Health equity workgroup

The Health equity workgroup is one of the five Prematurity Campaign Collaborative workgroups guided by the Collaborative strategic map.

This workgroup works toward achievement of demonstrated improvements in preterm birth and health equity by aligning multi-level support to achieve health equity, which is the central challenge in the strategic map.

Workgroup focus

The workgroup focus is guided by strategic map priorities, including:

• Foster and support population-based solutions
• Foster and support community/place based leadership and engagement
• Align federal, tribal, state, local and community policy initiatives
• Partner across sectors to impact the root causes of inequity

View the Health equity workgroup charge and the list of participants at the health equity workgroup meeting that took place on February 9 and 10. 

The Health equity workgroup co-chairs are:

• Fleda Mask Jackson, PhD
  Founder, Save 100 Babies
  President and CEO, Majaica, LLC
  University Affiliate, Columbia University
   
• Arthur R. James, MD, FACOG
  Interim Executive Director,
  Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
  Associate Clinical Professor, Dept OB/GYN,
  Wexner Medical Center
  The Ohio State University
   
• Diana Ramos, MD, MPH, FACOG
  Public Health Medical Officer,
  Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division,
  California Department of Public Health
  Associate Clinical Professor in
  Obstetrics and Gynecology,
  Keck University of Southern California School of Medicine

Workgroup meeting slides

View the meeting notes from January, 2018.

For more information on the Prematurity Campaign Collaborative or to receive the Collaborative Newsletter, complete this sign-up form or email us at collaborative@marchofdimes.org.

Health equity issue briefs, key articles and statements

The Health Equity Workgroup has developed the Guiding Principles to Achieving Equity in Preterm Birth to give participants in the March of Dimes Prematurity Collaborative a common understanding of the principles and terms used in conversations about equity and health equity.

Workgroup participants have suggested the following resources to assist organizations and communities in addressing equity and preterm birth. This list will be added to over time.

• A consensus committee report, Culture of Health: Committee on Community Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States, prepared by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine as part of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health initiative, examines the evidence on solutions to promote health equity. In Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity, the same committee highlights promising community-based solutions.
• The Equity Manifesto presents a selection of statements from partners that have worked with PolicyLink expressing what equity represents to them. 
• What is Health Equity? is an issue brief intended to promote greater consensus about the meaning of health equity and the implications for action within the Culture of Health Action Framework. 
• Black Lives Matter: Claiming a Space or Evidence-Based Outrage in Obstetrics and Gynecology uses data from the ob/gyn field to demonstrate the significant disparities Black women face across their reproductive lives and includes a call to action. 
• Equity is fundamental to the community we want to build is a statement from Kings County Best Starts for Kids.    
• CDC: Paving the Road to Health Equity includes links to publications related to Programs, Infrastructure, Measurement and Policy topics associated with supporting health equity. 
• Journal of Public Health Management & Practice: Health Equity Supplement, published by the Centers for Disease Control in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. 

Health equity toolkits and resource guides

Workgroup participants have suggested the following toolkits and resource guides to assist organizations and communities in addressing equity and preterm birth. This list will be added to over time.

• The W.K. Kellogg Foundation's  Racial Equity Resource Guide provides practical resources via an interactive tool, including articles, organizations, research, books, media strategies and training curricula to help organizations and individuals achieve racial healing and equity in their communities. 
• The website Racial Equity Tools offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level - in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.
• The Association for State and Territorial Health Officials provides tools and guidance for state health agencies to achieve the Triple Aim of Health Equity: (1) Implement health in all policies, (2) strengthen community capacity, and (3) expand understanding of health. 
• The Campaign for Action website describes seven major, interrelated issues that together contribute to a healthier America through nursing. They are: improving access to care, fostering interprofessional collaboration, promoting nursing leadership, transforming nursing education, increasing diversity in nursing, collecting workforce data, and building healthier communities.
• The Collective Impact Forum's Community Engagement Toolkit includes a series of tools for planning community engagement to be more purposeful, equitable, transparent, and strategic.
• A Practitioner's Guide for Advancing Health Equity, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Community Health is intended to assist practitioners in addressing the well-documented disparities in chronic disease health outcomes. It provides a collection of health equity considerations for several policy, systems, and environmental improvement strategies focused on tobacco-free living, healthy food and beverages, and active living. Additionally, the Health Equity Guide will assist practitioners with integrating the concept of health equity into local practices such as building organizational capacity, engaging the community, developing partnerships, identifying health inequities, and conducting evaluations. 
• Health Equity Leadership and Exchange Network (HELEN) seeks to identify, analyze and track all laws, policies and programs that impact health equity. 

Health disparities data

Workgroup participants have suggested the following data-related resources to assist organizations and communities in addressing equity and preterm birth. This list will be added to over time.

• Peristats, developed by the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, provides access to maternal and infant health data for the United States, regions, states, counties and large cities, including more than 60,000 presentation-ready graphs, maps, and tables.  Data come from more than 10 data sources, including vital statistics, Census, BRFSS, PRAMS, among others and many indicators are available by maternal age, race, and race/ethnicity, income, and Medicaid status.  Prematurity Profiles and Premature Birth Report Cards are also available for each state.
• Diversitydatakids.org is an online tool from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. It can be used to explore measures of child wellbeing and policy analysis, and documents diversity, opportunity, and equity among US children.
• LGBTstats, from the Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law, is a source for LGBTQ terminology and resources. It includes facts and figures about the LGBT community from Williams Institute policy analysts and social scientists.

Health equity videos and webinars

Workgroup participants have suggested the following videos and recorded webinars to assist organizations and communities in addressing equity and preterm birth. This list will be added to over time.

• March of Dimes webinar Equity in Preterm Birth: a Context for Action. Continuing education credits available through the Clinical Directors Network.
• Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? PBS series.
• Precious Loss: Race in Colorado
• National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities Webinars

Health equity initiatives and other resources

Workgroup participants have suggested the following examples of initiatives and other resources to assist organizations and communities in addressing equity and preterm birth. This list will be added to over time.

• Moms2B
• Best Babies Zone Evaluation Report 
• The Coming of the Blessing: A pathway to a healthy pregnancy. March of Dimes American/Indian Alaska Native Women's Committee

• Prematurity Campaign Collaborative

Other Professionals topics