Fear, fatalism and breast cancer screening in low-income African-American women: the role of clinicians and the health care system.

Background: African-American women have the highest breast cancer death rates of all racial/ethnic groups in the US. Reasons for these disparities are multi-factorial, but include lower mammogram utilization among this population. Cultural attitudes and beliefs, such as fear and fatalism, have not been fully explored as potential barriers to mammography among African-American women.

Reducing diabetes health disparities through community-based participatory action research: the Chicago Southeast Diabetes Community Action Coalition.

To address disproportionately high rates of diabetes morbidity and mortality in some of Chicago's medically underserved minority neighborhoods, a group of community residents, medical and social service providers, and a local university founded the Chicago Southeast Diabetes Community Action Coalition, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention REACH 2010 Initiative. A community-based participatory action research model guided coalition activities from conceptualization through implementation. Capacity building activities included training on: diabetes, coalition building, research methods, and action planning.