BROOKLYN HEALTH REPORT TO BE PRESENTED NOV. 1
Oct 24, 2007
New Report Examines Underlying Causes
Defying the notion that poverty, lack of health insurance, and other socioeconomic factors alone contribute to health disparities in disadvantaged communities, a new report by researchers at SUNY Downstate Medical Center reveals that how people view their health and what they do to improve it may be equally important in determining health outcomes.
The report and its impacts on the health care needs of the city’s most populous borough will be presented to community leaders and health care providers during a forum on Thursday Nov. 1 2007 at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
For media inquiries, contact:
Garry Pierre-Pierre
718-270-3866 (phone)/917-886-6654(cell)
gpierre-pierre@downstate.edu
The report, Brooklyn Community Health, presents a comparative look at Brooklyn and its 11 neighborhoods, highlighting those with the greatest unmet health and social needs. Each neighborhood profile provides readers with information at a glance on average income, education levels, family makeup, English-speaking ability, and other social and demographic characteristics.
As the report shows, Coney Island/Sheepshead Bay, a neighborhood with one of the largest concentrations of residents over 65, has one of the lowest vaccination rates against pneumonia—a leading killer among the elderly. Conversely, in Sunset Park, where a large percentage of residents say they can neither afford health insurance nor a personal doctor, the use of preventive health screenings is better than average.
In communities under the most economic and social stress, residents tend to rate their health as poor. This is true of Williamsburg/Bushwick, East New York, and Greenpoint, which have the highest percentages of single mothers with young children living in poverty, families without health insurance, and residents who do not have a high school diploma.
The report is a compilation of data from the 2000 US Census as well as the Community Health Surveys conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
In addition to Brooklyn Community Health, SUNY Downstate has produced reports on asthma, cancer, maternal and infant health, substance abuse, violence, and other health matters of interest to Brooklyn residents, health professionals and community leaders
###
About SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, founded in 1860, was the first medical school in the United States to bring teaching out of the lecture hall and to the patient’s bedside. A center of innovation and excellence in research and clinical service delivery, SUNY Downstate Medical Center comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, School of Public Health, University Hospital of Brooklyn, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively.
SUNY Downstate ranks twelfth nationally in the number of alumni who are on the faculty of American medical schools. More physicians practicing in New York City have graduated from SUNY Downstate than from any other medical school.