April is Minority Health Month

In 2002, Congress established National Minority Health & Health Disparities Month in an effort to reduce health disparities and improve the health status of minority population. To commemorate Minority Health Month, the Center for Minority Health Services, in partnership with community and faith based organizations, is planning activities throughout the state. A calendar of free events is available at http://idph.riproad.com/newEvent.php, or by texting event to 36363.

Medical advances and new technologies have provided people in America with the potential for longer healthier lives more than ever. However, persistent and well-documented health disparities exist between racial and ethnic populations and health equity remains elusive. For instance – infant mortality is more than twice as high for Black infants as it is for white infants; more white women are diagnosed with cancer, but more Black women die from cancer; nearly 6 in 10 Latinos are uninsured compared to 2 in 10 whites; American Indian/Alaska natives have diabetes rates that are nearly 3 times the national rate, and Asian Americans have a higher liver cancer incidence and mortality rate as compared to the White population.

The Center for Minority Health Services is inviting the entire Department of Public Health to begin the journey to a healthier you by "Eating Healthier; Exercising Regularly; and Getting Regular Health Screenings". To begin these simple life changes:

• Make a commitment to participate in the 2nd Annual Central Counties Health Centers' 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, April 20, at Washington Park, Springfield. The first 50 people that contact Kerrie Rawlings at Kerrie.Rawlings@illinois.gov, will receive a free registration to the Run/Walk, event t-shirt, pedometer, and water bottle.
• Sign up for weekly health tips and recipes by texting alert to 36363.
• Join us for our weekly webinars – dates and times will be posted on the intranet.

Start with these small changes and start noticing a healthier you.

2013 Illinois Minority Health Conference

Purpose:
The 2013 Illinois Minority Health Conference is supported by the Illinois Department of Public Health, Center for Minority Health Services. The conference seizes the momentum of national health care reform to foster dialogue, offer strategies, and provide a roadmap for a bridge to health equity in Illinois.

Who should attend:
Public health professionals on the federal, state, and local level; medical professionals; healthcare organizations; community-based organizations; public health associations; hospital associations; academic institutions; public health learning centers; law enforcement agencies; human service organizations; mental and behavioral health organizations, faith-based organizations, and others will benefit from conference attendance.

Funding Opportunity

Increasing Access to Health Care Services for Medically Underserved Minority Populations through Mobile Health Care

The Illinois Department of Public Health Center for Minority Health Services is requesting proposals from health care providers that can provide preventative health screenings in an innovative and culturally and linguistically appropriate manner throughout the medically underserved areas of Illinois. The services will be provided in an environment that is non-threatening, targeted, culturally and linguistically appropriate, reality based, and tailored to ensure relevance to the circumstances and conditions of the target population through a partnership with the Wellness on Wheels Initiative and the Wellness of Wheels mobile units. Successful applicants will have demonstrated their capacity and experience in the delivery of health care services within this specific mobile health care environment. For more information, visit the funding opportunities page.

The 2012 Minority Health Conference Eliminating Health Disparities through Community Transformation Conference handouts

HHS Announces Comprehensive Plan to Reduce Health Disparities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unveil ed its road map for eliminating health and health care disparities on Friday, April 8, 2011 .  As promised during the follow up discussion with Dr. Damon Arnold, IDPH Director, you have an opportunity to comment via the online discussion board at http://moodle.uis.edu/course/view.php?id=249.   All comments will be reviewed, compiled, and distributed appropriately.  Additionally, you can view the Center for Minority Health Services activities related to the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities.

The following workgroups will be convened to identify and coordinate future action steps.  If you are interested in participating as a member of any of them, please contact the Center by email veronica.halloway@illinois.gov, or phone at 217-785-4311.

• Awareness – Increase the awareness of the significance of health disparities, their impact on the nation and the actions necessary to improve health outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations

• Leadership – Strengthen and broaden leadership for addressing health disparities at all levels

• Health System and Life Experience – Improve health and healthcare outcomes for racial, ethnic, and underserved populations

• Cultural and Linguistic Competency – Improve cultural and linguistic competency and the diversity of the health-related workforce

• Data, Research, and Evaluation – Improve data availability, and coordinator, utilization, and diffusion of research and evaluation outcomes

Featured videos:  

Girl Did You Know . . .

American Teens and HIV

Chicago teens PSA promoting Text2Survive

Quality of Life Endowment Fund

• Nationally, AIDS is the leading cause of death among African American women age 25-34 and the second leading cause of death of African American men age 35-44.

• HIV/AIDS cases among African Americans are the highest among all racial/ethnic groups with a total of 1,406 cases reported in 2004 in Illinois, which consists of more than half the total reported cases in the state (2,662).  Whites comprised 26 percent of the reported cases, Hispanics 15 percent and Asians 1.4 percent.

• Of the total reported HIV cases among females in Illinois, 70 percent were African-American.

• Among the total male population with HIV in Illinois, 47 percent were African American.

• Nearly 72 percent of African-American women and 64 percent of African-American men with HIV infection reported in 2004 were under 40 years of age.
  

• Know your Status

• Get Tested

• Get Your Friends Tested