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2022-06-02
Big Cities Health Coalition;
The Urban Health Agenda is a guiding framework intended to help inform the narrative and policy dialogue around the health of big cities. The Agenda rests on two key pillars: (1) Health is more than health care, and (2) The well-being of urban populations centers on a broader definition of "health." In this vision, all government agencies and relevant community-based organizations work together to promote health and safety, in part through dismantling structural inequities and systems built on generations of racism.
2022-04-28
Center for American Progress;
From 2019 to 2020, life expectancy in the United States declined by 1.5 years, reaching its lowest level since 2003. It fell yet again in 2021. In fact, the health of Americans has been declining for decades, compared with citizens in other high-income countries: In 2020, life expectancy in the United States was nearly five years lower than it was in other industrialized countries, and it has only declined further as the country has faced the world's largest total death toll from COVID-19. Unlike the United States, in 2021, many of its peer countries have started to see rebounds in life expectancy with the help of the COVID-19 vaccination.As health declines, it adversely affects not only quality of life but also the economy and national security, including workforce productivity, health care costs, and the fitness of military recruits. Yet these adverse health impacts are not felt equally across U.S. society. For example, the decline in life expectancy has been greater among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black populations than among the non-Hispanic white population. To eliminate these disparities and those that exist in economic and social systems, an intentional focus on redressing structural and institutional racism is critical. Improving the health of the most vulnerable populations will not only boost overall health outcomes and social well-being, but also strengthen the economy and help to build a strong, equitable future.Policies to strengthen the nation's health must therefore ensure that individuals and all communities are healthy and thriving and that no one is left behind. This can be done through long-term, sustained investments to prevent disease, promote health, and prepare for and respond to continuous and urgent threats to health. Namely, by addressing social determinants of health—such as income, education, housing, employment, transportation, environmental conditions, and neighborhood conditions—policymakers can improve health, reduce racial disparities, and contribute to economic mobility.This report outlines 10 priorities for improving the nation's health.
2022-03-09
Hispanic Federation;
The New York City Hispanic/Latinx Health Action Agenda is a result of a community driven health policy process that brought together over 60 Community-Based Organizations/Agencies and 72 community leaders, faith-based leaders, experienced clinical and non-clinical service providers. Facilitated by the Hispanic Health Network, Hispanic Federation, and the Latino Commission on AIDS, the process started in October 2020 with a series of consultations with key public health leaders, community providers, and members of health networks with expertise in the health field and Hispanic/Latinx communities. Soon after, steering and planning committees were developed to ensure a broader reach of Hispanic/Latinx community leaders and Hispanic/Latinx serving organizations throughout all NYC boroughs.In the Spring of 2021, the steering and planning groups engaged in facilitated conversations aimed to reach consensus on key subpopulations and health issues to focus on for this health policy agenda. Additionally, this newly formed network of organizations and leaders sought to fortify Hispanic/Latinx health leadership with a health policy-focused perspective to guide decision-makers and impact legislation, particularly at a moment in which NYC is preparing for a critical municipal election scheduled for November.The overarching goal of this NYC Hispanic/Latinx Health Action Agenda is to improve health outcomes among Hispanic/ Latinx New Yorkers living throughout all the boroughs while ensuring Hispanic/Latinx participation and inclusion and impacting health policy decision making in order to address health disparities and inequities in New York City. To do so, participants in this process established a conceptual framework to guide the assessment of the health needs of Hispanic/Latinx New Yorkers and develop a set of health policy recommendations.
