Conversations in Equity Posts
Mission Possible: Protect Yourself From Secondhand Smoke
One in five employed U.S. adult nonsmokers are exposed to secondhand smoke at work, and exposure is higher among certain racial and ethnic groups, including American Indians/Alaska Natives. Wouldn’t it be great if all American employees enjoyed a smokefree workplace? I often think about this as director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. At Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsMission Possible: Treat Me Right
In the fall of 1999, in preparation for the launch of The National Plan to Eliminate Syphilis from the United States, I was asked to draft a letter to the survivors of the U.S. Public Health Service Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male, or the Tuskegee Study as it is usually Read More >
Posted on by 2 CommentsMission Possible: Celebrating Women’s Strength and Persistence
Over the weekend, I attended a women’s day event. The event’s speaker shared a personal story about her mother’s near fatal car accident and how on the day of the accident the doctors tried to prepare her family for the worst. Her mother’s prognosis for survival was bleak and if she survived, she would Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentMission Possible: Addressing Health Disparities in Heart Disease and Stroke Outcomes
As the leading killer of Americans, heart disease and its associated behavioral causes are distributed throughout our country. Even so, some groups of people are more affected than others. Poverty and lack of education have long been associated with poorer health status and heart disease is no exception, occurring more frequently among people with lower Read More >
Posted on by 9 CommentsMission Possible: Healthy Lives for Everyone
Last fall, one of my friends launched a monthly blog that chronicles her life and that of seven of her friends. They journeyed through the Civil Rights Movement and the transition of a once highly segregated and deeply divided city in the south to experience much of the promise of America. The blogs foretell what Read More >
Posted on by 8 CommentsSickle Cell Disease in the Emergency Department: Confronting Barriers to Care
“You’re too pretty to have a disease,” declared the nurse in the emergency department (ED) dismissing Constance Benson’s reports of unbearable pain, a byproduct of her sickle cell disease (SCD). Constance, who is in her late twenties, is a professional actress and model living in Kennesaw, GA. It wasn’t until Constance’s blood tests came back Read More >
Posted on by 7 CommentsAfrican Americans and Tobacco Use
My cousin has a dear friend named Paul who is African American and a smoker. The few times I’ve been in Paul’s company, he could barely go two hours without lighting up a cigarette. I remember once while we were waiting to be seated at a restaurant, he stayed outside and smoked until our table Read More >
Posted on by 13 CommentsConfronting Cancer with Courage, Confidence, and a Caring Community
Overcast skies and a light drizzle of rain followed Charlotte as she returned to the doctor’s office to find out the results of the needle biopsy of her left breast. So confident that the “white spot” on the mammogram film reflected a small deposit of benign (noncancerous) calcium deposits, she didn’t even consider asking any Read More >
Posted on by 4 Comments“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” (Fannie Lou Hamer, 1964) – Why we work to create pathways to health equity
Fannie Lou Hamer – voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and humanitarian, captured the nation’s attention during the 1964 Democratic National Convention, when she described the injustices she and others in her community had endured in their fight for the right to vote. She had been jailed, beaten, and threatened for her advocacy, but didn’t Read More >
Posted on by 7 Comments“When did I get old?”
Sitting in her favorite reclining chair and looking out the window of her apartment, Marian reflected on over 40 years of living, working, and raising a family in “The City that Never Sleeps.” She migrated to New York City from North Carolina in her mid-twenties, and would spend the next 4 decades enjoying the parks, Read More >
Posted on by 4 Comments