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Health inequalities in US kill 84,000
LONDON (Reuters) - Health inequalities in the United States cause about 84,000 additional deaths a year, more than the equivalent of a hurricane Katrina every week, a health care expert said on Friday.
David Atkins, of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in the United States, said the images of people clinging to rooftops made it clear that being poor and black in a poor southern state is hazardous to health.
"The gap in health between white and black Americans has been estimated to cause 84,000 excess deaths in a year ... a virtual Katrina every week," Atkins said in an editorial in the British Medical Journal.
But the victims die of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV/ AIDS and alcohol or drug addiction so they don't grab the public's attention in the same way as the deaths caused by Katrina which killed more than 1,200 people.
"This may truly be a teachable moment about the impact of poverty and race on health," said Atkins.
The chief medical office of the AHRQ, an agency that coordinates all federal quality improvement efforts and health services research in the United States, said a comprehensive plan to protect the Gulf Coast from devastating storms and hurricanes had languished for years.
Now the U.S. government is facing a bill for the catastrophe that is expected to rise as high as $200 billion.
Atkins called for funding to be available for prevention, not rescue, and said the infrastructure for public health must be strengthened.
He added that the failure in basic communication after the hurricane hampered early recovery efforts.
"In the rush to rebuild in the southern states, Americans should pause to think more deeply about what it would take to create more equitable and healthier communities in New Orleans and throughout the affected area," Atkins said.
The lessons from Katrina must also be applied to help people with poor health who languish out of the public eye, he added.
LONDON (Reuters) - Health inequalities in the United States cause about 84,000 additional deaths a year, more than the equivalent of a hurricane Katrina every week, a health care expert said on Friday.
David Atkins, of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in the United States, said the images of people clinging to rooftops made it clear that being poor and black in a poor southern state is hazardous to health.
"The gap in health between white and black Americans has been estimated to cause 84,000 excess deaths in a year ... a virtual Katrina every week," Atkins said in an editorial in the British Medical Journal.
But the victims die of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, HIV/ AIDS and alcohol or drug addiction so they don't grab the public's attention in the same way as the deaths caused by Katrina which killed more than 1,200 people.
"This may truly be a teachable moment about the impact of poverty and race on health," said Atkins.
The chief medical office of the AHRQ, an agency that coordinates all federal quality improvement efforts and health services research in the United States, said a comprehensive plan to protect the Gulf Coast from devastating storms and hurricanes had languished for years.
Now the U.S. government is facing a bill for the catastrophe that is expected to rise as high as $200 billion.
Atkins called for funding to be available for prevention, not rescue, and said the infrastructure for public health must be strengthened.
He added that the failure in basic communication after the hurricane hampered early recovery efforts.
"In the rush to rebuild in the southern states, Americans should pause to think more deeply about what it would take to create more equitable and healthier communities in New Orleans and throughout the affected area," Atkins said.
The lessons from Katrina must also be applied to help people with poor health who languish out of the public eye, he added.