On March 21, 2019, the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement, part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, will convene a one-day public workshop to explore the broad and multidisciplinary nature of the population health workforce. Michael Rhein and Dwyan Monroe from the Institute for Public Health Innovation will talk about community health workers in a segment of the workshop. The program will also include several community health workers from the DC, MD, and VA regions. The workshop will be webcast from the Roundtable’s webpage, and the proceedings of the presentations and discussion will be prepared following the event. Those interested in attending the event live may register: HERE.
America’s Public Health Crisis: Declining Life Expectancy & its Systemic Causes
On February 25, 2019, the Institute for Public Health Innovation hosted a webinar examining declining life expectancy trends in the U.S.
In 2018, the CDC released data revealing that U.S. life expectancy declined for the third consecutive year. This is an unprecedented trend in modern society that cuts across demographics and multiple causes. This webinar provided a nuanced and in-depth look at the data on declining life expectancy across racial-ethnic groups from a wide range of conditions and provided recommendations for policymakers in addressing some of the systemic causes.
Dr. Steven H. Woolf provided insight from his recently published study that revealed midlife mortality rates in the U.S. have increased across all racial-ethnic populations from multiple causes, including organ diseases and “deaths of despair.” His discussion included an analysis of this historical progression that indicates midlife mortality rates among non-white populations equaled or even exceeded rates of white populations, offsetting years of progress in lowering mortality rates. He also provided policy levers to reverse this trend.
Dr. Brian D. Smedley spoke to the systemic factors contributing to these racial and ethnic inequities in mortality. His discussion focused on a prominent root cause, racial residential segregation and housing disparities. Dr. Smedley discussed the history of residential segregation, demonstrated its link to racial health inequities, and recommended potential place- and people-based policy interventions.
IPHI Leads Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Training for Project HOPE
On December 3-4, 2018, IPHI facilitated a 2-day workshop on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) with state and local leaders in early childhood education in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The workshop supported Nemours Children’s Health System Project HOPE: Harnessing Opportunity for Positive Equitable Early Childhood Development, which is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to assist state partners in strengthening their early childhood education systems to promote equity. IPHI adapted their existing curriculum to the needs of state partners in Oklahoma. Content included an overview of definitions and concepts related to EDI utilizing a public health lens, in-depth exploration of a multi-level framework for understanding and undoing structural racism and other forms of oppression, strategies for equitable engagement of partners by analyzing power dynamics, and action planning for the participants to begin integrating equity concepts and strategies into their workplans. IPHI will conduct similar workshops in 2019 with partners in other state-level coalitions that are participating in Project HOPE.
The Institute for Public Health Innovation has worked in partnership with The Health Collaborative, Centra, Sovah Health – Danville, and Danville Regional Foundation to publish the Dan River Region’s first Health Equity Report. Over the past ten months, these community partners have been working together to collect data, engage residents, identify common themes and analyze trends to better understand the region’s current health status.
As part of a larger community health needs assessment, the map-based report provides critical insight into the many factors that influence the community’s health. The findings of the report have been presented in the region through a series of workshops, presentations, and community findings.
For more information on the report or to learn more about The Health Collaborative, visit the Collaborative’s website or contact Project Manager Elyse Jardine at ejardine@institutephi.org.
