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SPECIAL EDITION - PART 2 LABOR DAY 2016
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LEADING INNOVATION IN RESEARCH
Mid-South TCC Regional Coalition Meeting, New Orleans, June 8-9, 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
- Advancing Knowledge: Scientific Publication
- Academic-Community Partnerships
- Resources
- In the News
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Advancing Knowledge: Scientific Publications
The Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (U54MD008176) advances knowledge that will reduce the disparities in chronic diseases experienced by vulnerable populations in the Mid-South by addressing the social determinants that impact a person's health and produce disparate health outcomes. The Center focuses on pathways to obesity and chronic illness and the mechanisms connecting these pathways to health disparities throughout the life-course.
The following scientific publications resulted from the preliminary work of the center:
Racial Differences in Neighborhood Disadvantage, Inflammation and Metabolic Control in Black and White Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Coulon SJ, Belasco-Gonzalez C, Scribner R, Park CL, Gomez R, Vargas A, Stender S, Zabaleta, J, Clesi, P, Chalew SA, Hempe JM. Pediatric Diabetes, 2016.
Racial variation in the relationship between blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) complicates diabetes diagnosis and management in racially mixed populations. Understanding why HbA1c is persistently higher in blacks than whites could help reduce racial disparity in diabetes outcomes.
Conclusion:
Neighborhood disadvantage was associated with inflammation and poor metabolic control in pediatric type 1 diabetes patients. Marked racial differences in potential confounding factors precluded differentiation between genetic and environmental effects. Future studies should recruit patients matched for neighborhood characteristics and treatment regimen to more comprehensively assess racial variation in HbA1c.
Sims M, Diez-Roux AV, Gebreab SY, Brenner A, Dubbert P, Wyatt S, Bruce M, Hickson D, Payne T, Taylor H. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 2016.
Using Jackson Heart Study data, we examined associations of multiple measures of perceived discrimination with health behaviours among African-Americans (AA).
Higher levels of perceived discrimination were associated with select health behaviours among men and women. Health behaviours offer a potential mechanism through which perceived discrimination affects health in AA.
The study determined the association between body mass index (BMI) z score and fruit and vegetable intake, frequency and ratio of fast food outlets and grocery stores in concentric areas around the child's residence, outdoor play and total crime index.
Conclusion:
Children residing in neighbourhoods with greater access to fast foods and lower access to fruits and vegetables may be at higher risk for developing obesity during pre-school years.
The research assessed the availability, quality, and price of healthy and less healthy foods in grocery stores and convenience stores in a low wealth urban area in south Jackson.
Conclusion:
The study concludes that the need exists for improving the availability of healthier foods in low wealth communities.
Sims M, Redmond N, Khodeva Y, Durant RW, Halanych J, Safford MM. Annals of Epidemiology, 2015.
To examine the association of depressive symptoms with coronary heart disease (CHD) endpoints by race and income.
Conclusion:
High depressive symptoms were associated with higher risk of CHD or revascularization for Blacks but not Whites.
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Academic-Community Partnerships
Working Together to Improve the Health in the Mid-South
The Mid-South TCC recognizes that our region becomes stronger and healthier when communities and universities work together to build mutually beneficial partnerships. In all of our work, we emphasize academic-community partnerships that are collaborative, participatory, and empowering. Through these partnerships academic investigators benefit from enhanced community participation in related research studies, greater community buy-in to the research agenda of the Mid-South TCC, and clearer routes of dissemination and intervention sustainability. The communities benefit by participating in dialogue with the Mid-South TCC about the research agenda, through the dissemination of evidence-based obesity and chronic disease interventions and enhanced access to state-of-the-art research.
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RESOURCES
What are the Social Determinants of Health and How Do They Relate to Health Disparities?
Dr. Mona Fouad discusses Social Determinants of Health
The series begins with "What are the Social Determinants of Health and How Do They Relate to Health Disparities Research? An Overview" led by Mona N. Fouad, MD, MPH.
This is a must-see for anyone interested in learning about how a multitude of complex factors of a given social environment can impact the health of individuals and communities.
Boyer Lectures: Episode 1 - Health Inequalities and the causes of the causes
Over four lectures and four weeks, the World Medical Association president, professor Sir Michael Marmot, explores the challenges communities face in solving issues of health inequality.
"The causes of the causes are the social determinants of health and they influence not only lifestyle but stress at work and at home, the environment, housing and transport," he says.
Listen to the lecture or read the transcript below, and tune in for the rest of the series, when professor Marmot explains what we can do to reduce the slope of the social gradient and bring the health of everyone up to the level experienced at the top of the social hierarchy.
Listen and read transcript
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IN THE NEWS
This figure tells three stories. First, we see two distinct historic periods since World War II. In the first period, workers shared the gains from productivity. In the later period, a generation of workers gained little, even as productivity continued to rise.
The second message is the very abrupt transition from the post-war historic period to the current one. Something happened in the mid-70's to de-couple wages from productivity gains.
The third message is that workers' wages - accounting for inflation and all the lower prices from cheap imported goods - would be double what they are now, if workers still took their share of gains in productivity.
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- Maximize the impact of your research!
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MID-SOUTH TRANSDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATIVE CENTER FOR HEALTH DISPARITIES RESEARCH
1717 11th Avenue South, Medical Towers 516 I Birmingham, AL 35294-4410, USA
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