Minority health an issue of daily life

Before beginning work at a large factory, Emma Pender was a healthy young woman.

But 20 years of manual labor and stress took their toll, and Pender now has diabetes and tendonitis in both of her hands.

Pender, a research assistant at Duke University, and her colleague Rita Perry demonstrated the effect of work environments through photographs displayed at the University's 26th annual Minority Health Conference on Friday.

The daylong conference, hosted by UNC's School of Public Health Minority Student Caucus, focused on the effects of where people live, work and play.

Henry Louis Taylor Jr., a director of the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo, delivered the keynote address.

Topics ranged from mobility and health -- how physical barriers such as inadequate transportation limit the ability of people to gain access to services -- to children and exposure to indoor pollutants.

The event drew close to 500 participants and also featured other speakers and exhibitions.

Some of the speakers included Leslie Young, the director of design at the Center for Universal Design at N.C. State University, and James Emery, a social research assistant at the University.

The conference is organized by students in the School of Public Health throughout the course of the year.

Frankye Alston, a member of Voices for Action in Siler City and a volunteer at a Chatham County health department, has dealt with disparities among minority groups and said the conference was helpful.

"I learned how to talk to people so we can come up with a solution," she said.

Mondi Mason, an employee for the School of Public Health, said the event was both inspiring and motivating.

"People here are talking about critical issues that I believe in," she said.

Nadine Eads, a post-doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, said she was impressed but noted an interesting dilemma within the conference.

One of the topics explored at the conference was Obesity, Physical Activity and the Built Environment.

Eads noted that the conference was not broken up by any physical activity breaks, and that the lunch was high in fat with fruits notably missing.

"That was a huge missed opportunity," she said. "We have to learn to walk the talk."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.