Engaged Faculty Work on Health Disparities
Here in Minnesota we're proud of our quality of life, including our healthy and prosperous population. Yet we have a rapidly-growing population of low-income native-born and immigrant people of color who do not share in this prosperity. As a result, Minnesota has some "of the nation's largest discrepancies between races in income, education, employment, health, and home ownership." (StarTribune, April 24, 2006).
These disparities are greatest in our urban areas. According to a 2005 legislative report by the City of Minneapolis, "Minneapolis has 8% of the state's total population, but 38% of state's populations of color, making it a focal point for addressing these gaps.
- Statewide, Infant Mortality rates among the American Indian and African American communities are two to three times higher than Whites. In Minneapolis, Infant Mortality rates in the African American community are three times higher than Whites; rates among American Indians are almost four times higher than whites.
- Minneapolis is experiencing an increase of tuberculosis (TB) cases in immigrant populations. From 1995-2000, reported cases of TB increased 65%.
- The teen pregnancy rate in Minneapolis is three times higher than that of the state. However, the percentage of teen births is declining for every race/ethnic group in the city.
- The heart disease mortality rate in Minneapolis is a third higher than that of the state."
Similar discrepancies occur in incidence of diabetes and cancer. The overall result is a notably shorter average life span for people of color, including American Indians.
The report also shows disparities in health insurance coverage. "In Minnesota, one person in 20 doesn't have insurance. This rate varies widely among racial and ethnic groups. One in five African Americans and more than one in three Hispanics are without health insurance. Many of those without insurance are children."
The Winter issue of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health publication, Advances, has a strong feature story about health disparities among ethnic and minority groups, and what some SPH faculty members are doing to better understand and remediate these problems.
One of these faculty is Wendy Hellerstedt, Associate Professor in the Division of Epidemiology & Community Health. Prof. Hellerstedt lists as her research interests: Birth outcomes for underserved women; adolescent reproductive health and pregnancy prevention; pregnancy intention; relationship of parity to chronic disease and birth outcomes, women's health, perinatal and reproductive health, socioeconomic status and health disparities.
Prof. Hellerstedt's expertise and passion in teaching and guiding graduate students about these areas has led to her being selected as a recipient of the University of Minnesota's 2005-2006 Graduate and Professional Award , our highest honor for graduate and professional teaching. Her citation is here.
Such engaged teaching and research is challenging beyond the norm, but it is increasingly being valued as among the most important work our universities can be doing.