Office of Minority Health

Grantee Information

State of Vermont Department of Health
108 Cherry St., Burlington, VT, 05402
(802) 863-7288 (Phone)
http://www.healthvermont.gov/

The Vermont Department of Health Office of Minority Health is responsible for the development and implementation of a strategic plan that identifies, coordinates and determines the extent to which policies, programs and services can be improved to address the needs of racial and ethnic populations in Vermont.

Grant Project Information

Vermont State Partnership to Improve Minority Health
$140,000
Wendy Davis
(802) 863-7281
wendy.davis@ahs.state.vt.us

Abstract

This project seeks to educate the public about the prevalence of diabetes, asthma and obesity and how these diseases vary by race and ethnicity. It mainly targets adult minorities, particularly American Indians, African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics in Vermont, and young adult Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. The project activities include improving data quality, collection and reporting on minority health, supporting a diverse and culturally competent public health workforce, enhancing community development and leadership to reduce health disparities, and reducing risk factors leading to chronic disease among racial and ethnic minorities. As a result of the interventions, the project staff expects to increase awareness of the significance of health disparities, their impact on the nation and the actions needed to improve health outcomes for racial and ethnic minority populations. Other intended outcomes include improving health and health care outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities, improving cultural and linguistic competency and strengthening leadership for addressing health disparities at all levels. Through evaluation, the project will collect data on the number of individuals who participate in the minority health conference, the number of visitors to the Minority Health website, the number of individuals who show increased awareness and knowledge of racial and ethnic health problems, among other performance measures. The evaluation will be supported by an epidemiologist who will utilize a variety of evaluation methods, including focus group discussions, surveys and program document review.

OMH objective(s) toward which the project's results most contribute (check all that apply):

• Increased awareness, education, and outreach to address racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities problems
• Improved access to, and appropriate utilization of, health and other community-based services and systems through user-centered design for racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., health IT, culturally/ linguistically appropriate services, service provider education/ training, workforce diversity)
• Strengthened leadership and coordination to leverage resources and enhance effectiveness and efficiency of individual and collective efforts (including, but not limited to, research and data)

Key Healthy People 2010 objectives or subobjectives toward which your project's results most contribute (see Appendix 3 of OMH's Evaluation Planning Guidelines):

Healthy People objectives were not specifically identified.