The Ohio chapter was one of five chapters of the American Academy of Family Physicians to be selected to receive a $5,000 Health Equity Planning Grant!
The intent of the program is to promote collaboration between the AAFP and AAFP chapters in establishing chapter health equity plans. A health equity plan is a set of goals and tactics that describe how the chapter will work to advance health equity.
Health equity refers to the elimination of differences in health that are closely linked with social or economic disadvantage among population groups such as those based on race/ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, gender, mental health, sexual orientation, or geographic location. Health inequities, on the other hand, are viewed as systematic, avoidable and unjust, and the root causes typically fall outside of the traditional health care setting.
- Assign at least one person from the chapter to manage the project.
- Work with the AAFP to identify the chapter’s needs, strengths, and desires for the program.
- Identify a set of AAFP members in the chapter to act as health equity champions. Health equity champions are individuals that have (or wish to build) a track record for advancing health equity.
- Survey health equity champions to identify their connections with people and resources within and external to the AAFP network. This will help to identify resources and opportunities.
- Review a minimum of 10 health equity plans from within your state/constituency to identify ongoing health equity initiatives that the chapter’s strengths could help improve.
- Engage health equity champions and/or partner organizations in developing a health equity plan for the chapter.
- Write a final, actionable health equity plan for the chapter and establish it through the chapter’s formal approval process.
These deliverables are to be completed on or before Sunday, May 31, 2020. Lucky for Ohio, we already have many of the structures in place to accomplish these goals on time. Stay tuned on further details!
The Chapter Health Equity Grant is part of the AAFP’s EveryONE Project, a strategic initiative that is focused on providing their members and their care partners with education and resources, advocating for health equity, promoting workforce diversity, and collaborating with other disciplines and organizations to advance health equity.