Public Health, Place and Social Media for Organizing to

Eliminate Health Inequities

Jim Bloyd, MPHPresentation to

HPA 494 Health Disparities in the United StatesUniversity of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health

March 11, 2011

Topics

• Evidence of health inequities• Opportunity-based housing• Organizing and Usuncut as example of use of

social media• Principles of a sustainable food system

•In 2007 it was estimated that 8.3% of adults over the age of 20 in Cook County (including the City ) had diabetes.

•Nationally 24 million people have diabetes.

•National direct medical costs are estimated at $116 Billion

•National total costs are $174 Billion

Diabetes in Cook County

Diabetes in Suburban

Cook

The South District had the highest rates of hospital discharges for diabetes. The Southwest District had the highest rates for the youngest and oldest age group.Source: Cook County DPH, wePLAN

• Residents of largely African American zip codes in Chicago had over five times higher per capita amputation rates than residents of primarily white zip codes. Feinglass, et al (2008)

• Researchers can now accurately predict life outcomes from health to education to life expectancy based on the zip code in which a child grows up. (US HUD, 2010, NOFA docket FR-5415-N-01)

Illinois worst in health disparity index 1999-2005 Cameron Webb et al. (2011)

Y-axis values are HDI scores for each disease process or for state disparities as a whole.

Illinois Massachusetts

Segregation of Opportunities: Opportunity-Based Housing

(Powell (2001), Luce et al 2005)

Opportunity indicators

Opportunity indicators

Opportunity indicators

Opportunity indicators

• Black and Hispanic households in the Chicago region are located almost entirely in ‘low opportunity’ communities: 94% of Black residents and 83% of Hispanic residents live in these communities. By contrast, just 3% and 4% of households in ‘high opportunity’ communities are Black or Hispanic, respectively. (Luce, Lukehart & Reece, 2011)

African American

Population byMunicipality,

2000, with Low and Lowest

Opportunity Communities

Identified.

African American

Population byMunicipality,

2000, with Low and Lowest

Opportunity Communities

Identified.

How has public health engaged in community organizing? In your opinion what is the role of local public health in c.o.? What examples can you name of the barriers listed in the purple bar?

Source: Hofrichter & Bhatia, Tackling health inequities through public health practice (2010) Oxford

Magazine article sparked multiple chapters of USuncut & protests in <1 month

• Johann Hari, activist and promoter of UKuncut• February 3, 2011 The Nation articles

– ‘How to Build a Progressive Tea Party’– ‘A Ten-Step Guide to Launching US Uncut’

• Direct connection of corporate tax avoidance with social program cuts

• Foundation of twitter, facebook, social media(source: Hari, The Nation. Feb 3, 2011)

How Wall Street Speculation and TaxAvoidance are Starving Public Revenues

Report: National People’s Action, March 2011

Big Bank Tax Drain Source: NPA

• Bank of America’s federalincome tax benefit this year is roughly two times the Obama administration’s proposed cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program ($299 million).

• Six banks paid income tax at an approximate rate of 11% of their pre-tax US earnings in 2009 and 2010. Had they paid at 35%, what they are legally mandated to pay, This would cover more than two years of salaries for the 132,000 teacher jobs lost since the economic crisis began in 2008.

Principles of a Healthy, Sustainable Food System

• Health promoting• Sustainable• Resilient• Diverse In: Size, geography, culture,

choice• Fair• Economically balanced• Transparent

http://www.planning.org/nationalcenters/health/pdf/HealthySustainableFoodSystemsPrinciples.pdf

Thank you

I am on twitter @j_bloyd

Jim Bloyd, MPHCook County Department of Public HealthOak Forest Hospital Campus15900 S. Cicero Av., Building E, 3rd FloorOak Forest, Illinois 60452708-633-8314jbloyd@ccdph.net