Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved. Emergency Preparedness

ESTHER L. BUSH

This month’s Take Charge of Your Health topic is emergency preparedness. Emergencies and social determinants of health are on our minds—particularly as we continue to move through a pandemic that has greatly affected Black individuals and families. Black folks around the Pittsburgh region experience health disparities, limiting life expectancy and the chance to thrive. Disparities include higher rates of cancers, heart disease and maternal/infant mortality.

These conditions lay the foundations for emergencies, like strokes and heart attacks.

Social, economic and environmental circumstances help shape people’s health and likelihood of experiencing emergencies. Systemic oppression has only cemented disparities in our communities. For example, a 2019 State Equity in PA report

(https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Documents/Health%20Equity/The%20State%20of%20Health%20Equity%20in%20PA%20Report%20FINAL.pdf)

states that Black workers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania work as much as White workers but face poverty at nearly four times the rate of White people. We know that poverty, food insecurity, housing, transportation and proximity to environmental concerns affect mental and physical health outcomes.

Community resources and connections are critical in facing disparities. It is essential that we allow for pathways to be carved between health institutions and our communities. Prehospital care, as it is defined in this month’s Take Charge of Your Health page by researcher and provider Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, MD, MPH, includes in-home and in-community medicine. When in-home and in-community health care providers (like some EMS personnel) help identify and address health concerns in the Black community, that may help in stopping disease progression.

Readers who are involved with community clinics or resource centers, consider inviting health care providers and researchers to your spaces. By submitting a request to the newly launched Clinical and Translational Science Institute Speaker’s Bureau, they can learn more about the people you serve. The speaker’s bureau is a chance to share people’s lived experiences with those who make health decisions. Email ctsi7@pitt.edu for more information.
Being prepared for a medical emergency—even as we tackle health disparities—is within our reach. UPMC offers CPR and first aid courses, including those geared toward parents and caregivers to be prepared for child-related emergencies. More information can be found by calling the community education office at 412-692-7105. The Allegheny County Health Department website (http://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department) lists locations and steps to accessing Naloxone or Narcan, a medicine that works to reverse opioid overdose symptoms. Narcan is available at most pharmacies, even without a doctor’s prescription. The number of incidences of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, and other sleep-related emergencies can be reduced by ensuring babies sleep on their back. Calling 2-1-1 for support on safe sleep for infants connects you to resources like hellobabypgh.org for a checklist to reduce risks.

Other ways to take charge of your health include connecting with us at the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh to achieve educational and financial success goals through our Opportunity Broker program, health programming, family support centers and housing assistance. For more information, call the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh at 412-227-4802.

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