DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (DHHS) INITIATIVES

President's Initiative on Race

On February 21, 1998, President Clinton announced a new initiative that sets a national goal of eliminating by the year 2010, longstanding disparities in health status that affect racial and ethnic minority groups. The president announced that the federal government will, for the first time, set high national health goals for all Americans, ending a practice of separate, lower goals for racial and ethnic minorities. To help reach these ambitious targets, the president also announced a plan to mobilize the resources and expertise of the federal government, the private sector, and local communities to eliminate disparities that for too long have been treated as intractable. The plan includes the following:

• Building on the record of improvements in health status for all Americans.
• Recognizing and condemning unacceptable racial and ethnic health disparities that exist today.
• Mobilizing all Americans to close gaps in health status.
• Developing historic national health goals.

From White House Fact Sheet / Contact: HHS Press Office 202-690-6343

For more information, visit President's Initiative on Race.

HHS Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Initiative

In his February 21, 1998, radio address, the president committed the nation to an ambitious goal: by the year 2010, eliminate the disparities in six areas of health status experienced by racial and ethnic minority populations while continuing the progress we have made in improving the overall health of the American people. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is leading this effort to eliminate disparities in health access and outcomes in the following: Infant mortality, cancer screening and management, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV infection, and child and adult immunizations.

For more information, visit HHS Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Initiative.

AGENCIES

Office of Minority Health Resource Center

The Office of Minority Health Resource Center (OMH-RC) was established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health in 1987. OMH-RC serves as a national resource and referral service on minority health issues. The center collects and distributes information on a wide variety of health topics, including substance abuse, cancer, heart disease, violence, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and infant mortality. The Resource Center also facilitates the exchange of information on minority health issues. Unlike a clearinghouse, OMH-RC offers customized database searches, publications, mailing lists, referrals, and more regarding American Indian and Alaska Native, African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Hispanic populations. Information resources on minority health include databases on funding, media, research, data, and listings of volunteer resource persons as well as scientific reports, journals, and documents.

OMH-RC services are free, and can be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-444-6472, sending E-mail to info@omhrc.gov, or on the Web, by visiting Office of Minority Health Resource Center.

National Institutes of Health – National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities

The mission of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) is to lead, coordinate, support, and assess the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. In this effort NCMHD will conduct and support basic, clinical, social, and behavioral research, promote research infrastructure and training, foster emerging programs, disseminate information, and reach out to minority and other health disparity communities.

For more information, visit National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Health Resources and Services Administration

The mission of the Office of Minority Health (OMH) is to provide leadership and guidance throughout HRSA to assist the Agency to improve the health status of racial/ethnic minorities.  HRSA strives to serve its internal HRSA customers as well as its external constituencies effectively so that they will consistently view our services as valued-added.  The goal of the office is to be a full partner at the table where policy decisions are made to impact on resource allocations and to provide expertise regarding the minority populations that we serve.

Primary Functions

• Works with Bureaus/Offices in the formulation, integration, and evaluation of program strategies for racial/ethnic minority populations.
• Links HRSA programs addressing minority health to potential external partners.
• Provides oversight and coordination within HRSA for the implementation of the  Department's Minority Health Initiatives.
• Works with HRSA's Data Systems Development Committee to institute a system to ensure that HRSA's data collections systems are responsive to the data needs of OMH relative to monitoring Agency activities addressing the needs of racial/ethnic minorities being served by HRSA programs. 
• Represents HRSA programs affecting the health of racial/ethnic minorities to the health community, and to the public and private sectors.

For more information, visit Office of Minority Health (OMH)

Bureau of Primary Health Care – Health Collaborative

Health Disparity Collaboratives

The mission of the Health Disparities Collaboratives is to achieve excellence in practice through the following goals: (1) to generate and document improved health outcomes for underserved populations; (2) to transform clinical practice through models of care, improvement and learning; (3) to develop infrastructure, expertise and multi-disciplinary leadership to support and drive improved health status; and (4) to build strategic partnerships

Strategic partnerships have been developed with:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention --  State Diabetes Control Programs Environmental Protection Agency Bayer Corporation Bristol Myers Squibb

National Diabetes Education Program National Association of Community    Health Centers Substance Abuse and Mental Health    Services Administration

Healthy People 2010

Healthy People 2010 is the prevention agenda for the Nation. It is a statement of national health objectives designed to identify the most significant preventable threats to health and to establish national goals to reduce these threats.

Healthy People 2010 is a comprehensive set of health objectives for the nation to achieve over the first decade of the new century.  Created by scientists both inside and outside of Government, it identifies a wide range of public health priorities and specific, measurable objectives.

Overarching Goals:

1. Increase quality and years of healthy life
2. Eliminate health disparities

For more information, visit  Healthy People 2010  --  Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Room 738G, Hubert Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201, (202) 401-6295

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) research provides evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. Information from AHRQ’s research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services. AHRQ was formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

For more information, visit The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality