Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health

By Richard L. Brown, Ph. D., FACHE

Creighton University through its Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity (CPHHE) was funded with a five-year (5) cooperative agreement, of over $2 million dollars in years 1 and 2, entitled Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH), by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in November 2023.

This is an expansion of a current model to reduce health disparities in racial and ethnic communities. This multi-component program aims to improve health, prevent chronic disease, and reduce health disparities. It focuses on African American, Brown, Hispanic, and Latino communities at highest risk for chronic disease in Douglas County, Nebraska.

The initiative has two major components:

Component A will focus on nutrition, physical activity, and breastfeeding support in alignment with standards of care related to early childhood care and education.

Component B will focus on influenza, COVID-19, and other viruses such as RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).

CPHHE has a rich history of successfully working with established community coalitions to address health-related issues. Memorandum of Understanding agreements have been secured with several organizations including Omaha churches of various nominations in North and South Omaha, Omaha Housing Authority (OHA) Federally Qualified Health Centers, Douglas County Health Department, and the Nebraska Center for Healthy Families.

Collaborations will be established with Parks and Recreation, Omaha Public Schools, Department of Transportation, and other groups to implement the initiative.

Driven by mission, vision, and unbridled enthusiasm, the dedicated REACH2 Cooperative Agreement grant staff is proud to continue to serve the health education needs of Omaha. Leadership will be provided by Dr. Sade Kosoko-Lasaki, MD, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences – Multicultural and Community Affairs, Principal Investigator, Dr. John Stone, MD, Senior Expert, Dr. Richard Brown, Ph.D., Executive Director, Mark Patten, Program Manager, Lizeth Mejia Narciso, Bilingual Project Specialist, Christian Griffin, Data Manager, and a number of Community Health Workers. An expert evaluation team has been engaged to ensure that performance measures and intended goals and outcomes are achieved.

The staff has developed a detailed work plan to conduct a health needs assessment of both individuals and organizations using specific methods such as questionnaires, focus groups, observations, and historical review during the first year. The following years will focus on implementing interventions where gaps are identified, through policy advocacy, systems change, environmental improvement and broad community education.

“Being active, healthy and happy”