February 2010

In this Issue:

• New Resources
  • Funding Opportunities
  • New Media
  • Publications
    
    
• Policy Updates
  
  
• Activities in the Field
  
  
• Upcoming Events
  
   

  Families USA is working on a project that looks at how health care reform would help those with pre-existing conditions. We’re especially interested in how this issue affects communities of color and those with higher rates of chronic disease. Do you have a story to share? We’d love to hear from you. Click here to tell us about it. To watch Congresswoman Donna Edwards share her story at the Families USA’s Health Action 2010 Conference, click here.

New Resources

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES:

• Praxis Project is currently accepting proposals for Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE). The CCHE is a grant initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support community organizing and policy advocacy to increase access to healthy food and safe places to play in communities of color. The deadline for brief proposals is February 25, 2010.

NEW MEDIA:

• Families USA recently updated the So You Think You Know Minority Health? game show. The interactive game show tests your knowledge of health disparities, asking questions about disparities in access to health care, the social and environmental factors that affect our health, and minority health related policy and legislation.
  
• Families USA posted a series of webcasts from our annual conference, Health Action 2010. The webcasts feature plenary speakers, such as Benjamin Todd Jealous, Kathleen Sebelius, and Regina Benjamin.
  
• County Health Rankings, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, has launched an interactive map of the United States that provides state-by-state statistics on various health factors and health outcomes in each state. County Health Rankings also released a webcast of their national event in Washington, DC.
  
• DiversityRx and AHRQ have released a new webinar, Health Literacy: Using a Self- Assessment Tool to Guide Quality Improvement in Primary Care, which provides information on a new health literacy practice assessment tool and a pediatric practice’s experience in using the tool. This tool should help to ensure that consumers understand how to get and apply information so that they seek the proper medical care, take medications correctly, and follow prescribed treatments.
  
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America’s education and health calculator allows you to explore how education is linked to mortality by state. Education and Health: How Do Your State and County Compare? allows you to see how many deaths could be avoided in your community if more adults experienced the same level of health as those who have attended college. Go to the Education and Health Calculator to see where your state or county compares to others.
  
• Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Association of Black Journalists have launched the Voices of Change campaign, which features short video clips of the nation’s leading experts in health disparities and health policy.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a program brief, AHRQ Activities Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Health Care Disparities, which explores community-based participatory research (CBPR), or studying how to increase the value of community-based studies for both the researchers and the communities involved.
  
• American College of Physicians published a report, Cultural Competency Training and Performance Reports to Improve Diabetes Care for Black Patients, which evaluates the effect of cultural competency training and performance feedback for primary care clinicians on diabetes care for black patients. The study concluded that the combination of cultural competency training and race-stratified performance reports increased clinician awareness of racial disparities in diabetes care, but did not improve clinical outcomes among black patients.
  
• National Council of La Raza recently released The House Verification System: A Delicate Balance between Affordable Coverage Access and Burdensome Bureaucracy, which provides information on how the verification processes imposed by the House of Representatives health care reform legislation would affect the average person or family needing an affordability credit for the health insurance Exchange.
  
• National Medical Association recently released Perception of Weight and Threat to Health, which examines African American women’s perception of their risk for obesity-related illnesses compared to their weight category. Overweight and obese women underestimate their weight categories. Overweight but not obese women reported the same perceived susceptibility for obesity-related co-morbid diseases as normal weight women. An increase in the perceived threat to health may motivate women to increase prevention efforts in the early stages of  weight gain to prevent or delay morbidity or mortality.
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics published Improving Asthma Outcomes in Minority Children, which studies the effect of parent mentors on parents of minority children and their asthmatic children. The small, randomized control trial found that when parents were provided with parent mentors, who helped them understand and care for their children’s asthma, their children wheezed less and had fewer emergency room visits. The authors suggest both parent and adult peer mentoring programs could be an effective, low-cost approach to combat minority disparities in management of asthma and other chronic health conditions.
  
