PI's Weekly Media Digest: Rising reports of hate crimes, media coverage of systemic racism in 2016, sanctuary cities speak up, and a look at food system working conditions

Welcome to our media digest for the week of November 18, 2016! Below you’ll find summaries of news coverage on the issues of preventing violence, trauma, nutrition, health equity, mental health, and more. The views expressed in these articles do not reflect those of Prevention Institute.

Violence Prevention and Unintentional Injury

Writing for the Sentinel Tribe, Jim Green make the case that to reduce of the popularity of guns in America, we should adopt a public health approach toward gun control and establish a waiting period between the purchase of a firearm and taking it home. Green parallels the public health response needed for gun violence with the approach used to reduce tobacco use -- people still smoke, but the number of users and places that permit smoking has decreased drastically.

Neighborhood factors like liquor store density and violent crime rates may be tied to biological factors like stress and hormone responses for children, according to a new study in New Orleans. "Results indicate that the effect of adverse neighborhood-level factors is measurable at the biological level, even in children," wrote the study authors. Researchers further suggest that policymakers identify and support preventive measures to protect children from harmful environmental exposure that contributes to poor health later in life.

County-level suicide rates in the United States had a strong positive relationship with county poverty rates, while no relationships were found between county measures of unemployment or foreclosures when poverty rates were controlled, according to a new study from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute, in collaboration with the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Oregon Health and Science University, Prevention Research Center and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.

This article discusses the City of Milwaukee's efforts to reduce violence. PI’s key role in the process is noted, "The Institute approaches violence prevention using a framework that analyzes the aspects of a community that encourage or discourage violence. It views trauma as both a cause and consequence of violence." PI’s Lisa Parks and Howard Pinderhughes are quoted.

On Wednesday, Officer Jeronimo Yanez was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death Philando Castile, who was shot and killed in his car last summer while reaching for his registration. As the Center for American Progress notes, “Unfortunately, charges on police officers for committing heinous acts while on duty are exceedingly rare. So this charge has been welcomed as a possible turning point for police accountability.”

Health Equity

According to the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics report, released Monday, anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States rose 67 percent, from 154 incidents in 2014 to 257 in 2015. "That is the highest number since 2001, when the al Qaeda attacks on New York and elsewhere drove the number to its highest ever level, 481 hate crimes," said Mark Potok with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The recent spike appears to have been fueled by President-elect Donald Trump's Islamophobic campaign rhetoric. (via BMSG)

According to a recent study, happiness levels correlate with income equality -- when inequality lessens, people report higher life satisfaction. However, writing for the New Yorker, Maria Konnikova notes that even though inequality has risen over the past few years, polls show that people's reported happiness levels have not changed. She finds two reasons for this inconsistency: Americans underestimate how much inequality actually exists and think the borders between groups are more fluid than years past. In other words, people still widely believe in the American dream and see upward mobility as relatively attainable. However, numerous studies show that systematic racism, institutional barriers and glass ceilings make upward mobility more difficult for some people than others. (via BMSG)

Rewire reports on a Minnesota district court ruling this week that the state’s Medical Assistance program must cover necessary services related to gender transition for transgender people.

Alternet reports on a pilot survey from the American National Elections Study that offers insight into how economic anxiety and racism are intertwined. The survey explores voter responses to the question "How likely is it that many whites are unable to find a job because employers are hiring minorities instead?" The article also discusses the relationship between racial stereotyping and strong support for Trump.

Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013, many Republican-controlled state legislatures have enacted measures like eliminating and reducing early voting as well as enacting discriminatory photo ID requirements and restrictions on voter registration, all of which that disproportionately impact minority communities right to vote. In Wisconsin, 300,000 eligible voters lacked the strict forms of ID needed to vote, and the state saw its lowest turnout in 20 years, especially in Black communities. In North Carolina, there were 158 fewer early voting polling places in Black communities, and Black turnout was down 16 percent. Across the country, Black people were forced to wait in line twice as long on average as white people. And while final totals are to come, approximately 43 percent of eligible Americans and 47 percent of adults over 18 years old did not participate in this election. Some of them chose not to participate, and others were prevented from participating because of state voter suppression laws. A new Center for American Progress report reviews the impact of these laws and the challenges voters faced casting their ballots.

In the face of Donald Trump's pledge to deport millions of undocumented people, many of the country's "sanctuary" cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, are pledging to protect their undocumented citizens by refusing to provide I.D. documents to federal officials that might request them. "We are not going to work in conjunction with Homeland Security on deportation efforts," said Charlie Beck, Los Angeles' Police Chief. "That is not our job, nor will I make it our job." (via BMSG)

Race Forward analyzed election coverage by CNN, MSNBC and Fox News, along with more than 650 newspapers and wire services, the term "systemic racism" was used in 773 articles and news programs over the last year, compared to just 14 mentions in 2012. Additionally, three major newspapers -- USA Today, the Washington Post and The New York Times -- used the phrase 91 times during 2016. That's up from a single mention in 2012 and zero mentions during 2000, 2004 and 2008.

Health Systems Transformation

The Boston Globe reports on two new studies in the journal Health Affairs showing we need to aim for a culture of health in communities as a whole, not just on care for one person at a time. In one of study researchers found that deaths from preventable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, declined significantly over time in communities with tight-knit health networks, such as hospitals and community centers working together to promote exercise or track a flu outbreak. In the second, a team found that cohesive neighborhoods foster good mental health during adolescence, with life-long benefits for children who grow up there.

