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NCSL Publications and Resources - Health Disparities and Minority Health

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Articles and Maps

Health Epidemics on Tribal Lands (June/July 2006)
An NCSL Legisbrief examining health problems facing tribal communities such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Montana Paves the Way for Collaboration Between Indian Tribes and State
(Oct. 2004) A new Montana law looks to improve access to Medicaid for American Indians.
Health Status and Utilization (April 2006)
State Health Notes article highlighting racial discrepancies in doctor's visits.
HIV Epidemic Hits Minorities Harder (February 2006)
This NCSL document examines the HIV epidemic's effect on minorities.
2005 National Health Care Quality and Disparities Reports
Provides the 2005 National Healthcare Quality Report as well as additional resources.
Health Care in Indian Country (October 2005)
Discusses illnesses that disproportionately afflict Indians as well as some of the factors that contribute to poor Indian Health.
States and Tribes: A Healthy Alliance (April 2005)
This NCSL State Legislatures magazine article describes some of the ways in which health care models states and tribes are developing for Native Americans could be used for other residents.
Community Health Centers (January 2005)
This NCSL Legisbrief discusses both state and federal action taken regarding state funding of community health centers.
Indian Country Concerns (April 2005)
An article from NCSL's State Legislatures magazine highlighting the political relationship between states and tribal governments as well as specific concerns of Indian lawmakers.
Reducing Disparities in Health Care One Community at a Time (Sep. 2004)
An NCSL StateStats article examining community health centers and their impact on reducing minority health disparities.
The Indian Child Welfare Act and the States (Aug/Sep. 2004)
An NCSL Legisbrief highlighting both enforcement problems and state actions regarding the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities through Community Health Centers (August, 2004) 50 State Snapshot of Racial Disparities and Community Health Centers.
Linking the Environment to Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (March 2004)
This State Health Notes article explores why low-income minorities are disproportionately affected by chronic diseases.
Institute Report: Minorities Get Poorer Health Care (July/Aug. 2002)
An article from NCSL's State Legislatures magazine.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities
This State Health Lawmakers' Digest is a product of NCSL.
State Offices, Commissions, Councils and Advisory Panels on Minority Health
This map highlights states that have created offices, commissions, councils and advisory panels on minority health.

Conference Sessions

Reducing Disparities and Improving Quality in Healthcare (2006)
This session will discuss what states have done and what they can learn from private sector partners about how to make the whole state healthier by thinking differently about meeting the needs of some of their most vulnerable residents.
Paying for Access in Indian Country (2006)
This web-assisted audio conference will highlight Montana House Bill No. 452, now law, which brings the state and tribes together to improve and protect tribal access to Medicaid financing.
Cost-Effectiveness and Health Outcomes of Community Health Centers - Web-Assisted Audioconference (February 2004)
This event featured experts in this field who provided an overview of CHCs (populations served, services provided, cost of operation, health disparities collaboratives, cost savings and health outcomes) followed by presentations that shared two health disparities collaborative experiences in diabetes and depression. The archive containing the audio and visuals and the speaker slides are available at this website.
Audioconference on Reducing Health Disparities
View speaker slides from a recent NCSL audioconference on reducing health disparities. Dr. Helen Burstin (AHRQ) and Dr. Felicia Collins (HRSA) provide current statistics on health disparities, explain contributing factors as well as strategies for closing the disparities gap. Comments of Connecticut State Senator Toni Nathaniel Harp from the NCSL Health Policy Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 2000
Bridging the Gap: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
This is a transcription of a session at NCSL's Annual Meeting, July 2000
Connecticut's Multicultural Health Initiatives - The Beginning
Comments of Connecticut Senator Toni Nathaniel Harp from the NCSL Health Policy Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, December 2000.

NCSL Websites

Immigration Policy Project
This website links to and summarizes other resources that address Immigrant Policy on Health that address the issues of access to health care for immigrants with particular focus on Medicaid, SCHIP and Language Access.
Commissions, Offices, and Task Forces on Women's Health Legislation
This website contains summaries of statutes that create commissions, offices, and task forces on women's health.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Legislation
This website contains summaries of statutes that aim to increase awareness about minority health through pilot programs and initiatives, offices of minority health, studies and trust funds.
Minority Health Commissions and Offices of Minority Health
This website contains summaries of statutes that create commissions and offices of minority health.
State Legislation Database on Native American Issues
A NCSL legislative database of bill summaries that specifically address American Indians, tribes and reservations. It includes introduced legislation on topics including health and human services.

