Significant health disparities are present in the African American community and

The WAY Program addresses the following:

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• Heart disease: The leading cause of death for African Americans primarily due to lifestyle, diet, and the incidence of other co-morbidities (e.g., obesity, smoking, diet, excessive alcohol).

 

• Cancer: When accounting for all cancers combined, incidence rates are highest among blacks specifically as it relates to breast cancer. Africa American women have the highest death rates of all racial and ethnic groups and are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women. African American women are diagnosed with lower rates of breast cancer; however they have higher rates of mortality due to breast cancer. The reasons for the different results can be linked to many factors; including having more aggressive cancers when diagnosed, and having fewer social and economic resources.

 

• Diabetes: 3.2 million African Americans have diabetes, yet more than 33% are unaware of it.

 

• Stroke: The fifth leading cause of death for Americans, but the risk of having a first stroke is nearly twice as high for blacks than for whites, and blacks are more likely to die following a stroke than their Caucasian counterparts.

 

• Asthma: African Americans are more frequently hospitalized for asthma attacks than any other race. More than 33% of those hospitalized are children. African American children whose parents smoke are at the highest risk pool of all demographic groups for contracting asthma.

 

• High Blood Pressure: African Americans develop high blood pressure earlier in life and with much higher blood pressure levels than whites. Nearly 42% of black men and more than 45% of black women aged 20 and older have high blood pressure

 

• Obesity: 70% of African American men and 82% of women are considered overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. And the number is rising rapidly.