New report highlights health disparities of St. Louis-area African-Americans
Scholars from Washington University and Saint Louis University have released a new report, “For the Sake of All,” on health disparities of African-Americans in the St. Louis area. The report discusses how this unequal distribution of health in the St. Louis region is related to what are called social determinants of health — factors like education, income, the quality and composition of neighborhoods, and access to community resources like healthy foods and safe public spaces.
Among the report’s findings:
- Eliminating racial and ethnic differences in mental health could save as much as $27 million in inpatient hospital charges.
- Reducing the disparity in chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes could save $65 million a year locally in inpatient hospital charges.
