GIH Bulletin: September 2020
Funders can bring groups together, helping to expand the number of stakeholders aware of the unique needs of communities and develop programs, policies and initiatives that apply a rural and racial equity lens, thereby creating a force multiplier effect that could lead to significant improvements in health for all.
Creating A Force Multiplier – Why Advocates for Rural Health and Health Equity Should Work Together
Investment in rural communities and in organizations led by people of color is disproportionately low compared to their population size and need. There are relatively small groups of dedicated researchers, advocates, and policymakers committed to progress in each area. Funders can bring these groups together, thereby creating a force multiplier effect that could lead to significant improvements in health for all.
20 Years of Progress – Two Tobacco Ways in Indian Country
In order to respectfully and effectively address the harmful epidemic of cigarette smoking among American Indian adults, ClearWay Minnesota listened carefully to Native communities and adopted a model that focused on the dangers of commercial tobacco use while honoring the traditional healing traditions of tobacco. This model is referred to as the “two tobacco ways” framework and serves as an instructive illustration of how context is important in addressing health disparities and heath equity across communities.
The Air That We Breathe
We and many colleagues believe that, in order to strengthen responses to the pressing crises we face, we must consider some converging determinants of health—racism, climate change, and COVID-19—together. Doing so is essential, not just for crisis management, but also for building resilient systems and infrastructure that enable everyone, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, to breathe.
Managing America’s Crises Means Addressing the Political Determinants of Health
Too often we stop at these social drivers of inequities, however, and miss the link between social determinants of health and their political roots. Every social determinant of health is preceded by a political action, inaction, or impetus. Political determinants of health create the social drivers—including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options—that affect all other dynamics of health.
Health Equity … It’s a Journey, Not a Destination
COVID-19 has struck with a vengeance, hitting African Americans, older adults, and those with chronic health conditions the hardest. Simultaneously, our nation is experiencing a moment of reckoning, resulting from a long history of racism that has shaped the foundation of this country and thus permeates every system and institution.