Ilealtil
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_.011 ..... -_.-._ .. _-, .. _.
urvey by Lou' Harr'
reh) hows a dram tic
in in con rn about th
impact of gun violen on the
Ii of American children.
Among the poll findings:
• one in five parents y they
have or kno moon who
a child who w wounded or
killed by another child with
gun."
One in five paren kno a
child "who was worried that
or sh got a gun for If-pro-
tection.· ,
The figure is one in th for
African American parents. In
addition, one in six paren re­
port knowing a child who was
found playing with a gun that
was loaded.
u
d, the research theo­
t a complex interplay of
facto ranging from biased doc­
tors to Blacks' reluctance to un­
dergo surgery, could explain the
differences.
N everthel , they y the
data "suggest the existence of
race-related inequiti in our
health care system."
ORE THAN ONE, and
perhaps all, oft factors may
be at or,· the VA doctors
wrote.
Earlier studi ha found
similar differences in th treat­
ment of Black and white heart
patients in other hospitals.
Whites are more likely to have
private insurance, which pays
more. Some have suggested that
this gives doctors a financial in­
centive to treat whites better -
or at least more.
But these motivations are un­
likely to influence Care in VA
hospitals. Doctors there are on
salaries, so their pay does not
The latest study was con- depend on how they treat their
ducted by Dr. Jeff Whittle and patients. And care is free to all.
colleagues from the Pittsburgh Another study in today'sissue
Veterans Administration Medi- of the journal found a light ra­
eal Center. It was based on medi- cial difference in the risk of dy­
cal records of 428,3.00 men ing after cardiac arre t. The
dmitted to VA hospitals across study; directed by Dr. Lance B.
the United States over a five- Becker of the University of Chi­
year period for treatment of car- cago, analyzed the outcomes of
di�vascular disease or. chest 6,541 men and women who suf­
pam, They found that white vet- . fered cardiac arrest in Chicago
era e 38 percent mor in 1987 and 1988. .
li�elytban l�ckstoreQeive�-· It found that 99 percent of
diac nza D... this Blacks die after su�ring car­
?ODlDlon test, doctors IDJect dye diac arrest outside the hospital,
into .�he heart to produce X-ray compared with 97 percent of
movies that spot blockages.
Whites were 50 percent more
likely than Blacks to get
angioplasties, a routine treat­
ment that employs tiny balloons
to squeeze open clogged arteries.
Whites also were more than
twice as likely as Blacks to have
bypasses, operations in which
surgeons sew in' pieces of arter­
ies to detour blood around block­
ages.
Catheterization, angioplasty
and bypass surgery have beoome
mainstays of diagnosing and
treating heart problems in re­
cent years. But many believe
they are overused, and patients
often do as well without them.
The study did not follow up pa­
tients to determine whether
whites actually benefited from
their more aggressive treat­
ment.
hfor
No 86%
The Americ n Journal of
Public Health (July 1993) re­
ports three recent tudi show
that African Americans and Lat­
inos of all a are disadvan­
taged in their access and ability
to benefit from medical care.
Among the elderly, white
are much more likely to receive
high-technology or newer medi­
cal services than African Ameri­
cans. This occurs even when
universal health care is avail­
able for both groups. A study in
Seattle found that African
Americans are twice as likely as
whites to experience out-of-hos­
pital cardiac arrest, I than
half as likely to be resuscitated,
, and about half as likely to sur­
vive to hospital discharge.
Among adolescents, a na­
tional study of medical care pat­
terns found that although
African American and Latino
teens report wor h a1
status, white teens' visit a doctor
much more frequently than Af­
rican Americans or Latinos and
are more likely to have a source
of routine and acute care.
In addi ion, 16l1l of African
American teens are uninsured,
280/( of Latino teens are unin­
ured, while 11 t1( of white teens
re uninsured.
EDITORIAL published
with the study in today's New
England Journal of Medicine
concurred. "Tb e findings lead
to the inescapable conclusion
that race influences decisions
about medical treatment,· wrote
Dr. John Z. Ayanian ofBrigbam
and Women' Hospital in B0s­
ton.
-Yes 55%
IN DETROIT, BERG T .
Pierce; supervisor of Commu­
nity Services, Wayne County
Sheriffs Office, coordinat a
half-hour hand gun program
p nted to block clubs, civic
organizations and any commu­
nity group that requests the in­
formation. The Sheriff's office
has 5,000 trigger locks to dis­
tribute to citizens who complete
the hand gun program.
Gun safety is critical in sav­
ing young lives.
Community group who
would like to participate in the
ha d gun program and trigger
lock dist ibutton,' call Se nt
Pierce of the Wayne Coun y
Sheriffs Department, at 224-
3607, .:
THERE IS A LINK between
the lack of health insurance and
increased risk of death. A recent
study conducted at the Univer-
ity of Roch tar hows that a
lack of public or private health
insurance is associated with an
increase in mortality.
Minoriti are more likely to
lack h lth insurance in the U.S.
than other groups, Dr. Peter
Franks, author of the study,
states, "Lacking health insur­
ance is associated with an in­
creased risk of mortality, an
effect that was evident in all s0-
cial and demographic health in-
urance nd mortality grou
examined.
Afri i, ines,
Asians and Pacific Islanders,
people with lower family in­
comes, and the unemployed are
among those groups most likely
to be uninsured.
No
33%-
• H anyon you kno
perso lIy n kll or
injured from gunfir ?
Youths in:
Central city
Suburbs "
Small towns/ruraJ
Public schools
43%
39%
Private,
non-catholic
'Catholic school
Asi n
CURe . A LH en. Inc. pOfI tar
Harvard School of PublIC H h of 2.506 .
youths a 10 to 19. Apn119, May 21.
1993
L· ghten Up yo
r diet
min C such as oranges.
Maintain a normal weight.
Being overweight and a woman
may increase your risk of devel­
oping cancer, including breast
and cervical cancers. "Over­
weight people are more likely to
suffer from heart disease, high
blood pressure, diabetes and ar­
thritis.
A healthy diet can lower the
risk of developing certain can­
cers, particularly breast, colon
and prostate cancer. We can eat
our way to good health, keeping
these things in mind:
Eat leaner cuts of meat,
low-fat dairy products, more
seafood and fewer fried foods.
Eat more fruits, vegetables.
and whole grains. The National
Cancer Institute and other
health organizations recom­
mend eating at least five or more
servings of fruits and vegetables
a day to reduce the risk of devel-
/
Regular exercise can be
walking, gardening, bicycling,
dancing, housework, running
and chasing your toddler or ehil-
ALTHOUqH THE study
was not designed to sort out the
differences in their use, the re­
searchers suggested several pos­
. sible explanations. Whittle said
he doubts that outright racism
plays a major role, but race could
have subtler effects.
"If you are an Mrican-Ameri­
can patient who seeks care, it
may be your interaction will be
more difficult, because there are
so few African-American doc-
�acts du jour
'Percent of Americans polled who eat
. each kind of food at least
once a month:
Volunteer.
Go a ain t
the rain.·
Cut down on salt.
oping colon cancer.
Leafy greens like collards,
mustard greens, kale and spin­
ach are good for you when
cooked without fatty meat and
seasoned with herbs and/or tur­
key parts.
Broil and bake fish and
chicken, forget frying. Remove
the skin from chicken and sea­
son fish with lemon and other
easonings.
Eat more foods rich in vita
min A such as carrots, and vita-
dren around the house. The key
word is regular and something
you like to do. Stick with it, the
benefits can be: prevention of
he rt disease, lower blood pres­
sure, lower blood ugar i dia­
betics, relief of stress, improved
muscle tone and circulation, and
f ling good. .
Quit smoking and keep try­
ing to quit, if you don't succeed
the first tim (or even th fifth).
�.
rt Association
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