Oral

The Boston Disparities 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, and has granted more than $2 million to 100+ community based agencies to achieve this goal. These social determinants include environmental, social, economic and academic factors. Boston is among the first communities to issue a health equity agenda, which includes a city-wide blueprint for addressing inequities in health through comprehensive data reporting of health disparities, recommendations for healthcare institutions, and recommendations from industry and community leaders that engage multiple sectors in addressing health inequalities. This session will describe various aspects of health efforts in Massachusetts to reduce disparities throughout the state. Lessons learned related to institutionalization, coordination, and sustainability of reform efforts will be presented, as will practical approaches to implementing innovative, coordinated, and systematic strategies to eliminate inequities in health. An overview of a new tool kit will be presented. This is available in print and on line at www.enddisparities.org.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be better able to: • Identify and develop public health policy initiatives to address racial and ethnic health disparities on a statewide basis • Translate public health jargon and mindset into a community-comfortable presentation • Identify and apply relevant strategies for policy advocacy

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing