Dr. Nancy Bennett, director of the Center for Community Health at the
University of Rochester, and Dr. Wade Norwood, director of community
engagement at Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency, recently wrote an op-ed
addressing what local communities are doing to address health
disparities in their areas. They describe the problem as follows:
Although these [disparities] may be related to the adequacy of
insurance, studies have shown that differences remain even when
coverage is equal. We need to understand, through public health and
health services research, the complexities of this pathway so that we
can eliminate inequalities.
If the federal government is unable to address problems of unequal
access and quality of health care in the U.S., local community
organizations must take it upon themselves to deal with these issues.
The Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency has established a number of
African American and Latino health coalitions to prioritize improving
health equity in New York. They have already made significant progress:
More people had access to primary care in 2006 compared with 2000,
more received annual mammograms and fewer were admitted to the hospital
for complications of chronic disease. We know from our own local health
data that we have almost eliminated racial and ethnic disparities in
immunization rates for both children and adults, and in mammography and
cervical cancer screening. Much of this success can be attributed to
specific, targeted programs that improve our overall measures while
reducing racial disparities.
The Opportunity Agenda has written numerous reports on the prevalence
of health disparities in the U.S., as well as how these inequalities
inhibit people’s ability to achieve their full potential.
In New York, The Opportunity Agenda has been part of various efforts
to improve health equality through empowering communities. The
Coalition for Community Health Planning, a group that The Opportunity
Agenda is an active member of, has been pushing the state and city
governments to commit to investing in community health planning
programs and to facilitating community involvement in health care.
To learn more about health inequalities in New York, read our report: Dangerous and Unlawful: Why Our Health Care System is Failing New York Communities and How To Fix It.
Also, visit our Google Maps mashup Health Care That Works to see how recent hospital
closures have had a disproportionate impact on communities of color.
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