Efforts address health of Somali women, American Indian children, increase HIV/AIDS awareness among hispanics.
- Burnsville, Minn.: Community workshops provided by the Dakota County Public Health Department and the not-for-profit group Storefront this year are focusing on the health of Somali women and girls in the community, the St. Paul Pioneer Press
reports. According to Shannon Bailey, adolescent health coordinator for
the county's public health department, many Somali immigrants have
chronic conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
hypertension, as well as a high rate of hip and knee replacements
because of excess body weight. Health officials attribute Somalis'
health to changes in their lifestyle, such as walking less, since they
moved to the U.S. In response, a local YMCA
has begun offering a female-only aerobics class that caters to the
religious needs of Muslim women. To date, about 14 residents, mainly
Muslim Somali women, have joined the class (Miranda, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 7/30).
- Montana: Researchers from the Rocky Mountain Tribal Epidemiology Center and the University of Montana
over the next five years will study the health of American Indian
children living on reservations as part as an effort to increase
disease prevention and awareness among the group, the Billings Gazette
reports. Under the program, researchers beginning this school year will
assess weight, height, body-mass index, family history of disease,
pulse and blood pressure of children in kindergarten through high
school on three reservations. Eventually, researchers will expand the
study to all tribes. Researchers also will examine and track
information on acanthosis, a skin disease that usually is found among
those with diabetes, and look for signs of asthma and other conditions.
Curtis Noonan, a researcher who works with the Center for Environmental Health Sciences
at the university, said the study will enable researchers to describe
populations in terms of risk factors, identify new cases of certain
conditions and determine which risk factors are common (Shay, Billings Gazette, 7/30).
- Stamford, Conn.: The Stamford Health Department,
as part of an initiative to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among
Hispanics, has begun teaching religious leaders how to provide
information and spiritual counseling to their congregations, the Stamford Advocate
reports. This phase of the project will provide Hispanic religious
leaders with substance use and HIV/AIDS information and resources
(Clark, Stamford Advocate, 7/30).
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork
Reprinted with permission from
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