Independent Research Week Twelve, Post One (Notes)

 Health inequity - America's chronic condition? - Esteban Lopez

• May the odds be ever in your favor
• People have no chance for equity
• US lags behind more industrialized countries for health indicators
• 42nd in life expectancy
• 26th in infant mortality, 6th in 1953
• 1st in obesity
• health inequities - systemic, ingrained, and unjust barriers that percent segment of the population from the opportunity of health leading to health disparity
• lack of doctors in hospitals in low-inome and BIPOC communities
• lack of affordable housing
• increase the risk of infectious disease
• Stop and frisk
• Voter ID laws
• mand min for nonviolent drug crimes
• Black women more likely to die form breast cancer
• Latino dies from chronic kidney disease
• NA 42% obesity
• Birth outcomes for black women
• End of second trimester born
• 2lbs 9oz
• 90 in NICU
• Black women 3-4x higher rate of negative birth outcome
• premature
• low birth weight
• child dying from all cause infant mortality
• not genetic, African women not in US equal to white women in the US
• Cortisol
• fight or flight response hormone
• reaction to danger
• great in short amounts, but not constantly 
• causes low birth weight
• released during pregnancy 
• Cortisol-Effect
• racial bias
• Black, Latina and NA women have higher cortisol levels
• NOT genetic
• drop due to support groups which helps birth outcomes
• Solution?
• communities
• deal with the daily stress of living in a country with racial bias
• biofeedback - empty mind, focus on breathing (short-term solution)
• daily meditation 
• create social networks for support
• health care community
• treat patients in culturally competent manner
• must offers patients way to deal w stress and anxiety
• pay doctors for VALUE not just service
• communities
• need to do the work yourself, not wait for others
• investing in solving health inequities