. Expanded, improved, and targeted prevention is necessary to reduce HIV incidence
CDC Fact Sheet: Estimates of New HIV Infections in the United States, 2006–2009
No full textIn August 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new estimates of the annual number of new HIV infections
(HIV incidence) in the United States. The estimates, for 2006 through 2009, are the first multi-year estimates using CDC’s national
HIV incidence surveillance methodology, which is based on direct measurement of new HIV infections using a laboratory test (the
BED HIV-1 Capture Enzyme Immunoassay) that can classify new diagnoses as either recent or long-standing HIV infections. The
estimates were published online in the scientific journal PLoS ONE (http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017502).
The new estimates suggest that overall HIV incidence in the United States has been relatively stable at approximately
50,000 annual infections between 2006 and 2009. Each year, the largest number of new HIV infections was among white
men who have sex with men (MSM)* followed closely by black MSM. Hispanic MSM and black women were also heavily
affected. Over the four year period, new HIV infections appear to be relatively stable among all populations except young
MSM. The overall increase among young MSM was driven by a 48 percent increase in HIV infections among young
black MSM during the four-year time period
Panel reveals new details of 1940's experiment
No full textA presidential panel on Monday disclosed shocking new details of U.S. medical experiments done in Guatemala in the 1940s, including a decision to re-infect a dying woman in a syphilis study.
The Guatemala experiments are already considered one of the darker episodes of medical research in U.S. history, but panel members say the new information indicates that the researchers were unusually unethical, even when placed into the historical context of a different era.
"The researchers put their own medical advancement first and human decency a far second," said Anita Allen, a member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of
Panel Hears Grim Details of Venereal Disease Tests
No full textGruesome details of American-run venereal disease experiments on Guatemalan prisoners, soldiers and mental patients in the years after World War II were revealed this week during hearings before a White House bioethics panel investigating the study’s sordid history.
From 1946 to 1948, American taxpayers, through the Public Health Service, paid for syphilis-infected Guatemalan prostitutes to have sex with prisoners. When some of the men failed to become infected through sex, the bacteria were poured into scrapes made on the penises or faces, or even injected by spinal puncture
REDUCING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES THROUGH HEALTH CARE REFORM: STATE EXPERIENCE
No full textRacial and ethnic minorities make up about one-third of the U.S. population and more
than half of the people who are uninsured.1 Between 2003 and 2006, the total direct and
indirect costs of health inequities affecting racial and ethnic minority populations more
broadly – including lost wages and productivity –exceeded $1.2 trillion.2
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has examined the case for eliminating racial and ethnic
health and health care disparities. They identified lack of insurance as a significant
driver of health care disparities because, more than any other barrier, it negatively
affects the quality of care received by minority populations. 3,4,5 The Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) documented that racial and ethnic minorities
receive poorer quality of care and face more barriers when it comes to chronic disease
management and preventive care.6 National and state disparities data pertaining to
racial and ethnic populations, as well as other adversely affected groups, adds to the
evidence that calls for targeted action. (The term “disparities data” in this paper refers to
data related to racial and ethnic minority populations.