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April 2010
In this Issue:
NEW MEDIA:
- DiversityRx and AHRQ released a new webinar, NCQA Multicultural Health Care Standards and Distinction Program, which features representatives from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). They review the process of developing viable goals and standards that guide organizations on improving cultural and linguistic services and reducing health disparities.
- The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution hosted a national conference to discuss the health care quality issues that face vulnerable populations. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin spoke about the critical need for improved health care quality and equitable care for all Americans. To see the webcast of Regina M. Benjamin’s speech and other presentations, click here.
PUBLICATIONS:
- Families USA’s latest issue brief, Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Key Health Equity Provisions, discusses how health reform will improve language access and cultural competence, support community health centers, strengthen the federal Office of Minority Health, increase workforce diversity, and reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. Families USA also released a fact sheet, What Will the New Health Reform Law Do in the First Year?, which provides information on provisions that will be implemented early.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released its seventh annual National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) and the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) measure trends in effectiveness of care, patient safety, timeliness of care, patient centeredness, and efficiency of care. The reports present, in chart form, the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care, while highlighting any disparities that may exist.
- Kaiser Family Foundation published Health Reform Implementation Timeline, which provides a timeline of the provisions that will be implemented from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. They also published Summary of New Health Reform Law, which reflects provisions of the comprehensive health reform legislation that was signed into law in March 2010.
- Pediatrics recently published Racial/Ethnic Differences in Early-Life Risk Factors for Childhood Obesity, which examines how race, ethnicity, and culture influence the understanding of cancer diagnosis and treatment plan among patients. The authors suggest that black and Hispanic children's higher prevalence of early-life risk factors for childhood obesity may help to explain racial and ethnic disparities in rates of childhood obesity. [Subscription required]
- National Council of La Raza released U.S. Citizen and Immigrant Treatment Chart for Health Care Reform Legislation, which looks at how the new health reform law treats U.S. citizens, legal immigrants, and undocumented immigrants.
- Ethnicity & Disease’s new study, Reducing Disparities and Improving Quality: Understanding the Needs of Small Primary Care Practices, finds that small primary care practices—which provide a substantial proportion of care in the United States—are challenged in providing care for minority patients due, in part, to the disproportionate effect of resource and staff limitations on their ability to reduce disparities.
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved published a new study, Doctors' and Nurses' Explanations for Racial Disparities in Medical Treatment, which found that the doctors and nurses tend to explain racial health care inequalities in four main categories of responses: black patients' perceived shortcomings, white patients' demands, provider discrimination, and access to care. The researchers concluded that educational programs and campaigns and future research addressing perceptions of racial inequality in health care should be developed. [Subscription required]
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On March 30, 2010, the President signed the reconciliation bill into public law. The reconciliation bill provides more cost-sharing subsidies, slightly more generous premium subsidies, short term federal help for Medicaid primary care payments and more federal assistance for state Medicaid programs. These provisions will ensure that health care remains affordable for every American.
In the first year, the new health reform law will provide immediate help for people with pre-existing conditions, small business owners, young adults, and early retirees. The new law will also increase funding for community health centers.
Center for Health Equity (Florida)
The Center for Health Equity is a nonprofit organization in Florida that works on improving health care delivery and health outcomes in order to improve community health and eliminate health disparities. The Center uses tools that empower community leaders and communities to develop, implement, and evaluate health programs through research, education, training, advocacy, and the practical application of evaluation principles and methods. The work of the Center for Health Equity focuses on community development that includes capacity building and infrastructure. Moreover, the Center develops innovative approaches to address socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors that play an important role in health disparities.
The Center for Health Equity provides a unique opportunity to participate in research, public service, and teaching that is both community-based and focused on disparities in health. In an effort to identify, prevent, and eliminate disparities, the Center conducts community-based research on the root causes of health disparities, and collects data to effectively evaluate the health of communities. They then use their research and information to develop, implement, and evaluate community-driven intervention programs aimed at eliminating health disparities. For example, the federal Healthy Start Initiative, one of the Center’s current programs, is aimed at decreasing racial disparities in infant mortality in Gadsden County.
Public service also plays an important role in the Center’s work. The Center assists the community in developing action plans for preventive health care and health service delivery. They also provide consultation and direction to community groups, public health entities, and individual community advocates to effectively develop, implement and evaluate community health initiatives, particularly in efforts to eliminate disparities in health. Lastly, the Center provides training and tools for providing culturally appropriate care and asset-based community capacity development in health.
For more information about the Center for Health Equity, please contact Maurine Jones at majones@centerforhealth.com.
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- Beyond Reform: Health Concerns and Disparities among America’s Fastest Growing Populations
May 6, 2010
National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20045
Sponsor: Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the American Public Health Association
For more information and to register click here.
- The Cost of Inaction: Going Beyond the Business Case for Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities
May 11, 2010
Web Seminar Series
Sponsor: The Disparities Solutions Center
For more information and to register click here.
- Community-Campus Partnerships for Health – 11th Annual Conference
May 12 – 15, 2010
Marriott Portland Downtown Waterfront Hotel, 1401 SW Naito Parkway, Portland, OR 97201
Sponsor: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH)
For more information and to register click here.
- Seventh Biennial Conference Methodologies, Skills and Innovations: Cancer, Culture, and Literacy
May 20 – 22, 2010
Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Blvd, Clearwater Beach, FL 33767
Sponsor: Moffitt Cancer Center and USF Health
For more information and to register click here.
- Fourth Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists Minority Health Conference and Annual Meeting
May 21 – 23, 2010
Renaissance Houston Hotel, 6 East Greenway Plaza, Houston, TX 77046
Sponsor: Association of Black Health-System Pharmacists
For more information and to register click here.
- 16th Annual Summer Public Health Research Institute and Videoconference on Minority Health
June 8, 2010
The University of North Carolina School of Social Work, Tate-Turner-Kuralt Auditorium
Sponsor: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Program for Ethnicity, Culture, and Health Outcomes (ECHO), Minority Health Project
For more information and to register click here.
- The 8th Annual Disparities in Health in America: Celebrating Social Entrepreneurs Working Toward Social Justice Workshop
June 21 – 26, 2010
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Hickey Auditorium,11th Floor, R. Lee Clark Clinic, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030
Sponsor: University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Center For Research on Minority Health, Department of Health Disparities Research
For more information and to register click here.
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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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