Dear Closing the Health Gap Community:



The fight for health equity in Cincinnati needs your voice! As the City of Cincinnati determines its budget priorities, we must come together and show how Closing the Health Gap has made a difference in our communities. Join us at the upcoming budget planning meetings to share your story and advocate for continued investment in our mission.

📅 Monday, March 3 at 5:30 p.m.

📍 Dunham Recreation Center (4356 Dunham Ln)

📅 Wednesday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m.

📍 Evanston Recreation Center (3204 Woodburn Ave)

Your voice matters. Your support matters. Let’s stand together for a healthier, more equitable Cincinnati! Thank you and please have a safe and blessed week ahead!

Renee Mahaffey Harris

President & CEO

Exploring heart health disparities among Black Americans

The American Heart Association says among Black women over 20, nearly 59% have cardiovascular disease. According to Tulane University, Black Americans are 54% more likely to suffer from it than white Americans.

When Erin Vickers was pregnant with her son Jayden, her health issues began.

“I had a symptom of dizziness, which is seemingly minor," Vickers said. "But I had it checked out because when you’re pregnant you have everything checked out." She says some of her doctors were dismissive and she was told to watch and wait.

“So during that time, I did pass out while I was pregnant," Vickers said. "So I knew that the dizziness was not normal and there was something more than just being pregnant." She was diagnosed with a serious heart condition and had an ICD device put in, which is a combination pacemaker and defibrillator.

“I mean, yes, I am a Black woman," Vickers said. "Those could be factors. That could be other factors as well. But the fact of the matter was I was completely dismissed.

Click here for the full story.

Unifying Outpatient Practices to Redress Structural Racism in an Urban Health System

There is a strong and increasing focus on redressing structural racism in health care systems. Structural racism persists by separating clinical care sites that treat patients of racial and ethnic minority groups who are disproportionately covered by Medicaid from sites that treat patients who are White and disproportionately covered by commercial insurance. Practice unification refers to efforts to eliminate this form of segregation.

Objective  To define and investigate the facilitators, barriers, and the effects associated with unification of outpatient practices to reduce structural racism in a large urban health system.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This qualitative study used semistructured interviews conducted within a large urban health system in New York from February to October 2023. Trained researchers interviewed clinical and administrative leaders of outpatient clinical practices that were pursuing unification, and health system leaders overseeing multiple practices.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Thematic analysis was used to identify facilitators of and barriers to unification, challenges and benefits after unification, and persistent dimensions of segregation within clinics that had nominally unified. These insights were used to create a framework for the unification process.

Click here for the full story.

Brave New World: What Does the Digital Age Portend for Health Justice?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health justice advocacy groups adapted their strategies to the digital realm, leveraging social media platforms, virtual events, and other online resources to raise awareness and organize their efforts. These efforts led to structured engagements with state health agencies toward improving care quality and advocating for immediate and systemic reforms.

Many organizations with brick-and-mortar structures returned to their pre-COVID-19 operations once restrictions subsided, but a significant number of them chose to retain and enhance their digital presence—reflecting a lasting change in the way advocacy is conducted. This transition to the digital realm facilitated a brave new world of health advocacy, but it also magnified the digital divide that plagues society, exposing deep disparities in access to technology and digital literacy.3 These developments and challenges underscore the importance of building a better understanding of digital technology within the broader context of health justice; they also emphasize the urgent need to address the inequities exacerbated by digital technology, to ensure that technological efforts to improve healthcare are equitable and rooted in promoting health justice.

Click here for the full story.

Chicago tries to close life expectancy gap

A new city campaign aims to close the whopping 11-year life expectancy gap between Black Chicagoans and their non-Black peers.

The big picture: As the city enters an era where its racial makeup is nearly 30% white, 30% Black and 30% Latino, Axios is starting a yearlong series examining racial equity in the city across several metrics from opportunities and perks to health disparities and disadvantages.

Backstory: The life expectancy gap wasn't always this big. In 2010, the disparity between Black and non-Black Chicagoans was 8.4 years.

• In 2020, Black life expectancy in Chicago fell below 70 for the first time in decades, driven largely by COVID deaths.
• During the pandemic in 2021, the gap peaked at 12.7 years before settling at 11.4 in 2022.
• Across all races the average life expectancy is 77 years.

Click here for the full story.

Pearl of the Week: Advancing racial and health equity

Even a small practice can help identify and target racial health inequities in your community. Your clinical and administrative leaders can identify two or three measures that are meaningful to you, your team, and your practice based on current patient care-related priorities. Using those measures, analyze care delivery and practice performance to identify inequities by race, ethnicity and language (REAL) data.

Learn More

• Toolkit: Racial and Health Equity: Concrete STEPS for Smaller Practices
• Podcasts: 
• Racial and Health Equity: Five Concrete STEPS
• Health Equity: The Importance of Building Trust 

Connect with experts, resources and more at Petersburg’s March 1 colorectal cancer summit

Join the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center in Petersburg on Saturday, March 1 to attend the Closing the Gap Cancer Summit, an event that will focus on colorectal cancer and how it impacts the local community. The half-day summit is free to the public and will bring together researchers, clinicians and community members for collaborative solutions related to colorectal cancer and closing the gap in colon health and colorectal cancer care. A complimentary breakfast and lunch will also be provided. 

Click here for the details.

Evaluating the Reliability and Robustness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in Cardiometabolic Disease in NHANES, NHIS, and BRFSS (2015–2021)

The United States uses the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to monitor disease trends and inform clinical care/prevention research. These 3 surveys share similar national estimates. However, the consistency of each survey's estimates by race has not been examined. Here, we compare prevalence estimates and disparities in cardiometabolic diseases across 5 aggregated racial and ethnic groups.

Click here for the article.