Our commitment to community health

Racial Disparities in Health

Racial disparities have a severe impact on health and quality of life and were evident throughout the assessment process. As a result of these disparities, many people in our community lack access to healthcare, do not have a primary care provider, and experience delayed care – especially for mental health. Our assessment also found that they reported higher use of emergency departments for sickness.

Some examples of racial disparities in health in our community are:

• Chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer are more prevalent in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community members
• Infant mortality rates are higher in Black, Hispanic, and American Indian populations
• Communicable diseases impact BIPOC communities more severely, as shown by higher COVID-19 death rates and hospitalizations, as well as higher rates of sexually transmitted infections
• Unintentional injury rates among African Americans, American Indians, and Native Alaskans are higher than those of white residents

“From 2014-2018, the number of Black infant deaths was consistently higher than all other races and ethnicities, except in 2016.”

– Hennepin County Public Health

Life-Impacting Traumas

The effects of COVID-19 and systemic racism have led to large numbers of our population feeling depressed, anxious, and isolated. In addition, traumas such as community violence, opioid overdoses, and suicides have left many people grieving and in need of support.

Other drivers of life-impacting trauma in our community come from triple “ACEs”:

• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood and can include violence, abuse, and neglect as well as growing up in a family with mental health issues and substance use, domestic violence, and/or parental divorce or separation. People who report experiencing ACEs from ages 0-17 have more health problems, including substance use, depression, heart disease, sexually transmitted infections, and suicide attempts.
• Adverse Community Experiences (ACE) such as violence, crime, and social unrest all impact the health of our community. Community members, particularly in North Minneapolis, report not feeling safe in their neighborhoods or being impacted by acts of community violence, which leads to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.
• Adverse Community Environments (ACE) are those natural or human-caused disasters (earthquakes, tornados, wildfires, floods, terrorist acts) and threats such as disease outbreaks – like the COVID-19 pandemic – that impact many lives, straining local resources aimed at response and recovery to such disasters or threats.

“Unfortunately, my father passed away in December 2021 due to COVID. With him not knowing English and being alone at the hospital, it was very traumatic.”​

– Community engagement participant

What’s Next?

We will continue to engage with the community, gathering more information, opinions, and insights on these two community health priorities – racial disparities in health and life-impacting traumas. A Community Health Implementation Plan (CHIP) will be developed to address these issues over the next 3 years.

What is a Community Health Needs Assessment?

A community health needs assessment (CHNA) identifies both assets and resources that support healthy communities, as well as health challenges and disparities.

The assessments gather data and community input on a wide range of health issues including:

• the health of community members (demographic characteristics, births, deaths, chronic conditions, communicable diseases, mental health),
• health behaviors (substance use, physical activity, nutrition),
• accessible and affordable health care, including preventive health such as health care screenings, immunizations, and dental care, and
• healthy and safe environments, and social and economic factors that influence health (education and employment, affordable housing, social support).

Data comes from both secondary data sources, such as health surveys that gather information on the health of youths and adults in the community, and primary data collection by intentionally engaging with community members and organizations to identify and understand significant health needs in the community and seek input on addressing gaps and barriers so community members can lead healthy lives.

Working closely with the hospitals’ Community Engagement Advisory Teams (CEAT), data from all these sources is reviewed and priority health issues are selected for action. Partnering with the CEATs, community partners, and community members, a community health implementation plan is developed that outlines strategies for addressing the priority health issues.