241284 Race, Disability and the Promotion of Health Equity

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 3:24 PM

Dennis Heaphy, MEd, MPH , Disability Policy Consortium, Boston, MA
Monika Mitra, PhD , Center for Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) provides unique opportunities for public health practitioners to reduce disparities in health care access and health outcomes for persons of color who have disabilities. Current efforts to eliminate health disparities too often exclude persons with disabilities as a demographic. As a result, health disparities impacting persons of color with disabilities are all but ignored. This presentation will look at how state and community level entities can begin taking steps to proactively respond to the PPACA and reduce health disparities impacting persons of color with disabilities. It will share current efforts taking place in Massachusetts to better understand and incorporate the healthcare needs of this population into its work to eliminate health disparities. It will provide empirical evidence of disparity in health access and health outcomes for persons of color with disabilities.

Using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from Massachusetts, this presentation will look at gaps in data collection and analysis that if remedied can provide better understanding of the connection between race, disability and health indicators such as obesity, tobacco use, isolation etc. and secondary disabilities. Practical examples of collaborations between disability advocates, traditional public health advocates and state agencies to eliminate health disparities will be given. These include efforts by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Disparities Action Network, Health Care for All and Disability Policy Consortium. Challenges, opportunities, points of synergy and divergence will be discussed along with practicability in areas including CLAS standards, policy formulation and data collection.

Learning Areas:
Diversity and culture
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify gaps in data collection necessary to address health disparities impacting persons with disabilities from ethnic and minority populations Describe specific initiatives to address health disparities impacting persons with disabilities from ethnic and minority populations. Formulate new understandings of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to promote health equity for this population.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Disability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: A healthcare analyst with the Disability Policy Consortium, a Massachusetts-based disabilities rights organization, my primary responsibilities include research, writing and advocacy on issues of equity in health access and health outcomes for persons with disabilities. Prior to working with DPC, I served as Americans with Disabilities Act Project Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and consultant to the North Carolina and Massachusetts Departments of Public Health writing training materials on provision of health services to persons with disabilities across the lifespan. I have extensive experience in development of educational curricula for adult learners. I have been a previous presenter at APHA and have been a primary or secondary author of several articles and two book chapters on topics related to health and disability. I am particularly interested in health inequities impacting persons with disabilities in ethnic and minority populations and the development of culturally competent frameworks of disability to promote the health of persons with disabilities as a demographic.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.