The Massachusetts State Department of Public Health is dedicating over $1 million in funding to enable community-based organizations (CBOs), such as community health centers, to perform outreach to the populations especially hard hit by the flu. It is also expanding the "Flu Facts" media campaign to speak directly to African-American and Latino audiences, which has played a vital role in keeping people informed about protecting themselves from the flu. The purpose is to address H1N1 influenza disparities among different populations in Massachusetts.
The organizations that will be funded will focus on overcoming any barriers to H1N1 vaccination in these communities. It is hoped that the new commercials will further spread important message to those most at risk.
Massachusetts' surveillance system indicates that the burden of H1N1 disease and its complications are being disproportionately borne by minority populations in the state.
According to the statistics compiled from the Massachusetts Immunization Program:
* Black, Hispanic and Asian residents were over-represented among confirmed cases, compared to their percentages in the overall population;
* The rates of laboratory-confirmed H1N1 influenza among asian, black and Hispanic residents are more than two to four times as high as those for white residents;
* Racial and ethnic minorities were also over-represented among those hospitalized with H1N1 infection, both in terms of their proportion of hospitalized patients and in their rates of hospitalization. Racial and ethnic minorities who had H1N1 were also hospitalized at much higher rates than their white counterparts. Hispanics were hospitalized over 3 times more often, and blacks were hospitalized more than 4 times as often. (Asians were 1.5 times higher.)
* Blacks had a death rate more than 3 times higher than their white counterparts, asians more than 4 times higher, and Hispanics almost 6 times higher.
* Young black and Hispanic children had the highest rates of hospitalization when hospitalization rates were stratified by race/ethnicity and age.
Multiple factors lead to such disparities. For example, if the H1N1 virus circulated more freely in geographic areas with higher proportions of minority residents, higher proportions of minorities would be expected among the confirmed cases; minority groups have had lower rates of vaccination compared to their white counterparts; in addition, disparities in hospitalization and death may be related to the increased burden of chronic disease among minority populations that puts these individuals at increased risk for complications from influenza.
Massachusetts has a racially and ethnically diverse population. The Department of Public Health has consistently focused on reducing health disparities. A variety of steps have been taken to reach the racially and ethnically diverse communities in Massachusetts. For instance, H1N1 information is available in the five most commonly spoken languages (besides English) in Massachusetts. There are also translations of prevention and health education materials for the public into a minimum five languages. The State Department of Health has a 24/7 multilingual answering service and can respond to public comments and e-mail in languages other than English.