October 2009: New Book Press Release
DIABETES IN BLACK AMERICA
Public Health and Clinical Solutions to a National Crisis
Leonard Jack, Jr., PhD, MSc, CHES, Editor
Foreword by Vivian Fonseca, MD
Afterword by Garth N. Graham, MD, MPH
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Diabetes is a public health concern for all Americans. For African Americans, however, diabetes is a crisis. Over the past three decades, the prevalence of diabetes among black Americans has more than doubled, based on figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States today, nearly twice as many black men and women (compared to whites) are living with this serious, chronic disease. African American patients are especially vulnerable to diabetes complications, including blindness, kidney failure, and lower extremity amputations.
Why is the rate of diabetes alarmingly high for African Americans? What can be done about it? In DIABETES IN BLACK AMERICA (Hilton Publishing; November 2009; $44.95), more than 75 medical and community health experts join forces to answer these questions. Edited by Leonard Jack, Jr., PhD, a nationally recognized scholar in diabetes management among African Americans, this unique resource illuminates the spectrum of causes-genetic, cultural, social, and economic-and approaches the challenge of improving prevention and control from multiple perspectives. While each of the 29 chapters focuses on a specific aspect of the diabetes problem for black Americans, the result is a groundbreaking collaborative effort to find solutions.
Shedding light on the relationships among key risk factors for diabetes and prevailing beliefs and norms in the black community, DIABETES IN BLACK AMERICA also explores:
The strong link between obesity and diabetes, and innovative initiatives to reduce this particularly heavy burden for black Americans, from after-school fitness programs to nutrition education classes and healthy cook-offs sponsored by local churches.
- The negative impact of cultural notions of "masculinity"-risk-taking, high tolerance for pain, and perceived invulnerability among them-on the persistent trend in the worst possible health outcomes for black men with diabetes.
- Risk factors specific to African American women, with special attention to the prevalence of diabetes during pregnancy, and self-management strategies to improve the long-term health of black diabetic women and their children.
- The disturbing implications of racism for black Americans' diabetes management, with a look at how perceived discrimination often poses a barrier to receiving medical care and benefiting from high quality patient-provider interactions.
- The increasing problem of lack of health insurance coverage among black Americans, compounded by the widespread lack of access to diabetes screening and care facilities and poverty.
- The vital role of local business, civic, and spiritual leaders, along with healthcare and social workers, in raising awareness of the role of diet and exercise in diabetes and overcoming diabetes-related misperceptions, fears, and stigmas in black communities.
The first comprehensive source of scientific information on the array of health issues facing African Americans living with this serious, chronic, yet manageable disease, DIABETES IN BLACK AMERICA is urgent reading for not only black Americans, but also healthcare providers, policymakers, and all Americans with a stake in the future of our country.
About the editor:
Leonard Jack, Jr., PhD, MSc, CHES, is Associate Dean for Research, Director of the Center for Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education, Endowed Chair of Minority Health Disparities, and Professor in the Division of Clinical and Administrative Sciences, College of Pharmacy at Xavier University of Louisiana. Previously, he held the Jim Finks Endowed Chair of Health Promotion and was Professor of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center's School of Public Health. In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Jack has more than 14 years of public health experience with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. He has published numerous book chapters, served as a guest editor for Diabetes Spectrum and Diabetes Educator, among other journals, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal Health Promotion Practice.
DIABETES IN BLACK AMERICA
Public Health and Clinical Solutions to a National Crisis
Leonard Jack, Jr., PhD, MSc, CHES, Editor
Hilton Publishing
November 2009
978-0-9815381-9-8
Click here to order your copy!