Partners
The Office of Health Disparities works with a number of community-based organizations, to include Native American Tribes, multicultural centers, university systems, local health departments, the Nebraska Association of Local Health Departments, other state agencies, etc. to prioritize awareness of the underserved needs of racial ethnic minorities, veterans, the disabled, aged, gender, refugees, and geographical disparities.
The office is working with local health departments to assess the organizational capacity around addressing health disparities and social determinants of health in all their programs. One of the first steps was a training with We in the World about developing balanced work plans that incorporates the four areas of physical/mental health, social and spiritual well-being, community well-being, and root causes. A recording is available here We in the World Trainings
Vision to Reduce Health Disparities
The Office is actively participating in external and internal processes to improve health disparities. Several DHHS work groups that were established around health disparities have been consolidated into one committee to incorporate health disparity awareness and best practices into programs across DHHS. External efforts include statewide listening sessions and restructuring the Minority Health Council by combining it with a previous task force to empower minority representation.
State Health Improvement Plan
The Nebraska State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) is a collaboration of statewide partners promoting the health and well-being of Nebraskans as a whole, using statewide assessment to establish priorities, plan for action, and empower collective impact. A new SHIP plan will be released soon and includes addressing health equity as one of the priorities. Additional information will be provided when the plan is published.