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CPEHN's Policy Briefs
Our policy briefs are developed from discussions at our events and analysis of multicultural health issues, which inform our advocacy work. The policy briefs are organized under our four priority areas that address systemic inequities. For more information about the four priority areas that make up our policy agenda, please go to What We Do under About Us.
Please visit Data & Resources for other Studies on Demographics, Health Conditions, Access, and Cultural & Linguistics.
Advocating for Cultural and Lingustic Competency
The Impact of Race/Ethnicity and Language on Access and Experience of Care Among California's Commercially Insured Adults (February 2007, 3 Pages)
Having health insurance has been associated with improved access to medical care, as well as with better quality of care and higher enrollee satisfaction. However, studies of uninsured populations have demonstrated the existence of racial/ethnic disparities in access to, and experience of, care, which may also be found among those who are insured. As California becomes more diverse, absorbing greater numbers of immigrants, race/ethnicity may intertwine in complex ways with English language proficiency to affect health care access and experience. These complexities must be examined and understood in order to address health care disparities.
Taking Cultural Competency From Theory to Action (October 2006, 28 Pages)
This paper provides principles and recommendations for implementing cultural competency in the field. The following six principles are key to a successful cultural competency effort: 1) community representation and feedback at all stages of implementation; 2) cultural competency integrated into all systems of the health care organization, particularly quality improvement efforts; 3) ensuring that changes made are manageable, measurable, and sustainable; 4) making the business case for implementation of cultural competency polices; 5) commitment from leadership; and 6) staff training on an ongoing basis. Based on interviews with leaders in the field of cultural competency, the authors discuss best practices and important lessons in the implementation of cultural competency initiatives. Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund.
Holding Health Plans Accountable: The Provision of Culturally and Linguistically Competent Services by Health Plans Participating in the Healthy Families Program (March 2006, 12 Pages)
Our review of the state's current process of overseeing health plan compliance with the Healthy Families cultural and linguistic requirements finds that they need to do more to ensure compliance.
Limited English Proficient Enrollee Access to Health Plan Grievance Systems (December 2004)
Health plans and the Department of Managed Health Care must do more to ensure LEP access to grievance procedures. CPEHN conducted an analysis of the reports health plans submitted to DMHC which found critical limitations and provides recommendations for improvement.
Download the Executive Summary (10 pages) or Full Report (20 pages)
Diverse Patients, Disparate Experience: The Use of Standardized Patient Satisfaction Surveys in Assessing the Cultural Competence of Health Care Organizations (March 2001, 72 Pages)
Funded by the California HealthCare Foundation, this project examined whether standardized surveys of consumers' experience and satisfaction with health care could provide useful information on certain dimensions of the cultural competency of health care organizations.
Promoting Data and Research
Using Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data to Eliminate Health Disparities (June 2005, 16 Pages)
The health system is not doing enough to collect, standardize, and utilize race, ethnicity, and language data to improve our health. Download our report and help make significant advancements in the use of this data to eliminate health disparities.
Addressing the Social and Environment Determinants of Health Disparities
The Unequal Landscape of Diabetes : Place based solutions to end an epidemic (May 2008, 12 pages)
This policy brief provides statistics on the growing diabetes epidemic among communities of color and highlights policy recommendations and innovative solutions to improve our communities' nutritional and physical landscapes.
Out of Balance (September 2005)
This report documents how money spent to advertise foods including soda, candy, snacks and fast foods, dwarfs the dollars spent to promote the California and Federal “5 A Day” programs to encourage eating vegetables and fruits. The report, written by Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports , and CPEHN, concludes that this imbalance is one of the key factors contributing to unhealthful dietary trends in the United States that have led to the obesity crisis.
Download the Full Report in English or Full Report in Spanish (31 pages).
Policy Implications of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Managed Care vs. Fee-for-Service Utilization Disparities in California (October 2004)
Funded by the California Program on Access to Care, this study examined the differences in utilization of services, cancer screenings, and chronic disease management among California's racial and ethnic groups in managed care compared with fee-for-service using 2001 CHIS data.
Download the Executive Summary (4 pages) or Full Report (31 pages)
Addressing the Obesity Epidemic - Public Policies for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Environments (August 2003, 14 Pages)
This Issue Brief discusses social and environmental contributors to the obesity epidemic from the perspective of communities of color, proposes solutions directed at community-level environmental change, and stresses that public policy responses are requisite for addressing this epidemic.
Improving Access to Health Care
RECENT ANALYSIS: Presidential Candidates' Health Care Proposals (December 2007, 6 Pages)
CPEHN recently analyzed information from the presidential candidates' websites about their health care reform proposals and compared it to the Having Our Say principles. Candidates from both parties have made general claims that their health policy proposals increase access to quality care, but only a few candidates have addressed issues specific to communities of color.
A Primer on California's Uninsured (March 2006, 4 Pages)
Developed in partnership with New America Media for the project, "Giving Uninsured Californians a Voice in the Health Care Debate," and funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, this brief provides ethnic media an overview of the uninsured and health care reform efforts.
Health Care Reform Principles: A Multicultural Approach (1992, 3 Pages)
These guiding principles represent the core areas of agreement among CPEHN's multicultural partners and the primary values of our organizations. These principles are used to evaluate various health care reform proposals to ensure that the needs of communities of color are met.
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