The Society for Public Health Education  [Printer-friendly version]
June 1, 2002

RESOLUTION FOR ELIMINATING RACIAL AND ETHNIC HEALTH DISPARITIES

Whereas SOPHE recognizes that the health and well-being of communities
and the individuals within them is dependent not only on biological
but also social and environmental factors and that under-represented
communities of people in which health disparities are most evident
have been historically silenced, ignored and their trust violated with
regard to economic opportunity, environmental safety, health care
access, health care service delivery and education and,

Whereas Healthy People 2010 Objectives for the Nation recognize that
the systematic silencing, disregard, and violation of trust has a
negative effect on the health and well-being of under-represented
communities by continuing to perpetuate institutionalized oppressions
and health disparities (1,2) and,

Whereas, mortality from stroke is 80% higher in African Americans than
Whites and the mortality rate for hypertension is three times higher
for African Americans than Whites (1,2) and,

Whereas, the mortality rate for all cancers is higher among African
Americans than all other racial or ethnic groups; and the incidence of
cervical and liver cancers in Asian Americans is as much as 5 times
higher than other ethnic and racial groups (2,3,4) and,

Whereas, African Americans and Hispanics make up 25% of the U.S.
population, yet 55% of all AIDS cases; and African American and
Hispanic women account for 77% of all female AIDS cases; and 57% and
24% of all pediatric AIDS cases occur in African Americans and
Hispanics, respectively (2,5,6) and,

Whereas, the infant mortality rates in African American and American
Indian/Alaska Native infants are 1.5-2 times higher than the rate of
Whites; and mortality for African American women during childbirth is
3.5 times higher than White women (7,8,9,10) and,

Whereas, African Americans and Native Americans are two times more
likely to die from diabetes than Whites; and Hispanics are 2.5 times
more likely to experience diabetes-associated renal failure than
Whites (2,11) and,

Whereas Native Americans are almost 2 times more likely to die from
unintentional injury than whites,, followed by African Americans
(2,12-17) and,

Whereas, immunization rates are lowest among minorities, children from
lower income families, and children with less educated parents (18-24)
and,

Whereas, the rate of non-elderly Hispanics who lack health insurance
is two times the national average; and only 20% of Native Americans
have access to the Indian Health Service (2,25-31) and,

Whereas, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and people
with low socioeconomic status are less likely to own or have access,
knowledge and skills to use computers (2,32) thereby decreasing their
access to the latest health information and access to medical records
and,

Whereas, underrepresented minorities represent over 25% of the U.S.
population, but account for only 10% of all health professionals; and
affirmative action programs in higher education have been under attack
or dismantled; and barriers to the recruitment and retention of
qualified persons from under-represented groups into the health
professions and schools of public health, medicine, nursing etc. are
considerable; and that these groups can play an indispensable role in
helping to reduce health disparities by working in underserved
communities (29,33-44),

Now therefore be it resolved that SOPHE:

INTERNAL ACTIVITIES:

(1) Assess possible means by which SOPHE contributes to exclusion,
discrimination or oppression of under represented groups in its
operations, policies, and actions.

(2) Initiate an organizational wide educational campaign to eliminate
operations, policies, and processes that exclude and discriminate
against under represented populations.

(3) Through the Open Society Commission examine ways in which SOPHE
can more vigorously participate in efforts toward an open and just
society both within our own organization and in collaboration with
others.

(4) Support professional training opportunities to increase cultural
competency of public health education and health care professionals.

(5) Initiate scholarship opportunities for African Americans,
Hispanics, and Native Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and
Alaska Natives SOPHE members to promote their public health education
professional development, education and training.

(6) Commit resources and efforts to developing and implementing
effective methods of recruiting students of color, and other
underrepresented groups into SOPHE.

EXTERNAL ACTIVITIES:

(1) Support advocacy efforts for:

Increased funding opportunities for the identification of data for
under represented racial and ethnic groups as well as the provision
and evaluation of programs to address the underlying determinants of
health disparities.

Increased funding opportunities for recruitment and training public
health educators and other health care professionals representing
under represented groups.

(2) Improve professional education and development opportunities by:

Seeking funds from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) or other potential
parties to examine the proportion of students in professional
preparation programs in health education that represent minorities
according to either race or ethnicity.

Advocating for the hiring and promotion of racial and ethnic minority
faculty in professional preparation programs in health education

(3) Collaborate with national initiatives to eliminate racial and
ethnic health disparities such as the President's Initiative on Race,
the NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities,
HRSA's Office on Minority Health and, the DHHS Office on Minority
Health.

Authors: Brandie Adams, BS, Victoria Anwuri, BS, Eleanor Dixon-Terry,
MPH, CHES, Lorna Houghton, MPH, Sue Lachenmayr, MPH, CHES, Sharyn
Parks, BS, Roland Richard, BS, Darcell P. Scharff, PhD, Cherylee
Sherry, MPH, CHES, Charles E. Williams, III, MA.

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Copyright 2005 SOPHE
Society for Public Health Education, 750 First St. NE, Suite 910,
Washington, DC 20002-4242
info@sophe.org phone: (202) 408-9804 fax: (202) 408-9815