April marks National Minority Health Month. This annual observance brings focus to the health and health status of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. This year’s theme—Partnering for Health Equity—appropriately highlights the role of partnerships and how partnering can help reduce disparities and advance equity in health, health care, and well-being.
Since 2012, the VA Office of Health Equity (OHE) has been charged with ensuring that racial and ethnic minority Veterans, as well as other vulnerable Veterans groups, receive timely, high quality, personalized, safe, effective and equitable health care. Partnering across federal, state, and local government agencies, and working with businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders is one of the key strategies that OHE uses to advance Veteran health equity.
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In time
for National Minority Health Month, OHE is pleased to share some exciting tools
stemming from our partnership with the Food
and Drug Administration Office of Minority Heath. Released today, the Inclusion of Veterans in Clinical Trials
video series feature racial and ethnic minority Veterans describing the
importance of minorities and Veteran participation in clinical trials. Clinical
trials are voluntary research studies that often lead to medical treatments and
cures. Many Veterans who participate in clinical trials report that their
participation allows them to continue their service.
Please watch the Inclusion of Veterans in Clinical Trials videos, share with others, and consider volunteering for a clinical trial today.
Inclusion of Veterans in Clinical Trials – Video 1, Video 2
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VA OHE
Chief Officer, Uchenna S. Uchendu, MD, recently gave a talk on Veteran health
equity and the importance of Veteran participation in clinical trials at the
FDA OMH Lecture Series. Links to the recording and slides are available below.
Office of Minority Health Lecture Series:
Health Equity and Diversity in Clinical Trials (11/20/2017) – Recording, Slides
VA Office of Health Equity Resources
Learn
more about the health status of racial and ethnic minority Veterans from some of
the following VA OHE resources.
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National Veteran Health Equity
Report—FY2013 – Chapter 3. Health and Healthcare for
Veterans in VHA by Race/Ethnicity
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Virtual Patient
Training Modules – Hear the voices of vulnerable Veterans,
learn about their experiences, and use this knowledge to reflect on everyday
interactions between staff and patients facing social determinants of health challenges.
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Journeys with High Blood
Pressure
– Hear and discover from African American Veterans as they discuss their
experiences with high blood pressure and offering tips to take medications,
talk to their health care providers, and make other changes.
Partner Resources for National Minority Health Month
FDA
Office of Minority Health
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April
19, 2018 Community Health Event – AWARE for All (Howard University, Washington,
DC) – Register
Here
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April
26, 2018 Webinar – My Journey to Discover Why Health Disparities Exist (Dr. Thomas
LaVeist, Georgetown University, Washington, DC) – Register
Here
National
Minority Health Month and 2018
Welcome Message from Matthew Y.C. Lin, MD, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Minority Health, Director, Office of Minority Health, U. S. Department of
Health and Human Services
Celebrate
National Minority Health Month! – Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Screening and Referral for
Social Determinants of Health: Innovative Health Care Applications and Future
Directions (Meeting, May 3, 2018) – National Institutes of Heath
Social
Justice Behind and Beyond the Bars: Criminal Justice, Health, and Academic
Medicine (Video) – Association of American Medical Colleges
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