Addressing Health Equity and Racial Justice Within Integrated Care Settings
As an organization, we have vowed to raise awareness about health care inequities and are committed to providing support to our members as they begin to or continue to address these inequities and persistent health disparities rooted in systemic racism in order to improve health care access and outcomes. Join us in taking the vow to raise awareness about health care inequities, and through this toolkit, build upon your knowledge related to health equity, health inequity, health disparities and social determinants, health literacy, cultural literacy, in order to address racial and social inequities and support your patients and organizations.
Purpose of this Toolkit
The Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions (CoE-IHS) developed this interactive, online toolkit and list of resources for you and your organization to support you in addressing racial inequities and the associated stigmas that lead to mental health and substance use treatment disparities and ensure you have the tools to support your patients and organizations. You and your team will be able to set your own pace and supplement your knowledge in the identified areas in a variety of formats to suit different learning styles.
We recommend that organizational managers/leaders assess the level of group knowledge related to health equity, health inequity, health disparities and social determinants, health literacy, cultural literacy and racial equity and social justice in your organization. Forming a diversity committee focused on training might help this process within your organization
After reading through this toolkit, users will be able to…
- Define health equity, health inequity, health disparities and social determinants, health literacy, cultural literacy, racial equity and social justice.
- Demonstrate increased awareness of the structures, practices and policies present and assess individual and/or organizational-level opportunities for improvement. You will be able to begin to address and reflect upon key questions, including:
- Why do these inequities and disparities exist?
- What are the historical and socio-economic root causes of these issues?
- Begin to identify what is working within the structures, practices and policies present at the individual and/or organizational-level and develop a plan to support and advance equity-related goals.
- Apply the skills and tools acquired in each module to a case vignette.
Disclaimer
The views, opinions and content expressed in this toolkit do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This toolkit represents the latest and most cutting-edge research, resources and information related to this topic. CoE-IHS will be updating this set of resources and tools regularly to reflect the latest evidence-based information available.
