NDDIC News

Health Disparities Discussed at NDDIC Coordinating Panel Meeting

At the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse's (NDDIC's) annual Coordinating Panel meeting in June, participants heard from guest speaker Bruce Trotman, M.D., about gastrointestinal health disparities among minorities. Dr. Trotman is the chair of the American Gastroenterological Association's (AGA's) Underrepresented Minorities Committee.

NDDIC's interest in health disparities stems from a recent Department of Health and Human Services initiative to eliminate or reduce minority health disparities by the year 2010 in six areas: cancer screening and management, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, heart disease, diabetes, and immunizations. The National Institutes of Health, of which the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is a part, took the initiative a step further, calling for all Institutes to develop a plan for addressing health disparities in their disease areas. NIDDK's plan is in development.

At the panel meeting, Dr. Trotman described how esophageal cancer, chronic hepatitis C, and colorectal cancer disproportionately affect African Americans, explaining risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment. For more information on the activities of AGA's Underrepresented Minorities Committee, contact Rokhsan Fallah at 301–654–2055, extension 669.

NIH Publication No. 01–4552
March 2001