Dear Closing the Health Gap Community:

As we step into summer, the Center for Closing the Health Gap is proud to invite you to some powerful experiences that can make a real difference in the lives of you and families. Join us:

• Saturday, June 14 for Past, Present, Future: Building a Legacy of Health and Happiness — a community celebration focused on health education and family wellness from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Saturday, June 28, we host Brother, Let’s Talk: A Conversation About Black Men’s Health — a discussion for men to get answers from trusted doctors from 9 a.m. to noon.
• Also on Saturday, June 28, for Heart Health in Our Community — understanding heart health through your diet and a cooking demonstration from noon to 1 p.m.
• And our newest Caregiver Self-Care Program begins in June, with classes at our offices.

Each of these events is a meaningful step toward better health outcomes and stronger communities. Check out the details below and visit our Eventbrite Page to learn more and join us in building a healthier future—together.

Blessings for a safe and healthy week ahead.

Renee Mahaffey Harris

President & CEO

From Insight to Action: Applying Community-Based Participatory Research to Improve Population Health Among Black Women

Black individuals have high rates of chronic conditions (eg, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma) and often manage multiple illnesses simultaneously. Persistent health challenges among Black women in the United States represent an urgent public health crisis. One-size-fits-all research approaches and traditional interventions have not always taken into consideration the impact that nonmedical determinants of health plays on health and well-being. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach in which researchers, organizations, and community members can collaborate on all aspects of a research and evaluation effort. This essay briefly explores root causes of poor health impacting Black women, highlights the potential of CBPR to address these challenges, and presents strategies to enhance CBPR practices for improving population health among Black women.

US Excess Deaths Continued to Rise Even After the COVID-19 Pandemic

In 2022 and 2023, more than 1.5 million deaths would have been averted if the United States had mortality rates similar to other high-income countries, according to a new study led by School of Public Health researchers.

Published in JAMA Health Forum, the study refers to these excess deaths as “missing Americans” because these deaths reflect people who would still be alive if US mortality rates were equal to the average mortality rate in other high-income countries.

The findings reveal a continuing and worrying trend in worsening US mortality compared to other wealthy nations over the last four decades. While excess deaths per year peaked at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, excess deaths in 2023 still far exceeded prepandemic levels in 2019 and closely matched the rising pre-pandemic trend. After rising steadily since 1980, excess US deaths reached 1,098,808 in 2021, before dropping to 820,396 in 2022 and 705,331 in 2023, after the acute phase of the pandemic. However, the 2023 figure was still tens of thousands of deaths higher than the 2019 total of 631,247 missing Americans.