The
first short may be of interest to those of us who study health communication.
The second about innovative minority faculty’s teaching methods may be
good for our book…We’re still doing the book right Dr.
Pearlie?...Dr. E-K.
Diverse
Online
Current News
Research Round-Up: Impact
of Discrimination on Health, Innovative Teaching Methods of Minority Faculty
and Racial Disparities in Care For HIV Patients
By Diverse staff reports
Nov 1, 2006, 19:06
Racial Discrimination Key Factor to Health
Disparities in African Americans
Racial discrimination may be an important reason why Blacks suffer
from higher rates of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes and obesity, according
to
A new study to be published in the Annual Review of Psychology suggests that experience or
possibility of racial discrimination can cause an increase in blood pressure
and heart rate.
“This is not to say that every African-American has poor
health,” says Dr. Vickie M. Mays, the report’s lead author.
“However, African-Americans — as a group of people — have not
been able to gain as much ground as other ethnic groups. That’s when you
need to worry and look at missing factors that can explain these health
disparities.”
Mays says that when a person experiences discrimination, the body
develops a response in which it recognizes the discrimination as something that
is bad and should be defended against. It is almost similar to the response a
person’s body mounts when it faces life-threatening danger.
Mays says the reaction can eventually cause the body to become
strained and overworked if the person experiences discrimination on a regular
basis. Many of the chemicals associated with the reaction can damage bodily
systems tied to disease and obesity, says the report.
“As we deal with skyrocketing rates of obesity and rising
rates of diabetes in African-Americans and other racial and ethnic minority
groups, we need to think about the impact of race-based discrimination and how
they respond to that stress,” she says. “It may not be just a
matter of telling a person to eat better or exercise. We may need to take a
look at the person’s environment and the race-based discrimination that
that person is experiencing.”
Minority Faculty Use More Innovative Teaching Methods
Faculty of color use more interesting ways of teaching at
undergraduate institutions than their White peers, according to a study
conducted by the
The study, “The Contribution of Faculty of Color to
Undergraduate Education,” used data from a 2003 survey of 13,499 faculty
at 134 predominantly White colleges and universities.
Dr. Paul D. Umbach, an assistant professor of higher education and
the study’s author, says faculty of color use more innovative techniques
and interact more frequently with students than their White counterparts.
“An increased diversity among faculty also leads to an
increased use of effective educational practices,” he says.
Some of the teaching techniques he measured included the
percentage of time faculty spent with students, whether advising them about
career plans or discussing ideas from readings.
Umbach also measured techniques that actively engage students and
allow them to work together. Faculty members were measured on the frequency
with which they utilized diversity — by dividing the class into diverse
groups, for example — as well as by helping students to apply theories or
concepts in discussions.
However, Umbach says the representation of minorities in the
faculty ranks continues to be quite small. In fact, for this study, the
institutions considered the most diverse only had 13 percent minority faculty.
“While small in numbers, the impact that these faculty have
on undergraduate education appears to be significant,” he says.
“The perspectives that faculty of color offer is critical to the success
colleges and universities [bring] to prepare students to live in an increasingly pluralistic
society,” he says.
HIV-Infected
Population With No Outpatient Care Are Mostly Minorities
Researchers at the
The research team, led by Dr. William Cunningham, tracked
HIV-infected people who were not receiving regular care. That segment of the
HIV-infected population often winds up in the emergency room.
“As we expected, they are much less likely to get routine
outpatient care but more likely to get acute care, when they are at their
sickest,” says Cunningham. “This is just the group that needs to
get grassroots outreach service.”
Researchers compared characteristics of HIV-infected adults from
two samples: 1,286 people from the 2001-2002 Targeted HIV Outreach and
Intervention Initiative and 2,267 who were interviewed in 1998 for the HIV
Costs and Services Utilization Study.
The study, to be published in the journal Medical Care, says 59 percent of patients in the Outreach group were
Black, compared with 32 percent of HIV-infected people who were receiving
routine care and were tracked by HCSUS. Also, 20 percent of those from the
Outreach sites were Hispanic, versus 16 percent from the HCSUS sample. Fully 75
percent of the Outreach patents had annual incomes of $10,000 or less, compared
with 45 percent in the HCSUS group. Nearly 60 percent were unemployed,
homeless, had no insurance or used illegal drugs, compared with less than half
in the HCSUS study.
Cunningham says that because of this study, health care providers
will know better what kind of services to tailor to these patients.
“They’re not the same kind of services that are
important to more mainstream patients,” he says.
— Diverse staff reports
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
We are regularly having problems with our server rejecting
incoming email. If ,and only if ,your reply to this email is returned to you,
you may send it to [log in to unmask] I
will get to it when I can which, may be no time soon. Apologies...We are
working on it.
Rev. Dr. E-K. Daufin, Professor
Department of Communications
334.229.6885
Scholarly & Creative Activity
Referrals Appreciated-
Lectures, Performances, Workshops,
Consultation Related Info: http://home.earthlink.net/~ekdaufin/