November 2009

In this Issue:

New Resources

NEW MEDIA:

AHRQ and Diversity Rx hosted a webinar, Health Reform and Services for Culturally Diverse Populations: What’s In and What’s Out, as part of their Your Voice initiative. Participants in the webinar review the existing health reform bills and possible outcomes of reform. They also discuss how to ensure that issues related to culturally and linguistically appropriate services for diverse populations are not overlooked. The Your Voice initiative is helping people in the field of cross cultural health care to network, collaborate, offer support, and learn from each other using virtual learning tools.
Kaiser Family Foundation’s webcast, Is the Health Care System Ready for Health Reform?, discusses the impact of health reform on racial and ethnic health disparities. The program also addresses how health reform could improve access to needed health care for people in underserved areas. This webcast is a part of the Today’s Topics in Health Disparities series of live, interactive webcasts, which address issues related to health and health care disparities in the United States.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:

The Office of Minority Health in the Department of Health and Human Services has made available a list of funding resources for non-profit organizations, researchers, students, and commercial vendors. The Web site also provides various tips and tools for grant writing, proposal writing, and capacity building.

PUBLICATIONS:

The Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Minority Health released Ensuring that Health Care Reform Will Meet the Health Care Needs of Minority Communities and Eliminate Health Disparities: A Statement of Principles and Recommendations. The report recommends that all health reform proposals be evaluated for their potential to eliminate health disparities and improve the health of minority communities.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published Disparities in Health Care Quality among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups: Findings from the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports, 2008, which takes a closer look at the National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report. The fact sheet examines the disparities among racial and ethnic groups that persist in health care quality and access as well as the differences in the magnitude and patterns of disparities within subpopulations.
National Council of La Raza recently released four issue briefs and fact sheets that discuss the effect of health reform on Latino families. The publications highlight the importance of providing coverage to Latino and immigrant families, and evaluate the approach of both the House and Senate bills.
The Commonwealth Fund released Experiences with Hospital Care: Perspectives of Black and Hispanic Patients, which discusses how important it is that health care providers understand the expectations of minority patient as well as their needs and preferences. The researchers found that African American and Latino patients were more likely than white patients to perceive that their preferences were not well respected.
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s report, Migration & Health: The Children of Mexican Immigrants in the United States, examines the barriers that more than 6 million children of Mexican immigrants face in getting health care in the United States, compared to white children, African American children, and the native born children of immigrants from other countries. The study found that Mexican immigrant children are nearly three times more likely than other children in the United States to be uninsured, and three times less likely than white children to have a place where they receive regular medical care.

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The Native Health Initiative (NHI) is the only American Indian partnership in the United States that is run by Tribes that work with health professions students. NHI grew out of a community-led effort and now has four projects in different states: North Carolina, New Mexico, California, and Connecticut. NHI’s goals are to develop a different model for solving health injustices, to address the disparities affecting American Indians, and to improve health in Indian country. And they do this all through what they call “loving service”—meaning that NHI runs almost solely on volunteer work.

NHI focuses on educating Indian people on physical, mental, and spiritual health through the use of traditional health practices in a modern context. They also host various health projects that are created and driven by Tribal communities.

NHI believes that it is necessary for communities to empower their youth to realize their heritage, their potential, and their power to become leaders. Over the summer, future health professionals served in Tribes with community leaders, project mentors, and partner organizations in North Carolina and New Mexico to organize health education programs and workshops on prevention and wellness. Over 6,000 volunteer hours were dedicated to the work. NHI offers internship opportunities as well as various other educational workshop opportunities to get people involved. Interns teach the communities about the importance of good health habits that improve quality of life.

As NHI continues to forge new ground—including its dream to help create a new definition of global health, one that includes the United States and its marginalized populations—they look to continue to work with, learn from, and contribute to the quest for health equity. In collaboration with the Indigenous Nation’s Sharing Health Achievements, Resources, and Education (INSHARE), NHI is also able to provide access to information regarding the health of Indian communities.

If you would like more information, or if you are interested in getting involved with the Native Health Initiative, please contact Anthony Fleg at afleg@salud.unm.edu.

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Policy Updates

Health Care Reform Update

October 13 marked the completion of the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009 (S.1796). The Finance Committee voted it out of committee with 14-9 votes. All committee Democrats voted for the bill, Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was the only Republican to support the bill. On October 19, the Senate Finance Committee released legislative language for its bill. This bill includes language to create uniform categories for collecting data on race and ethnicity, gender, and primary language.

The nation took one giant step forward toward health reform with the passage of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act. On Saturday, November 7, 2009 the House of Representatives passed its health reform bill by a vote of 220-215. This bill includes provisions to improve data collection, language access, workforce diversity, and prevention that will move us closer to addressing disparities in health care. It is not clear when the Senate will vote on its version of the health care legislation. However, if the Senate passes its bill, the House and Senate bills will have to be reconciled into one document and voted on again in order to become law.

Upcoming Events

Families USA: Health Action 2010—Minority Health Track
January 28 – 30, 2010
Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20001
Sponsor: Families USA
For more information and to register click here.
Raising Awareness and Exploring Solutions to Health Disparities
November 20 – 22, 2009
Imperial Palace Casino Resort and Spa, 850 Bayview Ave. Biloxi, MS 39530
Sponsor: Mississippi Gulf Coast Black Nurse Association Inc.
For more information and to register click here.
Crisis and Emergency Risk Communications (CERC) Pandemic Flu Training for Tribal Nations
December 7 – 9, 2009
Crowne Plaza Ravinia Hotel, 4355 Ashford Dunwoody, Atlanta, GA 30346
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services
For more information and to register click here.
15th Annual Rural Multiracial & Multicultural Health Conference in the Resource Center
Blueprints for Success: Ideas for Change
December 9 – 11, 2009
Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103
Sponsor: National Rural Health Association
For more information and to register click here.
4th Biannual Tribal Consultation Session
January 26 – 28, 2010
Roybal Campus, Building 19, Room B3, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30329
Sponsor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
For more information and to register click here.

We’d like to hear from you!

If you would like to see your organization or event highlighted in a future edition of our newsletter, please send us a brief description of your organization and its activities, as well as your contact information. We also welcome guest authors for the Activities in the Field section of the newsletter. This section provides members of the minority health field with the opportunity to share their experiences and insights with other advocates. Please send all correspondence to: minorityhealth@familiesusa.org.

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