Office of Minority Health

Students in the town of Planada, CA, sat at tables with enlarged maps of their community and brightly colored sticky notes. During their participation in an interactive THRIVE (Tool for Health and Resilience in Vulnerable Environments) workshop, they began to understand the impact of the environment on behavior. Fourteen-year-old Jonathan noted, “If we ask our mothers to go outside, they say no – because of traffic or because it’s dark. There are no streetlights.” Jonathan did not know at the time that this workshop would launch his path as a youth advocate who challenges place-based injustice and promotes health equity.

Five years have passed since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and I continue to be inspired by the #GetCovered stories from across America. It is amazing to hear about men, women and young adults in this country who have been empowered—many for the first time—to take the reins and become more active partners in their health care and the health care of their families.

More than 4 million minority youth smoke or experiment with cigarettes, highlighting a need for stronger, more targeted youth tobacco prevention efforts. Fresh Empire is FDA's first public education campaign designed to reduce and prevent tobacco use among at-risk multicultural youth ages 12-17 who identify with hip-hop culture.

From health statistics data, we have known for some time that African American women have a higher death rate from breast cancer than women of other racial and ethnic groups. Research within the past few years has revealed a higher prevalence of a certain subtype of breast cancer, called triple-negative breast cancer, among African American women compared to women of other racial and ethnic groups. According to the National Cancer Institute, triple-negative breast cancer cases have the worst prognosis among all subtypes and African Americans have the highest rate of this subtype of breast cancer at every age and poverty level.

Five years ago, the Affordable Care Act created a remarkable opportunity in the movement to reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. In addition to expanding access to quality, affordable coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, it provided the foundation for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (HHS Disparities Action Plan) —the most comprehensive federal commitment to addressing health disparities.

As an American Indian or Alaska Native, there are certain steps that you must take in order to meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. There are also benefits that may be available to you if you’re a member of a federally recognized tribe or Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act shareholder.

Tucked away in central Wyoming you will find the Wind River Indian Reservation—home to the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho tribes, and home to a spirit of perseverance and self-determination that permeates America. While we celebrate the rich traditions of our nation’s indigenous people during National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, we cannot forget the fateful history that is imprinted on Indian Country. With this history in mind, we can work to create a brighter and healthier future for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Recently, the U.S. Office of Minority Health hosted a Twitter chat about strategies to reduce health disparities among Latinos. Federal agencies, media, advocates, community-based organizations and others took part. The discussion dealt with a range of health, social and economic topics —including the need to increase health literacy among Latinos and educate health care providers to offer more culturally and linguistically competent care.

Our nation is rooted in the promise of opportunity for all—including the opportunity for better health. As our population grows and transforms the fabric of our country, we continue to embrace the diversity and inclusion of all people who call America home. In every corner of this country there are powerful stories of those whose quest for improved health stands as a shining example of how opportunity can change lives.

On his first day in office, President Obama said “Government should be collaborative. Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector.”

Last year, President Obama launched My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), an initiative that brings together the public and private sectors, communities, businesses, schools, and individuals to close opportunity gaps and ensure all of our nation’s youth, including boys and young men of color, have the tools they need to realize their incredible potential. The initiative sets a vision for supporting our youth from cradle to college and career by focusing on six important milestones across the life course. The first of these milestones is ensuring that children enter school ready to learn.

Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy launched Step it Up!, a Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities, urging community planners, local leaders and ordinary Americans to help create more safe areas for walking and wheelchair rolling.

Your heart may be older than you are – and that’s not good. If this is the case, you have a higher risk for heart attacks and stroke. But you can take action to put your heart on a healthy beat.

APHA Webinar Series on Racism and Public Health Concludes with a Look at the Relationship between Graduation Rates and Health Disparities

Discrimination exacerbates health and health care disparities for communities of color. Inequity results in lack of access to quality, affordable care and can lead to prolonged and unnecessary illness. This is especially true for people with a mental illness or substance use disorder. During July, National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, we shine a light on the discrimination that minorities often experience when living with a mental health condition, and learn how we can prevent it.

As a first-generation Caribbean American, I often draw inspiration from my greatest role models — my parents.

Over the past year, I've traveled all over America to hear from older Americans, caregivers, advocates, researchers, and local leaders engaged in broadening options for older Americans.

As part of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP) is pleased to announce the translation of the ChooseMyPlate 10 Tips resource and MyPlate icon from English into 18 additional languages.

The essence of diversity is brilliantly reflected across the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in DHHS’ celebration recognizing the 30th anniversary of the release of what’s now referred to as “The Heckler Report.”

Hardly anyone knew that 28-year-old Monique Gore-Massy was sick on her wedding day in 2008, but just two months earlier, she had been diagnosed with lupus.

As the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants from Haiti, I have a deep respect for the rich traditions of the generations that preceded me. My family’s elder women – especially my late maternal grandmother and my mother – have been great matriarchs and their lessons are too important to forget.

I was working the evening shift at a Crisis Unit in a Community Mental Health Center in California. A young adult female was brought in by her family. She was severely ill with psychosis and was nine months pregnant – and her Chinese-speaking parents had no awareness of either condition.

Fannie Lou Hamer – voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and humanitarian, captured the nation’s attention during the 1964 Democratic National Convention, when she described the injustices she and others in her community had endured in their fight for the right to vote.

This year, as the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) recognizes its 5th anniversary, we reflect on the evolution of the Institute’s role in public health achievements and the future improvements in minority health and health disparities.

During April, the Office of Minority Health marks National Minority Health Month. Despite our nation’s progress toward ending health disparities, racial and ethnic minorities still lag behind the U.S. population as a whole on many health fronts.

At the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), essential to our mission in public health protection is to determine if medical products, such as medications and devices, are safe and effective for the patients likely to need them. 

On the 30th anniversary of the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health (also known as the Heckler Report), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recognizes the far-reaching impact of this landmark publication.

Calling all budding chefs! Do you like to cook and make healthy food for your friends and family? If so, you might be able to show off your skills and creativity to the First Lady of the United States and your peers from across the country.

At a commemorative event two years ago, I heard a historian say that history is not a steady stream of events, but rather a series of punctuation points, like ripples from stones tossed into water. 

Half a century ago, our nation was in the midst of a Civil Rights revolution. Over these last few years, we’ve reached several milestones: the 50 ^th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, Dr. King’s transformative “I Have a Dream” speech, and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery.

During my pediatrics training in Pittsburgh, PA, I provided care to the young people—many of them boys and young men of color—at the juvenile detention center.

I’m one of the 16.4 million uninsured people who have gained health coverage since the passage of the Affordable Care Act five years ago.

My parents are lucky. Even though they are in their early 60s, they don’t have any serious health problems. But at their stage in life, they know an accident or illness is a real possibility. Since my mother and father are both self-employed, they went to the Health Insurance Marketplace last year to find health plan options, and were able to get coverage that fits their needs. But like many newly insured Americans, they felt that making sense of their new coverage was difficult.

Each year in the U.S., 1,500 babies are born with spina bifida, a birth defect caused by lack of folic acid in the mother’s diet. Spina bifida, like many other birth defects, can be prevented.

Nothing is more important to us than our family. We cherish time together, every birthday party, holiday gathering and special celebration. And we shouldn’t let glaucoma make us lose sight of these deeply treasured traditions.

As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we can also commemorate a significant milestone on our journey toward health equity.