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June 2017

Men's Health Month was created to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys National Men's Health Week, June 12-18, is recognized by the U.S. Congress and celebrated during the week leading up to, and including, Father's Day. 

H HS OMH in Observance of Men's Health Month
The HHS Office of Minority Health invites you to join the observance of Men's Health Month and the efforts to encourage men and boys to take steps to live healthier.
On average, men in the U.S. die five and a half years earlier than women and die at higher rates from 9 of the top 10 leading causes of death. This month, OMH is encouraging men to take important steps to improve their health, such as eating healthy food, staying active, quitting smoking, getting regular checkups and taking care of their mental health. 
For more information about Men's Health Month, click  here.
A cting Surgeon General Rear Admiral (RADM)
Sylvia Trent-Adams, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. 
Following the departure of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the Trump Administration has appointed Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams as the Acting Surgeon General.
 
If confirmed, RADM Trent-Adams will be the fourth woman and the third African American to hold the post of U.S. Surgeon General. She will also be the first U.S. Surgeon General who is not a doctor. She is a nurse and has more than 24 years' experience in the Public Health Services Corps. She also served as Deputy Surgeon General under Vivek Murthy.
 
Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams is a DelMarVa local. She graduated from Hampton University (an HBCU in Virginia) with Bachelor of Science in Nursing; a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore; and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She was named a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in 2014.
 
Click  here  for RADM Trent-Adams bio.
WHAT'S HAPPENING AT HPRC?
New Framework Informs Policy Makers on the Importance of Health Equity

HPRC's article, "Health Policy Responsiveness: Lessons from Maryland and Prince George's County," discusses a framework to ensure health policies and programs are timely, effective, and directly address racial inequities in health.

For the past four decades, at least, policymakers on the federal, state, and local levels have created programs and initiatives and earmarked billions of dollars to address health disparities. According to health equity experts at the Health Policy Research Consortium (HPRC), however, these efforts are sometimes belated, ineffective, or vaguely attuned to the complexity of health disparities. Policy initiatives are also routinely subject to the political pressures of the day. Researchers at HPRC addressed this challenge by developing a politically-neutral framework or roadmap to guide policymaking efforts aimed at achieving health equity. The new framework was recently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities .
"The driving idea behind the creation of a 'policy responsiveness' framework was the need for a roadmap that guides policymakers toward the common vision of ending disparities and 
achieving health equity," said Kweisi Mfume, HPRC's principal investigator and co-author of the article.
 
"Our analysis was guided by three defining pillars of policy responsiveness," explained coauthor John Sankofa, HPRC's Senior Health Writer. "We asked three key questions: How timely was the response? How effective was it?  And how did it directly address health disparities?"  
According to Lauren Doamekpor, PhD, MPH, Deputy Director of Scientific Research, the new framework "advances the science of policymaking by providing a useful tool for guiding future policy efforts."  Dr. Doamekpor says the article also raises critical questions about what determines a jurisdiction's capacity to develop policy, and how policymakers might best be supported in their efforts to create policies that are timely, effective, and intentionally focused on achieving health equity.

For information contact Byron Sogie-Thomas, HPRC's Deputy Director Health Policy Research and Analysis at 301-375-7007, or access the article here .
HEALTH POLICY & RESEARCH NEWS

NIH Accepting Applications from Investigators Interested in Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health

The Training Institute for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (TIDIRH) is now accepting applications from investigators interested in D&I research who want to attend a 4-month online course and 2-day in-person training. The online course consists of six modules with related assignments between August 14 and November 17. The 2-day in-person training is scheduled for November 30-December 1, in Bethesda, Maryland. Application are due no later than June 21; 12:00, E.S.T.
 
To be eligible, participants must not have matriculated through other NIH supported implementation science training programs. To be eligible, participants must not have current R18, R01, or R01-equivalent funding as a Principal Investigator for D&I research, and may not have received such funding in the past 5 years. Note: Investigators who have received an R01 or equivalent are eligible, as long as the funding was not specifically for D&I research. Complete information on the application process and eligibility requirements is available on the TIDIRH website.
 
Information on NIH funding in dissemination and implementation science is available at the NCI Implementation Science Team Funding page .
 
For questions concerning the training or application process contact the Implementation Science Team .

Racial Disparities in Neurologic Care Utilization

According to a study published online in the journal  Neurology, African Americans and Hispanics are less likely than white people to see a neurologist for brain-related conditions.  Researchers found that African Americans with known neurological conditions affecting the brain, such as Parkinson's disease and stroke, tend to be treated in the emergency room and end up in the hospital more often than their white peers.

After excluding Asians and people of other races who accounted for a tiny fraction of those involved, the investigators found Hispanic people were 40 percent less likely than whites to schedule an appointment with a neurologist and African Americans were nearly 30 percent less likely to see a neurologist. This was even after the researchers considered other factors that could play a role in access to health care, such as income and insurance status.

Researchers found African Americans with brain-related neurologic conditions were more likely to be treated in the emergency room and have more hospital stays about twice as often as white people and Hispanics. Medical expenses were also much higher for black patients, with costs reaching $1,485 per person, compared to $599 for white patients.
 
Learn more here .
SPOTLIGHT

Men's Health Week Wear BLUE Day

A key part of Men's Health Month activities is Wear BLUE Day and the annual social media campaign #ShowUsYourBlue. On Friday, June 16, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the Office of Minority Health, and the Men's Health Network are urging everyone to help increase awareness by taking and posting pictures of themselves and others wearing blue. Wear BLUE Day is celebrated to show their concern for the health and wellbeing of boys and men. It is part of the year-round
Wear BLUE  awareness campaign created to raise awareness about the importance of male health and to encourage men to live longer and healthier lives, and give women an opportunity to encourage them to do so.
Events Calendar

WHAT: 42nd Annual National  Wellness Conference
WHEN: June 19-21, 2017, 12:00 A.M.
WHERE:  Saint Paul RiverCentre, 175 West Kellogg Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55102.
Click  here for additional information. 

WHAT: National HIV Testing Day
WHEN: June 27 , 2017
WHERE: To find a testing site near you, click here, or text your zipcode to KNOWI T

WHAT: 2017 NIH Regional Seminar: Program funding and Grants Administration:Registration
WHEN: October 25-27, 2017
WHERE: Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel 
Click here for additional information.

Please feel free to contact the HPRC Team at 301.375.2021 with any questions.

 
 
Thank you,


The Health Policy Research Consortium
 

HPRC, a CTIS Inc. division, is supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health under award number #1U54MD008608-01. This content does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Health Policy Research Consortium
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Phone: (301) 375-2021