County Addresses Minority Health Disparities
San Bernardino County health officials and community groups are creating health awareness programs and campaigns to address the health disparities between the county's minority and white residents, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
The county's diabetes death rate for black residents is 23% higher than for whites, and black residents also are more likely to be obese, exercise less and have less healthful diets than whites.
Although research has not been conducted to determine reasons for the disparities, public health officials and community leaders attribute the gap to factors including:
- Less access to care;
- Distrust of health professionals;
- Unhealthful diet; and
- Poor physical environment, such as a lack of sidewalks in the minority neighborhoods.
The Healthy Communities program, which promotes healthy choices, is one of the programs the county has created to address the disparities. San Bernardino County also is partnering with a program that teaches traditional African dance and provides nutrition education, and is a member of an initiative called the California African American 5 a Day Campaign, which seeks to engage the black community and encourage a healthy diet, according to the Press-Enterprise (Gang, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 1/21). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.