Racism: Combating the Root Causes of Health Disparities

Reducing health disparities in communities of color has been a public health priority in the United States for the past decade. To date, however, substantial improvements have not been achieved. Even more troubling is the evidence that disparities persist even when overall health trends improve.

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GIH Bulletin: April 2010

Aetna Foundation (Hartford, CT) and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (CT) awarded approximately $720,000 to fund two obesity awareness and prevention programs at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (Farmington).

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What’s in a Name? Untangling Health Disparities, the Social Determinants of Health, and Health Equity

Health disparities…social determinants of health… health equity. These phrases are used to talk about differences in health, but what do they mean?

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Tackling the Tough Work of Community Change

While somewhat new to health foundations, place-based community change work is not new to philanthropy. Grantmakers who are considering such ventures have to judge how comfortable they are with the roles they might be called upon to play in a community change effort.

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Taking Risks at a Critical Time

Download the essay written for GIH’s 2010 annual meeting, as well as special guest commentaries by foundation leaders Patricia Baker, Thomas David, Karen Wolk Feinstein, Phillip Gonzalez, and Mark Smith on taking risks.

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Where Do We Go From Here? Combating Health Care Disparities in an Era of Reform

There is growing interest in improving the health of racial and ethnic communities of color by going beyond the health care setting to the root causes of poor health and inequality. In the current era of national health care reform, new opportunities may become available to further combat racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

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Health and Justice: Health Care for People Involved in the Justice System

Health funders have found that focusing on people entering, in, or emerging from the criminal and juvenile justice systems increases the likelihood of connecting with vulnerable populations that are hard to pull into traditional health interventions.

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GIH Bulletin: March 2010

Aetna Foundation, Inc. (Hartford, CT) announced two grants totaling $250,000 as part of its continuing efforts to establish racial and ethnic equity in health and health care.

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State and Local Health Departments: Doing More with Support from Foundations

The nation’s public health system is under increasing pressure as state and local health departments are asked to take on more responsibilities with fewer resources. Despite these challenges, there are many opportunities for foundations to work with and strengthen state and local health departments.

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Oral Health Disparities: A Shift Toward Policy Work

Oral diseases and disorders occur frequently among all populations, but large disparities exist by region, age, socioeconomic status, and race and ethnicity. In response, many oral health grantmakers have become more focused on policy solutions to improve oral health.

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