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A simple solution to benefit many

A UTA researcher says a group of Americans and their health concerns are being overlooked, all because of a lack of a checkbox.

The latest project by Tiffany Kindratt, assistant professor of kinesiology and director of UTA’s Health Survey Research Lab, focuses on health disparities among Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) women. Many government forms do not include MENA as a category, making it hard to set aside federal funding for them. Dr. Kindratt’s work is part of a larger effort to bring the health needs of the MENA population to the forefront.

“Nationally, there is an incredible amount of information about this pop­ulation being missed,” she says, noting that Americans of MENA descent tend to be at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and related dementias.

Kindratt says the goal is to have a MENA option available in the 2030 U.S. Census, which can be accomplished with just the addition of a checkbox.

“Otherwise, their health is not ac­knowledged,” she says. “If you cannot disaggregate them from another group, then the resources that they deserve are not available.”

Kindratt has also signed on to a pro­posal asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to add a MENA category to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.