The health status of the nation as a whole, as in Rhode Island, has improved significantly during this Century. Advances in medical technology, lifestyle improvements, and environmental protections have all led to health gains. Yet, despite overall achievements in health status, the burden of poor health falls more heavily on some population groups. The fact that this gap in health status occurs more frequently among racial/ethnic minority groups (African-Americans or Blacks, Native Americans or American Indians, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Latinos or Hispanics) has been documented both nationally and in Rhode Island. Not only does the poorer health status experienced by racial and ethnic minorities include higher excess mortality and poorer overall health as measured by higher infant mortality rates and higher incidences of chronic and infectious diseases, it also involves disparities in health-related information and access to health care resources.  

The pervasiveness and severity of health problems experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations in Rhode Island led to the passage of the Minority Health Promotion Act in 1992. This act called for the creation of a minority health promotion program to provide health information, education and risk reduction activities to reduce the risk of premature death from preventable diseases in minority populations. The minority health promotion program is a state funded program, which sets aside a portion of its funding for the purpose of awarding grants to not-for-profit community based organizations. A Minority Health Advisory Committee advises the program on matters related to the health status of racial and ethnic minority populations and recommends the projects funding.

The Minority Health Advisory Committee met several times and reviewed health status indicators for racial and ethnic minority populations as compared to the majority white non-Hispanic population in Rhode Island. At the conclusion of the review period, the committee determined that the minority health promotion funds be awarded to not-for-profit community-based organizations that develop and implement Comprehensive Minority Health Promotion Centers that address the preventable health conditions which lead to premature death for minority populations.

Minority Health Promotion Centers are responsible for six activities as listed below:

• Individual and Community Health Risk Assessment - MHPC develop and incorporate strategies for identifying the health problems of the population to be served and the resources available to address them.    Community forums, key informant interviews, health risk assessments, review of published reports and surveys are encouraged as other strategies that can be utilized for identifying community health risks.

• Community Outreach - MHPC utilize appropriate methods of outreach in order to identify racial and ethnic minority populations who are in need of health education, information, risk reduction activities and access to care.   Outreach may include the use of print and radio media, door-to-door outreach, direct mailings, posting of materials and other methods for reaching groups of people to inform them of the programs offered by the MHPC and other HEALTH programs.

• Health Education and Health Promotion - Health education and promotion focuses on educating community members about health conditions for which minority populations experience a disproportionate burden. Each MHPC were asked to develop a work plan that addresses no more then 5 total health disparity indicators through education and promotion activities.
• Consumer Empowerment - MHPC also design and implement consumer empowerment strategies. Consumer empowerment strategies may include, but are not limited to:
• Providing community members with vital information needed to make informed decisions about their health care choices (e.g., how to choose a health care provider, what types of health care services are available within the community, even preparation of an advanced directive or health care proxy; explaining the difference between primary care services versus emergency room services and how to access each appropriately);
• Providing community members with information on various types of insurance and other entitlements that can be used to defray the cost of health care services.

Health Information Center - Each MHPC established a physical and identifiable health information area. The health information area will contain information and materials pertaining to the health topics to be addressed through health education and empowerment activities. Each MHPC were encouraged to utilize existing HEALTH materials.