In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, events sparked by the murder of George Floyd increased the constant exposure to stress in communities of color, a detriment to one’s physical and mental health, writes Kimberlydawn Wisdom, M.D., senior vice president of community health and equity and chief wellness and diversity officer at Detroit-based Henry Ford Health System, and chairperson of AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity Leadership Council.
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The total number of cancer screening tests women received through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program declined by 87% for breast cancer and 84% for cervical cancer during April 2020 in comparison to the past 5-year averages for that month, the CDC reported recently.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health awarded local governments $250 million in grants to work with community-based organizations to increase health literacy about COVID-19 vaccination, mitigation and services among underserved and racial and ethnic minority populations.
Responding to a June 20 op-ed published in the Washington Post, AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack said the alarmist headline misrepresented the facts.
As the AHA reflects on Juneteenth, the June 19 federal holiday recognizing the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans, it also considers how we must strive for equity in health care and beyond, writes Joy Lewis, AHA’s senior vice president for health equity strategies.
On this AHA Advancing Health podcast, Leon Caldwell, AHA’s senior director of health equity strategies and innovation, talks with Keith Ellison, program director of the Urban League of Philadelphia Entrepreneurship Center, about how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the pivotal role local businesses play in advancing equitable health outcomes, as well as the challenges and opportunities they face during the road to recovery.
Only 11% of pregnant women in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Safety Datalink, which includes vaccine safety monitoring data from nine integrated health systems, were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by May 8, compared with 25% of non-pregnant women, the CDC reported.
The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded 14 organizations grants to hire people to support COVID-19 vaccination and outreach in vulnerable and medically underserved communities.
The Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network has created an advisory team to help identify and prioritize opportunities to advance health equity through alternative payment models and inform its priorities and initiatives.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that rates of breastfeeding initiation have increased during the past decade but racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding persist.
Atrium Health, Charlotte, N.C., will receive the 2021 AHA Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award for its outstanding efforts to advance diversity, inclusion and health equity, the AHA’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity announced.
The National Academy of Medicine released a report on priorities for the nursing profession over the next decade to meet the needs of the U.S. population and achieve health equity, which range from strengthening nursing education and promoting diversity and equity in nursing education and the workforce to protecting nurses’ health and well-being.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans, Native American tribes and tribal populations, Latino Americans and other communities of color is generating a renewed focus on advancing health equity.
The National Institutes of Health awarded $29 million from the American Rescue Plan Act to support and expand its Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities, which conducts community-engaged research and outreach to strengthen COVID-19 vaccine confidence and access, testing and treatment in communities of color.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health opened a two-day virtual forum on advancing health equity and efforts to address structural racism in health care.
As part of National Minority Health Month (April), AHA shares takeaways from a conversation with the Henry Ford Health System and Islamic Center of America about their collaboration to increase COVID-19 vaccinations in the Muslim community around Detroit.
The AHA and Black Coalition against COVID April 21 at 7 p.m. ET will host a town hall on enhancing the opportunities for rural health care providers, public health organizations and rural health advocates as they advance COVID-19 prevention guidance, vaccine acceptance and vaccine administration.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of California San Francisco Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences tested a new survey tool to capture patient experiences of obstetric racism during hospital births.
At AHA’s Amplifying the Voices of Mothers event, experts from across the health care field engaged in a national conversation dedicated to maternal health equity.
As part of its recognition of Black Maternal Health Week (April 11-17), the Department of Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved a Section 1115 waiver for Illinois to be the first state to extend full Medicaid coverage to pregnant women for up to one year after delivery.