Saturday, June 10, 2023
6/10/2023
Racism is a fundamental driver of racial and ethnic health disparities in the U.S. Centuries of racist policies and practices have contributed to health disparities among Baltimore City residents. In 1910, Baltimore enacted one of the first pieces of “redlining” legislation in the country, promoting racial segregation. Structural discrimination, like the implementation of racist policies such as redlining, are linked to the disparities in health and socioeconomic status that we see today. Policy change across various disciplines is one key strategy to dismantling structural racism. This project seeks to address the problem of policies being proposed and/or implemented that may create or perpetuate health disparities by continuing to contribute to existing structural frameworks. The Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) will be the lead for this initiative with support from the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management. The Baltimore City Local Health Improvement Coalition (LHIC) will be our multi-sector collaborative team. The LHIC is a state-mandated group of cross-sectoral, jurisdictional-level stakeholders charged with ensuring community health improvement. The LHIC will serve as advisors to the project and policy efforts and will be key in identifying long-term sustainability strategies, developing the disparity impact statement, and participating in dissemination activities. A subset of the LHIC will form a policy subcommittee. Its members will identify policy areas to focus on and will apply the framework, process, and tool to evaluate those policies and provide recommendations for modifying or developing new policies. BCHD will hire a cadre of policy and data fellows to support the implementation of this cooperative agreement. The fellows will work with the Project Director (BCHD’s Chief Health Policy Officer) and agency and city leadership to ensure project deliverables and outcomes are met. The team will work with the Coordinating Center to develop a framework, process, and tool to conduct review and analysis of policies, identify policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities, and develop and implement action plans to modify existing or create new policies. We will also include substantial Mayoral and resident input to ensure successful implementation of this project and subsequent policy recommendations. The main goal of this project is to equip a multi-sector collaborative group with the tools and experience to implement equity assessments into every day policy-making activities in order to decrease disparities in health and power, decrease racial and socioeconomic segregation, and increase life expectancy in communities of color. We will work with community members, local government, and others to increase public participation in the policy process, increase the connection between community and local government, increase awareness, focus, and knowledge of racial and ethnic disparities in health, the social determinants of health, and structural racism. By co-creating the process, framework, and tool with our community members and local stakeholders, we will increase trust in government, increase the knowledge base of what works to address structural racism and health disparities, increase the skills of community members to advocate for equity in policy, and lead to an increase in adaptation of health behaviors among community members. The overall impact we seek is to achieve health equity for all and ensure everyone has equal opportunity to realize their full health potential.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
