The CCDPH Prostate Cancer Awareness Program began in 1999, when Cook County Board President John H. Stroger Jr. announced the beginning of an initiative in part, because of his personal battle with prostate cancer.
CCDPH implemented the program with the goal of increasing prostate cancer awareness through prostate specific antigen (PSA) screenings for under served, high-risk men in suburban Cook County.
As of early 2006, the program has raised prostate cancer awareness and prevention strategies for hundreds of suburban families through presentations at faith based organizations and community health fairs and has provided PSA screenings to approximately 400 men.
For more information about prostate cancer screenings, please call 708-492-2000.
Minority Health Month
April is Minority Health Month. Since 2004, CCDPH has planned an extensive calendar of events and awareness initiatives to help raise awareness about minority health issues. Each year in April, we assess the state of health in the minority community and focus on long-term methods for eliminating disparities.
The activities and awareness campaigns have included distribution of healthy living brochures, chronic disease prevention information, free health screenings, healthy eating cookbooks and demonstrations.
“Preparing Food for the Soul:” A nutritional soul food cooking demonstration
For generations, the African American community has prepared and indulged in “Soul Food,” or comfort food. This food however, is traditionally prepared with fatty, cholesterol rich ingredients that are linked to health risks, such as lowered life expectancy and chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
CCDPH has developed “Preparing Food for the Soul:” A nutritional soul food cooking demonstration to present healthy alternatives to traditional cooking methods and ingredients. Each participant will receive a list of recipe substitutions and heart-healthy recipe books.
Participants will be able to take part in cooking demonstrations, nutritional presentations, physical activity, interactive, educational games and food tasting. Follow-up meetings with each group will include sessions on reading food labels, how to shop for healthy foods and how to create healthy pot luck meals, where participants will use the heart-healthy cookbook to prepare a recipe for the group. After the first session, each participant is given a personal journal to record daily diet and physical activity along with blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure.
Cicero Teen Pregnancy Prevention Primary Program
Half of all Latina teens get pregnant at least once by age 20, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Furthermore, the School-Based Health Center staff at Morton East High School has observed that teen pregnancy is on the rise at this predominately Latino school.
To help reverse the negative impact that results from teen pregnancy and to learn about communicating with your children on these sensitive issues, the Cook County Department of Public Health is offering new programs for Morton East High School teens and Cicero parents in an effort to help educate those who are at high-risk of becoming pregnant.
The program will focus on providing parents with the necessary tools to begin talking with their children about these issues. The parent workshops will emphasize appropriate, effective communication methods that encourage the sharing of sexual values with their children.
Student participants will learn about communication and refusal skills, responsibility and respect for themselves and others, as well as short-, long- and lifetime goals. The components of the program for teenagers are:
- Youth Development – Includes an all female curriculum entitled, “Making Proud Choices!”
- Co-ed Peer Leaders – This group will conduct two major activities at the high school related to preventing teen pregnancy.
- Male Involvement – This group will follow a program named “Wise Guys,” which will instruct teen boys about the important role they play in preventing teen pregnancy.
All programs are free and will be held at Morton East High School. For more information please call Grisel Sanchez at 708.492.2253.
All Our Kids (AOK) - Early Childhood Network in Cicero
Established in 2000, AOK Cicero is a community-based collaborative of over 60 agencies committed to developing a high-quality, well-coordinated, easily accessible system of care promoting positive growth and development for children under the age of five, as well as for their families. The goal of AOK Cicero is to ensure that:
- Babies are born healthy
- Children remain healthy
- Children enter school ready to learn
- Families receive referrals to health and social services that are needed for a healthy life.
Chosen as one of ten pilot projects in Illinois, Cicero represents one of the largest immigrant and Hispanic populations in the state-- 77 percent of its 85,000 residents are Latino -- 70 percent speak Spanish in the home—and almost 12,000 children under the age of five need health, social, mental and educational services and programs in the community.
Some significant accomplishments from past years include:
- Through the advocacy efforts of AOK providers, quality early childhood programs have significantly increased in Cicero. The capacity to provide early childhood programming in Cicero has improved from 13 to 50 percent.
- AOK recognized childhood lead poisoning as a major issue in Cicero. Through increased lead testing efforts, remediation of homes contaminated with lead, and prevention education, childhood lead poisoning has been reduced in the community.
- Early childhood intervention agencies along with the school district conduct an annual screening day attended by hundreds in the Cicero community.
For more information, call 708-492-2000. Our view the AOK Cicero Publications and Reports in PDF format.
Tobacco Prevention
The Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention Unit is dedicated to creating and sustaining drug-free communities in suburban Cook County by reducing drug use among adults and youth and increasing drug-free environments.
TSAP Goals
- Prevent tobacco use among youth
- Encourage youth and adults to quit smoking
- Eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke
- Eliminate tobacco-related disparities in disease and mortality
For more information about the TSAP Unit, call 708-492-2000.
Minority Health Newsletter (To Your Good Health) Archive
‘To Your Good Health!’, the CCDPH Minority Health News Letter, is a biannual publication which has been published since April 2004. It is our goal to keep the community updated on current and emerging minority health issues. |