2022-05-10
Heartland Alliance;
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Heartland Alliance Health (HAH) aligned with multiple residential sites serving people experiencing homelessness and people with substance use disorders to expand access to oral health services for their residents through site-based outreach.The HAH Shelter-Based Oral Health pilot program aims to improve the oral health of individuals experiencing homelessness and increase access to oral health services and other services addressing social determinants of health. The pilot program aims to do this by establishing stronger partnerships with residential sites and providing on-site dental services. The long-term goals of the program are to increase knowledge for medical providers to successfully implement and deliver on-site oral health care and continue developing strategic alignment between Heartland Alliance Health and residential sites.Recognizing the importance of program implementation in effective service delivery, the evaluation of the Oral Health Service followed the World Health Organization's Implementation Framework. To understand how the service was operationalized, the outcome variables of acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, coverage and sustainability were assessed. Research questions were developed within each of the overarching outcome variables, sourced from relevant literature and the HAH Oral Health Logic Model (Appendix A). The logic model was co-developed by the research team, HAH Oral Health staff, and outreach partner staff. Specifically, the research questions for this report focus on the implementation of the Oral Health Service based on identified short- and mid- term outcomes.
2022-09-15
Global Health: Science and Practice;
The authors provide a brief history of the African Health Initiative and introduce the articles of the Global Health: Science and Practice journal supplement, highlighting the importance of evidence-based interventions (EBI) in global health and summarizing key takeaways.
2022-01-25
Indiana Bar Foundation;
This fifth edition of the Indiana Bar Foundation's Indiana Civic Health Index (INCHI) takes stock of Indiana's successes and shortcomings during the past decade and defines action steps to ensure Indiana becomes a national leader in civic health. In this latest INCHI we examine three election cycles – six elections during 10 years – and analyze trends during that time. The insights gained by examining Hoosiers' participation in civic life from 2010 to the present will inform and inspire citizens and leaders alike to build a culture of civic engagement enhancing our economic, social, and political well-being.Building on the recommendations outlined in the 2019 Indiana Civic Health Index, section one of the report details progress in advancing civic education in schools and promoting citizen participation in the election process, two goals that are profoundly intertwined. Studies show a consistent and robust relationship between school experiences with voting education and civic participation later in life. As cornerstones of representative democracy, civic education and participation are crucial to advancing our civic health.The second section of the report continues the review of Indiana's performance on an array of civic health indicators. Drawing on earlier analyses and incorporating the newest data, we examine ten years (2010-2020) of Indiana's civic activity, identifying areas of strength as well as opportunities for improvement. We hope this unique overview will further stimulate discussion and inspire a renewed commitment to advancing our civic health. Strengthening Hoosiers' civic health will require a concerted effort of all stakeholders interested in supporting citizen participation in its many forms; the result will be a more vibrant, successful, and engaged Indiana and nation.
2022-05-04
Howard Brown Health Center;
Howard Brown Health was founded in 1974 and is now one of the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) organizations. With an annual budget of over $145 million, the agency serves more than 40,000 adults and youth in its diverse health and social service delivery system focused around seven major programmatic divisions: primary medical care, behavioral health, research, HIV/STI prevention, youth services, elder services, and community initiatives. Howard Brown serves men, women, trans and gender non-conforming folks, infants, youth, and children through a multi-site operation based in Chicago that includes a main health and research center in the Uptown neighborhood, Howard Brown Health Sheridan, and our other clinics Howard Brown Health Halsted in Lakeview, Howard Brown Health Clark in Rogers Park, Howard Brown Health 63rd Street in Englewood, Howard Brown Health 55th Street in Hyde Park, Howard Brown Health at Thresholds South in Back of the Yards, Howard Brown Health at La Casa Norte in Humboldt Park, the Broadway Youth Center, and three Brown Elephant resale shops in Chicago (Lakeview and Andersonville neighborhoods) and Oak Park.
