The Highmark Foundation recently released the results of their $100 million 5-year Healthy High Five initiative. Among the report’s many findings, announced at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture on March 22, was the revelation that minority parents were more concerned with health than the general population surveyed throughout the initiative.

“We have this knowledge, but we have to make it actionable,” said Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation. “We often think that people just aren’t that interested in these subjects, but as it turns out, our minority parents are extremely interested. There’s really an interest in, how do I get information for my child.”

YVONNE COOK

The Healthy High Five initiative looked at children’s health in five areas: nutrition, physical activity, bullying prevention, self-esteem, and grieving. Through a series of programs, Highmark was able to increase parent awareness in these key areas by 35 percent.

by Michael Yonas, DrPH

Over the past eight months, it has been our pleasure to work together to translate important and contemporary health and research information to the readership of the New Pittsburgh Courier, in collaboration with Community PARTners (a core service of the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute—CTSI), and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. Michael Yonas, DrPH, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, sat down with Esther Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League, to discuss this month’s topic of community health centers and doctor/patient communication.

ESTHER BUSH

by Tene Croom

Carol Ciancutti-Leyva remains relentless in raising this question to the masses: are silicone/saline breast implants absolutely safe? She dives deep into that very subject in a documentary aptly titled, “Absolutely Safe.”

ETAH ORGANIZERS—Authors and organizers of the conference, from left: Joy Maxberry Woodruff; Carol Ciancutti-Leyva; Audrey Ciancutti; Albertha Graham-Ellison, co-chair ETAH; Kezia L. Ellison, co-chair ETAH; and Judy Norsigian, co-author of “Our Bodies, Ourselve.” (Photo by Tene Croom)

Ciancutti-Leyva directed and produced the film. She spent a decade documenting the issue and believes, as her website states, doctors should be required by law to inform their patients about the proven risks.

In today’s health care system, communication is critical. Errors in dosage, misunderstood instructions or a failure to stress the importance of compliance can result in deadly errors. Good communication is particularly important in the treatment of chronic illnesses, such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Margaret Smith Washington, author of Doctor, Can You Hear Me? Patient, Are You Listening?, provides the following action steps for patients. These recommendations are the result of three years of research with physicians, patients and other health care professionals.

MARGARET SMITH WASHINGTON

Before you take the time to visit a doctor, remember these things: