Racial and Ethnic Disparities
- States Address Racial and Ethnic Disparities in their COVID-19 Responses and Beyond, March 2021.
As communities of color have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, states are working to prioritize equity in their response and recovery efforts. This blog features equitable approaches states are using to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic today and in the future. - How States Collect Data, Report, and Act on COVID-19 Racial and Ethnic Disparities, 2020-2021. The racial inequities exposed by COVID-19 case and death rates can guide states as they target testing initiatives and vaccination clinics to address health inequities in communities of color. This map details which states are using race and ethnicity data when reporting infections, deaths, and vaccinations.
- Guest Blog: Massachusetts Attorney General Issues Recommendations to Address Health Inequities, December 2020. To showcase what states are doing to address health disparities that the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare, NASHP highlights state initiatives through reports and guest blogs, such as this one by Massachusetts Attorney General Office Health Care Analyst Noam Yossefy and Assistant Attorney General Sandra Wolitzky. The blog highlights the state’s recommendations to achieve racial justice and equity in health.
- States Build Infrastructure to Advance Equity in their COVID-19 Responses and Beyond, December 2020. New state approaches to health equity are critical first steps toward identifying and addressing systemic issues of discrimination, structural racism, and health care under-service that have led to COVID-19 disparities and developing informed policies that advance equitable solutions. This blog describes state actions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- New Tool Helps States Assess Hospital Community Benefit Spending on Health Equity, November 2020. As state budgets tighten due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more critical than ever for states to ensure that the tax exemptions hospitals receive for their community benefit contributions are yielding genuine value to communities. This new NASHP tool helps states gather detailed information from hospitals in order to assess their community benefit expenditures and programs.
- States Work to Advance Racial Equity in COVID-19 Outcomes and Beyond, October 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic drives home the need for states to re-assess work on advancing racial equity and to redirect efforts to be more effective. States are focusing on the equitable distribution of resources and funding to promote health and safety for all during the pandemic. Some states are also beginning the long-term work of addressing systemic racism and other root causes of the disparities illuminated by the pandemic.
- NASHP Slide Deck Helps Policymakers Understand the Health Care Cost Conundrum, October 2020. This slide deck shares facts about the cause and impact of rising health care costs. It provides a straightforward, easy-to-understand overview to help inform policymakers and make the case for action. It is designed to prompt discussion around several questions, including: What if states could dedicate some of the resources now going towards direct health care costs to other priorities, such as investing in social determinants of health or working to achieve health equity?
- State Strategies to Address the Black Maternal Health Crisis, October 2020. States have developed several strategic approaches to address severe racial disparities in maternal health outcomes – currently Black women are four-times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women. This blog explores those states’ strategies, including workforce development, data collection, and quality improvement initiatives, to improve the overall health and well-being of women and newborns.
- How Supported Employment Can Address Mental Health Inequities in Minority Populations: Five States’ Experiences, December 2018. This issue brief examines state supported employment programs and implications for addressing health disparities in mental illness.
- State Immunization Services and Policies, December 2018. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has compiled resources that address disparities in access to immunizations for pregnant women and children.
- NASHP Identifies State Strategies to Address Mental Health and Education Inequities, November 2017. This blog describes interviews with state health officials on the impact of various interventions and their effort to reduce mental health disparities.
- Addressing Inequities through Innovations in Oral Health Policy, January 2017. This blog addresses disparities in oral health and various state initiatives to increase effective, equitable systems of care.
- Moving the Needle on Health Outcomes: State Strategies for Advancing Health Equity, December 2016. This blog describes three approaches to addressing health equity through state policy.
- In the Zone: State Strategies to Advance Health Equity by Investing in Community Health, June 2016. This chart compares goals, methods funding sources, and governing structures of initiatives in four states developed to address health equity and population health.
- State Policymakers’ Guide for Advancing Health Equity through Health Reform Implementation: Summary, August 2012. This issue brief outlines various state policy levers to advance health equity as well as opportunities for state and federal collaboration on these efforts.
- Using Report Cards to Measure Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: State Experience, September 2011. This issue brief focuses on New Mexico’s efforts to measure racial and ethnic health disparities through “report cards.”
- Assessing the Costs of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: State Experience, June 2011. This issue brief describes the strategies and resources Virginia and Rhode Island used to measure the costs of health disparities on their populations.
- State Documentation of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities to Inform Strategic Action, March 2011. This report summarizes how states analyze data in strategic plans and reports aimed at reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health status and health care.
- Federal State Discourse to Promote a High-Performance Health System. These slides offer background information, financing strategies, and state models for promoting health equity through delivery system reform.
- Infant Mortality Policy fact sheet from NASHP’s Toolkit: Upstream Health Priorities for New Governors, December 2018. This document describes resources and policy tools to reduce infant mortality, as well as specific policy evidence and resources for state leaders.
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