• Journal of General Internal Medicine released a new report, Perceived Quality of Care, Receipt of Preventive Care, and Usual Source of Health Care Among Undocumented and Other Latinos, which looks at the relationship between immigration status and self-reported quality of care and preventive care. In this study, undocumented Latinos reported the lowest rates of health care services, including some preventive services that could help avoid higher-cost health care in late stage or emergency care.

POLICY UPDATES:

Health Care Reform Update
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama asked Congress not to “walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.” The President recently announced his plans for a bipartisan summit on health care.  With the victory of Republican Scott Brown in the Massachusetts special election, the Democratic Party lost the super majority of 60 votes in the Senate. The health reform summit, scheduled for February 25, 2010, will allow both Republicans and Democrats to convene to discuss health reform legislation and resolve any differences. The summit will also allow Republicans to offer any additional ideas for health reform.

Funding Update
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently awarded $119.5 million to states and U.S. territories to support public health efforts to reduce obesity, increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and decrease smoking—the four most important actions for combating chronic diseases and promoting health. The appropriated money is a part of the Recovery Act Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative. To see a list of recipients, click here.

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Activities in the Field

The Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine

The Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine (IAMMM) is a nonprofit organization focused on the elimination of health disparities among underrepresented and underserved communities of color.

IAMMM collaborates with corporate entities, colleges and universities, elected officials, consumer advocacy organizations, and the medical and public health community to develop strategies to address health disparities. The Institute also battles health disparities by investing in research, education, and advocacy.

IAMMM is split into four centers: the Center for Health Policy, the Center for Community Outreach and Education, the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Health Equity, and the Friends of Health Disparities Research. The Center for Health Policy is responsible for the development and implementation of IAMMM’s strategic plan and monitors and promotes current and proposed policies that provide access and resources to those affected by health disparities. The Center of Community Outreach and Education assists IAMMM with the development of media and communications strategies to support the organization’s goals. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Health Equity is home to the Senior Fellows Program, which hosts expert panels and educational symposia on Capitol Hill and around the country to address health disparities. The Friends of Health Disparities Research hosts health scientists, researchers, and other health professionals who volunteer to garner support for research that addresses health disparities.

The Institute organizes the disparities community with the use of small health summits and town hall meetings that bring health care professionals, consumer advocates, public service organizations, and consumers together to discuss health disparities. The health summits, designed by a planning committee, provide the community with the opportunity to develop strategies for eliminating disparities. The goal is to create an open forum where panelists can relay important information to the public about health disparities and to empower the audience with knowledge about how to take control of one's health.

In collaboration with community partners including the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, Bread for the City, the DC Housing Authority, and the University of the District of Columbia, IAMMM has organized a program, The Power to End Stroke, which consists of a series of workshops that address symptoms that often lead to stroke. The workshops cover topics such as healthy eating, hypertension, high blood pressure, and stress. The interactive workshops also gave tips on avoiding the behaviors that can negatively contribute to the incidence of stroke, such as poor nutrition, heightened stress levels, and lack of exercise. 

For more information about the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural and Minority Medicine (IAMMM) please contact Monica Tetteh at mtetteh@iammm.org.

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Upcoming Events

• National Association of Black Journalists Conference on Health Disparities
  March 4 – 6, 2010
  Barbara Jordan Conference Center at Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC
  Sponsor: Kaiser Family Foundation and Eli Lilly and Company
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Strengthening Environmental Justice Research and Decision Making: A Symposium on the Science of Disproportionate Environmental Health Impacts
  March 12 – 19, 2010
  Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 810 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, DC
  Sponsor: EPA, CDC, NIH, Johns Hopkins University, and the American Public Health Association
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• NHMA 14th Annual Conference: Health Care Transformation to Expand Prevention and Health Promotion for Hispanic Communities
  March 25 – 28, 2010
  Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, 2660 Woodley Rd., NW, Washington, DC
  Sponsor: National Hispanic Medical Association
  For more information and to register click here.
  
• Community Campus Partnerships for Health 11th Conference
  May 12 – 15, 2010
  Marriott Downtown Waterfront, 1401 SW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR
  Sponsor: Community Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH)
  For more information and to register click here.
  

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