Apr 3, 2018, 4:00 PM, Posted by
Donald F. Schwarz
For some, perhaps the mere mention of segregation suggests the past, a shameful historic moment we have moved beyond. But the truth is, residential segregation, especially the separation of whites and blacks or Hispanics in the same community, continues to have lasting implications for the well-being of people of color and the health of a community.
In many U.S. counties and cities, neighborhoods with little diversity are the daily reality. When neighborhoods are segregated, so too are schools, public services, jobs and other kinds of opportunities that affect health. We know that in communities where there are more opportunities for everyone, there is better health.
The 2016 County Health Rankings released today provide a chance for every community to take a hard look at whether everyone living there has opportunity for health and well-being. The Rankings look at many interconnected factors that influence community health including education, jobs, smoking, physical inactivity and access to health care. This year, we added a new measure on residential segregation to help communities see where disparities may cluster because some neighborhoods or areas have been cut off from opportunities and investments that fuel good health.
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Mar 29, 2016, 11:00 AM, Posted by
Sharon Roerty
Every street should be an open street—open to people with and without wheels, all abilities, all ages, all people. Streets belong to everyone. They connect us to each other and the places where we live, learn, work, and play—across neighborhoods, cultures, and economic status.
Streets are the vascular system of our cities and regions. They let us explore and experience our communities and all that they have to offer.
Most of the time, however, they are overrun by cars. At peak hours, traffic clogs the main arteries, automobile fumes foul the air, and blaring horns assault the eardrums.
What if one day a week we all left our cars at home and took to the streets on our own two feet? What would happen?
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Mar 21, 2016, 12:00 PM, Posted by
Emmy Ganos
A new survey aims to reveal how communities across the nation are using collaboration to safeguard health.
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Mar 17, 2016, 10:00 AM, Posted by
Catherine Malone, Dwayne Proctor
Babies born in the shadow of Yankee Stadium are likely to be lifelong fans of the Bronx Bombers. They are also likely to live seven years less than a baby born a handful of subway stops south near Lincoln Center. The same is true in Las Vegas, where a baby born near The Strip is likely to live nine or 10 years less than someone born west of town.
When it comes to health across cities, zip codes are unequal and so are health outcomes. For example, ethnic minorities continue to experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality than whites. Among the 10 leading causes of mortality in the U.S. (e.g., heart disease, cancer or stroke), minority populations experience the highest rate of death.
We write often about the disparities between population groups and the day-to-day experiences of individuals who, for a myriad of reasons—systemic, geographic or financial—do not have the same opportunity to live as healthy a life as their fellow citizens. Our goal is greater health equity in America, a process that begins with including those most affected and co-creating solutions to improve the systems that negatively impact health. The end result should be decreased health disparities.
Here at the Foundation, we know that health disparities are more often caused by systems related to non-medical determinants of health, which is why we’ve specifically invested more than $457 million since 2014 toward eliminating these pervasive gaps in health outcomes.
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Mar 9, 2016, 9:00 AM, Posted by
Tina Kauh, Victoria Brown
The students at Native American Community Academy, a member of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program, believed their school should serve healthy lunches that incorporated foods indigenous to the Navajo culture. So, they set out to turn their idea into a reality.
The students had an ultimate goal in mind: convince their principal to hire a company that would provide these healthier, more traditional meals. But, first, they had to prove that this type of food service could be done.
They started with the basics. With a budget of no more than $2 per person, students headed to a local grocery store and purchased ingredients for a meal they would prepare on their own and serve to their teachers and administrators to demonstrate that offering healthy Native American food at school is both feasible and affordable.
Their menu for the day: vegetarian chili with beans, blue corn meal mush (a traditional Navajo dish), an organic fruit cup and a dish they called the “Beez Kneez,” which had squash, corn, green chili, garlic and onions. The meal received rave reviews. Not only did the principal agree to find a new food service company, she put the students in charge of the task.
This is just one of many stories that reinforce the important role schools play in teaching kids about nutrition and offering healthy meals, snacks and drinks. Among kids in underserved communities (like the students at Native American Community Academy), the role of schools is especially critical.
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Mar 8, 2016, 10:45 AM, Posted by
Christina Economos
In 2009 it became clear to me that if our nation were truly serious about reversing the childhood obesity epidemic, a novel approach was required. The numbers remain just too unacceptably high in all groups and troubling disparities persist.
Enter Peter Dolan, Chairman of Tufts University Board of Trustees and former Chief Executive Officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb with a long-time commitment to health. His background made him a complement to our work at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Along with Dr. Miriam Nelson, a professor of nutrition, we set out to develop a new method of addressing this complex problem, and co-founded ChildObesity180.
We created a collaborative model: bringing together nationally-renowned leaders from academia, nonprofits, business, and government (whom we refer to as Charter Members) to drive change on a national scale and substantially effect 5-to-12-year-olds across the country. We blend scientific rigor with insights from the private sector to develop, implement, evaluate and scale high-impact obesity prevention initiatives.
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