scholarly journals mSphere of Influence: Frameshift—a Vision for Human Microbiome Research

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariangela J. Kozik
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Biopsychosocial Model ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Allergy Clin ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Asthma Outcomes ◽  
Respiratory Microbiome

ABSTRACT Ariangela J. Kozik studies the respiratory microbiome as it relates to asthma. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how two papers, “Time’s up to adopt a biopsychosocial model to address racial and ethnic disparities in asthma outcomes” (E. C. Matsui, A. S. Adamson, and R. D. Peng, Allergy Clin Immunol 143:2024–2025, 2019, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2019.03.015) and “Health disparities and the microbiome” (K. Findley, D. R. Williams, E. A. Grice, and V. L. Bonham, Trends Microbiol 24:847–850, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2016.08.001), shape her approach to human microbiome research.

scholarly journals Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samia Tasmim ◽  
Sarah Collins
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Fundamental Cause ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Unequal Opportunities ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Racial and ethnic disparities in health stem from the historical legacy and continued patterns of unequal resources and treatment on the basis of race/ethnicity in society (Hummer and Hamilton 2019; Williams and Sternthal 2010). Health disparities encompass differences in physical health, mental health, all-cause and cause-specific mortality risk, activity limitations, healthcare access and utilization, and other metrics of well-being. Researchers have identified a variety of explanations for racial/ethnic health disparities, including socioeconomic inequality, institutional- and individual-level discrimination, residential segregation, early-life circumstances, and health behaviors, among others. However, unequal opportunities on the basis of race/ethnicity remain the fundamental cause of health disparities (Hummer 1996; Phelan and Link 2015).

scholarly journals Unraveling US National COVID-19 Racial/Ethnic Disparities using County Level Data Among 328 Million Americans

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Li ◽  
Sheila M. Gaynor ◽  
Corbin Quick ◽  
Jarvis T. Chen ◽  
Briana J.K. Stephenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
County Level ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Racial Health Disparities ◽  
Personal Protection Equipment ◽  
Level Data

ABSTRACTRacial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 outcomes reflect the unequal burden experienced by vulnerable communities in the United States (US). Proposed explanations include socioeconomic factors that influence how people live, work, and play, and pre-existing comorbidities. It is important to assess the extent to which observed US COVID-19 racial and ethnic disparities can be explained by these factors. We study 9.8 million confirmed cases and 234,000 confirmed deaths from 2,990 US counties (3,142 total) that make up 99.8% of the total US population (327.6 out of 328.2 million people) through 11/8/20. We found national COVID-19 racial health disparities in US are partially explained by various social determinants of health and pre-existing comorbidities that have been previously proposed. However, significant unexplained racial and ethnic health disparities still persist at the US county level after adjusting for these variables. There is a pressing need to develop strategies to address not only the social determinants but also other factors, such as testing access, personal protection equipment access and exposures, as well as tailored intervention and resource allocation for vulnerable groups, in order to combat COVID-19 and reduce racial health disparities.

scholarly journals mSphere Highlights Black In Microbiology Week

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. L. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Racial Disparities ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Biological Determinism ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Microbiome Research

ABSTRACT The inaugural Black In Microbiology Week (#BlackInMicro) is 28 September 2020 through 4 October 2020. Its mission is to “showcase the presence and accomplishments of Black microbiologists from around the globe, connect Black microbiologists with one another and foster a sense of community among them, and provide a forum for the discussion of racial disparities in microbiology and its subfields.” Participation in this event will happen primarily over Twitter through the hashtag #BlackInMicro and over Zoom through registration on the website https://blackinmicrobiology.org/. An additional mission of Black In Microbiology Week is to amplify black scientists. Today, mSphere does this by presenting two mSphere of Influence commentaries from Black In Microbiology co-lead organizers Ariangela J. Kozik (“mSphere of Influence: frameshift—a vision for human microbiome research” [mSphere 5:e00944-20, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00944-20]) and Kishana Taylor (“mSphere of Influence: that’s racist—COVID-19, biological determinism, and the limits of hypotheses” [mSphere 5:e00945-20, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00945-20]).

scholarly journals Racial and Health Disparities among cirrhosis related hospitalizations in the US

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwani K Singal ◽  
Yong-Fang Kuo ◽  
Juan P. Arab ◽  
Ramon Bataller
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Hospital Mortality ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Hospital Type ◽  
Public Health Policies ◽  
The Us ◽  
Income Quartile ◽  
Zip Code

Abstract Data are scanty on racial disparities in alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) hospitalizations. National Inpatient Sample on 199,748 cirrhosis hospitalizations, 14,241 (2,893 AI/AN, 2,893 whites, 2,882 blacks, 2,879 Hispanics, and 2,694 Asian/other race) was matched 1:1 for demographics, insurance, and income quartile of residence zip code. After controlling for geographic location and hospital type, ALD etiology was higher by 1.6 folds in AI/AN vs. whites by 1.9 folds vs. blacks and Hispanic, and 2,2 folds vs. Asian/other race. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) was present in 38% of admissions in AI/AN vs. 24–30% in other races, P < 0.001. 5.9% admissions were associated with in-hospital mortality, with 34% reduced odds in AI/AN vs. blacks. Among cirrhosis related hospitalizations in the US, racial and ethnic disparities exist with alcohol as the commonest etiology in AI/AN, and highest in-hospital mortality in blacks. Public health policies are needed to reduce the health disparities individuals with ALD.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities as a Public Health Ethics Issue