Other Resources - Health Disparities and Minority Health

Publications

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Issue Brief: Racial and Ethnic Disparities (2007)
An issue brief explaining how other policy areas contribute to the increase of racial and ethnic health disparities and places emphasis on the policy makers role in narrowing the health gap.
New Study Shows Hospital Care in America Today is Separate but Not Equal (2007)
This article summarizes a study that examined quality and hospital care for elderly African-American patients.
Why Are Latinos the Most Uninsured Racial/Ethnic Group of U.S. Children? (2007) A summary of a research project finding three major risk factors responsible for uninsured Latino children: U.S. citizenship, having two working family and low family income.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Adolescent Health and Access to Care (2007)
This fact sheet provides new national information on disparities in health status and
access to care among Hispanic, Black, and White adolescents ages 12 through 17. It
addresses racial and ethnic disparities for a broad set of indicators and also examines the
impact of income, insurance, and mother’s or household education on these indicators.
National Healthcare Disparities Report (2006)
A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) which measures disparities in access to health care for minorities and poor people. Click here for the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report.
National Health Quality Report (2006)
This report examines the quality of health care and measures its improvement and deterioration nation-wide (Also provided by AHRQ). Click here for the 2005 National Health Quality Report.
Stretch of Community Health Centers – Chart Book (2006)
This chart book is an overview of the federal health center program and the communities they served provided by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC).
Is Racism the Real Culprit? What the Data Does and Don't Show about the Racial Health Gap (September 2004)
A video/audio conference hosted by the Heritage Foundation that addressed the issue of the health gap and questions whether racism is entirely responsible for disparities among minorities and poor people.
Disparities In Maternal And Infant Health: Are We Making Progress? (October 2004)This issue brief prepared by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and the Kaiser Family Foundation, analyzes changes in racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in maternal and infant health in California in 1994/1995 and 1999/2001. The issue brief also reviews the policy implications of these differences and offers general recommendations for health care policymakers to consider in addressing health disparities.
A State Policy Agenda to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (June 2004)
This report from the Commonwealth Fund provides state policymakers with a menu of policy interventions that have been implemented to address disparities in minority health and health care.
Unequal Access: Insurance Instability Among Low-Income Workers and Minorities Commonwealth Fund study finds that low-income minority workers lack private health coverage at higher rates than white workers. (April 2004)
Health Centers' Role in Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (Sept. 2003)
A National Association of Community Health Centers fact sheet on how community health centers help to reduce or even eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities among their patients.
Reducing Health Disparities Among Children: The Role of Insurance Expansions (Spring 2003)
A report by The Future of Children on the role of health insurance coverage for low-income children in the reduction of health disparities.
Reducing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Estimating the Impact of High Health Center Penetration in Low-Income Communities (September 2003) A study by The George Washington University Medical Center.

Websites

Health Disparities Collaboratives
The Bureau of Primary Health Care's initiative on improving the health outcomes of the poor, minorities, and the underserved.

National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD)
This site is part of the National Institutes of Health's efforts to reduce and eliminate health disparities.

Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD)
Another National of Institutes of Health site dedicated to research and the reduction of cancer-related health disparities.

Address Health Disparities: The NIH Program of Action
This National Institutes of Health web page describes how each institute and center of NIH has developed its own individual strategy to combat the health gaps in the disease areas they study.

Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
The official site of APIAHF, a national advocacy organization, that is dedicated to promoting policy, program, and research efforts for the improvement of the health status of all Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.

Asian Health Services Online
A site dedicated to serve and advocate for the immigrant and refugee Asian community regarding its health rights and access to care.

Association of American Indian Physicians
The site of the AAIP which is dedicated to improving the health status of American Indian and Alaska Native people.

Underserved Populations
The Commonwealth Fund's minority health site. The Commonwealth Fund is a national foundation for independent research on health and social policy issues.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
This web site is provides information regarding key legislation or public policy issues, health initiatives and local events that pertain to the public health of people of African descent worldwide. Topics covered include AIDS/HIV, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, sickle cell anemia, health care, public policy, prevention, mental health, environmental justice and research.

Center for Research on Minority Health
The Center for Research on Minority Health at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. The CRMH has been able to successfully implement unique model programs to address different areas of heath disparities.

Diversity RX
This site is a clearinghouse of information on how to meet the language and cultural needs of minorities, immigrants, refugees, and other diverse populations seeking health care. The site is sponsored by NCSL, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care.

Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Minority Health
HRSA's Office of Minority Health provides leadership for programs and activities, which address the special health needs of racial/ethnic minorities to eliminate disparities, while improving health status.

National Council of La Raza
This site contains links to areas. Featured NCLR's programs, publications and includes discussion on health policy that addresses health disparities in the Latino community.

Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that is aimed at eliminating disparities in health status experienced by ethnic minority populations in key health areas.

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