Office of Minority Health

Grantee
New York State Department of Health Office of Minority Health-Health Disparities Prevention
Albany, NY 12237-0001

Project: New York State Department of Health State Partnership Program
Amount: $150,000

The New York State Office of Minority Health is dedicated to improving access to high-quality health care, improving health outcomes and eliminating health inequities for racial and ethnic minorities. The office designs and manages projects to promote and protect the health of racial and ethnic minorities in the state of New York.

Project Abstract

The program will support the continuation of the State Partnership Program Rural Minority Health Program with a specific focus on obesity reduction. It is expected that the 2013-2015 Obesity Reduction Initiative will reach a minimum of 2,000 racial and ethnic minorities and underserved residents through targeted interventions. Activities will consist of:

• Body mass index (BMI) screening and referral system for adults and pregnant women. Of those screened and identified to have a BMI of 30 or higher, 85 percent will receive a referral for follow-up care.
• Education sessions focusing on increased physical activity and proper nutrition
• A family-focused breastfeeding campaign with the goal of increasing the rates of breastfeeding beyond six months

Expected outcomes are increased knowledge and awareness of healthy practices with the intention of creating positive behavior changes. Initiatives will be implemented in up to three counties (Jefferson, Chemung and Sullivan). Each of these counties has higher rates of adult and pre-maternity obesity and lower rates of breastfeeding beyond six months as compared to the state average.

The individual counties will collect data on performance and outcome measures including but not limited to the number of participants, the number with reduced BMI, the number of families participating in the breastfeeding campaign and the number that have continued breastfeeding.