April is National Minority Health Month which also includes National Public Health Week. This year, many healthcare and public health organizations, like the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are using the month to raise awareness about health equity and why it is important for everyone.

 

What is Health Equity?

Research has shown that our health depends on much more than what we eat (or don’t eat!), our genes, or how well we follow doctors’ orders. In fact, where we live, work, play, and pray greatly influences our health and longevity.

 

Unfortunately, in many parts of the U.S., including in The Bronx, there are large discrepancies when it comes to how healthy different communities are. Called health inequities, these gaps in health are often due to a history of unfair policies and practices that have left neighborhoods without access to healthy food, safe streets, affordable homes, good jobs, or quality schools.

 

Despite its rich history of community organizing and advocacy, The Bronx is considered New York State’s unhealthiest county. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Rankings, since 2009 the Bronx has ranked 62 of New York State’s 62 counties in both health outcomes and health factors.

 

Health outcomes include things like length and quality of life, while health factors include things like smoking, cancer screening, poverty rate, and housing problems. This means that The Bronx is overburdened by chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, and asthma, and overall quality of life for Bronx residents is poorer.

 

However, there is some good news. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s County Health Ranking, Bronxites are living longer, on average, than just a few years ago. Bronx residents are also using more opportunities to exercise and are drinking less alcohol.

 

We all deserve to live our healthiest life! Promoting health equity means increasing opportunities for everyone to live our healthiest life, no matter who we are, where we live, or how much money we make. While we all need to be responsible for our own health by eating well, exercising, getting enough rest, and seeing our healthcare provider regularly, some groups have been given fewer opportunities to do these things, and their overall health suffers.

 

Groups that have often faced discrimination and/or been excluded from opportunities for health are people of color, people living in poverty, people with disabilities, and women.

 

What Can You Do?

We must work together to improve the conditions that impact health, especially for groups who lack access or who face discrimination. In honor of National Minority Health Month, here are some tips for how to improve health equity in your community:

• Start a conversation about health equity in your church, school, community center – wherever!
• Share health education and resource information with your networks.
• Get to know your elected officials; call or write and ask them to prioritize the health of The Bronx.
• Advocate for policies that improve access to affordable housing, quality schools, healthy food, and safe streets.
• Let us know what your health priorities are; complete our Community Health Needs Assessment at https://www.gnyhasurveys.org/CHNA2022.

 

What is the Community Health Needs Assessment?

Do you live in the Bronx? Montefiore wants to know what matters to you! Every three years Montefiore completes a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to understand the resources and health needs of our communities. We use this information to support the needs of our patients and communities across the borough.

 

Go to the following link to answer a brief, 10-minute anonymous survey and share it with your community: https://www.gnyhasurveys.org/CHNA2022

 

Elizabeth Spurrell-Huss is director of health equity programs in the office of community and population health at Montefiore Health System.