The Congressional Black Caucus is holding their 42nd Annual Legislative Conference, which will feature the Environmental Justice Braintrust: Social Determinants and Environmental Justice. The event will take place on September 21st, 2012 from 10:00 to 12:00pm at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. The panelists will disucss "What outside factors influence health disparities? Are environmental quality issues a factor? How do poverty, public safety, education, and inadequate housing influence health disparities?"  Dr. Brian Smedley will be a featured panelist.

Joint Center Releases Reports on How Poverty Concentration and
Racial Segregation Exacerbate Health Inequities in Bernalillo County, NM

WASHINGTON, DC – The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies today released a report, “Place Matters for Health in Bernalillo County: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All,” that provides a comprehensive analysis of the range of social, economic, and environmental conditions in Bernalillo County, NM, which includes Albuquerque, and documents their relationship to the health status of county residents.

The study, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health, finds that social, economic and environmental conditions in low-income and non-white neighborhoods make it more difficult for people in these communities to live healthy lives.  Among the study’s key findings is that there is a twelve-fold difference in the percentage of low-birthweight infants across the county’s census tracts.  In addition, the study found that life expectancy varies by as much as 22 years in the county depending on the census tract—in census tracts with lowest life expectancy, people can live to be only about 68 years or less, while people can live to be 90 years or more in census tracts with the highest life expectancy.  Zip codes with the lowest life expectancy and highest rates of low birthweight babies tend to have a higher percentage of Hispanic and low-income residents.

“Place matters for health in important ways,” said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center.  “Differences in neighborhood conditions powerfully predict who is healthy, who is sick, and who lives longer.  And because of patterns of residential segregation, these differences are the fundamental causes of health inequities among different racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.”

Download the full press release below.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Health Policy Institute and its PLACE MATTERS Initiative will convene a National Health Equity Conference in Washington on Wednesday, September 5, 2012, to spotlight effective community-based strategies that address all kinds of barriers to good health faced by low-income communities and communities of color.

The conference, with the theme “PLACE MATTERS: Models of Action, Innovation & Collaboration”  will assemble key stakeholders, including grassroots leaders, elected officials, researchers, public health practitioners, policymakers and community organizers.  It will take place at the Renaissance Hotel, 999 Ninth Street NW, Washington.

Download the full press release below.

PLACE MATTERS for health in important ways, according to a growing body of research.  Differences in neighborhood conditions powerfully predict who is healthy, who is sick, and who lives longer.  And because of patterns of residential segregation, these differences are the fundamental causes of health inequities among different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and its Place Matters Teams  are pleased to add to the existing knowledge base with this report, Place Matters for Health: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All.  The report, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health and written in conjunction with the Center on Human Needs at the Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Network for Geospatial Health Research, provides a summary of our analyses of the social, economic, and environmental conditions that exist in selected PLACE MATTERS communities and documents their relationship to the health status of residents of these communities.

The overall pattern in our series of Community Health Equity Reports, as this summary makes clear, suggests that we need to tackle the structures and systems that create and perpetuate inequality to fully close racial and ethnic health gaps.   Accordingly, because the Joint Center seeks not only to document these inequities, we are committed to helping remedy them.  

Through our PLACE MATTERS initiative, which is generously supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are working with leaders in 24 communities around the country to identify and address social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health.  We look forward to continuing to work with leaders these and other communities to ensure that every child, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or place of residence, can enjoy the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, and productive life.

PLACE MATTERS for health in important ways, according to a growing body of research.  Differences in neighborhood conditions powerfully predict who is healthy, who is sick, and who lives longer.  And because of patterns of residential segregation, these differences are the fundamental causes of health inequities among different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is pleased to add to the existing knowledge base with this report, Place Matters for Health in Bernalillo County: Ensuring Opportunities for Good Health for All, A Report on Health Inequities in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.  The report, supported by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) of the National Institutes of Health and written in conjunction with the Center on Human Needs at the Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Network for Geospatial Health Research, provides a comprehensive analysis of the range of social, economic, and environmental conditions in Bernalillo County and documents their relationship to the health status of the county’s residents.

The study finds that social, economic, and environmental conditions in low-income and non-white neighborhoods make it more difficult for people in these neighborhoods to live healthy lives.

The overall pattern in this report – and those of others that the Joint Center has conducted with other PLACE MATTERS communities – suggests that we need to tackle the structures and systems that create and perpetuate inequality to fully close racial and ethnic health gaps.   Accordingly, because the Joint Center seeks not only to document these inequities, we are committed to helping remedy them.  