2022-09-15
Global Health: Science and Practice;
Ghana is positioned to become the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to implement universal health coverage based on nationwide expansion of geographic access through the Community-based Health Planning and Services initiative. This achievement is the outcome of 3 decades of implementation research that health authorities have used for guiding the development of its primary health care program. This implementation research process has comprised Ghana's official endorsement of the 1978 Alma Ata Declaration, leading to the institutionalization of evidence relevant to the strategic design of primary health care and national health insurance policies and services. Rather than relying solely upon the dissemination of project results, Ghana has embraced a continuous and systemic process of knowledge capture, curation, and utilization of evidence in expanding geographic access by a massive expansion in the number of community health service points that has taken decades. A multisectoral approach has been pursued that has involved the creation of systematic partnerships that included all levels of the political system, local development officials, community groups and social networks, multiple university-based disciplines, external development partners, and donors. However, efforts to achieve high levels of financial access through the roll-out of the National Health Insurance Scheme have proceeded at a less consistent pace and been fraught with many challenges. As a result, financial access has been less comprehensive than geographical access despite sequential reforms having been made to both programs. The legacy of activities and current research on primary health care and national health insurance are reviewed together with unaddressed priorities that merit attention in the future. Factors that have facilitated or impeded progress with research utilization are reviewed and implications for health systems strengthening in Ghana and elsewhere in Africa and globally are discussed.
2022-04-06
Howard Brown Health Center;
In 2021, Howard Brown Health not only increased our public health role in Chicago through its pandemic response, but also the agency laid the groundwork for an expanded presence in the city on the North and South Sides. Last year, across our 11 clinics, Howard Brown launched new clinical programs, expanded clinical and support staff, and updated its mission and vision statements to guide our the work into the future.
2023-03-14
California HealthCare Foundation;
For the first time since 2017, the federal government has released health care spending data by state. The data, available for 1991 to 2020, cover spending on personal health care (PHC), which includes goods and services, such as hospital care, physician services, and prescription drugs, but excludes the net cost of health insurance, government administration, public health activities, and investment.In 2020, California PHC spending totaled $405 billion and accounted for 12% of total US PHC spending. On a per capita basis, California health care spending ($10,299) surpassed the US average ($10,191) for the first time since 1991.Between 2010 and 2020, health care spending in California grew faster on an annual average basis than health spending in the US and the economic growth in the state.
2023-01-31
Chicago Community Trust;
Chicago is known as one of the most segregated cities in America, with pockets of both deep wealth and extreme vulnerability. Even compared with the country as a whole, the city's legacy of race-based discrimination and decades of disinvestment and marginalization is extreme. Today, that legacy manifests in starkly different financial opportunities and realities for its citizens, falling largely along racial and ethnic lines. In partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, we examine the factors that contribute to financial health disparities among Chicagoans and residents of surrounding Cook County.Key TakeawaysCook County, including Chicago, demonstrates both greater financial health and greater financial vulnerability than the U.S. as a whole.The disparities in financial health across race and ethnicity are dramatically larger in Cook County than in the U.S.Black and Latinx households in Cook County are far less likely than white households to have access to wealth-building assets, yet are more likely to hold most kinds of debt than white households.Black and Latinx people in Cook County are far more likely to be Financially Vulnerable than their counterparts nationwide.Racial gaps in financial health of Cook County residents can't be explained by household income alone.
2022-10-04
California HealthCare Foundation;
California, home to the most culturally diverse population in the country and the fifth largest Black population of any state, has a major opportunity to be a leader in health equity. But, again and again, research has shown that racism and structural barriers in the health care system prevent Black Californians from achieving the health they actively seek.Long-standing racial and ethnic health disparities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the powerful demonstrations against police violence catalyzed by the murder of George Floyd, prompted CHCF to investigate the relationship between racism and health care that leads to unacceptable health outcomes for Black Californians. To identify solutions for dismantling persistent health inequities, CHCF engaged EVITARUS, a Black-owned public opinion research firm in Los Angeles, to conduct qualitative and quantitative research that listens deeply to Black Californians talking about their experiences with racism and health care.Listening to Black Californians is one of the largest studies focused on the health care experiences of Black Californians to date. The qualitative phases, conducted from June to December 2021, included in-depth interviews with 100 Black Californians and 18 focus groups consisting of Black Californians and key health care stakeholders. The interviews and focus groups informed the content of a statewide survey, conducted from March to May 2022, and completed by 3,325 adult Black Californians recruited to reflect the population based on the 2020 US Census and 2019 American Community Survey.
