A Man's Dilemma: Healthcare of Men Across America A DISPARITIES REPORT. Men of color and poor men continue to experience disparities in health status and in access to quality health care. This document examines the broader issue of access to care, including insurance coverage. Publication Date:11/1/2004
Community Health Workers and Community Voices: Promoting Good Health Reaching out into homes and into the community to promote healing and wellness as an integral part of practice is as old as health care. But this practice is threatened. This policy brief tells the comprehensive story of the community health worker and hopes to move many to action: to the use of community health workers, and to the work of educating policymakers about the integral role that these frontline workers can and must play in making our health care system whole and fiscally stable. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:9/1/2004
The State of Hospital Language Assistance Services in Alameda County In health care, life and death decisions can depend on clear communication. Communicating in a culturally and linguistically diverse setting — such as Alameda County, where residents speak over 40 different languages — can pose a significant challenge to health care providers. Given the acuity of care in emergency departments and inpatient settings, hospitals have a particular responsibility to ensure adequate interpreting and translation services for their limited English speaking patients. Publication Date:9/1/2004
Community-Based Health Coverage Programs: Models and Lessons What follows are profiles of coverage programs that are connected to the Community Voices initiative. The programs described in this report are not the only community-based coverage programs in the U.S. — in fact, numerous programs have emerged around the country — but this collection represents a range of up-to-date models. They vary in target population, benefit package, vehicle for coverage, size, cost, financing mechanism, lead agency, and stage of development. This policy brief is available by download only. Publication Date:4/15/2004
Community Voices: Lessons for National Health Policy Several strong forces are combining to push responsibility for improving access to health care for vulnerable populations onto local communities. Some communities, including the Community Voices sites, have been developing innovative ways to meet the growing challenges they face. These local efforts also serve as "learning laboratories;" the more successful strategies provide models for larger-scale state or federal reforms. This brief highlights some of these promising approaches. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:4/15/2004
Showing Strength, Overcoming Silence: Improving the Mental Health of Men of Color Nearly one in five Americans suffers from mental illness each year, yet mental illness remains one of the least understood and least treated diseases of modern life. While all Americans are affected by the high rates of mental illness, men of color are particularly vulnerable due to institutional and cultural pressures that significantly affect their ability to seek and receive adequate care. This publication examines the barriers faced by men of color in need of mental health care and strategies to improve such care. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:9/16/2003
Establishing an Office of Men's Health This fact sheet outlines federal and state legislative initiatives and policy efforts that would promote men's health in the United States. Publication Date:9/16/2003
Saving Our Men: A Public Education Toolkit Saving Our Men: A Wake-Up Call to End America's Silent Health Crisis is a public education toolkit designed to guide people and communities in crafting workable solutions toward ending the crisis in men's health care once and for all. It includes information on the state of men's health, gender gaps and barriers to care, and the social and political implications of this grave problem. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:7/23/2003
Souls of Black Men: African American Men Discuss Mental Health This fact sheet represents the voices of a group of African American men who shared their thoughts and experiences with regard to mental health – uncensored and unscripted. Publication Date:7/21/2003
Saving Men's Lives There is a silent health crisis adversely affecting the well-being of men of color. They have less access to needed care and their health outcomes are worse than those of both white men and all women. Men are systematically excluded from public health insurance programs and men of color are least likely to have private coverage. Mounting data shows men of color are most likely to suffer chronic conditions that, left untreated, cost billions more than simple preventative and primary care. Available by download only. Publication Date:4/1/2003
Substance Abuse Prevention: A Patchwork of Local Policies Substance use disorders levy a high toll in the lives of individual Americans and on U.S. society as a whole. This report discusses concerns, policies, and implications on the health care safety net and illustrates the innovative programs that some of the Community Voices sites have put into place to prevent and treat substance abuse. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:3/1/2003
Mental Health Parity: State of the States November 2002 Update Millions of adult Americans struggling with mental illness face a blatant form of health insurance discrimination. Nearly 98 percent of private sector insurance plans impose some form of arbitrary restrictions on treatments for mental illness, including higher co-payments, limited outpatient treatment, and lower caps on lifetime benefits. Restrictions on coverage often force consumers of mental health services to choose temporary treatments that only partially alleviate symptoms but fail to provide comprehensive treatment for their disorders. The issue of mental health parity has been part of the national agenda since 1996, when former President Clinton signed the Mental Health Parity Act, but there has been little action since. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:3/1/2003
More Than A Market: Making Sense of Health Care Systems A new book, “More Than A Market: Making Sense of Health Care Systems,” details the progress the Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved initiative, is making to improve access to health care for the underserved in this country. The innovative efforts of the thirteen communities which make up this W.K. Kellogg Foundation initiative are highlighted in this 168-page book. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:9/30/2002>
Oral Health for All: Policy for Available, Accessible and Acceptable Care This report discusses the importance of providing access to oral health care for uninsured and underserved communities. Publication Date:9/1/2002
Disparity Cavity, The: Filling America's Oral Health Gap It's common knowledge that 43 million Americans have no private health insurance, but how many know more than 108 million have no private dental insurance? Oral Health America has initiated a 10-year Campaign for Oral Health Parity to make oral health a priority for everyone and increase access to care for the 22.5 million Americans who want but cannot obtain oral health care. Publication Date:7/1/2002
