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Health Equity Toolbox
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Addressing health equity requires a multi-pronged approach. The health equity framework that forms the basis for our approach illustrates the need for public health activities to refocus upstream, while simultaneously shifting the way that critical downstream services are provided. To refer to the stream parable, we need to build stronger bridges and fences and we need to do a better job ensuring everyone who falls into the river of poor health/health outcomes gets rescued with high quality care.
Our health equity toolbox is a consolidation of well established and innovative strategies and resources for public health professionals, health care providers, and others to improve the conditions that create health and those that reduce health inequities. We recognize that it may not be feasible to address all of the factors identified in the framework in every community at the state or national level, a comprehensive approach is ideal for achieving meaningful and sustainable change.
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The Role of Cultural Competency in Achieving Health Equity
In order to address all components of the health equity continuum, the public health workforce, health care workforce, and partners need to provide culturally competent care. Due to the breadth of services that public health agencies, health care systems, and community-based organizations provide, and the range of populations that these services target, it is imperative that the workforces of these agencies are culturally competent. Workforces should represent the diversity of the populations that they serve, including the ability to communicate with non-English speaking populations.
The Office of Minority Health within the U.S. DHHS defines cultural competence as “having the capacity to function effectively as an individual and an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors and needs presented by consumers and their communities” (OMH, 2001) Additional Resources: For more information regarding cultural competence, click here. The National Center for Cultural Competence also provides numerous resources and tools on their website. |
The health equity toolbox provides examples of strategies and resources for public health professionals, health care providers, and others to improve the conditions that create health and those that reduce health inequities. Together, the information and examples provided in these sections represent a comprehensive effort to address health equity.
Upstream Strategies for Community Health |
Upstream Strategies for Health Care Providers
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Upstream strategies for health care providers, including ways in which providers can incorporate upstream approaches in their service delivery and/or provide care that is more equity-oriented.
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Policy-Oriented Strategies
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Strategies for promoting health equity, focusing on the “Health in All Policies” approach, and other policy tools that can support or facilitate the changes required to facilitate health equity and address underlying social inequities in a direct and systemic way.
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