Social and Community Context

In discussions about health equity, the unique challenges faced by Native communities often remain in the shadows, even though they consistently bear the brunt of systemic inequities that result in some of the most severe health outcomes.

The Center for Community Resilience (CCR) within the George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health has been working alongside a broad coalition of community groups in Cincinnati, Ohio on a Truth & Equity initiative aimed at dismantling decades of inequitable policies and practices rooted in structural racism.

In 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) began the process of ameliorating centuries of prejudice, racism, and deliberate attempts to strip Indigenous peoples of their culture and heritage. The legislation created legal boundaries to protect Indian families and communities from the loss of their children.

The University of Michigan Research Hub conducted 65 semi-structured interviews with state and local officials in five states where "Health in All Policies" initiatives were underway, with a goal of examining whether and how policymakers and advocates use the framework to elevate health equity as a policy concern across sectors and jurisdictions.

Amid a growing national conversation on equity and social justice, city and county governments are using tools to identify racial and ethnic disparities in their communities. These insights can then inform the development and implementation of laws and policies designed to minimize disparities and maximize positive impacts on racial and ethnic minorities.

Leveraging more than a decade’s worth of data, the researchers will examine relationships between at-risk children’s health and education outcomes, as well as access to public services. This is vital information as states across the country, and Tennessee in particular, adopt new laws and resolutions that encompass a wide range of policy actions related to child health and education.

Springfield, Massachusetts is a mid-sized city with a large community of color population experiencing socioeconomic and health inequities. Historically there has been little infrastructure in Springfield to support active transportation and recreational walking and biking, so in 2015, Springfield City Council adopted a city-wide “Complete Streets” resolution.

This study will examine how social spending and Medicaid policies influence child health and development. Analysis will be based on NSCH data matched by birth cohort and state to historical government spending data from the Census of Governments. Multivariate analysis will be used to examine the impacts of state spending by developmental phase on health.