What About Men?: Exploring the Inequities in Minority Men's Health June 13, 2002--Men of color are doomed to a significantly less healthy life than their white counterparts stemming from factors including racism and poverty, says a new report released today by Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved. The group was joined by the National Urban League in this Father’s Day call for action. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:6/12/2002
Reaching Out: Successful Efforts to Provide Children and Families with Health Care Innovative outreach and enrollment efforts have allowed Community Voices to enroll uninsured, "hard-to-reach" populations in public coverage programs, according to this report. Reaching Out: Successful Efforts to Provide Children and Families with Health Care interweaves personal stories and policy recommendations to offer an inventory of ideas and resources to improve enrollment rates and help more people access essential health care. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:6/1/2002
Community-Based Health Plans for the Uninsured: Expanding Access, Enhancing Dignity This publication is a follow up to "Increasing Access: Building Working Solutions," which outlines the nation’s problem of lacking access to basic health care services and offers a multi-faceted framework for addressing these issues. "Community-based Health Plans" highlights the work of five Community Voices sites that have developed insurance products. Those sites are Albuquerque, New Mexico; Ingham County, Michigan; El Paso, Texas; North Carolina; and Alameda County (Oakland), California. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:11/1/2001
What Communities Value About Health and Health Care Community Voices: West Virginia solicited the input of all the Community Voices learning laboratories to determine what diverse communities across the nation, value about health and health care. Ranging from dense urban neighborhoods to remote rural towns and covering a broad racial and cultural spectrum, the communities have engaged more than 5,000 people in public forums, focus groups and surveys on health. Common sentiments emerged across these diverse groups in "What Communities Value About Health and Health Care." Publication Date:9/1/2001
Forgotten Policy: An Examination of Mental Health in the U.S. The nation's mental health care needs go largely unmet, according to this report released by Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved. The report details new policy solutions aimed at expanding access to care and providing early intervention services. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:5/1/2001
Workers Without Health Insurance: Who Are They and How Can Policy Reach Them Most of the nation's uninsured are either workers or family members of workers, according to a new report released by Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved and prepared by The Urban Institute. The report, Workers Without Health Insurance: Who Are They and How Can Policy Reach Them?, offers the most detailed picture yet of the uninsured working population-now numbering more than 16 million-and examines the policy implications. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:5/1/2001
Too Few Options: The Insurance Status of Widowed or Divorced Older Women This study explores the health insurance status of the 3.2 million women aged 55 to 64 who are widowed or divorced. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:3/1/2001
Big Cavity, The: Decreasing Enrollment of Minorities in Dental Schools This report outlines the oral health problems in minority communities, discusses the benefits of minority providers, and offers suggestions for closing the gap between minority and non-minority dentists. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:3/1/2001
Poor Man's Plight, A: Uncovering the Disparity in Men's Health Because men from racial and ethnic minority populations face such a high risk of heart disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and other conditions and often lack access to basic care, they are now experiencing a health care crisis, according to this report. The report, A Poor Man's Plight: Uncovering the Disparity in Men's Health, examines the health status of Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and mixed race men and identifies strategies that can reduce this alarming health gap. This document is available by download only. Publication Date:2/1/2001
Mental Health Parity: State of the States Prepared by the Center for Policy Alternatives, Mental Health Parity outlines insurance practices pertaining to mental health in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:9/1/2000
Increasing Access: Building Working Solutions This report cites local efforts by Community Voices: HealthCare for the Underserved to enroll people into existing insurance programs and to reduce other roadblocks to care. [Order Free Hardcopy] Publication Date:6/1/2000
Overview of Asian and Pacific Islanders in the United States and California This paper, written by Marguerite Ro, DrPH, MPH, examines the socio-economic conditions faced by Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, a diverse and heterogeneous group of people whose roots span from China to Papua New Guinea to Pakistan to Hawaii. Dr. Ro makes recommendations to improve the health and social status of this underserved ethnic group.
State of the States: Overview of 1999 State Legislation on Access to Oral Health This paper, written by the Center for Policy Alternatives, provides an overview of state legislation addressing access to oral health that was introduced and enacted in the states in 1999. The paper highlights examples of what states are doing to improve access to oral health serves, particularly for underserved communities.
Dr. Henrie Treadwell Delivers Poignant Speech to the Male Responsibility Network in Denver Colorado As an invited guest to the Title X annual Male Reproductive Health Conference & Training recently held at the Adams Mark Hotel, Denver CO (May 3-5, 2006), Dr. Treadwell delivered a talk entitled 'Male Reproductive health: How far have we come? Where are we really?'. To view a transcript of her message, which details the journey of the Men's Health movement and profiles avenues to build sustainabilit, please click for more information.
Oral Cancer Disparities: The United States Mortality Rates Statistics related to oral cancer in men.
Prostate Cancer and African American Men: The United States Mortality Rates Prostate cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the United States. African Americans have the highest risk of prostate cancer in the world: 1 in 4 men.
Interventions That Work Interventions That Work - National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems - The health status of men and especially poor men of color in the United States is alarming. Poor minority men experience significant disparities in health status as demonstrated by higher rates of morbidity and mortality.1,2,3 Multiple factors are associated with these differences including, low socioeconomic status (SES), low educational attainment, precarious employment, and cultural norms and practices, to name a few. (view fact sheet)