A centralized V.I. cancer registry would bring more federal funding and help scientists do research, and expanding Schneider Regional Medical Center’s existing registry may be the best way forward, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services researcher told the Senate in a special meeting Thursday.
As part of a legislative student health forum, HHS research intern Alexis Diaz Ramos reported on an eight-week study aimed at identifying gaps in the collection of data on V.I. and Puerto Rico residents. The study is part of HHS’s Region Health Equity Council’s effort to end health disparities between minority and majority demographic groups in the U.S.
Both the USVI and Puerto Rico have diverse populations that are affected more than many other U.S. jurisdictions from the effects of health disparities, Ramos told the Senate via teleconference, while displaying PowerPoint slides of the data for senators.
Diabetes and cancer are major health problems facing the territory, where lack of good data is a problem, he said.
"The U.S. Virgin Islands is facing a diabetes epidemic," he said, adding that 9.7 percent of the population is diagnosed with it. Diabetes is the fourth leading cause of death in the territory, he said.
Cancer is the leading cause of death among V.I. women and the second leading cause of death for men, but the territory still lacks a cancer registry, Ramos said, urging the Legislature to do what it can to help centralize, consolidate and make health data accessible.
In contrast, the territory has excellent HIV records, he said. "Our HIV records are a model and it has accessible data," he said. One of the key reasons for that is steady, consistent funding from federal Ryan White grants for HIV research, Ramos said.
"I would like to emphasize … that from nearly $3 million the (HIV) program received … almost $2.5 million came from the federal government," he said. Having more data helps both to understand the issues and to persuade the federal government to assist, Ramos said.
"With more data available, more research can be done and, with more research, you can justify the need for more programs," Ramos said.
In the same region, Puerto Rico has had a cancer registry since 1951, he said.
Delegate Donna M. Christensen, a former medical doctor, has long advocated for a cancer registry and pushed for $445,000 in grant funding the Department of the Interior approved in 2012 to set it up.
Funding is available now but the registry has not been set up yet, Ramos said. Schneider Hospital has a registry, but only for patients of the hospital, and Ramos suggested that expanding the Schneider registry would be the cheapest and also the most effective path.
"We have to concentrate our efforts on centralizing that data – both collecting it and centralizing it," he said. "They already have the structure in place, so we don’t have to spend money building every single thing from scratch. But we have to work together to make it happen," he said.
Ramos also helped facilitate Work-Able Inc.’s Summer Health Institute this year.
Work-Able, a not-for-profit agency that has been helping people with disabilities join the work force since 1989, holds a yearly summer program for youngsters. Under the tutelage of Ramos and longtime Work-Able Executive Director Gwendolyn Powell, St. Thomas students formed groups to study different public health issues and work on public education efforts.
St. Thomas high school student Oyuwa Lewis reported on climate change, summarizing the scientific consensus that greenhouse gasses produced by human activities are causing significant changes in weather and climate patters.
Carl deWindt, a 16-year-old attending high school in Atlanta, talked about learning to save money as a good way to invest in future education.
Mariama Chambers, who attended Addelita Cancryn Jr. High last year and will be off to high school this fall, spoke about dengue fever, its effects, and how to reduce its spread by getting rid of stagnant water that might breed mosquitoes and by keeping the body covered up.
The meeting was held to hear from the students. No formal hearing was held and no votes taken.
