Former U.S. Surgeon General Discusses Health Disparities Among Black Women

"The poorer you are, the more likely you are to die early," Elders told a crowd of about 100 at the University of Kentucky.

"The poorest group in our society is black women."

Elders, who served as surgeon general under former President Bill Clinton in 1993 and 1994, spoke at the conclusion of the 14th annual Black Women's Conference.

The event, organized by UK's African-American Studies and Research Program, began last Saturday and was titled "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: Addressing Health Disparities Among Black Women." Several hundred participated.

Across the nation, those disparities are stark. Presented yesterday were Kentucky Department for Public Health statistics from 2003 that showed black women were far more likely than white women to die from heart disease, stroke and cancer.

Black women were more than twice as likely to die from diabetes, with a rate of 58.1 per 100,000, compared with 28.4 per 100,000 for white women.

Elders tied the difference to several social factors, including what she called "the three Ps:" poverty, population and pollution, as blacks sometimes live in polluted areas. She said discrimination also plays a part.

"We've got much racism, sexism, genderism and elitism still going on in this wonderful country of ours," she said. "Things have improved a great deal, but we've still got problems."

The nation's health-care system also is in need of repair, she said, emphasizing "sick care," not wellness and disease prevention.

And too many Americans, including black women and children, are uninsured, she said.

"We know it's not coherent," she said of the health-care system. "It's not consistent. It's not cost-effective."

She added that if women are in poor health, the entire country suffers.

"The health and wealth and education of a country is directly related to the health and education of its women," she said. "These are unfinished problems we in this rich country can fix."

Elders also touched on sex education and sexual health, issues that caused controversy during her time as surgeon general when she made controversial remarks that public schools should consider teaching about masturbation. She also supported the distribution of condoms in schools.

Clinton asked for her resignation, and she left office in 1994.

She said she still supports comprehensive sex education.

"Our silence has killed more young people related to AIDS and other things," she said, later adding: "The vows of abstinence break far more easily than those latex condoms."

During her tenure, she also stressed preventive care and said she wanted to be a voice for the poor.

Elders said the nation can move toward ending health disparities by providing more early childhood education for all families and health education in schools; teaching young men responsibility, in particular for sexual activity; and making higher education more accessible.

Sonja Feist-Price, conference coordinator and director of UK's African-American Studies and Research Program, said Elders' talk, and the conference as a whole, gives black women a chance to concentrate on their health and take action.

Besides learning about the social determinants of health, she said participants also learned about eating right, exercising, preventive care and reducing stress.

Norma Johnson, 60, of Lexington, said she comes to the conference every year. In addition to finding fellowship with other black women, she said she was reminded of the need to eat better and exercise more to improve her diabetes.

"The conference always empowers me," she said