WASHINGTON, July 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National
Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE) today was awarded an
$800,000 grant from the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to assist local jurisdictions in
leveraging health data that can help mitigate racial inequities in
health outcomes, especially in communities of color.
As the leader of the Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE)
Initiative, NCHE compiled comprehensive population health research,
including disaggregated data on people of color across the country.
Through state data, HOPE tracked 27 life and community indicators
that shape health and well-being for families and individuals
including social and economic factors, community and safety
conditions, physical environment and access to healthcare.
The HOPE research, which was released last year on an accessible
state-of-the-art platform, is a breakthrough because it creates a
new narrative on health inequities and provides achievable pathways
for states to eliminate health disparities. The HOPE Initiative
changes the disparity narrative: instead of merely identifying
health disparities, HOPE pinpoints where resources must be directed
to make meaningful and lasting changes.
HOPE portrays an America that would be dramatically different if
the impact of racism embedded in our society was eliminated and
everyone experienced equal social, economic and health
opportunities. For instance, 70 million more people would live in
low poverty neighborhoods; 55 million more adults would live in
households with a livable income; and 54 million more adults would
achieve very good or excellent health.
"Our HOPE research delivers a narrative that compels corrective
action at multiple societal levels," said Dr. Gail Christopher, the NCHE executive
director. "It creates a new opportunity frame that brings
actionable data and information to help states and the nation move
beyond measuring disparities to compelling action to achieve health
equity. Disparities during the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrate the
urgent need for health equity."
Dr. Christopher thanked the MacArthur Foundation for the
grant that comes under their equitable recovery funding. NCHE
prioritizes working in partnership with their expanding network of
collaborating leaders and organizations committed to achieving
health equity. With the grant, NCHE will expand the impact of
the HOPE research by fueling a campaign to advise cities and
counties on how the information can be deployed to improve local
health outcomes.
"Getting HOPE research into the hands of local change makers
requires a collaborative strategy that unites regional, state and
local capabilities, as well as private sector and non-profit energy
and resources," said Dr. Christopher. "This project will
leverage the millions invested in HOPE by helping to create the
infrastructure needed to amplify this opportunity for achieving
health equity in communities across America."
The MacArthur Foundation project will organize
infrastructure that includes NCHE staff and national networks;
implementation of equity policies and practices and related
accountability approaches in cities and counties; periodic
publications and briefs disaggregated by race and ethnicity based
on data from states; related webinars, blogs, technical assistance
tool kits and resources for use by local leaders.
The grant is part of roughly $80
million in awards MacArthur announced today in support of
the foundation's Equitable Recovery initiative, centered on
advancing racial and ethnic justice. The initiative is funded by
MacArthur's social bonds, issued in response to the crises of
the pandemic and racial inequity.
"As we emerge from this moment of crisis, we have an opportunity
to improve the critical systems that people and places need to
thrive. Our systems and structures must be rebuilt," said MacArthur
President John Palfrey. "We are
committed to ensuring that our response to the pandemic is focused
on supporting the reimagining of systems that create a more just,
equitable, and resilient world."
Led by the NCHE, the HOPE Initiative is a collaboration with
Texas Health Institute and Virginia
Commonwealth University's (VCU) Center on Society and
Health. The HOPE Initiative was created and funded through
grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Here are some of
the findings that the MacArthur grant will empower states
address:
- In Colorado, more than 434,000
Hispanics need improvements in economic opportunity and
neighborhood conditions to lift them out of areas with concentrated
poverty.
- In Arizona, more than 200,000
of the 265,000 Native Americans in the state need to have improved
economic opportunity and neighborhood conditions to lift them out
of areas with concentrated poverty and more than 121,000 Native
Americans need adequate access to food.
- In Wisconsin, more than
205,000 African Americans need economic opportunities and improved
neighborhood conditions to lift them out of areas with concentrated
poverty.
"We will use the HOPE data to spur action addressing the social
determinants of health in local communities," said Dr. Christopher.
"The HOPE Initiative is helping create a more just, fair and
equitable pandemic recovery that helps address the effects of
structural and systemic racism."
(For print or broadcast interviews with Dr. Christopher, please
contact Michael Frisby at
mike@frisbyassociates.com or 202-625-4328 to schedule.)
Contact:
Michael K.
Frisby
202-625-4328/mike@frisbyassociates.com
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SOURCE NCHE