African American Public Health Awareness Advocacy (AAPHAA)
For well over the past 40 years the U.S. government’s 'Center for Disease Control' (CDC) has released reports on racial health disparities year after year showing the pervasiveness of chronic diseases in Black communities.
It's the same case with the U.S. 'Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion' and its 'Healthy People' initiative. Since 1980, the Healthy People (HP) initiative has set measurable objectives to improve the health and well-being of people nationwide. At the beginning of every decade HP launches a new iteration of the initiative that addresses the latest public health priorities and challenges.
Healthy People 2030 is the initiative’s fifth iteration and its focus is to “Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.” It is obvious if you look at current racial health disparities data that for over 40 years the Healthy People initiative has failed to improve the health and well-being of Blacks in America.
Over the past 40 years many states across the country have put out yearly reports on racial health disparities. However adequate funds were not allocated, nor programs developed to significantly address health disparities, what was developed was superficial and piecemeal. Indeed, the field of Public Health in America has failed to reduce the tremendous racial health disparities between Blacks and Whites because of very little emphasis placed on ‘advocacy’ training to address these disparities.
According to public health researchers, their studies show that of the 68 accredited schools of public health in the US, not one requires an advocacy course to graduate with a Master of Public Health. For those institutions, who offer a health policy advocacy course or concentration, they remain elective additions to core curricula and not a requirement for degree completion.
Yes, public health workers including the 10% who are Black are not being trained to ‘advocate for racial health equity’; there is a definite disconnect between what is needed and what is taught that’s reflected in the decades long lack of priority and ineffectiveness to reduce racial health disparities.
Public Health Self-Determination
“Public health is all organized measures whether public or private to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life.” - World Health Organization
For African American Health Awareness & Wellness Promotions Association (AAHAWPA) our public health awareness advocacy is anchored on health equity and social justice. We recognize fully that medical care alone cannot address what actually makes Blacks disproportionately sick.
High Black chronic disease rates and worsening life expectancy are the results of public health socioeconomic determinants: racism, unemployment, poverty, housing instability, educational disparities, inadequate nutrition, and risks within the physical environment. These factors affect Black health long before the health care system ever gets involved.
Even when the healthcare system gets involved a doctor can’t address the socioeconomic determinants of health; they cannot write a prescription for a Black person to get a decent paying job, a decent home, a toxic free environment, a healthy meals continuum, and a pass from police harassment, etc.
The Black community can no longer be ‘dependent’ on government lip-service, studies, reports, paralysis of analysis, and redundant 'meeting only task forces' to address our disproportionate critical health problems. We must become proactive by by taking ‘ownership’ over our own self-reliant health improvement efforts personally and addressing the socioeconomic determinants in our communities.
African Americans health recovery and improvement is a process of change whereby we work consistently to improve our own health and wellness holistically as a priority to both reduce and prevent the chronic disease disparities in our communities. Indeed, as Blacks we must take the lead and primary ‘responsibility’ over our health destiny through an attitude of healthcare starts with us!
Healthcare starting with us means that we must become our own 'Black Health Self-Advocates' (BHSA). For African American Health Awareness & Health Promotions Association, Black Health Self-Advocacy personal health literacy’ is the degree to which individuals have the competency to find, understand, use health information, and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
AAHAWPA 'Black Self-Health Advocacy' health literacy initiative has the following goals:
*To increase the proportion of Black adults who understand their health problems and symptoms - how to improve and prevent them.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults who talk to their family, relatives, friends, and others about the importance of health and their health concerns.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults health communication competency when meeting with their healthcare providers.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults knowledge of ‘stress’ and its negative impact on their health including the importance of ‘stress management’.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults knowledge of how socioeconomic factors ‘social determinants of health’ such as racism and poverty negatively impacts their health.
The African American Public Health Advocacy 'Black Health Self-Advocacy' initiative will go in to schools (K-12), community centers, senior centers, public housing, churches, barber shops, beauty salons, etc. to educate, mobilize, and organize to significantly improve Black health and well-being.
