Milano The New School for Management and Urban Policy

Health Services Management and Policy: Projects/Publications

Addressing Health Disparities in Community Settings

Compared to Non-Hispanic Whites, minorities in the United States are more likely to get sick and die from their illnesses, receive fewer interventions, have less access to medical services, and are less likely to have health insurance. The problems are made more complex by cultural, income and geographic factors unique to different minority groups. This report is a study of health programs by seven community-based organizations in addressing the health needs of African-Americans, Latinos, Asian-Americans and Native Americans. The study finds that:

Good programs excel at mobilizing and maintaining a continuum of resources.
These programs provide one-to-one outreach and ongoing contact between clients and health workers.
The programs take different approaches to "cultural competence," which is more than just speaking the language of the client.
Organizations that want to copy the programs will find it difficult, because they often address conditions unique to their communities.
The programs are small, and so it is unlikely that they are having a large impact on minority health.

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.