May 2016

In this issue:

• Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• Accelerating Health Equity: News Across the Federal Government
• May 8-14: National Women’s Health Week
• Early Career Scientists: Apply for the Free Disparities Research Institute
• Hepatitis Campaigns Target Asians/Pacific Islanders, Baby Boomers
• New FOA from CDC: Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality
• More Health Observances
• What’s New in the Knowledge Center

Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Throughout the month of May, we pay tribute to the generations of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians who have enriched America’s history and have been instrumental in our nation’s success. This year’s theme is “Walk Together, Embrace Differences, Build Legacies." Join us in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and visit our website to learn about:  

• The Story Behind Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month  
• Asian American and Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian Health Profiles  
• Ideas to Commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 

Accelerating Health Equity: News Across the Federal Government

• CDC Data Brief: Changes in Life Expectancy by Race and Hispanic Origin. While the U.S. population as a whole has not exhibited a statistically significant uptick in longevity since 2010, there were measurable increases in life expectancy among African Americans and Hispanics.
  
  
• U.S. Health Report Card Special Feature on Health Disparities. “The Health, United States” series, an annual overview of national trends in health statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides a look at health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities in several key health measures. 
  
  
• Health Coverage and Care for Reentering Men. A new HHS report guides community-based organizations serving justice-involved men to help them better understand their health coverage and care opportunities under the Affordable Care Act. 
  
  
• My Brother’s Keeper: Early Interventions for Accelerating Health Equity. The White House recently issued its two-year progress report on the My Brother’s Keeper initiative, a coordinated federal effort to address opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color.
  
  
• HHS Report: Suspension and expulsion policies in early learning settings. Suspension and expulsion and their effect on early childhood learning are examined in a new report by the Administration for Children and Families, released in conjunction with the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Second Year Report. 
  
  
• HHS awards $5 million to Puerto Rico health centers to fight Zika virus. Health centers will use this funding to expand voluntary family planning services, including contraceptive services, outreach and education, and to hire more staff.  

Visit www.cdc.gov/zika, a comprehensive resource for providers, consumers and media, with information about symptoms, transmission, prevention, travel alerts, surveillance and control, and more.

May 8-14: National Women’s Health Week

National Women’s Health Week is an observance led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office on Women’s Health. The goal is to empower women to make their health a priority.

This observance also serves as a time to help women understand what steps they can take to improve their health.

Here are 10 simple ways to join this celebration led by the HHS Office on Women’s Health:  

    1. Join the National Women’s Health Week Thunderclap. 
    2. Learn what steps you can take for a healthier you. 
    3. Take the pledge and get on the map. 
    4. Ask one of your friends to take the pledge. 
    5. Meet our ambassadors and see what the week means to them. 
    6. Use our cover photo and profile picture. 
    7. Organize events or activities. 
    8. Spread the word with our social media messages. 
    9. Use #NWHW in any messages you share about the week. 
  10. Share these ideas with the other important women in your life and  
        the people who support them! 

Early Career Scientists: Apply for the Free Disparities Research Institute

This summer, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) will host the Health Disparities Research Institute, a unique opportunity for early career researchers who are interested in addressing health disparities and minority health research to learn about the latest science and receive guidance on their own research projects from leaders in the field. Apply online by June 1.  

Hepatitis Campaigns Target Asians/Pacific Islanders, Baby Boomers

In case you missed last week’s webinar on two of CDC’s most prolific viral hepatitis awareness campaigns, the recording and slides are now available. Dr. Cynthia Jorgensen, the Lead for Education, Training and Communication in CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis, presented an overview of Know Hepatitis B, which promotes hepatitis B testing among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Know More Hepatitis, which encourages hepatitis C testing in people born from 1945-1965. View the slides and recorded webinar. 

New FOA from CDC: Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality

The CDC released a new funding opportunity announcement, Enhanced State Surveillance of Opioid-Involved Morbidity and Mortality, to equip states to improve the timeliness of surveillance of opioid-involved morbidity and mortality. State health departments in states with high drug overdose death rates in 2014 or rapidly increasing drug overdose death rates from 2012 to 2014 are eligible to apply. Up to 11 state health departments will be supported by the three-year project period, with an average award amount of $335,000 each year.

More Health Observances

• Asthma Awareness Month 
• Hepatitis Awareness Month 
• Lupus Awareness Month 
• National Stroke and High Blood Pressure Awareness Month  
• Older Americans Month 

What’s New in the Knowledge Center

Widgets for your website  Link your consumers and your website directly to the Knowledge Center and the latest minority health statistics and demographic trends.