Women's health: Defining social determinates of health and improving health outcomes

In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiated a five-year national program to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. The Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health across the U.S. (REACH U.S.) program funded a total of forty grantees to develop community action plans specific to their respective priority populations and community health needs. A portion of the funded grantees focus specifically on women's health outcomes related to social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges.

This presentation identifies strategies and lessons learned over three years of implementing interventions that span across multiple areas of the socio-ecological model related to eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities in an effort to improve women's health outcomes. An analysis of progress reports and internal documentation will also identify common themes and social determinants that negatively impact women's health. Additionally, this presentation will identify future implications to improve women's health.

Although there is no single intervention that is likely to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities; this analysis demonstrates the importance of developing and sustaining interventions to address social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors in an effort to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.