Racial discrimination and alcohol-related behavior in urban transit operators: findings from the San Francisco Muni Health and Safety Study
OBJECTIVE: A growing body of literature is documenting the health effects of racial discrimination. The authors investigated the association between racial discrimination and alcohol-related behavior in a sample of urban transit operators. METHODS: Using data from a 1993-1995 cross-sectional study of transit operators in San Francisco, California, the authors analyzed responses to two sets of […]
An examination of the dental utilization practices of adult survivors of childhood cancer: a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study
OBJECTIVES: This study characterized the self-reported dental utilization practice of long-term survivors of childhood cancer, a group at increased risk for treatment-induced dental abnormalities. METHODS: 9,434 survivors and a comparison group of 3,858 siblings completed a 289-item survey that included a question on when their last dental visit occurred. RESULTS: Within the last year 60.4 […]
Ethnic differences in parents’ perception of participatory decision-making style of their children’s physicians
OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to test whether there are ethnic differences in parents’ perceptions of the participatory styles of their children’s physicians, and to determine how Hispanic ethnicity influences the factors that are correlated with the perceptions of participatory styles. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey in 111 counties […]
Race, ethnicity, and depression in Canadian society
This study examines racial/ethnic differences in mental health using data from the 1996-97 National Population Health Survey. Three hypotheses are tested. First, a socioeconomic hypothesis tests if differences in family income, education, and low income explain racial/ethnic mental health variation. Second, a social resources hypothesis tests if differences in social support explain racial/ethnic mental health […]
Contribution of major diseases to disparities in mortality
BACKGROUND: Mortality from all causes is higher for persons with fewer years of education and for blacks, but it is unknown which diseases contribute most to these disparities. METHODS: We estimated cause-specific risks of death from data from the National Health Interview Survey conducted from 1986 through 1994 and from linked vital statistics. Using these […]
Cancer prevention in underserved African American communities: barriers and effective strategies–a review of the literature
African Americans suffer significantly more cancer morbidity and mortality than the white population. In order to decrease this differential, it is critical to understand the particular barriers to health and health care that underserved African Americans face. It is also important to identify the critical components of effective cancer prevention programs for this population. The […]
The monitoring of racial/ethnic status in the USA: data quality issues
This paper reviews the assessment of racial and ethnic identification in the major data collection systems of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It evaluates the quality of the available data and outlines recommendations for improving the collection of racial data and enhancing our understanding of the role of race in health. Special […]
Race, socioeconomic status, and health. The added effects of racism and discrimination
Higher disease rates for blacks (or African Americans) compared to whites are pervasive and persistent over time, with the racial gap in mortality widening in recent years for multiple causes of death. Other racial/ethnic minority populations also have elevated disease risk for some health conditions. This paper considers the complex ways in which race and […]