2003-08-21 -- Ward Connerly's Proposition 54 Will Hurt Everyone's Health


California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
654 Thirteenth Street Oakland, CA 94612
(510) 832-1160
(510) 832-1175 fax
www.cpehn.org info@cpehn.org


Ward Connerly's Proposition 54 Will Hurt Everyone's Health

Ward Connerly has sponsored Proposition 54, which will appear on the
October 7 ballot along with the gubernatorial recall. Proposition 54
would prohibit state and local governments, public universities and
school districts from collecting or using information about race,
ethnicity, color or national origin.  If this passes, the impact on
efforts to improve health and reduce the risk of disease could be
enormous.

Data on race and national origin helps us track and prevent diseases.
Health officials need this information to track  where and when
disease occurs, and to create effective prevention campaigns.
California has one of the most racially diverse populations in the
country. Data on race helps health officials tailor immunization,
mammography, HIV/AIDS, prenatal and other prevention and educational
campaigns. Without data on race, health departments and programs will
be forced to use ineffective and more expensive "one-size-fits-all"
methods to do outreach and education, rather than using the most
effective messages with each community.

Without critical information on race and national origin health
officials and researchers will not  be able to understand and
eliminate differences in health among racial groups. For example:

  * Infant mortality is highest among African-Americans

  * Nearly half of all Native American/Alaskan Native women do not
receive prenatal care until late in their pregnancies

  * Latinos are the most likely to be uninsured of all racial groups

Asians/Pacific Islanders have the highest tuberculosis rates of any
other racial group

  * Vietnamese women have the highest cervical cancer incidence rates
of all women

  * White women have the highest breast cancer incidence rates of all
women

Ineffective 'Health Exemption':  Health experts and professionals
agree the language of Proposition 54, even with its narrow exemption
for 'medical research' would still ban information that is important
for improving community health. This is why Proposition 54 is opposed
by the health community, including the California Medical Association,
the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of
Pediatrics-California District, the California Academy of Family
Physicians, the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health
Systems, the California Healthcare Association, the California Primary
Care Association, the Health Officers Association of California and
many others.

What you can do:
Give us examples of successful programs or interventions that have
used race/ethnicity data to address the needs of particular
populations.

Help us document all of the various types of data that would be
impacted by this initiative.  Tell us which health data sets you have
used that could be threatened.

Go on record opposing Proposition 54 by visiting
www.informedcalifornia.org.

For more information contact:

Marty Martinez, MPP
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Tel: (510) 832-1160
Fax: (510) 832-1175
mmartinez@cpehn.org