Policy and Planning Initiatives

Minority Health Needs Assessment Project
In 1998, the MHAC’s Community Resource Assessment Subcommittee began a comprehensive needs assessment. The purpose of this project was threefold: 1) to assess the delivery of Department services to racial and ethnic minority communities; 2) to identify gaps and barriers in service delivery; and 3) to develop a series of recommendations for minority health policies which will lead to a reduction in health status disparities. The methodologies for completing this project include a series of community forums targeting all racial and ethnic minority groups in the state and an internal assessment survey of the Department’s 44 programs.

Minority Health Plan of Action
In January 2003, HEALTH’s Executive Team approved the Minority Health Plan for Action. This Plan for Action is the result of the minority health needs assessment project, subsequent strategic planning retreats with members of the MHAC and HEALTH’s Executive Committee, and three state breakout sessions of the 1999, 2001 and 2003 Eliminating Health Disparities by 2010: The New England Regional Conference.

The following goals are identified in the Plan:

Goal 1
All HEALTH programs meet the needs of racial and ethnic minority populations.

Goal 2
Establish uniform guidelines and procedures regarding the collection, use, analysis and dissemination of data on racial and ethnic populations.

Goal 3
Establish policies and procedures ensuring meaningful and productive community involvement and participation in all planning, monitoring and evaluation of health activities.

Goal 4
Improve work force diversity within HEALTH and promote the need for diversity in all health care institutions.

Goal 4a
Ensure that all LEP individuals receive the same quality health services (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act)

Goal 5
Build community capacity to provide health education, health promotion and disease prevention activities that are aligned with HEALTH overall priorities targeting racial and ethnic minority populations.

Goal 6
Facilitate and develop public/private partnerships at the state, regional and national level to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.

Upcoming Events

NATIONAL MINORITY HEALTH MONTH
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April 2008

April is National Minority Health Month, a nationally-recognized campaign to raise awareness of racial and ethnic health disparities and to launch year-round initiatives to eliminate these disparities. The Rhode Island Department of Health is joining this public education effort, reinforcing the state’s commitment to eliminate health disparities.

past events