Through our PLACE MATTERS initiative, which is generously supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, we are working with leaders in 24 communities around the country to identify and address social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health.  We look forward to continuing to work with leaders in Bernalillo County and other communities to ensure that every child, regardless of their race, ethnicity, or place of residence, can enjoy the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, and productive life.

Our full report is available for download below. English- and Spanish-language executive summaries and an informational brochure are also available.

The American Diabetes Association is holding their 5th Disparities Partnership Forum on October 22-23, 2012 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.  The forum, titled "Overcoming Diabetes: Diabetes Care in High Risk Populations", is to collaborate with partners to address the disparity of cultural competency, health literacy and health equity in healthcare (diabetes care), specifically in populations at highest risk for type 2 diabetes. Dr. Brian Smedley will be a featured panelist on October 23, 2012. For more information or to register for the conference, visit the American Diabetes Association website by clicking the register button to the right.

The Healthcare Quality and Equity Action Forum will be convened by the Disparities Solution Center on September 24th and 25th in Boston, MA.  The forum will provide the background, key drivers, and essential strategies to improve quality and achieve equity in a time of rapid healthcare system change. Leaders from multiple disciplines and health care organizations who work in the areas of quality and safety; disparities, diversity and equity; health policy; and health care design and delivery, as well as anyone interested in these fields, will find the Forum to be a unique and highly valuable experience. Sessions will be led by national experts in health policy, quality and safety, measurement and accreditation, as well as from leaders at health plans, hospitals, and other healthcare systems from around the country.  The agenda will include Grounding Sessions, Action-Oriented Workshops, and From the Front Line Learning Panels.

To learn more about the forum, agenda or logistical details, visit http://wwibostoneventsandtours.cvent.com/Forum or www.mghdisparitiessolutions.org.

Dr. Jermane Bond will participate in a panel entitled "Dads Matter: Patneral Involvement in Maternal and Child Health" at the 140th Annual American Public Health Association Meeting.  His presentation is  "Identifying Gaps in Research, Policy, and Practice on Paternal Involvement in Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Family Health."

Fathers’ involvement has been recognized as an important but neglected part of MCH programs and policies. In recent years, efforts have been made to expand the evidence base on the impact of fathers’ involvement on pregnancy outcomes and child health. In this session, presenters will share the latest research on the impact of fathers’ support, current gaps in research and policy, and effective interventions to increase the involvement of fathers in maternal and child health.

Click here to learn more about Dr. Bond's panel. For more information on the 2012 APHA conference, including registration, click the REGISTER button to your right.

The calls for an additional presidential debate moderated by (and aimed at) minorities escalated on Friday.

Ralph B. Everett, the chief executive of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a research and analysis center that focuses on the socioeconomic status of blacks and other minorities, sent a letter to Janet H. Brown, executive director of the Commission on Presidential Debates. He urged her to reconsider the commission’s rejection of a plea by Univision to stage a presidential debate moderated by its own Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena, or another host of Hispanic origin.

“It has long been the practice of the television industry to avoid placing people of color in front of the camera,” Mr. Everett wrote. He said he hoped the commission would embrace Univision’s proposal “by adding more debates to the calendar.”

Read more at nytimes.com.

WASHINGTON, DC—Martin Luther King, Jr. (WA) County Executive Dow Constantine has released the  first annual Equity and Social Justice Report, which documents the county’s progress toward creating fairness and opportunity in the lives of all of its residents.   The report notes that despite the county’s exceptional quality of life, strong economy, and overall good health of county residents, not everyone benefits from these opportunities.  The county’s Equity and Social Justice Ordinance, the first of its kind in the country, requires the county to take active steps to remedy these inequities.

“The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies congratulates King County and its leadership for taking bold steps to identify and eliminate inequities in the county that are based on skin color, place of residence, and income,” said Ralph B. Everett, President and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.  “The report released today confirms the county’s commitment to equity and social justice and points to steps that the county can take to improve life opportunities for all.”

The King County Strategic Plan establishes the principle of "fair and just" intentionally in all the county does in order to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities.  The effort embeds the “fair and just” principle as a core element in goals, objectives and strategies across county government.  County ordinance 16948, unanimously passed by the County Council in October 2010, establishes definitions and directs implementation steps to achieve the fair and just principle. 

To view the report visit the King County website, here.  The official King County press release can be viewed here.