Health Equity RESOURCES
Access the links below for some additional resources on health equity.
Health Equity-Focused Organizations
National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO)
NACCHO’s Health Equity and Social Justice Initiatives explore why certain populations bear a disproportionate burden of disease and mortality and what health departments can do to better address the causes of these inequities.
Health Policy Institute of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a national nonprofit organization that conducts research on public policy issues of special concern to African Americans. Its Health Policy Institute aims to ignite a health equity movement that gives people of color the right to an equal opportunity for healthy lives.
Health Justice CT
Health Justice CT is a movement of Connecticut residents dedicated to working together to raise awareness about the issue of racial and ethnic disparities. The project seeks to find innovative solutions to ultimately achieve health justice for everyone in Connecticut.
Commission on Health Equity
The Commission on Health Equity is a commission of the State of Connecticut, established in 2008 by the Connecticut General Assembly and approved by the Governor. Among its many duties are to review and comment on any proposed state legislation and regulations that would affect the health of the state’s populations experiencing racial, ethnic, cultural linguistic disparities in health status; and to work as a liaison between these populations and state agencies to eliminate health disparities.
Connecticut Multicultural Health Partnership
The Connecticut Multicultural Health Partnership,launched in July 2008 by the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s Office of Multicultural Health, aims to draw together expertise, resources, and programming to eliminate health disparities in Connecticut.
Publications
The World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health published Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health, which summarizes that Commission’s recommendations to close the health gap globally in a generation.
NACCHO produced Developing Policies to Advance Health Equity: The Role of Public Health,which, among other things, explores how public health officials can act to promote health equity in their communities.
The American Journal of Prevention Medicine published an article entitled Moving on Upstream: The Role of Health Departments in Addressing Socioecologic Determinants of Disease, specifically examining the role of public in implementing the recommendations of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health produced the 2009 Connecticut Health Disparities Report, which compares leading indicators of health status and health access for racial or ethnic minority populations relative to the white population of Connecticut.
Data Sources
The Health Equity Index brings together vast amounts of locally-specific data in one easy-to-use database. This data is compiled and analyzed from several sources, some publicly accessible and others only accessible through a complex, organization-specific request process. Data sources include:
US Census
Claritas Population Facts
US Census Zip Code Business Patterns (NAICS)
US Economic Census, Zip Code Statistics
CHIME - Hospital Discharge Records
CT Department of Public Health Vital Statistics
CT Department of Social Service Caseload Records
CT Department of Education Data and Research (CEDar)
CT Housing Finance Authority
Municipal Voter Registration and Voting Records
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Aggregate Repotrs - Loan Application
Realty Trac, County Real Estate Trends