Doctors discuss minority health care strides

By Heather Wiggin
Daily Staff Reporter

In the spirit of the Rev. Dr. Martin, Luther King Jr.'s activism for equality, a panel of University health experts met last night to discuss the current state of health care for minorities.

A panel discussion held at the Alumni center, "Why We Can't Wait: Improving the Health of People of Color," was facilitated by Patricia Coleman-Burns, an associate professor in the School of Nursing, and featured three University doctors.

Minorities have made great progress in receiving quality health care in the past few decades, Coleman-Burns said. "It's good to see the benefits of our labor."

But the progress has not come easily or without the activism of minorities in the medical arena. Coleman-Burns shared a personal testimony of her mother, who suffered an untimely death at age 54 because of a lack of medical care. She said she now feels a need to tell people about "the importance of delivering health care to all people."

Health care challenges are reflected in the higher incidence of many diseases among minorities today, said Cleopatra Caldwell, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health . Caldwell quoted King. - "few live to see our fondest hopes fulfilled."

"Racial differences in health care outcomes are still extremely large," Caldwell said.

Caldwell said a lack of education among minorities leads to substandard health care options and a lack of employment.

"African-Americans often use the emergency room as their primary source of medical care," Caldwell said.

Caldwell went on to say that health care must be improved and broadened on a national scale.

Specific minority groups have individual medical needs that must be more narrowly investigated and addressed, she said.

Marilyn Roubidoux, an assistant radiology professor, researches the health care problems of American Indian tribes.

There is a lack of local health care for Native Americans, and some must leave their job and family to move to a city where health care is affordable for them, Roubidoux said.

The quality of oral health varies greatly among minorities, said assistant Dentistry Prof. George Taylor. "The minority community has an alarmingly high prevalence of bacterial infections of the teeth."

Oral infections and tooth decay have been linked to health problems such as stroke and heart disease, Taylor said. He said these correlations must be studied further so that medical care providers can prevent a string of future health problems.

The medical community should be attentive to the needs of minorities, said Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs Gilbert Omenn. "The total of minority populations is increasing rapidly in this country," he said.

"One thing I want to see is more involvement and recognition for those actively involved in the community," Omenn said. "I'm sure such recognition would stimulate more involvement."

01-20-98