Bill Text: CA ACR29 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Health disparities: racial and ethnic populations.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2009-09-08 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 93, Statutes of 2009. [ACR29 Detail]

Download: California-2009-ACR29-Chaptered.html

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BILL NUMBER: ACR 29	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER  93
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 8, 2009
	ADOPTED IN SENATE  AUGUST 27, 2009
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 31, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 2, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 16, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 7, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2009

   Relative to health disparities.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 29, Jones. Health disparities: racial and ethnic populations.
   This measure would request that the California Health and Human
Services Agency provide leadership to encourage departments within
the agency to focus on preventing, reducing, and eliminating health
disparities among racial and ethnic population subgroups. This
measure would also encourage interdepartmental-collaboration on
specified factors that contribute to health disparity and the
consideration of the diverse health care needs of various ethnic
subgroups.



   WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health defines health
disparities as the "differences in the incidence, prevalence,
mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions
that exist among specific population groups in the United States";
and
   WHEREAS, A number of studies show that members of communities of
color are much more likely to experience poor quality of health and
health care than their white counterparts across a broad spectrum of
illnesses, injuries, and treatment outcomes; and
   WHEREAS, African Americans, Alaskan natives, American Indians,
Asian Americans, Latinos, and Pacific Islanders are more likely than
whites to have poor health, to be uninsured, and to die prematurely;
and
   WHEREAS, Reported risk factors for most chronic diseases,
including cardiovascular disease, in California are alarming: 32.7
percent of adults report high cholesterol, 23.4 percent report high
blood pressure, 7.2 percent have diabetes, 13.3 percent are current
smokers, 36.2 percent report being overweight, and 22.3 percent
report not exercising in the previous 30 days; and
   WHEREAS, Cardiovascular disease, since 1900, has been the number
one killer in the United States, and one in three persons has some
form of cardiovascular disease; and
   WHEREAS, More than 1.7 million Californians are affected by heart
disease; and
   WHEREAS, Heart disease is the leading cause of death in
California, accounting for more than 73,000 deaths, or almost
one-third of all deaths in the state; and
   WHEREAS, Nearly 128 women die every day in California from
cardiovascular disease; and
   WHEREAS, In California, African Americans, Asian Americans,
Pacific Islanders, Latinos, and Native Americans die
disproportionately from heart disease; and
   WHEREAS, Poor health outcomes carry both significant individual
and societal costs; and
   WHEREAS, The estimated direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular
disease in the United States were $475 billion in the year 2008; and

   WHEREAS, Research has found lower awareness of hypertension,
medication taking, and blood pressure control among Hispanics; and
   WHEREAS, People of color have higher rates of diabetes than
whites; 10 percent of African American adults, 11 percent of Latino
adults, 13.3 percent of Native American and Alaskan Native adults,
and 6.6 percent of Asian adults in California have been diagnosed
with diabetes; and
   WHEREAS, Heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases can
be prevented not only by addressing behavioral factors such as
lifestyle and habits but by changing the social and physical
environments that contribute to those unhealthy behaviors; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature requests that the California
Health and Human Services Agency provide leadership to encourage
departments within the agency to focus on preventing, reducing, and
eliminating health disparities among racial and ethnic population
subgroups; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature encourages interdepartmental
collaboration with an emphasis on the complex social, environmental,
and behavioral factors that contribute to health disparities,
particularly when identifying strategies aimed at the prevention of
chronic diseases, including, but not limited to, cardiovascular
disease; and be it further
   Resolved,That the Legislature encourages the consideration of the
diverse health care needs of various ethnic subgroups, including, but
not limited to, the multiple subgroups within the Asian Pacific
Islander population, to the extent possible; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.