This month, FCMG joins other healthcare providers across the U.S. in recognizing and calling attention to National Minority Health Month!

 

Originating in 1915, with the establishment of National Negro Health Week by Booker T. Washington, the National Minority Health Month we acknowledge today was established by Congress in 2002 -- with a concurrent resolution that “a National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month should be established to promote educational efforts on the health problems currently facing minorities and other health disparity populations.” The resolution encouraged “all health organizations and Americans to conduct appropriate programs and activities to promote healthfulness in minority and other health disparity communities.”

 

Since then, the month of April has been a time to raise awareness -- and through awareness, mitigate -- the health disparities that continue to affect people from racial and ethnic minority groups, especially the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in these populations. The month's awareness efforts also include encouragment of action through health education, early detection and control of disease complications. The theme of this year's National Minority Health Month is "Building Healthy Communities through Health Equity."This theme highlights the importance of reducing health disparities and improving health outcomes for all communities -- an objective our practic wholeheartedly supports and strives to achieve!

To learn more about health disparities and how to reduce them -- or to participate in events and activities that promote health equity -- visit the NIH Office of Minority Health website. You can also attend a free, NIH director's series videocast entitled: Effects of Comprehensive Care in a Socioeconomically Diverse Minority Population (April 6); visit this page to see the event's details.

And let's all work together to build healthy communities through health equity!

Curious about the disparities in healthcare experienced by minorities in America? Here are just a few of them.

• Access to care: Minorities are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured than white Americans. This means that they may have difficulty accessing quality healthcare, even when they need it.
• Quality of care: Minorities are more likely to receive lower quality healthcare than white Americans. This is due to a number of factors, including racial bias in the healthcare system, lack of cultural competency among healthcare providers, and differences in insurance coverage.
• Health outcomes: Minorities are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. They are also more likely to die from these diseases.
• Maternal and child health: Minorities are more likely to experience maternal and child health disparities. For example, black women are more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.
• Mental health: Minorities are more likely to experience mental health disparities. For example, black youth are more likely to experience depression and anxiety than white youth.