NACDD is the only organization representing all state and jurisdictional chronic disease staff, dedicated to building capacity and making public health good for the public.
The tool is the capstone of more than year of NACDD focus on promoting on health equity, led by Namvar Zohoori, our 2016 board president. As Namvar said at the beginning of his term, “We all know that health disparities are pervasive… And we all know that the root determinants of inequalities in our society run deep and are not easily overcome.”
For example, across many income levels, African-Americans are more likely to have a chronic illness or disability than Caucasians. In addition, a 2012 study found that primary care providers spend less time with African-American patients and involve them less in decisions about their medical care. While there are many complicated and confounding factors at play – the result is that African-Americans have a higher mortality rate from preventable diseases than other racial groups.
The Moving to Institutional Equity tool, along with other resources on our President’s Challenge 2016 page can help organizations frame and understand some of these implicit or institutional biases as well as develop cultural competencies.
Within Headquarters, we are “walking the walk” by using the toolkit in our own organizational alignment activities.
And you can get involved by joining our Health Equity Council, whether you are interested in learning more or already are passionate about this issue.
Congratulations to Louise Square, project lead, and to the Council on the completion of “Moving to Institutional Equity.”
We can conduct epidemiological studies, build out strong program models, and effectively engage our communities – but we still may not see the progress we would like to if we do not address the root causes of health inequality. Together, let’s further our work advancing public health by starting a conversation about health equity in our own departments. Here’s how.