For well over the past 40 years the U.S. government’s 'Center for Disease Control' (CDC) has released reports on racial health disparities year after year showing the pervasiveness of chronic diseases in Black communities.
It's the same case with the U.S. 'Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion' and its 'Healthy People' initiative. Since 1980, the Healthy People (HP) initiative has set measurable objectives to improve the health and well-being of people nationwide. At the beginning of every decade HP launches a new iteration of the initiative that addresses the latest public health priorities and challenges.
Healthy People 2030 is the initiative’s fifth iteration and its focus is to “Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and well-being of all.” It is obvious if you look at current racial health disparities data that for over 40 years the Healthy People initiative has failed to improve the health and well-being of Blacks in America.
Over the past 40 years many states across the country have put out yearly reports on racial health disparities. However adequate funds were not allocated, nor programs developed to significantly address health disparities, what was developed was superficial and piecemeal. Indeed, the field of Public Health in America has failed to reduce the tremendous racial health disparities between Blacks and Whites because of very little emphasis placed on ‘advocacy’ training to address these disparities.
According to public health researchers, their studies show that of the 68 accredited schools of public health in the US, not one requires an advocacy course to graduate with a Master of Public Health. For those institutions, who offer a health policy advocacy course or concentration, they remain elective additions to core curricula and not a requirement for degree completion.
Yes, public health workers including the 10% who are Black are not being trained to ‘advocate for racial health equity’; there is a definite disconnect between what is needed and what is taught that’s reflected in the decades long lack of priority and ineffectiveness to reduce racial health disparities.
Public Health Self-Determination
“Public health is all organized measures whether public or private to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life.” - World Health Organization
For African American Health Awareness & Wellness Promotions Association (AAHAWPA) our public health awareness advocacy is anchored on health equity and social justice. We recognize fully that medical care alone cannot address what actually makes Blacks disproportionately sick.
High Black chronic disease rates and worsening life expectancy are the results of public health socioeconomic determinants: racism, unemployment, poverty, housing instability, educational disparities, inadequate nutrition, and risks within the physical environment. These factors affect Black health long before the health care system ever gets involved.
Even when the healthcare system gets involved a doctor can’t address the socioeconomic determinants of health; they cannot write a prescription for a Black person to get a decent paying job, a decent home, a toxic free environment, a healthy meals continuum, and a pass from police harassment, etc.
The Black community can no longer be ‘dependent’ on government lip-service, studies, reports, paralysis of analysis, and redundant 'meeting only task forces' to address our disproportionate critical health problems. We must become proactive by by taking ‘ownership’ over our own self-reliant health improvement efforts personally and addressing the socioeconomic determinants in our communities.
African Americans health recovery and improvement is a process of change whereby we work consistently to improve our own health and wellness holistically as a priority to both reduce and prevent the chronic disease disparities in our communities. Indeed, as Blacks we must take the lead and primary ‘responsibility’ over our health destiny through an attitude of healthcare starts with us!
Healthcare starting with us means that we must become our own 'Black Health Self-Advocates' (BHSA). For African American Health Awareness & Health Promotions Association, Black Health Self-Advocacy personal health literacy’ is the degree to which individuals have the competency to find, understand, use health information, and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others.
AAHAWPA 'Black Self-Health Advocacy' health literacy initiative has the following goals:
*To increase the proportion of Black adults who understand their health problems and symptoms - how to improve and prevent them.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults who talk to their family, relatives, friends, and others about the importance of health and their health concerns.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults health communication competency when meeting with their healthcare providers.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults knowledge of ‘stress’ and its negative impact on their health including the importance of ‘stress management’.
*To increase the proportion of Black adults knowledge of how socioeconomic factors ‘social determinants of health’ such as racism and poverty negatively impacts their health.
The African American Public Health Advocacy 'Black Health Self-Advocacy' initiative will go in to schools (K-12), community centers, senior centers, public housing, churches, barber shops, beauty salons, etc. to educate, mobilize, and organize to significantly improve Black health and well-being.