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'Striking Disparities' Found Among Neighborhoods In Health, Safety Survey

By Kelly Bauer | March 23, 2017 1:21pm | Updated on March 24, 2017 11:11am
 A survey showed sharp disparities in the health of Chicagoans along racial lines.
A survey showed sharp disparities in the health of Chicagoans along racial lines.
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DOWNTOWN — A "significant" number of Chicagoans are struggling to get the health care they need — but there also are "striking disparities" in health care between people of different races and neighborhoods, according to a new survey.

The Sinai Community Health Survey, from the Sinai Urban Health Institute, looked at more than 1,900 people living in nine neighborhoods around the city: Chicago Lawn, Gage Park, Hermosa, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Norwood Park, South Lawndale, West Englewood and a portion of West Town (west of Western Avenue).

The survey found residents in eight neighborhoods were "lagging" behind national standards in a "wide range of health problems and risk factors."

The data also showed there were serious disparities in the well-being of people of different races and neighborhoods — even ones just miles apart.

For example, about 13 percent of white people reported having unmet dental care needs, while that number was nearly double among black and Mexican respondents.

And 21 percent of Puerto Rican respondents said they had been diagnosed with diabetes, while only 6 percent of white residents said the same, according to the survey. Diagnoses of heart disease were reported more among white women (10 percent), white men (16 percent) and black women (16 percent) than Mexican men and women (3 percent) and black men (8 percent).

Along neighborhoods lines, 32 percent of women with at least one live birth reported having a baby born before it was due in North Lawndale, while only 9 percent of women reported the same in Gage Park.

More people in Humboldt Park (21 percent) reported having anxiety symptoms than people in Norwood Park (8 percent), and 8 percent of respondents from Hermosa reported feeling unsafe while outside alone during the day, while 35 percent of people from West Englewood said the same.

“The data paint a stark and complex picture of health and wellness in many Chicago communities, varied by race, income and ethnicity, demonstrating the value in collecting hyperlocal information,” said Dr. Sharon Homan, president of the Sinai Urban Health Institute.

Chicagoans are challenged by such problems as post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic violence, food insecurity, obesity and smoking, according to the survey.

And about 44 percent of people in South Lawndale rated their health as "fair" or "poor," according to the study. The best-faring neighborhood in the survey was West Town, where 21 percent of residents rated their health as "fair" or "poor." The national average is 12 percent.

“Health and well-being need to be tackled neighborhood by neighborhood,” said Melissa Chrusfield, a member of the Community Advisory Committee and a resident of North Lawndale. “To improve health, we need to focus not just on diseases and health outcomes, but on the conditions that make being healthy difficult. Having this kind of comprehensive community-level data is a critical first step in identifying challenges and developing solutions.”

The Sinai Urban Health Institute will partner with a Community Advisory Committee in the nine neighborhoods it surveyed to go over the survey, share its findings and develop solutions, according to the news release. It will release more findings in the future.

“Our hope is that by collecting and sharing this rich, comprehensive set of data, we can assist community groups, health researchers and policymakers to prioritize efforts and allocate appropriate funding to help achieve better health for all,” said Jana Hirschtick, a principal investigator for the survey.

Read the full report: