Health

Nearly half million minorities in the United States are waiting on organ transplants and Eve J. Higginbotham, MD, Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in Atlanta is calling on minorities to become organ and tissue donors.

The huge influx of immigrants coming to the United States from every corner of the globe has helped propel the issue of immigration high up on the national agenda. Most of the attention has focused on the legal side of the issue, especially with Congress set to tackle comprehensive immigration reform this year.

In contrast, relatively little attention has focused on the side of the nation’s immigration story that represents the future: children.

The high costs of prescription drugs led many Hispanics and African Americans to take desperate measures, like delaying filling a prescription or skipping doses, according to a new AARP national study of adults 18 plus. The study also found a high level of support in the Hispanic and African American communities for state legislation to make prescription drugs more affordable.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) launched a new Internet Web site that will serve as a Spanish-language version of the official NCI Web site, cancer.gov. The new Web site is completely in Spanish and is one of the latest tools developed by NCI in its efforts to address cancer health disparities. The Web site is tailored to Spanish-speakers and members of the Hispanic/Latino community in the United States. There are approximately 40 million Hispanics/Latinos in the United States and about 30 million of those persons speak Spanish. Spanish is the second most spoken language in the U.S.

Staying healthy for most of the 44 million Latinos living in the US means watching their diet/what they eat (84 percent) and exercising regularly (79 percent). Only 30 percent of Latinos report that they do preventive care or take medications to help them to stay healthy according to the new LatinoEyes Health Beat report.

At more than 2.2 million strong, registered nurses (RNs) represent the largest single occupation in the health care industry (BLS 2004). Their role is increasingly sophisticated, encompassing much more than direct patient care. They manage lower level staff and serve as patient advocates. With advancing health care technology and the increasing use of prescription drugs, nursing often requires significant technical expertise. As such, nurses are the lynchpin of the highly complex health care team that currently defines today’s health care delivery system.

A survey by Harris Interactive found that large numbers of people believe that they are influenced by the direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs. Between 21 and 51 percent agree with 10 statements about how they are influenced by DTCA, with 30 percent or more agreeing with eight of the 10 statements. While 30 to 50 percent of adults are not a majority, they represent many millions of people who believe that they are influenced by DTCA.

A new survey among members of Lightspeed Research’s Spanish language website, The Lightspeed Consumer Panel en Español, reveals widespread support for government efforts to stem the rising rates of obesity in children.

African-American and Hispanic caregivers (1) of people with Alzheimer’s disease are significantly more likely than caregivers of other races to consider the disease a normal part of the aging process and dismiss its symptoms as part of getting older, according to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s (AFA) second ICAN: Investigating Caregivers’ Attitudes and Needs survey. This gap in understanding sheds light on the reasons for delay in diagnosis and treatment, which is an unnecessary setback for caregivers and individuals with the disease alike.