For just a moment, forget the politics of health care reform — they won’t go anywhere, I promise. Picture a low-income family able to stay safe and whole, because a parent can afford to see a therapist for anger. Think about what it would be like if fewer people ended up in prison, and more of them in jobs, because they were able to get help for mental illness and addiction earlier in life.
Your friend was struggling to stay in treatment for depression, but kept falling out when her yearly allotted visits were through; now she can remain in therapy for as long as she needs, and you’re not worried anymore about checking in with her every morning. Imagine a future where alcoholism takes fewer lives, where fewer mothers and fathers overdose in front of their kids; where suicide is no longer the second leading cause of death for Coloradans under the age of 35. Click here to read the full by Michael Lott-Manier.
Showing posts with label Health Equity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Health Equity. Show all posts
Opinion: Resources, commitment needed to improve health of Colorado’s American Indians
Every year since 1990, the President has designated Novemberas a time to honor American Indian heritage and culture. This year, on Oct. 31, President Obama signed the proclamation and urged us to celebrate the incredible impact American Indians have had on the shaping of the U.S. while not ignoring the painful history they have endured. He finished the proclamation by calling for a new generation of leadership that works together to “ensure this country’s promise is fully realized for every (American Indian).” Click here to read the full article by Joe Sammen.
The Colorado Trust grants $20,000 to Rural Philanthropy Days participants
The Colorado Trust today announced it has made $20,000 in grants to strengthen the work of four nonprofit organizations working to advance the health and well-being of rural Coloradans. The Colorado Trust, a health foundation dedicated to achieving health equity, made the grants after meeting with nonprofit organizations at Rural Philanthropy Days in September in Winter Park, Colorado. Click here to read the full press release issued November 2013.
School-Based Health Care Initiative 2012-13 Evaluation Report
This report from the Colorado Health Foundation outlines the evaluation of the School Based Health Center initiative in efforts to determine if the initiative was effective in moving its grantees toward self-sustainability. Click here to read the full report.
Health equity and racial and ethnic workforce diversity
To achieve health equity, health care organizations need to diversify their staff. Diversifying the health care workforce has been shown to help improve access to health and health care for communities of color. Developing a health care workforce that reflects the racial and ethnic composition of the population is vital to building rapport and trust with communities of color, assuring effective communication and improving care. Read more here.
Poorer women delay examination of breast lumps, study suggests
Younger women with limited finances are more likely than others to delay seeking medical attention after finding an abnormality in their breast, according to a new study.
The study of nearly 600 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer suggested that strategies to improve early diagnosis of breast cancer should take a woman's financial situation into account. Click here to read more.
F.D.A. ruling would all but eliminate trans fats
The Food and Drug Administration proposed measures on Thursday that would all but eliminate artery-clogging, artificial trans fats from the food supply, the culmination of three decades of effort by public health advocates to get the government to take action against them.
Artificial trans fats — a major contributor to heart disease in the United States — have already been substantially reduced in foods. But they still lurk in many popular products, like frostings, microwave popcorn, packaged pies, frozen pizzas, margarines and coffee creamers. Banning them completely could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year, the F.D.A. said. read the full article here.
Health perspectives: Hispanics and Latinos
Click here to view an infograph produced by the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved.
60 Minutes Highlights Need for Excellence in Mental Health Act
First, let’s be clear — there is no “mental health system” serving people with serious mental illnesses in this country just as there is no single “healthcare system.” Mental health services are available in every community just like general medical services. For people with serious mental illnesses, these services are primarily funded with state Medicaid dollars and delivered by not-for-profit organizations or by state and county employees.
Every state has a unique Medicaid program — offering, for the most part, similar services to people with serious mental illnesses but with enough variation in what the services are called, how much is paid for the covered services, and who is eligible to receive the services to confuse most consumers and families and many of the most sophisticated Medicaid experts. Additionally these services are in a constant state of redesign often labeled as “healthcare reform.” Click here to read more.
Every state has a unique Medicaid program — offering, for the most part, similar services to people with serious mental illnesses but with enough variation in what the services are called, how much is paid for the covered services, and who is eligible to receive the services to confuse most consumers and families and many of the most sophisticated Medicaid experts. Additionally these services are in a constant state of redesign often labeled as “healthcare reform.” Click here to read more.
National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health are: A Blueprint for Advancing and Sustaining CLAS Policy and Practice
Health equity is the attainment of the highest level of health for all people (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] Office of Minority Health [OMH], 2011). Currently, individuals across the United States from various cultural backgrounds are unable to attain their highest level of health for several reasons, including the social determinants of health, or those conditions in which individuals are born, grow, live, work, and age (World Health Organization [WHO], 2012), such as socioeconomic status, education level, and the availability of health services (HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], 2010a). Though health inequities are directly related to the existence of historical and current discrimination and social injustice, one of the most modifiable factors is the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, broadly defined as care and services that are respectful of and responsive to the cultural and linguistic needs of all individuals. Read the full document by the Office of Minority Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by clicking here.
Medicaid Handbook: Interface with Behavioral Health Services
Price: FREE
Reviews Medicaid and its role in financing services and treatment for mental health disorders and substance use disorders. Discusses services included in state Medicaid plans, the role of the provider, reimbursement, and other factors related to Medicaid. Click here to find out more.
Reviews Medicaid and its role in financing services and treatment for mental health disorders and substance use disorders. Discusses services included in state Medicaid plans, the role of the provider, reimbursement, and other factors related to Medicaid. Click here to find out more.
Can health IT reduce health disparities? New ONC report explores opportunities
Inequality related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status is one of our nation’s most vexing problems, and it affects health status, access to health care, and health care quality.
Unfortunately, health disparities in access to quality care are common. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report indicates that:
- Blacks received worse care than Whites for 41% of quality measures and Hispanics received worse care than non-Hispanic Whites for 39% of measures
- Uninsured individuals aged 64 and under were far less likely to have a usual source of primary care than individuals with insurance
- Low-income individuals received worse care than high-income people for almost half of the quality measures
What our research at ONC has found, however, is that health information technology has the potential to alleviate these inequalities.
Health & Wellness Resource Library
Click here to review resources such as: A Healthy Heart, Breathe Deep, Eat Wise Move Often, and many more on The Centers for Family and Children's website.
Hispanic teens more likely to use drugs, study says
Hispanic teens are more likely to use illicit drugs such as marijuana, ecstasy and cocaine, compared with their African-American and Caucasian counterparts, according to a new study.
The study was released this month by the Partnership at Drug Freeorganization.
It says that 54% of Hispanic teens reported having used an illicit drug, followed by African-American teens at 45%. Caucasians came third at 43%.
Why? There is no definitive answer, but there are contributing factors involved, according to William Raikes, assistant director of consumer research at The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
A larger percentage -- 62% of Hispanic teens -- have been offered drugs such as ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine at least once, compared with 53% of Caucasian teens and 46% of African-Americans. Read the full article here.
Geographic variation in access to care — The relationship with quality
Three decades of research focused predominantly on costs and the use of services among Medicare beneficiaries has repeatedly found wide regional variations in health care experiences and health system performance.1Much less attention has been paid to variations in access to care and their associated implications for quality of care and health outcomes. Our recent Commonwealth Fund report, “Rising to the Challenge: Results from a Scorecard on Local Health System Performance,”2 shows that when we look beyond state averages, there are staggeringly wide gaps in people's ability to gain access to care in different communities around the country. We also find a strong and persistent association between access and health care quality, including the receipt of preventive care.
Simply put, where a person lives matters — it influences the ability to obtain health care, as well as the probable quality of care that will be received — though it should not matter in an equitable health care system. This and other Scorecard findings have important implications that are relevant to national policy reforms and to newly available resources for improving access and quality of care. Learn more here.
Simply put, where a person lives matters — it influences the ability to obtain health care, as well as the probable quality of care that will be received — though it should not matter in an equitable health care system. This and other Scorecard findings have important implications that are relevant to national policy reforms and to newly available resources for improving access and quality of care. Learn more here.
Substantial disparities in health and health care persist among populations across the United States
The Issue:
At a time when health care providers and policy-makers are exploring new models to promote better health and improve health care, different populations experience persistent and increasing disparities in health status. In the United States, life expectancy and other health status measures vary dramatically depending on factors, such as race, sex, educational attainment, and zip code, that should not make a difference. This brief reviews recent research on health disparities.
Find out "What’s Next?" by clicking here.
At a time when health care providers and policy-makers are exploring new models to promote better health and improve health care, different populations experience persistent and increasing disparities in health status. In the United States, life expectancy and other health status measures vary dramatically depending on factors, such as race, sex, educational attainment, and zip code, that should not make a difference. This brief reviews recent research on health disparities.
Find out "What’s Next?" by clicking here.
2012 Annual Report,The Colorado Trust : Achieving access to health for all Coloradans
This annual report includes: an 'about us' introduction, a letter from the leadership, details of grant making activities in the areas of health data and information, health advocacy and policy, health care services and systems, and health and well-being, financial information, and information about the board of trustees and staff of the organization. Click here to read the full annual report.
America's health rankings senior report: A call to action for individuals and their communities
The 2012 Edition of America's Health Rankings revealed that Americans are now living longer lives, but with increased rates of preventable chronic disease. If our nation's seniors are unhealthy, can we be healthy as a society?
Today, 1 in 8 Americans are aged 65 or older. By the year 2050, this age group is projected to more than double in size, from 40.3 million to 88.5 million. The increasing number of older adults combined with increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases are on track to overwhelm our health care system.
In no other aspect is this more true than the cost of health care. Adults aged 65 and older spend nearly twice as much as 45 to 64 year olds on health care each year. They spend 3 to 5 times more than all adults younger than 65.3. Click here to read the full report.
Health law alone won't reverse inequities
The Affordable Care Act may leave many of the poor and people of color behind.
That’s the view of this year’s president of the American Public Health Association, Dr. Adewale Troutman, who spoke in Denver last week.
“We are trying to incorporate 30 million people into a health care insurance system that is broken. The system is fragmented. Inequalities flourish and prevention is an afterthought,” Troutman said during an event on health equity sponsored by The Colorado Trust.
“The system doesn’t necessarily change just because you have more people in it,” he said.
While the Affordable Care Act, which goes into full effect next year, will help millions of people get health insurance, it does not guarantee that they’ll get decent care. Nor does it go far enough to reverse disparities that cost lives every day, Troutman said. Read more about Dr. Troutman's presentation here.
That’s the view of this year’s president of the American Public Health Association, Dr. Adewale Troutman, who spoke in Denver last week.
“We are trying to incorporate 30 million people into a health care insurance system that is broken. The system is fragmented. Inequalities flourish and prevention is an afterthought,” Troutman said during an event on health equity sponsored by The Colorado Trust.
“The system doesn’t necessarily change just because you have more people in it,” he said.
While the Affordable Care Act, which goes into full effect next year, will help millions of people get health insurance, it does not guarantee that they’ll get decent care. Nor does it go far enough to reverse disparities that cost lives every day, Troutman said. Read more about Dr. Troutman's presentation here.
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