May 2008

In this Issue:

• New Resources 
  • NEW MEDIA  
  • PUBLICATIONS
    
    
• Activities in the Field
  
  
• Policy Updates
  
  
• Upcoming Events

New Resources

NEW MEDIA:

• The Alliance for Health Reform recently hosted a briefing, Racial and Ethnic Disparities: States and Feds to the Rescue?, which examined what states and the federal government are doing to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities, and how they can continue narrowing the health gap. For more information and to view the webcast or listen to the podcast, click here.
  
• The Kaiser Family Foundation hosted a webcast, State Initiatives to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, that examined current state efforts to improve access to care and health outcomes for minority populations in Massachusetts, Georgia, and Ohio. Panelists on the webcast also discussed how these initiatives fit into a state’s larger reform efforts and the role of the federal government. For more information and to view the webcast, click here.
  
• The Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust and the National Minority Health Forum’s webcast of the recent two-day meeting, Health Equity and Justice Now!, includes the opening session and panel discussions covering a range of topics such as health care costs, health disparities, health quality, health equity, and social justice. To view the webcast, click here.
  
• The National HIV Testing Mobilization Campaign is a nationwide effort to promote HIV testing. Its online resource center provides information on HIV and AIDS, the impact on communities of color, and the locations of HIV testing centers. To view the Web site, click here.

 PUBLICATIONS:

• The Opportunity Agenda and Families USA released a report, Identifying and Evaluating Equity Provisions in State Health Care Reform, which outlines policies that promote equity in state health reform efforts. In particular, the authors discuss existing laws, regulations, and reform proposals in five states that have passed or are moving toward universal coverage (Massachusetts, Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and California).
  
• Health Affairs published a study, Do Primary Care Physicians Treating Minority Patients Report Problems Delivering High-Quality Care?, that found that physicians who see a large number of minority patients face socioeconomic barriers that prevent them from providing high quality care. Some of the barriers include: low Medicaid and private insurance reimbursement, difficulty securing specialty care for their patients, and inadequate time for patient office visits. To read an abstract of the study, click here.
  
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation published a report, Creating Equity Reports: A Guide for Hospitals, informing hospitals on the creation and use of health equity reports. These reports showcase potential inequities in utilization, care processes, outcomes, and patient experiences. The authors also include case studies of hospitals that have already put equity reporting into practice.
  
• The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality sponsored a needs assessment study of community health centers with large populations of Latino/Hispanic patients to identify gaps in diabetes care and outcomes. The study found that health centers with committed leadership, employed staff physicians, and diabetes registries are more likely to meet successful diabetic treatment goals. The authors offered numerous recommendations that include: recruit family participation in the treatment process, recognize that translation with an English tool alone may not provide adequate access to care, and create an environment that is welcoming to Latinos/Hispanics. To read the full study, click here.

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Activities in the Field

The Indiana Minority Health Coalition

In 1992, seven community coalitions came together to form the Indiana Minority Health Coalition (IMHC) in response to a report released in 1987 by Margaret Heckler, Secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services at the time. This landmark study not only called attention to racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care nationally, but also prompted the Indiana State Health Commissioner to form an advisory committee with representatives from communities of color throughout Indiana to inform the state on racial and ethnic health disparities. Mandated by the legislature, the commissioner hired staff whose primary responsibility was to develop statewide initiatives to reduce health disparities. One year later, this newly acquired staff formed the IHMC, which included the seven original community coalitions.

The IMHC focuses on two health issues that disproportionately impact minority communities in Indiana: lack of health care access, and early prevention and intervention. The IMHC partners with disease groups, such as the American Heart Association and cancer and diabetes groups, in providing education and training workshops in targeted communities. The coalition’s work focuses on several initiatives to improve access to health care for communities of color. One major project involves providing medical translation services for the state’s diverse citizens. In each of Indiana’s 92 counties, five different languages and dialects are spoken. This is especially evident among the various African communities that now call Indiana home. Since these groups are not named in the original legislation providing state funding for IMHC’s work, the coalition must raise extra funds to provide this essential service.

