Improving the health of minority populations and achieving greater health equity
About
Health inequities exist among groups based on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, education, income, disability, and geographic location. Major determinants of health status include access to and quality of health care, environmental and social exposures, health behaviors, and genomics.
ASTHO's Health Equity Program seeks to increase knowledge of effective state practices to promote health equity and/or reduce health disparities, strengthen national and regional partnerships to achieve coordination in responses to health disparities, and facilitate research and implementation of innovative and evidence-based practices, with an emphasis on the social determinants of health and social justice.
IHS and HHS encourage Native Americans to get vaccinated against H1N1 (external site)
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Indian Health Service (IHS) Director Dr. Yvette Roubideaux encourage Native Americans and Alaska Natives to get their flu vaccines. IHS-sponsored public service announcements emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated against H1N1. Native Americans and Alaska Natives have made up a disproportionate number of deaths from the virus. The data indicated that Indians are four times more likely to die from H1N1 than other Americans. Health officials said tribal communities have been hit especially hard by H1N1 because they tend to have higher rates of asthma, diabetes, and other underlying conditions that make Indian individuals more susceptible to complications.
Publications
With support from the HHS Office of Minority Health, ASTHO surveyed state and territorial health agencies on racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities. The results of that survey are available in the following documents.
ASTHO 2008 Snapshots: State Activities to Promote Health Equity (graphic)
Of the 57 agencies surveyed, 46 returned responses. This map of the United States allows you to see each individual state response.
ASTHO 2008 Snapshots: State Activities to Promote Health Equity Introduction (doc)
This is the introduction and summary document for the Minority Health Survey.
Minority Health Survey (doc)
ASTHO's survey of state and territorial health agencies. Of the 57 agencies surveyed, 46 returned responses.
Staff
Meenoo Mishra, MPH, Senior Analyst, Health Equity
Albert Terrillion, DrPH, CPH, CHES, Senior Director, Family and Community Health
Sharon Moffatt, RN, BSN, MS, Chief, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention