by 
Share On Social!
Efforts to reduce health disparities among Latinos received a boost as $23.5 million was awarded for two new studies. Research teams from the University of Alabama and Johns Hopkins University were selected by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The two studies will compare ways to improve blood pressure and close the health disparities gaps experienced by Latinos. Previous research has rarely targeted these high-risk populations.
“Even as health outcomes associated with blood pressure control have improved nationwide, striking disparities remain among racial and ethnic minorities, low-income individuals and rural residents,” said Dr. Romana Hanain-Wynia, Director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Addressing Disparities Program. “This suggests serious problems that remain to be solved. The two studies we’re funding through our partnership with NIH will directly tackle these disparities.”
Nearly 80 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure. This is a leading cause of heart disease and strokes. Latinos and other minorities More than 75% of people that have suffered strokes have hypertension; nearly 70% of this group has also had a heart attack.
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
