In honor of the National Minority Health Month 2023 theme, Better Health Through Better Understanding, OMH published a series of blogs highlighting some of its federal partners who are working to address health disparities through culturally and linguistically competent healthcare services, information, and resources on the OMH Blog for Health Equity. Read each blog in the series to learn more about their work:

• EQUITY Through Communication by RDML Richardae Araojo, Associate Commissioner for Minority Health and Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
• Ensuring True Equity Through Better Understanding by Dr. LaShawn McIver, Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health
• Baking Health Equity into NOFOs by Grace Liggett, Health Communication Specialist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Reducing Health Disparities Through Health Literacy by Gopal K. Singh, Lyoung Hee Kim, and Gem P. Daus, Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Health Equity

The HHS Office of Minority Health’s Commitment to Advancing Language Access

Leandra Olson, Policy Team Lead for the Division of Policy and Data at OMH, highlights OMH’s efforts to advance language access by promoting the National CLAS Standards, supporting language access programs and policy development, and improving language access across HHS.

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Empowering the Next Generation: Public Health Youth Ambassadors Leading the Charge for Health Literacy

Rashmita Subedi, Public Health Analyst and Project Officer at OMH, highlights the Fairfax County Health Department’s Stronger² Public Health Youth Ambassador Program funded by OMH’s Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 initiative. Stronger² is increasing health literacy among high school students by training them as community health workers.

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LGBTQI+ Health in Every Language

Gem P. Daus, Public Health Analyst at the Health Resources and Services Administration Office of Health Equity, highlights resources and training opportunities to help providers deliver culturally and linguistically appropriate care to LGBTQI+ patients.

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New Resources for Advancing Equity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NH/PI) Communities in COVID-19 Response Efforts

Juliet Bui, Director of the Division of Policy and Data at OMH, highlights OMH’s efforts to develop guidance on best practices that advance cultural competency, language access, and sensitivity toward AA and NH/PI communities in the context of the federal COVID-19 response. 

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Caleb J. Colón-Rodríguez, DrPH, Public Health Analyst at OMH, describes how healthcare algorithms and AI bias can contribute to existing health disparities for certain populations based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, or other demographic factors, and best practices for addressing these challenges.

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Rear Admiral Felicia Collins, MD, HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and OMH Director, discusses a new report commissioned by OMH from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine that analyzes how past and current federal policies create, maintain, and/or amplify racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities.

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