Building a culture of health in Kentucky to address racism a public health crisis

Importance: Health disparities are the leading underlying cause for disproportionate pandemic effect. A sustainable solution must inculcate and address key community stake holders needs to implement strategies. Racism is recently identified as a public health crisis and in order to address it a sustainable multidisciplinary strategy calls for action. Clearly existing solutions are not sustainable and effective and is evident through the case study of Kentucky in the current research. The elimination of health disparities is a multidisciplinary and cross sector approach which the RWJF action framework inculcates. Observations: Kentucky State has the Gini and Social Index Score that needs urgent attention. Racial segregation is prominent among the black versus white compared to other racial minorities. Income inequality is highest among the blacks than the other minorities and white in Kentucky. Infant mortality rate, premature deaths, preventable hospitalizations, and unhealthy behavior is highest among the black community members compared to their white counterparts. Conclusions and Relevance: The identified sustainable strategy and entry points for key Kentucky stakeholders can help address the racism. The stakeholder analysis matrix of the research can help implement proposed strategy feasibly and effectively. The action framework itself is structured in a way that the issues framed utilizing the model can help disseminate and implement the strategy sustainably.

Author(s): Naiya Patel

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