The October 2011 issue of Health Affairs is focused on issues of health and health care disparities. Here are the articles in the issue, supported by the Aetna Foundation:
Susan Dentzer. A Nation At Risk For Wider Health Disparities. Health Aff October 2011 30:1818; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.1091
Howard K. Koh, Garth Graham, and Sherry A. Glied. Reducing Racial And Ethnic Disparities: The Action Plan From The Department Of Health And Human Services. Health Aff October 2011 30:1822-1829; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0673
Dennis P. Andrulis and Nadia J. Siddiqui. Health Reform Holds Both Risks And Rewards For Safety-Net Providers And Racially And Ethnically Diverse Patients. Health Aff October 2011 30:1830-1836; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0661
Robin M. Weinick and Romana Hasnain-Wynia. Quality Improvement Efforts Under Health Reform: How To Ensure That They Help Reduce Disparities—Not Increase Them. Health Aff October 2011 30:1837-1843; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0617
Kathryn Pitkin Derose, Carole Roan Gresenz, and Jeanne S. Ringel. Understanding Disparities In Health Care Access—And Reducing Them—Through A Focus On Public Health. Health Aff October 2011 30:1844-1851; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0644
Steven H. Woolf and Paula Braveman. Where Health Disparities Begin: The Role Of Social And Economic Determinants—And Why Current Policies May Make Matters Worse. Health Aff October 2011 30:1852-1859; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0685
Jennifer K. Benz, Oscar Espinosa, Valerie Welsh, and Angela Fontes. Awareness Of Racial And Ethnic Health Disparities Has Improved Only Modestly Over A Decade. Health Aff October 2011 30:1860-1867; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0702
Anne C. Beal. High-Quality Health Care: The Essential Route To Eliminating Disparities And Achieving Health Equity. Health Aff October 2011 30:1868-1871; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0976
Janice C. Probst, Jessica D. Bellinger, Katrina M. Walsemann, James Hardin, and Saundra H. Glover. Higher Risk Of Death In Rural Blacks And Whites Than Urbanites Is Related To Lower Incomes, Education, And Health Coverage. Health Aff October 2011 30:1872-1879; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0668
Thomas LaVeist, Keshia Pollack, Roland Thorpe, Jr., Ruth Fesahazion, and Darrell Gaskin. Place, Not Race: Disparities Dissipate In Southwest Baltimore When Blacks And Whites Live Under Similar Conditions. Health Aff October 2011 30:1880-1887; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0640
Peter J. Cunningham, Judith Hibbard, and Claire B. Gibbons. Raising Low ‘Patient Activation’ Rates Among Hispanic Immigrants May Equal Expanded Coverage In Reducing Access Disparities. Health Aff October 2011 30:1888-1894; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0805
Margaret Hicken, Richard Gragg, and Howard Hu. How Cumulative Risks Warrant A Shift In Our Approach To Racial Health Disparities: The Case Of Lead, Stress, And Hypertension. Health Aff October 2011 30:1895-1901; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.1241
Ashish K. Jha, E. John Orav, and Arnold M. Epstein. Low-Quality, High-Cost Hospitals, Mainly In South, Care For Sharply Higher Shares Of Elderly Black, Hispanic, And Medicaid Patients. Health Aff October 2011 30:1904-1911; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0027
Renee Yuen-Jan Hsia and Yu-Chu Shen. Rising Closures Of Hospital Trauma Centers Disproportionately Burden Vulnerable Populations. Health Aff October 2011 30:1912-1920; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0510
Arturo Vargas Bustamante and Jie Chen. Physicians Cite Hurdles Ranging From Lack Of Coverage To Poor Communication In Providing High-Quality Care To Latinos. Health Aff October 2011 30:1921-1929; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0344
Elizabeth A. Jacobs, Ginelle Sanchez Leos, Paul J. Rathouz, and Paul Fu, Jr. Shared Networks Of Interpreter Services, At Relatively Low Cost, Can Help Providers Serve Patients With Limited English Skills. Health Aff October 2011 30:1930-1938; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0667
Shubing Cai, Zhanlian Feng, Mary L. Fennell, and Vincent Mor. The Care Span: Despite Small Improvement, Black Nursing Home Residents Remain Less Likely Than Whites To Receive Flu Vaccine. Health Aff October 2011 30:1939-1946; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0029
Lisa I. Iezzoni. Eliminating Health And Health Care Disparities Among The Growing Population Of People With Disabilities. Health Aff October 2011 30:1947-1954; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0613
J. Emilio Carrillo, Nida Shabbir Shekhani, Emme Levin Deland, Elaine M. Fleck, Jaclyn Mucaria, Robert Guimento, Steven Kaplan, William A. Polf, Victor A. Carrillo, Herbert Pardes, and Steven J. Corwin. A Regional Health Collaborative Formed By NewYork-Presbyterian Aims To Improve The Health Of A Largely Hispanic Community. Health Aff October 2011 30:1955-1964; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0635
Thomas D. Sequist, Theresa Cullen, and Kelly J. Acton. Indian Health Service Innovations Have Helped Reduce Health Disparities Affecting American Indian And Alaska Native People. Health Aff October 2011 30:1965-1973; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0630
Henry Pollack, Su Wang, Laura Wyatt, Chia-hui Peng, Kejia Wan, Chau Trinh-Shevrin, Kay Chun, Thomas Tsang, and Simona Kwon. A Comprehensive Screening And Treatment Model For Reducing Disparities In Hepatitis B. Health Aff October 2011 30:1974-1983; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0700
José J. Escarce, Rita Carreón, German Veselovskiy, and Elisa H. Lawson. Collection Of Race And Ethnicity Data By Health Plans Has Grown Substantially, But Opportunities Remain To Expand Efforts. Health Aff October 2011 30:1984-1991; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.1117
Audrietta C. Izlar. The Corporate Role In Reducing Disparities: Initiatives Under Way At Verizon. Health Aff October 2011 30:1992-1996; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0684
Stephen Zuckerman, Timothy A. Waidmann, and Emily Lawton. Undocumented Immigrants, Left Out Of Health Reform, Likely To Continue To Grow As Share Of The Uninsured. Health Aff October 2011 30:1997-2004; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0604
Faith Mitchell and Kathryn Sessions. Philanthropy And Disparities: Progress, Challenges, And Unfinished Business. Health Aff October 2011 30:2017-2022; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0694
Ignatius Bau 