April is Minority Health Awareness Month, a time to draw attention to a specific health topic of concern to people of all different communities around the world. This year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health (OMH) highlights the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minority communities and reducing health disparities. Through the “Healthy People 2030″ campaign, OMH strengthens the focus on health equity by setting data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade. This focus is reflected within their goals to “eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.”
Healthy People 2030 defines health equity as “the attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and health care disparities.” As stated by the OMH, by sharing this definition and shedding light on this matter, it promotes “a shared understanding of these concepts and helps individuals, organizations, and communities nationwide align their resources and efforts- and identify areas of collaboration.”
We wanted to highlight some resources available at the library that focus on minority health. Stop by and check one out, or place a hold on any of these titles by following the corresponding link(s):
- We’ll fight it out here: a history of ongoing struggle for health equity by David Chanoff
- The Broken Ladder: how inequality affects the way we think, live, and die by Keith Payne
- Pregnant while black: advancing justice for maternal health in America by Monique Rainford
- Just Medicine: a cure for racial inequality in American health care by Dayna Bowen Matthew
- The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health [electronic book] by Rheeda Walker
Ebooks:
- Health Disparities in the United States: social class, race, ethnicity, and the social determinants of health [electronic book] by Donald A. Barr
- Racial Wellness: a guide to liberatory healing for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [electronic book] by Jacquelyn Ogorchukwu Iyamah
