Health Power for Minorities

• African-Americans, or Blacks
• Caribbeans
• Asian Pacific - Islanders
• Hispanics, or Latinos
• Native Americans

Health Power's Opinion

1. We consider all of the above terms valid for some reason, thus will use them alternatively.
2. We also recognize that there are very important sub-groups within each of the above racial/ethnic categories, such as:
• Caribbean, Haitian, African (from the Motherland)
• Puerto Rican, Mexican, Dominican, Cuban
• Crow, Sioux, Pima, Mohawk, and Alaska Natives
• Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean

We could go on and on about which racial and ethnic terms to use. However, we cannot afford the luxury of giving this much attention as long as too many multicultural people/people of color are:

• Ailing too much, and
• Dying too soon.

Instead, multicultural communities/communities of color and organizations that serve them must focus, creatively and constructively, on how to obtain the additional resources they need in order to provide health information, health promotion and other health services that are tailored for various populations/groups and sub-groups. Examples of sub-groups needing such tailored or customized information are:

• People of various age ranges (such as early, mid and older teens, women of childbearing age, men, aging persons, etc)
• organizations (CBOs)
• faith leaders, legislators and other community leaders
• parents, grandparents, and other guardians
• people of different socioeconomic groupings
• gay and lesbian individuals

A wide range of highly recognized experts serve as Health Power Editors and Advisors. Their main role is to:

1. recommend and provide health related information that they consider interesting or useful to users and visitors of our channels and other web areas;
2. review, when needed, information suggested by others for the web site; and
3. advise Health Power on other organizational programs and activities, on request.

We invite you to meet this outstanding group of experts and Health Power partners – through their pictures and summaries of their backgrounds.

Key Reports on Racial and Ethnic Disparities  

* In March 2005, Health Power’s President spoke by invitation on Women, Race, Health Care Access and Quality of Care at the Fourth World Conference on Women of the United Nations.  

* The Health Literacy of America’s Adults: Results from The 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy; Source: U.S. Department of Education NCES 2006-483  

* Also Visit Aetna's Diversity area for additional information about racial and ethnic health disparities.  

* The Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital

Although there are now a number of disparities centers, the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is the first center of its kind in the United States. It is the first based in a hospital, which focuses on moving health care disparities issues from the research arena to policy and practice.

Following are descriptions of:

• An Overview of the Disparities Solutions Center, its Director, Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., M.P.H. and Other Leadership;
• A Summary of Projects of the Disparities Solutions Center, including projects with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Committee for Quality Assurance, California Endowment, and the State of Delaware.