Improving health inequity was a key focus of many of the sessions at the recent American Public Health Association Midyear Meeting.

NewPublicHealth spoke with Brian Smedley, Ph.D., director of the Health Policy Institute at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C. Dr. Smedley spoke about health equity during the meeting.

Read more at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Many state governors and legislatures want to trim Medicaid and other public programs in an effort to balance budgets. But cutting Medicaid to the bone won’t reduce the demand for health care, and it certainly won’t help people be healthy enough to contribute to an economic recovery.

Instead, policymakers should make smart investments to help people to stay healthy in the first place. How can government do this when resources are so limited?

Read more at The Milwaukee Courier.

For the past 109 years, the National Medical Association (NMA) has conducted its Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly, the nation’s foremost conference devoted to medical science and African American health.  This year the NMA Annual Convention will convene from July 23 – 27, 2011 in Washington, DC.

The 2011 NMA Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with the largest spectrum of African American physicians, academicians and scientists in the country as well as other allied health professionals. The scientific program will begin with the Opening Award/Mazique Symposium on Saturday, July 23rd and continue to Sunday, July 24th through Wednesday, July 27th. 

The Joint Center Health Policy Institute will be participating in the Floyd J. Malveaux Symposium on Tuesday, July 26, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dr. Brian Smedley will serve on a panel entitled The Economic Impact of Health Disparities.

For more information, please visit the Convention website.

The Consortium for Health Education, Economic Empowerment and Research (CHEER) will host a three-day regional conference to promote health equity among minority communities beginning June 20.

The conference will be held at the Cook Convention Center. CHEER, an initiative aimed at health equity research and housed at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), is a partnership of seven organizations working to develop, share and put to use research that impacts minority health and reduces health inequities.  

---

Speakers will include: Brian Smedley, PhD, vice president and director of the Health Policy Institute, a division of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, D.C.; Alvin Poussaint, MD, psychiatrist, media consultant, author, and co-author with Bill Cosby of “Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors,” and Bishop William Young, pastor of The Healing Center in Memphis and founder of the annual Suicide and the Black Church Conference. 

Read more at The Tri-State Defender.

Racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care in the United States are persistent and well documented. Communities of color fare far worse than their white counterparts across a range of health indicators: life expectancy, infant mortality, prevalence of chronic diseases, self-rated health status, insurance coverage, and many others. As the nation’s population continues to become increasingly diverse—people of color are projected to comprise 54% of the U.S. population by 2050 and more than half of U.S. children by 2023— these disparities are likely to grow if left unaddressed. Recent health care reform legislation, while not a panacea for eliminating health disparities, offers an important first step and an unprecedented opportunity to improve health equity in the United States.

Available in PDF Format Only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.

The Joint Center's Health Policy Institute, recently released a report entitled "Following the Money: Tracking Federal AIDS Appropriations to Address Disparities in HIV and AIDS Treatment in the United States", which explores the path of federal funding in HIV and AIDS prevention. The Report finds that HIV/AIDS is not one epidemic in the United States but rather has become multiple epidemics affecting different communites at different rates and through different vectors of transmission. Tragically, some of the communities least prepared to deal with the spread of HIV are communities that are most vulnerable and have received the least federal resources to combat the disease. There are several strategies needed to ensure the resources flow to communities proportionate to need.

Available in PDF format only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.

Over the past five years, racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health status have been highlighted in a series of governmental and non-governmental reports. The nature and extent of the problem should be obvious to all who are paying attention. However, less is known or shared about solutions that can be adopted in local communities, especially where the problems are most severe. The importance of community cannot be overstated. It is the community environment that determines the toxins people are exposed to, their opportunities for exercise, healthy eating and living, and the health care services they can access. Moreover, people of color are exposed to an additional stress in the form of racism, which can have a harmful long-term impact on their health. In short, the overall vitality of a community — the economic opportunities available, the social support networks, and the public infrastructure — plays a major role in families’ ability to improve their health and wellbeing. This brief offers a framework for strengthening communities to improve the health and well-being of residents. A collaboration between the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and PolicyLink, this brief is one of four that outline strategies for achieving better health through community-focused solutions.

Available in PDF Format Only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.

This literature review and analysis of issues related to economics, HIV/AIDS, and governance, follows a similar review conducted in 2000. In the review it was noted that many gaps existed in the literature, and that there was a generally poor understanding of crucial issues that inform impact, policy and response. It is certainly a positive sign that in the development of an updated bibliography (available as a separate document), the number of texts available has almost doubled in the space of two years. While the authors of this review continue to highlight gaps, particularly in research on South Africa, it is a positive sign that social scientists are developing a closer interest in HIV/AIDS, and that funding and support for research in the area is clearly growing.

The HIV/AIDS context in South Africa is rapidly changing. In the previous review, close attention was paid to economic impacts and responses, with an emphasis on impacts. In the present review, authors have oriented their chapters much more closely to issues of economic and social development and response in relation to an epidemic that has become a firmly entrenched development issue. On the one hand, there are explorations of cost issues, direct and indirect. On the other, there is a general stock-taking of response. Both aspects are critical to understanding the way forward and, indeed, there remain critical gaps. However, it is also important to note the notion that little progress has been made and that nothing has been done. This is largely a product of difficulties in recognising tangible indicators of response. For example, a recent survey showed 75% of business have HIV/AIDS policy in place, and this is significant. The next steps are unpacking the nature of these responses and identifying the implications for planning and resource allocation.

Available in PDF and Hard Copy.

Contact the Joint Center for availability of hard copies of this publication.

To order a hard copy, download the publication order form.

All prices do NOT include shipping and handling fees. Please see form for more details.

To download a PDF copy of this publication, click the file icon below.

To provide fuller detail on disparities in child health, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies undertook an examination of how child health indicators vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Comparisons are made for the health indicators including low birthweight, health status, unmet dental care needs, ADHD/ADD diagnosis, lifetime asthma diagnosis, learning disability diagnosis, and activity limitation. The findings for Hispanic children and white children are provided in this brief.

Available in PDF Format Only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.

This study, commissioned by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and carried out by leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, provides important insight into how much of a financial burden racial disparities are putting on our health care system and society at large. The researchers examined the direct costs associated with the provision of care to a sicker and more disadvantaged population, as well as the indirect costs of health inequities such as lost productivity, lost wages, absenteeism, family leave, and premature death.

Available in PDF Format Only.

To download this publication, click the file icon below.