Trump outlined some details for his health reform plan on his new transition website. The website says the Trump administration's "goal will be to create a patient-centered health care system that promotes choice, quality, and affordability with health insurance and health care, and take any needed action to alleviate the burdens imposed on [U.S.] families and businesses by the [ACA]." House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Monday that Obamacare repeal would be "a top priority" but declined to reveal any specifics about how it will play out. As NPR reports, Trump could use his executive authority to drop the Obama administration's appeal of a lawsuit challenging the administration's power to appropriate certain funding under the ACA. Health experts say dropping the suit would significantly harm the health reform law. In addition, Trump also could affect the outcome of cases challenging the ACA's contraceptive coverage rules. Meanwhile, more than one million U.S. residents have signed up for coverage using the HealthCare.gov platform so far this open enrollment period. CMS analyzes who would be hurt most by repealing the ACA, including: People with pre-existing conditions; People facing a catastrophic illness; Anyone who loses or changes jobs; and lower-income Americans. And finally, Wired magazine details a few of the lesser known components of the ACA especially worth saving, such as The Prevention and Public Health Fund and birth control coverage.

In Zika news, President Obama signed an Executive Order building upon the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) that focuses on combating infectious disease threats like Zika and Ebola. The President is directing executive departments and agencies to coordinate with other governments, financial institutions and nongovernmental stakeholders to implement international health regulations and meet the goals of the GHSA, which was launched in 2014. In addition, last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a funding opportunity providing more than $66 million available to support prevention activities and treatment services for health conditions related to the Zika virus. $60.6 million of the funding is directed to Puerto Rico.

Community health

This week, the Food Chain Workers Alliance released No Piece of the Pie: U.S. Food Workers in 2016, a report examining wages and wage theft, working conditions (including lack of bathroom breaks), harassment, discrimination, and work-related injuries. Policy recommendations include a minimum wage increase (including a raise in the tipped wage), expansion of affordable healthcare, paid sick leave, anti-wage theft policies, and a guarantee to the right to organize. The report also calls on consumers to support workplace justice campaigns, such as strikes, purchase fair-trade and union-made foods, and advocate for pro-worker policies.

A new study finds that bike lanes may be one of the most cost-effective ways to improve public health by simultaneously increasing physical activity and reducing pollution.

The American Diabetes Association called on Congress to take action to ensure Americans have access to affordable insulin, and requested a hearing on the dramatic rise in cost of the life-saving medicine.

The New York Times op-ed page praised soda tax successes in SF, Oakland, Albany and Boulder: “One of the best parts of the taxes is that they don’t even seem to hurt the budgets of many low-income families, because they respond by drinking less soda — which is why the soda industry hates the taxes and the rest of us should welcome them.”

California

Although homelessness has declined nationwide for the seventh year in a row, California’s homeless population continues to rise, up 2% from 2015 to 2016 to 118,142 people who were homeless during the last week of January 2016.

California representative Judy Chu asked President Obama to protect the information of 'Dreamers' before Trump takes office.

Mental health

In a letter in the St. Louis University American, a medical student maps patients’ stress to community conditions: “And while we tend to discuss stress and trauma as an individual experience, it definitely plagues communities. When people are asked to provide examples of community trauma, the most common responses are refugees fleeing their homes due to war, soldiers or veterans with PTSD and communities destroyed by natural disasters. These are obvious examples of shared trauma, but we must also recognize the trauma that is taking place every day in the most marginalized populations in our society.”

A Veterans Day article in Altarum’s Health Policy Forum highlights Veterans Community Action Teams, which provide access to networks of support for veterans. It features the story of a Vietnam veteran struggling with PTSD and depression who with the help of an Action Team connected with a support group:  “Something life changing happened at that meeting. He was able to meet other Vietnam Veterans who had similar struggles, and a passionate VA Social Worker.” He was ultimately able to travel to DC to visit the Vietnam Memorial and participate in an Honor Flight home.

The New York Times reports that President-elect Donald Trump is considering Rep Jeff Miller, a harsh critic of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to head the department for his administration. Miller, a critic of long wait times and advocate of firing employees who masked the problem, favors more use of private doctors, a move that some fear would divert resources from the VA and threaten its sustainability. A post in Health Affairs looks at a RAND evaluation of the Unified Behavioral Health Center (UBHC), a new model for mental health care for veterans and their families on Long Island, NY in which public and private services are brought together in one location. The evaluation found that while the model raises administrative, procedural and sustainability challenges, overall, veterans, their families and staff were satisfied and outcomes generally improved.

A new report from the Surgeon General classifies drug and alcohol addiction as "a public health crisis" and describes the overdose epidemic, which has killed more than 500,000 people since 2000, as a “moral test for America.” The report also presents evidence that addiction is a treatable brain disease, with new therapies currently under development.

An editorial by the CEOs of the Kansas and Missouri hospital associations shares their research on community-level ACE scores at the zip code level and advocates for more “upstream” interventions. Among the findings: High-risk ZIP codes can be found throughout each state, including rural and urban communities; Communities with high gun violence were found to be highly correlated with negative childhood experiences.

A recently released report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness concludes “we’re not there yet” on parity of mental health and substance abuse coverage. The report, based on a survey of about 3,000 individuals found that people continue to have trouble finding in-network mental health providers in part because 45 percent of psychiatrists do not participate in insurance plans. The report also found that nearly one-fifth of respondents had difficulties identifying a psychiatric hospital that would accept their insurance.