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By Sue Saltmarsh. First published in ISPC E-News 9/19/11

On August 15, ScienceDaily reported on a study from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Public Health. The study (available at http://chicagohealth77.org/) is the first comprehensive profile compiled in one document of the health of residents and resources in Chicago neighborhoods. The South and Southwest sides of Chicago suffer the most in terms of residents' health and access to basic health resources, according to the study of 77 Chicago neighborhoods.

The 150-page study tracks the prevalence of five key public health issues for the entire city—childhood obesity, breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and motor vehicle injury and death.

The study examined the local resources available to address each health problem for four underserved, racially diverse neighborhoods: Albany Park, Chicago Lawn, South Lawndale; and Auburn Gresham. The study also tracked healthy resources and assets such as parks, easy access to high-quality medical care, safe places to exercise, and stores that sell affordable healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Illustrating the imbalance of resources, the southern and southwestern regions of Chicago have the highest breast cancer mortality rates, but the fewest breast health services, such as mammogram testing sites. The South and Southwest sides of Chicago have high rates of HIV infection, but fewer HIV test sites than north, central, and west regions. Such imbalance would, of course, be corrected by single-payer health care where resources would be located where they were most needed.

Community health centers, frequently the only resource for low-income residents, have had to cut services drastically or even been shut down completely in communities that depend on them most.

"The issues and disparities outlined in this report are unacceptable, which is why we have to work together as a city to align our focus and resources to create a healthier city for all Chicagoans," said Chicago's Commissioner of Health, Bechara Choucair, MD. "Our new public health agenda, which launches August 16, will be Chicago's first comprehensive public health agenda and the most direct assault on racial and ethnic health disparities in the city of Chicago."

Interesting that, having that new “public health agenda” ready to launch, Dr. Choucair refused to face Southside Chicago residents at a recent town hall addressing mental health disparities. N’Dana Carter, a member of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), a community human rights organization, who was moderating the event at Mercy Hospital’s Joyce Auditorium on August 5, told the audience that Dr. Choucair had called and cancelled two hours before the meeting began.
“Dr. Choucair didn’t make the meeting tonight, because he felt that we were going to ambush him. And he was afraid. He was afraid because the citizens of the city of Chicago and our visitors want the mental health clinics, and they don’t want privatization of any of the health clinics,” she added.

Though mental health needs and resources were not included in the study, there are clearly unmet needs and disparities in this area, as well as in the five issues studied.

"Residents' health suffers and health care costs rise when people live in unhealthy neighborhoods," said Romana Hasnain-Wynia, associate professor of medicine at the Feinberg School and study co-author, as well as director of the Center for Healthcare Equity. "Everyone in the city is affected when people can't easily find a doctor, go for a walk, or buy a piece of fruit. This information helps the city identify where it should target its resources to reduce disparities in health care, such as providing funding for free clinics in a neighborhood, if there's a scarcity of primary care providers."

As we know, finding a doctor would not be a problem under a single-payer system; the money people would save on premiums, co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance would buy loads of fresh produce; and the public health in all neighborhoods would improve.