Boston Disparities Project: Action Plan for Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities

The Boston Disparities Project (Project) was developed by the Boston Public Health Commission and Mayor Thomas M. Menino to address the key social determinants that lead to worse health outcomes for Boston's residents of color. The Project has granted over $2 million to more than 100 community organizations to work towards achieving this goal. The Project is innovative in that it recognizes many elements, from environmental and social, to economic and academic, factor into health inequities. In 2005 Boston issued a health equity agenda, making Boston among the first communities in the U.S. to establish a city-wide blueprint for addressing inequities in health. This blueprint includes a comprehensive data report of health disparities among residents, recommendations for healthcare institutions, and recommendations from industry and community leaders that engage multiple sectors in addressing health inequalities. Key elements of Boston's health equity agenda have sought to address the social determinants of health through a focus on five key levers for change including: funding opportunities, active engagement in city and state legislative priorities related to disparities, data collection, diversifying the healthcare workforce, and public awareness and education to mobilize and build capacity for residents and organizations to address disparities. After five years, the Project has concrete, positive results that can be replicated as well as key lessons learned related to institutionalization, coordination, and sustainability. We hope to share practical approaches with health and other organizations across the country on creating and immplementing innovative, coordinated, and systematic strategies to eliminate inequities in health.