Diversity and Health Disparities Update
We would like to share with you recent resources, interesting programs and upcoming events on the topics of health care diversity and health disparities.
EVENTS
Apply for AHA 2019 Equity of Care Award
The American Hospital Association's Equity of Care Award recognizes hospitals and health systems that have moved beyond plans and achieved a high level of success in advancing diversity and equity through data collection, leadership, cultural awareness and partnerships. Catholic hospitals and health systems are doing great work to advance health equity — please consider applying this year. The application deadline is Feb. 19, 2019. The on-line application and more information can be found here. Be sure to check out the December 2018 "how to apply" webinar archived on that site.
Robert Woods Johnson Foundation: Culture of Health Leaders Program
Culture of Health Leaders is a leadership development opportunity for people working in every field and profession who want to use their influence to advance health and equity. Through this program, leaders from diverse fields are prepared to collaborate and provide transformative leadership to address health equity in their communities. Applications open Jan. 11, 2019. For more information and to apply click here.
The Disparities Solution Center: Disparities Leadership Program
The Disparities Solution Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is accepting applications for the 2019-2020 Disparities Leadership Program (DPL). DPL is a year-long, hands-on executive education program focused exclusively on helping health care leaders achieve equity in quality by helping them translate the latest understanding of disparities into realistic solutions they can adopt within an organization. The application deadline is Feb. 8, 2019. Click here to apply.
Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy: 12th Health Disparities Conference: Linking Upstream Determinants to Downstream Interventions — Targeting Health Disparities & Health Equity
April 8–10, 2019
The Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, Research and Education at Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy will host its 12th Health Disparities Conference April 8–10, 2019, in New Orleans. Conference participants will include clinicians (pharmacists, physicians, nurses, physician assistants and allied health professionals), health policy makers, researchers, health educators, public and community health leaders and students whose work incorporates the use of multidisciplinary partnerships that build collaborations to eliminate health disparities and achieve health equity. For more information and to register, click here.
February is Black History Month
Black History Month celebrates the achievements of African Americans and recognizes the invaluable contributions and influence of African Americans in the United States. During this observance, the HHS office of Minority Health (OMH) helps to raise awareness of health disparities, particularly in heart health and childhood obesity. Downloadable materials, event listings and more are available here.
REPORTS AND RESOURCES
New Social Determinants of Health Resource
The Healthy People 2020 website now has literature summaries on 19 different areas related to the social determinants of health, organized across five key domains: (1) Economic Stability, (2) Education, (3) Health and Health Care, (4) Neighborhood and Built Environment and (5) Social and Community Context. The summaries provide a snapshot of the latest research and offer a new tool for communities across the country as they address social determinants of health. Click here to access them.
Human Impact Partners: Achieving Equity in Lead Poisoning Prevention Policy Making: Proceedings from a Consensus Conference
Across the United States, community members, advocates and policy makers are designing and passing policies to prevent lead exposure and poisoning. As policies are implemented, unintended consequences, particularly for low-income communities and communities of color, grow more apparent. The report from Human Impact Partners, Achieving Equity in Lead Poisoning Prevention Policy Making: Proceedings from a Consensus Conference, documents the deliberations of over 40 experts from across the country, who met in August 2018 to discuss equity in lead policymaking. Read the report.
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO): Cross-Sector Partnerships to Improve Health and Housing Outcomes: Resource Guide
This resource guide from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), synthesizes the lessons learned from the 2016 convening of public, health and nonprofit leaders as they explore how to work together to improve health and housing outcomes and address the social determinants of health impacting their communities. Read the resource guide.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Understanding Disparities in Access to Genomic Medicine: Proceedings of a Workshop
To address potential gaps in access to these care services, the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health hosted a public workshop on June 27, 2018, that explored disparities in access that exist across different communities (e.g., in medically underserved areas and populations, across different racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic levels). Workshop discussions focused on exploring barriers to accessing genomic/genetic services, the role of health systems in delivering equitable access, how providers can increase the availability of genetic/genomic services and innovative solutions and models of success in reducing health care disparities related to genomic medicine. Access the publication.
Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP): Healthy Active Native Communities: Promising Practices to build Healthy Active Native Communities
The report Promising Practices to Build Healthy Active Native Communities reflects on the Association of American Indian Physicians' (AAIP) evaluation on how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Winnable Battles health education program can be adapted for American Indian/Alaska Native communities. The report outlines the process of implementing the program, from selecting organizations to participate as community partners to identifying the goals for each project, impacts, challenges and lessons learned. Read the report.
National Academy of Medicine: Culture of Health Webinar Series: Webinar 1: Defining and Unpacking the Social Determinants of Health: A Culture of Health Webinar
On Nov. 29, 2018, The National Academy of Medicine hosted the first webinar of the Culture of Health Webinar Series. The hour-long webinar featured field leaders exploring the meanings of both social determinants of health and health equity and what it means to apply these terms to enact change in the real world. The Culture of Health Webinar Series will be held over the next year to provide exemplars and resources to help build the capacity of communities to advance a culture of health. The series will host experts working across national, state, and local levels to highlight and share tools and tactics that communities can leverage to advance health equity. View a video recording of the webinar.
Blog: Health Literacy: Why It Matters for Minority Health and Health Disparities
In this blog post from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a researcher in the Division of Intramural Research at NIMHD discusses the importance of health literacy for minority health and promoting health equity. She describes the link between health literacy and health and strategies to improve health communications with diverse populations. Read the blog.
American Medical Association: Racial Disparities in Patient Characteristics and Survival After Acute Myocardial Infarction
According to a new study published in JAMA Network Open on Nov. 2, 2018, racial disparities in heart attack mortality rates may be explained by differences in sociodemographic characteristics, and not race alone. Read more about this study.
RECENT NEWS ARTICLES
For recent news articles please visit our website at www.chausa.org/disparities/overview.