1-13-00

Do race or socio-economic status play a role in a person's health? It's a question that will be discussed during the upcoming Race, Class & Health teleconference on Jan. 19 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Ohio Union Conference Theatre, 1739 N. High St.

The live, interactive satellite teleconference will bring together community activists and higher education and public health leaders from around the country to discuss minority and socio-economic health issues.

Two Ohio State University professors -- Moon Chen, professor of health behavior and health promotion, and Deborah Parris, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics -- will be available Tuesday and Wednesday for one-on-one interviews on these issues.

Chen, who was a member of the Institute of Medicine's committee on the "Unequal Burden of Cancer," said he believes a person's health is more affected by socio-economic class than race.

"It can be difficult to isolate a person's socio-economic status from their racial background when studying populations in the United States, where there is a tendency for racial minorities to be poor," Chen said. "One area where the distinction between race and class can be made is in Appalachia in Ohio. There, poor whites are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease than whites with higher economic status in other parts of the country."

Chen is currently evaluating the effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention interventions for minority populations. He will be available in his office, 293-3908, for media calls on Tuesday (1/18) from 1 to 3 p.m.

Parris also believes there is a strong correlation between low socio-economic status and health.

"Although breast cancer incidence is higher in white women than in African-American Women, there is definitely a higher mortality rate in African-American women," Parris said. "I am not saying breast cancer is more aggressive in black women. They just tend to detect the disease at a later stage. Early detection increases the survival rate by 35 percent."

Parris is also an assistant director of Women's and Minority Health Issues in the Comprehensive Cancer Center, which monitors the appropriate inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials. She will be available in her office. 292-0735, for interviews on Wednesday (1/19) from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

There will be facilitated discussion immediately following the teleconference, moderated by David Inoue, graduate student in Public Health Policy and Preventive Medicine.

The teleconference is produced by The Association of American Colleges and Universities and The National Association of County and City Health Officials in association with George Washington University. Funding is provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

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Contact: Moon Chen, College of Medicine and Public Health, 293-3908, and Deborah Parris, College of Medicine and Public Health, 292-0735

For questions about the teleconference, call Carmen Alvarez Breckenridge, coordinator of Hispanic Student Services, 292-2917