More than 30 Omaha organizations have joined together to organize a
Black Family Health Fair and Conference at North High School, 4410 N. 36th
St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13.
The event will feature a series of workshops focusing on health-related
services and resources of benefit to African American families within the
Omaha area. In addition, free screenings will be available to test for
cholesterol, diabetes, lead poisoning, blood pressure, breast cancer, prostate
cancer and HIV.
Some examples of how African Americans are at higher risk for certain
diseases include:
The risk of blacks dying from cardiovascular disease is 49 percent higher
for males and 67 percent higher for females than for their white counterparts.
The risk of blacks dying from a stroke is 97 percent higher for males
and 71 percent higher for females than for their white counterparts.
The death rate from high blood pressure is 355 percent higher for black
males and 352 percent higher for black females than compared to whites
of the same sex.
African Americans are 55 percent more likely than whites to have diabetes.
The prostate cancer death rate among black men is more than twice as
high as the rate for white men.
The five-year survival rate for black women with breast cancer is 62
percent compared to 79 percent for white women.
Among the 15 leading causes of death, blacks have the highest death
rate each year in all but two categories.
For more information on the health fair, contact Wayne Houston at (402)
595-1365.