San Diego County Forum Aims to Prevent Diabetes, Heart Disease Among African-American Residents
The Sweet Heart Project, a San Diego County outreach program funded by the CDC, co-sponsored a forum last weekend on diabetes and heart disease prevention for the county's African-American residents, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The forum, also sponsored by the California Black Health Network, included workshops and "healthy-cooking" demonstrations. According to Debra Brooks, executive director of the project, a lack of medical information and limited access to health care providers contribute to the "high rate" of diabetes and heart disease among African Americans. The CDC reports that about 2.3 million African Americans older than age 19 have diabetes. In addition, 1.7 times more African Americans suffer from diabetes than non-Hispanic whites "of a similar age." According to the Union-Tribune, the project also serves as a "medical referral service" to help "change those statistics." Denise Adams-Simms, executive director of the California Black Health Network, said that the project "is well-received" in the African-American community but added that "change always meets with some resistance" (Taylor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/27).
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