April is National Minority Health Month

April is designated as National Minority Health Month to raise awareness about health disparities that racial and ethnic minority groups experience and encourage action to eliminate these inequities. 

The history of National Minority Health Month  

• Created in 1915, NMHM was originally a week-long acknowledgment of health within Black communities. 
• In 2001, the National Minority Health Month Foundation was created. This was in response to the Healthy People initiative created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote health and disease prevention. 
• In 2002, Congress introduced a resolution encouraging a month to recognize minority health. 

Why is NMHM important?

• Data has shown that certain groups tend to experience higher rates of poorer health care and other health issues such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, and lower life expectancy. 
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines that:

“Many factors contribute to health disparities, including genetics, access to care, poor quality of care, community features (e.g., inadequate access to healthy foods, poverty, limited personal support systems and violence), environmental conditions (e.g., poor air quality), language barriers and health behaviors. These social, economic and environmental conditions where people live, learn, work and play are known as social determinants of health.”

• A comprehensive study released in 2021 found that people of color, and most especially Black Americans, are exposed to higher-than-average air pollution from nearly every type of category studied. EPA data from 2016-2019 revealed that public water systems in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act are 40 percent more likely to service people of color.
• Air and water pollution contributes to higher risk of respiratory illness, asthma, cancer, lead poisoning, other health risks, and even death amongst lower-income neighborhoods, minority communities, and especially Black Americans.
• The racial health gap is not just due to environmental factors. Studies have found that people of color are more likely to face discrimination and lower quality health care at hospitals and doctor’s offices. Even controlling for socioeconomic status, health behaviors, comorbidities, and access to health insurance and services - providers are still less likely to deliver effective treatment to people of color compared to white people.

This NMHM - Give Your Community A Boost

• The theme of NMHM this year is Give Your Community A Boost - encouraging all Americans to get COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. 
• This theme, as chosen by the Office of Minority Health within the U.S. Department of Health And Human Services, focuses on ending the pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted communities of color. The COVID Tracking Project found that Black people have died at 1.4 times the rate of white people, accounting for around 15 percent of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S through March 2021. 

Recent COVID-19 news

• A sub-variant of the Omicron family is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., emphasizing the importance of this year’s National Minority Health Month theme.
• Known as BA.2, the variant represents nearly 86 percent of all cases, according to the World Health Organization. It is more transmissible than other Omicron variants, BA.1 and BA.1.1, which are already highly contagious. However, evidence suggests that it is no more likely to cause severe cases. 
• On March 29, the CDC approved a second booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine for people ages 50 and older who received an initial booster dose at least 4 months prior. 
• Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC said in a statement:

“Boosters are safe, and people over the age of 50 can now get an additional booster 4 months after their prior dose to increase their protection further. This is especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19 as they are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time.”

Resources 

• Interested in learning more about COVID-19 race and ethnicity data in your state? Check out the COVID Tracking Project here. 
• The Minority Quality Forum also offers a comprehensive list of online health resources specifically focused on Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American health. 
• Learn more about National Minority Health Month and how you can participate here.

-Jamie Epstein and Casey Dawson