A new report, inspired by the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) effort led by W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), is diving into health inequities facing our communities and recommendations to overcome them.

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released the brief: Racial Healing and Achieving Health Equity in the United States in conjunction with TRHT’s recent National Day of Racial Healing.

The brief examines health disparities and inequities that exist, stating in part, “The causes of health inequities are multifaceted and often intertwined with lower socioeconomic status, differential access to opportunities and other factors that influence health, such as quality health care, income, education, housing, transportation and others, sometimes referred to as the ‘social determinants of health.’”

Data highlights from the brief include:

• People living in low-income communities have a higher risk of less healthy behaviors as they may not have access to neighborhoods where they can be physically active or enjoy nearby fresh supermarkets

• Low-income communities may also have a higher rate of air pollution which affects all ages

• African Americans and Hispanics were more likely than whites to report poor communication from healthcare providers, including experiencing implicit bias in health care

• Health inequities are costly. Diabetes rates among African Americans and Hispanics are 1.5 times higher than for whites. The data shows the differences in the rate of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes, among African Americans, Hispanics and whites cost the health care system nearly $24 billion a year.

• African Americans have the highest rates of death and shortened survival rates for most cancers than any other racial or ethnic population in the country

• African American children have the highest rate of lead poisoning

The brief provides policy recommendations that could address these disparities and inequities and move our communities toward achieving health equity for all.

Highlights of TFAH’s recommendations for action include:

• Expand cross-sector collaborations addressing health equity. Engage a wide range of partners, such as schools and businesses, to focus on improving health through better access to high-quality education, jobs, housing, transportation and economic opportunities.

• Fully fund and implement health equity, health promotion and prevention programs in communities. Partner with a diverse range of community members to develop and implement health improvement strategies. The brief says that proven, effective programs, such as the CDC’s REACH (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health) should be fully-funded and expanded.

• Collect data on health and related equity factors, including social determinants of health by neighborhood. Improve data collection at a very local level to understand connections between health status and the factors that impact health to help identify concerns and inform the development of strategies to address them. Collecting and reporting data by neighborhood at a zip code or even more granular neighborhood level is essential.

• Communicate effectively with diverse community groups. Federal, state, local and tribal officials must design culturally competent, inclusive and linguistically appropriate communication campaigns that use respected, trusted and culturally competent messengers to communicate their message.

• Prioritize individual and community resiliency in health emergency preparedness efforts. Federal, state, local and tribal government officials must work with communities and make a concerted effort to address the needs of low-income, minority and other vulnerable groups during health emergencies. Communication and community engagement must be ongoing to understand the needs of various populations.

• Eliminate racial and ethnic bias in healthcare. Policies should incentivize equity and penalize unequal treatment in healthcare, and there should be increased support for programs to increase diversity in and across health professions. There should also be increased efforts to train more healthcare professionals from under-represented populations so that the workforce reflects the diversity of the patient population.

These are just a few of the recommendations that TFAH says could create a more inclusive and equitable system for all. TFAH shares how this work connects to the TRHT framework and approach.

“Among the many aspects of TRHT is the need to address serious racial and ethnic health inequities — and the causes that contribute to them. Good health is essential to ensuring everyone is able to live a high-quality life, be engaged with their families, communities and workplaces, and have the opportunity to flourish and thrive in everything they do,” the brief states.

CMF is supporting the Michigan TRHT effort, through a $4.2 million grant from WKKF, which is currently underway in four Michigan communities, Battle Creek, Flint, Kalamazoo and Lansing. The four TRHT communities have been working deeply in the TRHT community-based process, hosting community events, healing circles and engaging in deep dialogue.

Want more?

Read the full brief.

Learn more about TRHT.

Connect with CMF’s Health Funders Affinity Group.