Page A5
(The Jlortlan h (Observer
August 14,2002
Untreated Pain Called Health Crisis
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D o c to rs a d d re s s d is p a ritie s in p a in tre a tm e n t b a s e d o n ra c e
a d v e rtis e :
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African Americans
are dying at higher rates than
whites from heart disease.
Dr. Beny Primm (from left), Dr. Lucille Perez and Dr. Gary Dennis, attend a news conference on
pain management as it relates to African Americans and other minorities.
T he N ational M edical A ssocia
tion has concluded that inadequate
pain m anagem ent is a serious na
tional public health problem that
affects m illions o f A frican A m eri
cans and other underserved m i
nority populations.
“W e are finding that African
Americans, in excruciating pain due
to life-threatening illness or major
surgery, are denied effective pain
m edicine, due to factors w hich ulti-
«m
ately center on race,” said Dr.
^mately
L uicille
ucille C. Norville Perez, president
o f the NM A and associate director
for the Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention at the M ental Health
Services Administration o f the Dept.
o f Health and Human Services.
Fifty m illion A m ericans suffer
from chronic pain. C osts associ
ated w ith prolonged pain total ap
proxim ately $ 100 billion a year.
The N M A , w hich represents the
collective voice o f 25,000 African
A m erican physicians, is evaluat-
ing the significance o f chronic pain
to the health and w ell being o f all
A m ericans, and in particular, d is-
parities in pain treatm ent based on
race. T he A ssociation w ill issue its
final report on pain m anagem ent in
M arch.
T he gro u p ’s prelim inary find
ings show that pain causes m ore
disability than cancer and heart
disease com bined. T he studies also
indicate that racial and ethnic m i-
nority populations are at higher
risk for receiving ineffective treat-
m ent for chronic and severe pain
and that som e doctors appear to be
fearful o f prescribing certain m edi
cations because o f concerns relat
ing to drug abuse in minority popu
lations. ■
T he association w arns that ra
cial profiling is m ore prevalent in
pharm acies located in urban areas.
T hese pharm acies either refuse to
carry certain opio id m edications,
citing low dem and, the potential
for fraud, fear o f being robbed, or
a b elief that certain prescriptions
are being diverted for illegal use.
The association wants more pain
m anagem ent training in medical
schools and related health educa
tion program s, a public health edu
cation program that fosters greater
understanding of pain management,
along with prevention o f abuse and
illegal drug trafficking; and on data
collection as a means to better iden
tify the reasons for racial disparities
in pain management.
“T he N M A will assess the m a
jo r factors that result in lack o f
access to effective, pain-relieving
m edication, especially with regard
to m in o rities, an d w ill devise
courses o f action that w ill enable
m ore people to have access to
quality health care and proper pain
control,” said Dr. Gary Dennis, past
president o f the NM A and ch ief of
neurosurgery at H ow ard U niver
sity H ospital in W ashington, D.C.
Heart disease,
» ■'
¿a
the number
one killer of
African
Americans.
on’t have to...
New Homeowners Offered $1,000
The D epartm ent o f H ousing and
U rban D evelopm ent announced
July 30 that it w ill issue a $1,000
check to hom ebuyers w ho sign a
sales contract on a single-fam ily
H U D H om e by Sept. 30.
T he $ 1,000 C ash B ack M ove-
In A llo w an c e, w h ich is effec tiv e
im m ediately, will be issued at clos-
in g a n d c a n be u se d by the
h o m e b u y e r fo r a n y e x p e n se s
such as m o v in g co sts and hom e
^ •re p a irs . T o q u a lify , th e b uyer
^ k n u s t agree to live in the p ro p erty
as h is o r h e r p rim a ry resid e n ce
* fo r a m in im u m o f 12 m onths.
"T he Bush A dm inistration is
com m itted to increasing the num
ber o f A m ericans, particularly m i
n o ritie s , w h o o w n th e ir ow n
hom es,” said H U D Secretary M el
M artinez. “W e believe this incen
tive program will help more people
becom e first-tim e hom ebuyers by
purchasing one o f H U D ’s single
fam ily hom es.”
U nder the conditions o f the in
centive, the buyer m ust close the
sale transaction within 3 0 days after
the contract is accepted.
There are approxim ately 30,(XX)
single-fam ily hom es in H U D 's in
ventory o f properties, and they
can usually be found in every state
as w ell as Puerto Rico, G uam and
the V irgin Islands. Interested par
tie s
s h o u ld
lo g
o n to
w w w .H U D .g o v /o ffic es/h sg /sfh /
reo/honies.cfm to get inform ation
about the availability o f H U D
H om es in their area.
All H U D H om es are offered for
sale at m arket value as established
by an appraisal. Since the proper
ties are sold “as is,” there is often
an opportunity for a hom ebuyer to
earn “sw eat equity” by m aking
repairs after the sale.
T he bidding for available prop
erties is conducted exclusively on
the Internet.
which blocks the blood
vessels to cause heart
attacks, strokes, or high
blood pressure, ranks as
*7 ' ' »
Prevention works. Get screened.
Ask your doctor about cardiovascular disease today.
It’s our right.
African American Health Coalition, Inc.
2 8 0 0 N. V a n c o u v e r A v e n u e -S u ite 100
P o rtla n d , O re g o n 9 7 2 2 7
Phone;
503-413-1850
www.aahc-portland.org
Made possible by the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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