Nighttime Light Data Shows Inequities in Restoring Power After Hurricane Michael

Using nighttime lightdata from NASA, remote sensing, official outage records and census information, a study reveals notable differences in power-restoration rates between urbanized and rural areas and between disadvantaged and more affluent communities after Hurricane Michael in Florida’s Panhandle.

National Academies progress report: health disparities

From costing society an estimated $11 trillion to hindering new discoveries in medicine and preventing access to effective interventions, underrepresentation of women, older adults and minorities in clinical research has several significant consequences, according to recent analyses commissioned by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Researchers studying challenges female and minority entrepreneurs face in rural areas

The research, led by Heather Stephens, professor of resource economics and management and director of the West Virginia University Regional Research Institute, aims to identify what factors could support entrepreneurship for women and minorities, as well as barriers that deter them from starting their own businesses.

Study Underscores Social Factors of Low Breast Cancer Screening in the U.S.

To identify major social factors hindering breast cancer screening in U.S. women aged 40 and older, researchers focused on race/ethnicity, employment, education, food security, insurance status, housing and access to quality health care. Access to health care emerged as a statistically significant theme (61 percent) and insurance status was the most reported sub-categorical factor. Language was the third highest issue, highlighting its significance as an influential factor of screening behavior. Race/ethnicity, sex/gender and sexual orientation were additional factors reported.

SLU Study: Adolescents of Color With A Disability Experience More Racial Discrimination

Adolescents of color with a disability or special health care need (SHCN) were almost twice as likely to experience racial discrimination compared to peers of color without SHCNs, according to Saint Louis University research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Mount Sinai Receives Significant Funding to Study Which Coronary Revascularization Procedure Best Improves Survival and Quality of Life for Women and Underserved Minority Groups

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will help lead and launch the first clinical trial focusing on women and minority populations to determine which coronary revascularization procedure best improves their survival and quality of life.

UC Irvine receives most applications in campus history for third year in a row

Irvine, Calif., Feb. 24, 2023 — The University of California, Irvine has received more than 143,000 applications for fall 2023, setting a campus record for the third consecutive year and continuing to solidify its position as one of the most desired schools in the country. It also places UCI among the top four universities in the nation for the most freshman applications since 2015.

UCI named Fulbright HSI Leader by State Department for second consecutive year

The University of California, Irvine has been named a 2022 Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Last year, UCI was an inaugural recipient of the newly created designation, which recognizes the noteworthy engagement that selected Hispanic-Serving Institutions have achieved with the Fulbright Program, the federal government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

NSF funds UCI project to boost STEM degree success for underrepresented students

The National Science Foundation has awarded almost $3 million over a five-year period to The Institute for Meaningful Engagement at the University of California, Irvine. This new education project will explore the environmental factors prompting underrepresented students to leave science, technology, engineering and math programs and investigate how faculty can foster better classroom cultures to retain them. A multidisciplinary leadership team will partner with the deans of UCI’s six STEM schools to accomplish this.

Community Health Center Honored for Services Assisting Minority Women

Florida Atlantic University and Northwest Community Health Alliance’s Community Health Center, operated by FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, together with the West Palm Beach YWCA, recently received the “2021 Community Collaborators Award” from Nonprofits First, Inc., for their untiring efforts to mitigate health care disparities among women from minority groups with limited access to quality care.

Bidirectional impact of cardiovascular disease, cancer in Blacks focus of new AHA center

Cardiovascular disease and cancer, the nation’s top two killers, share common ground like obesity and chronic inflammation, as well as a disproportionate impact on Black Americans. A new American Heart Association-funded center at the Medical College of Georgia is working…

COVID-19 Shutdowns Reveal Racial Disparities in Exposure to Air Pollution

A new GW study of COVID-19 shutdowns in the United States reveals pronounced disparities in air pollution — with disenfranchised, minority neighborhoods still experiencing more exposure to a harmful air pollutant compared to wealthier, white communities.

Discrimination and safety concerns barriers to accessing healthy food for food-insecure young adults

New study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics indicates interventions of specific relevance to COVID-19, including expanded food assistance services, are needed to improve the accessibility of healthy food for young adults

COVID-19-related immigration concerns among Latinx immigrants in US

What The Study Did: T hese results suggest that substantial proportions of Latinx immigrants have immigration concerns about engaging in COVID-19-related testing, treatment and contact tracing. Authors: Carol L. Galletly, J.D., Ph.D., Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, i s…

Study: Incarcerated people placed in solitary confinement differ significantly from others in prison population

Concern has grown about prison systems’ use of extended solitary confinement as a way to manage violent and disruptive incarcerated people. A new study identified groups that are more likely to be placed in extended solitary management (ESM). The study…

Sociodemographic characteristics, inequities associated with access to in-person, remote elementary schooling during pandemic in New York State

What The Study Did: Among the few New York state public school districts providing full-time in-person elementary school instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, most districts served predominately white students, rural/suburban students and children who were not disadvantaged (children who were…

UCLA research finds the US lags 79 other nations in preventing child immigration detention

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified calls to end the detention of migrant children, as cases surge among children held in crowded conditions; yet immigration detention’s threats to children’s fundamental rights did not begin with the current public health crisis. Unlike…

How can counselors address social justice amid climate change?

We’re currently living in what many scientists are calling the Anthropocene, the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. An article published in the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development discusses how…

Only 20 states implemented health equity committees to assist with COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning

A new study out of UChicago found that while 43 states (out of 51, including all 50 states and Washington, D.C.) created a committee to develop a vaccine distribution plan, only 20 plans mentioned using a health equity committee to assist with plan development.

Increased use of household fireworks creates a public health hazard, UCI study finds

Irvine, Calif., June 29, 2021 – Fireworks are synonymous in the United States with the celebration of Independence Day and other special events, but the colorful displays have caused a growing risk to public safety in recent years, according to a study by environmental health researchers at the University of California, Irvine.

Parental monitoring and consistency in adolescence can reduce young Black men’s likelihood of criminal behavior

New research examined the effect of different parenting styles during adolescence on crime among African American men. The study found that parenting styles characterized by little behavioral control placed youth at significant risk for adult crime, even though some of…

How different beliefs and attitudes affect college students’ career aspirations

A study published in Career Development Quarterly has looked at whether beliefs and attitudes influence career aspirations of college students with different genders and sexual orientations. Among 1,129 college students at a midwestern urban university, stronger self-efficacy beliefs–or perceptions about…

Study: Maternal adult characteristics do not predict stillbirth, early neonatal death

University of Illinois Chicago researchers studying birth outcomes in marmoset monkeys found there were no adult maternal characteristics like age or weight gain during pregnancy to predict stillbirth or early neonatal death, but that a mother’s birth weight or litter…

Associations of race/ethnicity and food insecurity with COVID-19 infection rates

What The Study Did: The findings of this observational study of the association of race/ethnicity with COVID-19 infection rates and the interaction of pre-COVID experiences of food insecurity suggest that the association varied over time and across racial/ethnic groups. Authors:…

Patient characteristics, subsequent health care use of SARS-CoV-2 testing initiation in safety-net health system

What The Study Did: Researchers found differences in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics by entry location for SARS- CoV-2 testing within a safety-net health system. White and English-speaking individuals disproportionately initiated testing via telehealth visits, while Black, Native American and non-English-speaking…