Health Equity

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Network attorneys and staff have identified six key policies with the potential to significantly improve mental health outcomes across the United States. This policy brief covers a wide range of areas focused on communities and those who work to support communities. It is designed as a practical resource for public health professionals, leaders, and partners, offering strategies to enhance mental health and well-being while reducing disparities in mental health care.

Many state and local governments have established offices of equity or similar entities to prioritize equity in government policies and procedures, and to lead and support equity work within the communities they serve. The first edition of this resource provided detailed examples of cities or counties across 12 states that established such offices. This 2024 Edition provides a non-exhaustive list of states, cities and counties across the country that have established such offices and includes some information on the offices found.

Law and policy play a critical role in shaping health outcomes especially when it comes to racial health equity. While legislative actions and trends matter, it is also important to understand the role of the courts in altering legal landscapes in ways that can positively or negatively impact racial health disparities. This fact sheet highlights four 2023 U.S. Supreme Court cases with examples of how each potentially impacts racial health equity. It also provides a further examination of two cases of the cases that can be classified as wins for racial health equity.

By May of 2020, the realities of the inequitable toll of COVID-19 on communities of color became starkly evident, and the murder of George Floyd sparked a renewed movement for racial justice in the United States. During this time, the Network began earnestly exploring how best to respond and be of assistance in a rapidly changing environment. An internal Health Equity Work Group (HEWG) was established to create a space for connection and learning, and to identify ways to collaborate across regions to be responsive to what we were observing and experiencing. One of the early actions identified by the HEWG was to “evaluate what services and supports Network users are interested in” via tools like an environmental scan, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups. This report explores the process that was undertaken to answer that question and the key findings and themes relevant to health and racial equity work across a variety of public health practitioners and organizations.

Overview September 21, 2023 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. ETMedical debt is a social determinant of health affecting millions of people in the U.S. with…

Overview August 17, 2023 | 1 – 2:30 p.m. ETLegal and policy decisions shape the way people experience everyday life and can bolster the conditions…

This Micro-Toolkit is a simple, accessible framework that will guide you through six steps to assess potential equity implications for a new or existing policy and help you identify opportunities for improvement and for continued assessment.

This Fact Sheet provides an overview of state-level legislation introduced or enacted since 2016 related to National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS).

Requiring licensure for lactation consultants (a healthcare professional who specializes in the clinical management of breastfeeding) can lead to increased quality of lactation-based care, but it can also lead to barriers to entry into the lactation consulting profession resulting in a workforce lacking in diversity. The regulatory environment in Rhode Island for lactation consultants provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by states interested in ensuring the quality of care provided to parents and infants while also ensuring that competent and trained professionals do not experience unnecessary occupational barriers.

Incarcerated workers across the U.S. provide valuable goods and services, producing items used in state and local government agencies and engaging in work like road repair, firefighting, and post-disaster clean-up. They generate more than $2 billion a year in goods and $9 billion a year in services, but are not covered by typical workplace protections, like minimum wage and workplace safety laws. It is important for states to strike a balance between the requirements for prison labor and protecting the health and well-being of incarcerated people. This Fact Sheet summarizes prison procurement laws in states in the Network’s Southeastern Region, prompted by a question from the state of Virginia.

This policy brief focuses on the definition of care coordination services provided by Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the state of Minnesota and was written in response to a request for research on how other state statutes and regulations define care coordination services. Minnesota is investigating the potential to expand CHW service coverage to ensure the sustainability of CHWs in the state. The state is looking into ways to define care coordination that allows the service to be covered. Definitions for care coordination or for CHW services that address care coordination (or comparable services) may be found in the statutes or regulations of at least nine states.

Midwives play a critical role in reducing maternal mortality and many states have made an effort to expand the number of midwives by allowing the licensure of “direct entry” midwives who may be credentialed despite not having a formal nursing education. This resource provides a summary of laws in all states and the District of Columbia regulating direct entry, including training requirements for licensure, the state regulatory body, and what medications midwives can administer while practicing.