Partnerships Hold Promise for Creating Health Equity
By Ned Calonge, MD, MPH, The Colorado Trust
The work of improving the health of Coloradans and eliminating inequities is often frustrating and at times overwhelming. It sometimes seems that, in spite of so many of us striving to assure that all Coloradans have a fair and equitable opportunity to realize good health, inequities remain entrenched and progress is slow. But the third speaker in our Health Equity Learning Series reminded me of the power and promise that each of us has in working in partnership with other like-minded individuals.
Dr. Adewale Troutman, Director of the Public Health Practice Program, University of South Florida, and President of the American Public Health Association, spoke of the need to focus on “creating health equity”—a more positive approach than “eliminating health inequities.” What we need, he said, is a true “movement” to address social and economic factors that affect individual and community health. Such a movement would involve not just health departments and facilities but all aspects of a community, including agencies and leaders not often involved in making decisions about health—transportation, police, schools, churches, housing, parks and recreation, businesses, nonprofits and more.
At times, the challenge of creating health equity seems impossible and vast—like being adrift in a big sea in a very small boat. The Colorado Trust has many resources but not enough money, partners or engagement to solve the problem of health inequities alone. Many boats would make the sea seem much smaller. A movement such as Dr. Troutman described, one in which communities are truly engaged in making decisions to improve the lives of individuals and the community as a whole, has the potential to be powerful.
The Affordable Care Act is a movement and vehicle of which we must take advantage. But the act alone won’t eliminate health disparities in Colorado. It is up to us, acting in partnership, to “create equity” as we make decisions about factors that affect health.
Through our Health Equity Learning Series, The Trust seeks to raise awareness of the consequences of health inequities and offer hopeful means to eliminate them. The next step will be to expand our partnerships with local communities. We will do much of our future work through community engagement, building partnerships with public health departments, other agencies and community groups.
If you missed Dr. Troutman’s presentation, or would like to share it with others, please see our website. We hope you will join us for the next Health Equity Learning Series event on September 12. Elizabeth Myung Sook Krause, Vice President of Policy and Communications for the Connecticut Health Foundation; Nichole June Maher, MPH, President of the Northwest Health Foundation; and Yanique Redwood, PhD, President and CEO of the Consumer Health Foundation, will speak about foundation solutions to advance health equity. If you are interested in attending the discussion or live-streaming it online, please sign up for more information.
