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Health disparity event to provide direction by Cindy Abole Public Relations Providing a forum that allows health care providers, policy makers and educators to share outcomes and ideas to reduce  diabetes and other health risks within minority populations is a national goal.   From July 19-21, MUSC, in partnership with South Carolina State University and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and The Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, will host the National Conference on Health Disparities 2007 at the Charleston Marriott.   S.C. Rep. Jim Clyburn, surrounded by statewide supporters, talks about health disparities during a July 6 press conference. The conference will be held July 19- 21. The gathering will mark an opportunity for key supporters to gather together on a national scale to discuss successful models and strategies that address America’s health care divide between minority populations. The discussion also will emphasize at-risk states and regions where health disparities are most prevalent; including North Caro-lina, Kentucky, New Mexico, Florida, Georgia, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana.    “A great gap exists between minority and majority population when it comes to health care,” said Sabra Slaughter, Ph.D., one of three conference coordinators and chief of staff, Office of the President at MUSC. “Little has been said or done about what has been working within communities, programs and best practices to address the gap. We’ve discovered examples of working models that can bring about change and narrow the disparities between citizens. This conference is a prime opportunity to look at what’s going on, especially in South Carolina, and invite others from around the country to talk about their experiences with initiatives and partnerships that have been successful in reducing health disparities.”   The conference will feature a list of public policy makers and key players who will serve as guest speakers and panelists. They include U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Donna Christian-Christensen, D-VI (the first female physician elected to Congress), Shirley Franklin (mayor of Atlanta), Lynda M. Dorman (executive director of the Black Entertainment Television Foundation), Reed V. Tuckson, M.D. (senior vice president of the United Health Foundation),  John Ruffin, M.D. (director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities), Walter W. Williams, M.D. (U.S. Public Health Service captain) and others.      Among the conference’s highlights is a July 19 pre-conference discussion featuring success stories where MUSC, S.C. State University, other state institutions, local agencies and groups will share and discuss their research and program efforts to reduce health disparities.   Other discussions will focus around Project EXPORT (Center of Excellence in Partnership for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training) and its local initiatives and partnerships within the state. The program focuses on understanding metabolic syndrome and its associated risks for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, kidney failure and some cancers among blacks in the state.   Another July 21 session, “Taking It National: Is Success Portable?” will discuss the progression of local, successful programs to a more global scale. Political leaders, investigators and support agencies will debate the different approaches, policy issues and economic strategies that can be applied to programs in larger communities and regions.   Aside from the event’s scheduled sessions, keynote speeches and question-and-answer sessions, the agenda also provides ample time for conference attendees to meet and openly discuss ideas and issues, share methods and initiate collaboration.   “MUSC’s involvement in co-hosting this conference is a real acknowledgment of all the work that’s being done by so many people at MUSC in addressing health disparities throughout the state,” said Barbara Tilley, Ph.D., conference moderator and distinguished university professor and chair of the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology. “So often, successful projects must end when the funding ends. Hopefully this conference will allow researchers and advocates from across the country to share their successes in addressing health disparities, and will highlight the need for continued legislative support and funding to carry on these successful activities in the future.”   “We’re hopeful that this kind of dialogue and information exchange can help policy makers, government representatives, academicians and people working at the grass roots level, gain a direction that will promote best health practices in this effort,” said Slaughter, who along with Judith Salley, Ph.D., of S.C. State University, are co-principal investigators of Project EXPORT,   “Health disparities have been a historic problem in our country,” said Clyburn at a July 6 press conference at MUSC. “It will be impossible to eliminate them overnight. However, this dialogue will look at where we have come from, where we are currently, and where we can go from here.”   According to David E. Rivers, co-coordinator of the conference and director of MUSC’s Public Information and Community Outreach, the effort is not the first time Clyburn has led and collaborated with MUSC, S.C. State University and other institutions to lead a national dialogue addressing several public policy concerns. In 2003, Clyburn organized listening sessions for the National Environmental Policy Commission and Health and Environmental Justice Braintrusts to discuss environmental policy.   “Much work and effort have been devoted to reducing health disparities in the past decade but there’s a great need to focus on prevention, promote personal responsibility and sustain funding for these initiatives,” said Rivers. South Carolina statistics on health disparities Blacks are 1.3 times more likely to die from heart disease than are whites Blacks are 1.5 times more likely to die from stroke than are whites Black women are 1.3 times more likely to die from breast cancer than are whites Black men are 2.7 times more likely to die from prostate cancer than are whites Blacks are 2.5 times more likely to die from complications of diabetes than are whites Black are 6.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than are whites Black infants are 2.4 times more likely to die during the first year of life than are whites Blacks are on average 35.8 percent more obese than are whites Source: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control  Healthy People Living in Healthy Communities (2007) and S.C. Mother and Child Health Data book 2006     Friday, July 13, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.