Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Opportunities and Challenges for the Commonwealth

Multiple federal health agencies have set a national public health priority to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. On a practical level, however, the onus is on states both to develop the infrastructure and to implement the agenda within which to achieve the goals of relieving the disproportionate burden of disease on ethnic, racial and linguistic minority populations. Racial and ethnic population density varies widely among states, presenting challenges in collecting the data to identify disparities, addressing the underlying factors of disparate health status among minorities, and, ultimately, in reducing the disparity of illness and disease among the entire population. There is great value in the information we already have about health disparities. However, on a national and state basis, gaps in research and data collection do exist, and persent challenges to our goals. It is in confronting what we don’t know about disparities that we will be able to make progress toward a public health agenda that is responsive to all populations. Once able to understand fully the health status of minorities, new approaches to state and community health planning that cut across all populations will be required, as well as changes in messages about health behavior and prevention.http://masshealthpolicyforum.brandeis.edu/forums/forum-pages/HealthDisparities.htm