2019 ◽  
pp. 276-289
Author(s):  
Stephen B. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Made In

It is well established that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States have lower life expectancies and suffer more from numerous health conditions than their white counterparts. This chapter draws on a US perspective to provide an overview of racial and ethnic health disparities and their causes. It describes public health policy initiatives that address racial and ethnic health disparities, situates racial disparities in the current social and political context, examines what progress has been made in reducing racial and ethnic disparities, offers an account of the moral foundations for further efforts to reduce disparities, and suggests a way forward for eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. Public health issues of social justice, racism, and violence are discussed.

scholarly journals Race in the Microbiome

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 877-902
Author(s):  
Amber Benezra
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Personalized Medicine ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Microbial Population ◽  
Human Microbiome ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Social ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Social Environmental

Microbiome science asserts humans are made up of more microbial cells and genes than human ones, and that each person harbors their own unique microbial population. Human microbiome studies gesture toward the post-racial aspirations of personalized medicine—characterizing states of human health and illness microbially. By viewing humans as “supraorganisms” made up of millions of microbial partners, some microbiome science seems to disrupt binding historical categories often grounded in racist biology, allowing interspeciality to supersede race. But inevitably, unexamined categories of race and ethnicity surface in a myriad of studies on microbiota. This paper approaches race as a ghost variable across microbiome research and asks, what is race doing in studies of the microbiome? Why is it there, and how is it functioning? I examine this research to argue that social scientists must work with biological scientists to help put microbial differences into perspective—to investigate how microbiomes and race are entangled embodiments of the social, environmental, and biological. Ultimately, transdisciplinary collaboration is required to address racial health disparities in microbiome research without reifying race as a straightforward biological or social designation.

American Society of Clinical Oncology Policy Statement: Disparities in Cancer Care

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (17) ◽  
pp. 2881-2885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Goss ◽  
Ana Maria Lopez ◽  
Carol L. Brown ◽  
Dana S. Wollins ◽  
Otis W. Brawley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Clinical Oncology ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Ethnically Diverse ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Quality Health Care ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
American Society

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has embarked on an intensive campaign to integrate elimination of cancer health disparities into the Society's overall mission and activities. Key components of this commitment are enhancing awareness of disparities; improving access to care; and supporting research on health disparities. Major objectives are to advance the education of the oncology community in the care of patients from underserved and minority populations; increase the diversity of the clinical oncology workforce as a requisite to improving access to cancer care for the underserved; and support research in the area of health disparities. Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care are an issue of critical importance to ASCO, the oncology community, and our society at large. The health disparities initiative outlined herein enunciates ASCO's dedication to eliminating disparities in cancer care and discusses our multipronged approach for addressing disparities within the clinical oncology community. ASCO is committed to collaborating with the diverse community of stakeholders to undertake the following: develop policies to guarantee equal access to quality health care, with special emphasis on reducing insurance and economic barriers to cancer care; develop a comprehensive plan to increase awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care; execute a strategy to enhance the supply of minority physicians and to improve the training of the oncology workforce to meet the needs of racially and ethnically diverse cancer patients; increase prioritization of public and private research on cancer care disparities; develop mechanisms to increase participation of racially and ethnically diverse populations in cancer clinical trials; and support initiatives to enhance patients' involvement in their cancer care.

Introduction: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: A Call for Innovative Research

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Crouse Quinn ◽  
B. Lee Green
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Disparities ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Transdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Innovative Research

Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health is not a new challenge for health education. This commentary highlights the contributions of articles emerging from the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) summit on health disparities and calls for new partners with which SOPHE can collaborate to move forward a transdisciplinary approach to research

scholarly journals A Systematic Review of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Maternal Health Outcomes among Asians/Pacific Islanders

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-152
Author(s):  
Janice Hata ◽  
Adam Burke
Keyword(s):  
Health Disparities ◽  
Maternal Health ◽  
Maternal Mortality ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Maternal Mortality Ratio ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Obstetric Outcomes ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The Us ◽  
Maternal Health Outcomes

Efforts to improve women’s health and to reduce maternal mortality worldwide have led to a notable reduction in the global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) over the past two decades. However, it is clear that maternal health outcomes are not equitable, especially when analyzing the scope of maternal health disparities across “developed” and “underdeveloped” nations. This study evaluates recent MMR scholarship with a particular focus on the racial and ethnic divisions that impact on maternal health outcomes. The study contributes to MMR research by analyzing the racial and ethnic disparities that exist in the US, especially among Asian and Pacific Islander (API) subgroups. The study applies exclusionary criteria to 710 articles and subsequently identified various maternal health issues that disproportionately affect API women living in the US. In applying PRISMA review guidelines, the study produced 22 peer-reviewed articles that met inclusionary and exclusionary criteria for this review. The data analysis identified several maternal health foci: obstetric outcomes, environmental exposure, obstetric care and quality measures, and pregnancy-related measures. Only eight of the 22 reviewed studies disaggregated API populations by focusing on specific subgroups of APIs, which signals a need to re-conceptualize marginalized API communities’ inclusion in health care systems, to promote their equitable access to care, and to dissolve health disparities among racial and ethnic divides. Several short- and long-term initiatives are recommended to develop and implement targeted health interventions for API groups, and thus provide the groundwork for future empirically driven research among specific API subgroups in the US.

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