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A study presented before the Board of Commissioners shows Multnomah County residents of color lag behind in 22 major health indicators. Sandy Johnson, manager of the county Office of Health and Social Justice, explained that the report measured data from 2003-07, the most recent available. The study was undertaken “to raise awareness of health inequities so that they can be addressed,” she told the board. “We do it to track our progress.”
According to the report, African Americans in Multnomah are more likely to contract gonorrhea and chlamydia, have higher rates of infant mortality and babies with low birth weights, and are more likely to die from stroke, diabetes, prostate cancer, and homicide.
Latinos and Asians have above-average rates of some STDs as well as homicide. Native Americans are more likely to die from AIDS and have disparate rates of chlamydia, infant mortality, and low birth-weight infants.
The results, however, should not be used to stigmatize any community as being outside the sexual norm, said the health department’s Kim Toev.
“When we look at chlamydia and gonorrhea rates, they really don’t have to do with sex,” Toev noted. Rather, “They have to do with systemic, institutional forms of racism and poverty” leading to untreated disease and continued transmission, even if a group’s sexual habits are similar to others. For example, while African Americans are just as or more likely to use condoms and undergo HIV testing, they still experience higher rates of certain STDs, said Toev.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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