First State Times

The Delaware Division of Public Health released a new report to help medical agencies and providers address healthcare disparities.

“The Health Equity Guide highlights the best available evidence and data to explain the connections between the social determinants of health and good overall health,” Cassandra Codes-Johnson, the Delaware Division of Public Health associate deputy director, said in an interview.

The guide, which first published in 2015, is meant to help health professionals in various fields understand the inequalities, particularly with monitories, when it comes to health care services.

“The guide is unique from other health equity resources in the field because it seeks to highlight Delaware specific data and some examples of strategies and policies being implemented across the state of Delaware and nationally that we can all learn from and build upon,” Codes-Johnson said. “The guide also includes a range of policies and practices that can be adopted by public health and health care workers, businesses, schools, religious organizations, lawmakers and community leaders to improve the conditions needed for good health for all.”

According to the guide, an African American child is 2.7 times more likely to die before turning one than a white baby.

“The Health Equity Guides highlight the best available evidence and data to explain the connections between the social determinants of health and good overall health,” she said. “Social determinants of health are the 90% of what affects a patient’s health that have nothing to do with clinical care, such as housing, transportation, employment, public safety, income, or how close an individual lives to a grocery store, park or health care provider. The second edition of the guide also focuses on structural racism as a fundamental cause of health inequities.”

The 2020 guide was created with help from the University of Delaware.