Association Curates Resources and Hosts Webinar to Support National Minority Health Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Zunera Mirza, zmirza@chronicdisease.org

ATLANTA (Apr. 8, 2020) – As part of National Minority Health Month, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) encourages communities of color to find opportunities to promote physical activity to help reduce the particular burden chronic disease places on these traditionally threatened groups.  

Every April, National Minority Health Month seeks to increase discussion and action to address health disparities and inequities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities. 

“The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors supports National Minority Health Month because the Association believes everyone in America should have the chance to live a healthy life, regardless of who they are, where they are from, or where they live,” said John W. Robitscher, MPH, CEO of NACDD.

This year’s theme, “Move Your Way,” has unique relevance in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said Robyn Taylor, NACDD’s Health Equity Consultant.  

“Communities of color may not live in areas where it is safe to walk, run, or otherwise participate in physical activity around their neighborhood and also may be prohibited from doing so due to COVID-19 social distancing guidance,” Taylor said.

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors has dedicated many years of work and activities to reducing health inequities and disparities through our Health Equity Council (established in the 1990s) as well as through the Association’s program portfolio work on diabetes, cancer, and other significant causes of disability and death in the United States.

In honor of Minority Health Month, NACDD pulled together multiple resources to support state and territorial work in this area and also hosted a webinar, “Moving Upstream, What Does that Mean?” at 2 p.m. ET on Tues., April 14. Featuring Dr. Renée Branch Canady, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Michigan Public Health Institute, the webinar focused on improving the fundamental social, systemic, and economic structures to decrease barriers and improve supports that allow people to achieve their full health potential.

Dr. Canady is a national thought leader in the areas of health inequities and disparities, cultural competence, and social justice. Dr. Canady has been highly influential in broadening the discussion of health equity, health inequities, and social justice while serving on numerous national boards, review panels, and advisory groups. Dr. Canady often leads workshops and discussions about what it means to ‘move upstream.’  

Listen to a recording of the webinar by clicking on the link: https://tinyurl.com/y9vgus65

NACDD also offers the following resources for State and Territorial Health Department staff interested in broadening their scope and consideration of how minority health can be improved through chronic disease programming:

Health Equity webpage/Program Materials

• Partnerships are Essential- Focus on Disparities (2019)
• Advancing Health Equity (2018)
• Pilot of the Institutional Equity Tool (2018)
• NACDD Health Equity Council at Work (2017)
• “An Assessment of Funding and Other Capacity Needs for Health Equity Programming Within State-Level Chronic Disease Programs” (Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 2011)

NACDD Portfolio Work Supporting Health Equity and Minority Health

• GEAR Groups Compilation of Resources on Health Equity to Accelerate Population Health (2019)
• Learn how NACDD is promoting health equity in our most recent Annual Report (see pg. 8) (2018)

Cancer

• Environmental Scan of Skin Cancer Prevention Messages (2018)
• Skin Cancer Messages Among Black and Hispanic Groups Ages 18-44 Who are at Risk (2018)

Cardiovascular Health

• Under Pressure: Black Men and the Battle of Hypertension  (2019) Please register to view the recording 
• Addressing Health Disparities in Hypertension Control (2017)

Diabetes

• Reaching Minority Men Where They Are-Capacity Building for the National Diabetes Prevention Program (2020)
• Building Capacity for Disability Inclusion in the Diabetes Prevention Program (2020)
• Medicaid Coverage for the National DPP Demonstration Project to Promote Health Equity (2019)

Lupus

• Lupus Awareness Month- Focus on Disparities (2019)
• Partnerships Result in Improved Lupus Data Collection Focusing on Disparities (2019)

Addressing Upstream Factors

• How We in State Health Departments can Support Active People, Healthy Nation (2020)
• Insights Magazine: Socially Determined- A Call to Action (2019)
• Complete Streets Webinar (2019)
• “Socially Determined: Moving Public Health to 3.0” Podcast Series (2019)
• Deliberate Practice: Programs-Level Approaches to Address Upstream Factors (2019)
• Upstream Factors: From What and Why to How (2019)
• Community IS Medicine –an “Rx” for Eating, Exercise, Sleep and Community (2019)
• Chronic Disease and Social Determinants in Public Health (Health Yeah! Series, 2018)
• Building the Public Narrative to Address Root Causes for Health Disparities & State Examples (2018)
• Reaching People with Disabilities through Health Communities (2018)

“We must not lose sight of those most impacted by chronic disease and the underlying social and economic reasons why communities of color are more likely to become ill or die during public health emergencies, like COVID-19,” Robitscher said. “NACDD will continue its strong commitment to minority health during COVID-19 and after the pandemic is over.”

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About The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

Promoting Health. Preventing Disease.

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and its more than 7,000 Members seek to strengthen state-based leadership and expertise for chronic disease prevention and control in states and nationally. Established in 1988, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NACDD is the only membership association of its kind to serve and represent every chronic disease division in all states and U.S. territories. For more information, visit chronicdisease.org.