J Natl Med Assoc
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Congenital malformations are the major cause of infant mortality in the United States, but their contribution to overall racial disparity--a major public health concern--is poorly understood. We sought to estimate the contribution of a congenitally acquired central nervous system lesion, Dandy-Walker Syndrome (DWS), to black-white disparity in infant mortality. ⋯ DWS has one of the largest black-white disparities in postneonatal survival. This underscores the importance of evaluating racial disparities in infant mortality by specific conditions in order to formulate targeted interventions to reduce disparities.
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Steroid inhaler adherence and influenza immunization rates are low for asthmatic minority children. ⋯ Minority parents of asthmatic children are less adherent to recommended asthma treatments and rate physicians lower on characteristics associated with adherence. Improving those characteristics may improve asthma outcomes for minority children.