Medical schools across the United States are facing challenges in recruiting Black students due to growing anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, exacerbating existing racial disparities in healthcare. Since the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in higher education, over two dozen states have passed laws restricting DEI programs, potentially worsening health outcomes for people of color. The University of Mississippi School of Medicine, where only 82 out of 660 medical students are Black, exemplifies this issue. GOP legislators in Mississippi attempted to introduce bills limiting DEI spending at colleges and universities, though these did not pass. At the federal level,…
Author: Disparity Matters
Boosting diabetes research in Latino community
Joseph Mikhael advanced equity in blood-cancer care by targeting dramatic outcome and treatment disparities in multiple myeloma among Black and Latino patients
Young gay Latinos are seeing a rising share of new HIV cases in the United States, even as overall infection rates have declined, according to a new analysis by KFF Health News and The Associated Press. While estimated new HIV infection rates fell 23% overall from 2012 to 2022, the rate has not declined as much for Latinos compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Latinos made up the largest share of new HIV diagnoses and infections among gay and bisexual men in 2022, accounting for about 33% of new HIV infections despite comprising only 19% of the U.S. population.…
Crystal Cené focused on reducing cardiovascular and chronic-care disparities among under-served populations through social-determinants research
Lauren McCullough studied how obesity and neighborhood deprivation drive breast-cancer outcome disparities among underserved populations
A groundbreaking national long-term cohort study on Asian Americans, aimed at understanding cancer risks and disparities within this diverse population, is set to launch this year. The Asian American Prospective Research (ASPIRE) study, led by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and funded by a $12.45 million grant from the National Cancer Institute, seeks to address the longstanding issue of viewing Asian Americans as a monolith in health research. The study comes nearly 25 years after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cancer had become the leading cause of death for Asian Americans, the first racial minority…
Transvaginal ultrasonography triage resulted in misclassification for more than one in 10 Black women, suggesting it is not a reliable strategy to identify Black women at risk for endometrial cancer, according to a new diagnostic study. The research, published in JAMA Oncology, analyzed data from 1,494 Black women who underwent hysterectomy between 2014 and 2020. Of these, 210 were diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Current guidelines recommend transvaginal ultrasonography for women with postmenopausal bleeding, with endometrial tissue sampling advised for those with an endometrial thickness of 4 mm or greater. However, the study found significant shortcomings in this approach for Black women. False-negative…
American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women with breast cancer are significantly less likely to undergo breast reconstruction after mastectomy compared to non-Hispanic White women, according to a new study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Researchers analyzed data from the National Cancer Database, examining 1,980 AI/AN women and 414,036 non-Hispanic White women who had mastectomies between 2004 and 2017. While reconstruction rates increased for both groups over the study period, AI/AN women remained nearly 50% less likely to have the procedure. Dr. Jane Hui of the University of Minnesota, the study’s lead author, emphasized the need to understand Native…
A recent study published in Circulation reveals that living near green and blue spaces significantly reduces the risk of coronary artery calcification (CAC), an early marker of cardiovascular disease, particularly among Black individuals and those in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. The research, conducted by Northwestern University, analyzed data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) project, focusing on middle-aged adults in Birmingham, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Oakland. The study found that Black participants with the highest accessibility to rivers had 32% lower odds of developing CAC compared to those with the least access. Similarly, Black individuals with greater access to green…