The IMHC has undertaken many other initiatives to address racial and ethnic disparities, including active participation on all state board commissions tasked with reducing health care and mental health disparities, grassroots advocacy, and educating state policymakers. The coalition has also subcontracted with the Department of Corrections to provide mental health care and to reduce health disparities in the inmate population. In addition, IMHC maintains the Department of Correction’s re-entry program, ensuring that recently released inmates have access to quality health care outside of prison.

Nancy Jewell, President and CEO of IMHC, offers the following advice for state health coalitions that work in communities of color: “Make sure that you have a sustainability plan for your organization, establish early partnerships with organizations that will help you grow, and work in concert with communities.” The coalition has seen a number of successes since its conception. It has grown from 17 to 29 counties in the last two years, increased outreach to the Latino community, and is currently negotiating a contract with the Native American population to provide direct health services.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the Indiana Minority Health Coalition contact Nancy Jewell, President and CEO, at (317) 926-4011 or toll free at (877) 367-4642.

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Policy Updates

Minority Health Legislation

There are currently three comprehensive minority health bills that have been introduced in the 110th Congress. In the Senate, S. 1576, the Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act has been introduced by Senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Cochrane (R-MS). In the House, members of the Congressional TriCaucus have sponsored H.R. 3014, the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007, and Representative Jackson (D-IL) has sponsored HR 3333 as a companion to S. 1576. These bills take an important step forward in addressing persistent and pervasive racial and ethnic health disparities by promoting diversity in the health care workforce, encouraging cultural and linguistic competency in health care, and requiring the collection and public reporting of data by race, ethnicity, and primary language.

Amazingly, it has been almost a decade since the last major health disparities legislation was passed. The Minority Health and Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000, (co-sponsored by Senators Kennedy and Frist) established several important entities widely used today. It created the National Center on Minority and Health Disparities at the National Institutes of Health, which provides increased funding for health disparities research and awards research grants to researchers of color. It also authorized the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to provide an annual report to Congress on progress in reducing and eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities nationally. These tools and others have helped to shape the debate around health equity and move the disparities agenda forward, but more remains to be done.

Upcoming Events

• National Public Health Summit
  May 21-22, 2008, Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, 2040 Airport Road, Green Bay, WI 54313
  Host: National Indian Health Board
  For more information: Contact Lawrence Shorty at 703-553-2516 or lshorty@nihb.org.
• Using Multi-Disciplinary Teams to Address Disparities: Navigators, Health Coaches and Community Health Workers webinar
  May 22, 2008, 3 - 4 pm
  Sponsor: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
  For a description and to register, click here.
• “Men’s Health Disparities: Implications for Research and Intervention” videoconference
  June 3, 2008, 2- 4 pm EDT
  Sponsor: University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
  For more information and to register go here.
• "Promoting Health Equity: Family centered program development and advocacy"
  June 12, 2008, 8 am- 4:45 pm
  Continuing Education and Conference Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul Campus, 1890 Buford Ave, St Paul. MN 55108
  Sponsor: University of Minnesota, School of Public Health
  For more information and to register go here.
• “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew: Celebrating 25 Years of Promoting Health and Well-Being for Black Women”
  June 19 – 21, 2008, Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008
  Host: Black Women’s Health Imperative
  For more information and to register go here.
• “Disparities in Health in America: Working Towards Social Justice”
  June 21-27, 2008
  The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Hickey Auditorium, 11th Floor, R. Lee Clark Clinic, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030
  Sponsor: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
  For more information and to register go here. 
• NCLR Annual Conference
  July 12-15, 2008
  San Diego Convention Center, 111 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101
  Sponsor: National Council of La Raza
  For more information and to register go here. 
• Congressional Tri-Caucus Minority Health Summit
  July 18 – 19, 2008
  Houston Community College, 3100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002
  Sponsors: Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
  For more information: Contact Marguerite Ro at mro@apiahf.org 
   
  

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