Related resources
Shortened Lives series |Interactive map |Video: Bohan discusses the project
Covering Health in a Multicultural Society
This book is a tool for understanding the increasing diversity of the audiences we serve. It is meant to expand your knowledge of what culture, ethnicity, health and well-being mean to people from a variety of backgrounds.
Presentations from 'Multicultural health in the Bay Area: The untold story'
Workshop welcome and introduction (3 MB, 9 minutes)
Anthony Iton, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., health officer for Alameda County, Calif., discusses uncovered stories in multicultural communities.
Sally Lehrman, an independent journalist and diversity chair for the Society of Professional Journalists, talks about covering the multicultural community with limited resources.
Ellen Wu, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, on health care reform efforts and effects on diverse communities (8 MB, 23 minutes)
Uncovered stories in multicultural communities
Introduction (1.4 MB, 2 minutes)
Anthony Iton, M.D., J.D., M.P.H., health officer for Alameda County, Calif. (11 MB, 31 minutes)
Arnab Mukherjea, M.P.H., Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health (6.8 MB, 17 minutes)
Question and answer period (6.8 MB, 20 minutes)
Covering the multicultural community with limited resources
Introduction (201 KB, 34 seconds)
Viji Sundaram, New America Media (4.4 MB, 13 minutes)
Sally Lehrman, independent journalist and diversity chair for the Society of Professional Journalists (7.5 MB, 22 minutes)
Question and answer period (4.2 MB, 12 minutes)
By Shannon Mehner
Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
Can your zip code really affect your lifespan? Location has a lot more to do with your health than you think, experts said Friday at the Chicago Health Journalism Conference.
Where you live is linked to projected life expectancy, disease and overall level of health, said the three-person panel composed of public health and food experts.
Though previously the correlation between the social and economic conditions of an individual's environment and his or her wellbeing had not been fully examined, this burgeoning area of research has already provided a wealth of valuable information that has far reaching implications for communities and public health policy, the panel said.
"If it's not compelling to you that if I have your address I can tell you how long you're going to live, then I don't know what's compelling," said Dr. Anthony Iton, senior vice president of healthy communities for The California Endowment.
The data he has collected thus far is compelling: In Cuyahoga County, Ohio there is a 24.5 year difference in average life expectancies between two neighboring communities. And in the bay area of California "every $1250 in household income buys you a year of life," he said.
It is this sort of information that is "news to public health officials," he said, and is opening up a new world of stories for journalists.
One of the main issues that contributes to poor health in many communities is lack of access to healthy food or mainstream grocery stores, which results in a "food desert", said Mari Gallagher, founder and principal of the Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group based in Chicago and founding president of the National Center for Public Research.
In areas without access to a variety of food or the necessities for healthy living "The deck is stacked against you from the beginning, before even being born," she said.
There are currently three food deserts in Chicago, which affect mostly women and children and are linked to decreased life expectancy, she said.
Though right now the trend is to focus on blaming fast food for our nation's health issues, "Bringing a grocery store in does more to reduce obesity than taking a fast food restaurant out," she said.
The problems are tough but not insurmountable, said Bianca Alexander, executive producer and host of Conscious Living TV and the Soul of Green, and a healthy living advocate. The media should focus on the positive solutions people are coming up with to address food deserts and neighborhood health issues.
"As journalists, cover stories where communities are empowering themselves to make more conscious [health] choices," she urged.
