A new analysis of Minnesota death records reveals stark racial disparities in opioid overdose deaths, with Native Americans facing the highest risk. From 2019 to 2023, Native Americans were at least 15 times more likely to die from opioid overdoses than white people in Minnesota. The investigation by Sahan Journal found that Somali Minnesotans were at least twice as likely to die from opioid overdose than whites, while Latino Minnesotans were 1.5 times more likely. These racial gaps have widened even as overall opioid deaths may have plateaued in 2023. Dr. Kumi Smith, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, noted that…
Author: Disparity Matters
New federal data collection rules may further obscure the economic conditions of Native Americans, exacerbating existing challenges in gathering accurate information about this population. The Office of Management and Budget’s updated guidelines for collecting race and ethnicity data on federal forms could disproportionately affect American Indians and Alaska Natives, potentially rendering them invisible in crucial datasets. Robert Maxim, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution and citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag, highlights that up to 60% of people who identify as American Indian/Alaska Native also select another racial category on federal forms. This often results in their responses being categorized…
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,…
Boosting diabetes research in Latino community
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.…
Focused on reducing cardiovascular and chronic-care disparities among under-served populations through social-determinants research.
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…