Diversity in Vascular Surgery Supplement Published

The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) published its first supplement on diversity articles to its Journal of Vascular Surgery® in April 2010. Diversity in Vascular Surgery: Adapting to America’s New Face includes articles that found:
• Uninsured patients were less likely to receive optimal treatment compared to insured patients.
• Improved mortality rates for abdominal aortic aneurysms have been confined to men only.
• Women are less likely to receive optimal medical therapy for carotid artery disease.
• There is a significant difference in the types of treatment that are provided across racial and ethnic groups for patients who are hospitalized with peripheral arterial disease.
• The true prevalence of PAD in Hispanics is unknown.

The entire supplement is accessible online. It covers many aspects of vascular care in gender and ethnicity related to specific diseases, the type of care diverse populations receive, insured vs. uninsured patients, diversity of medical professionals in vascular care, and issues related to leadership positions within the vascular health care specialty.

“As we move into this era of health care reform, it’s important to recognize that real differences exist in disease presentation, diagnosis, and health care delivery related to racial, ethnic, gender, and other factors,” said Bruce Perler, MD, senior editor of the Journal for Vascular Surgery. “Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the western world and the SVS, through the Journal of Vascular Surgery, is dedicated to addressing these critical issues to improve the health care of all of our citizens.”

The articles include:
• Diversity does not equal disparity: How cultural competence can overcome
• Uninsured South Florida vascular surgery patients are less likely to receive optimal medical management than their insured counterparts
• Gender trends in the repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms and outcomes
• Effects of ethnicity and insurance status on outcomes after thoracic endoluminal aortic aneurysm repair (TEVAR)
• Racial and ethnic differences in patterns of treatment for acute peripheral arterial disease in the United States, 1998-2006
• A systematic review of the limitations and approaches to improve detection and management of peripheral arterial disease in Hispanics
• Disparities in vascular surgery: Is it biology or environment?
• Don’t all veins look alike? Comprehensively attending to diversity within the vascular surgical specialty
• Diversity in membership and leadership positions in a regional vascular society
• Minorities in academic medicine: Review of the literature

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