FDA Using Social Media to Reach African Americans

What is FDA Doing to Improve the Health of African-Americans?
By: Jovonni Spinner, M.P.H., C.H.E.S. 

Every February, we celebrate Black History Month – a time to reflect, celebrate, and honor the contributions of African-Americans to our society. 

We know that achieving and maintaining good health is a long-standing issue for this group, many of whom may experience worse health outcomes in critical areas like heart disease and diabetes. But, we want to focus on the positive and provide consumers with health education materials to support healthy behavior changes! 

 It’s true that the health equity gap has narrowed over time, but there is still significant room for improvement. Here are few things that the FDA and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) have done over the past year to reduce health disparities. 


Public Engagement: 
More than 29.2 million blacks/African-Americans are on social media — and we want to meet consumers where they are. 

So we’re using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms and electronic communications (e.g. our newsletter and e-blasts) to educate African- Americans on issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and sickle cell disease among others, and also provide tangible solutions to help manage these chronic conditions. 

For example, to mark American Heart Month in February, we developed a social media toolkit to help our stakeholders engage with their members and partnered with the Association of Black Cardiologists to spearhead an #ILoveMyHeart social media campaign. 

Continue reading at FDA Voice 

Women Under 60 With Diabetes at Much Greater Risk for Heart Disease

Generally, women under 60 are at far less risk for coronary artery disease than men of the same age. 

But among women of that age who have diabetes, their risk of heart disease increases by up to four times, making it roughly equal to men’s risk of this same form of heart disease.

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