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Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA)

The Racial Equity Impact Analysis helps the City consider racial equity outcomes when shaping policies, practices, programs and budgets.
Grant from Minnesota Department of Health for Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) - REIA

Section 1: Background
Public Safety No
Housing No
Economic Development No
Public Services No
Environmental Justice No
Built Environment & Transportation No
Public Health Yes
Arts & Culture No
Workforce No
Spending No
Data No
Community Engagement Yes

The Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) is committed to advancing health equity in the state of Minnesota. SHIP supports community -driven solutions to expand opportunities for active living, health eating, and commercial tobacco free living. Under this grant, the Healthy Living Initiative and its community partners will collaboratively work to eliminate health inequities in through continuous community engagement where communities identify and implement strategies for change, with a focus on working on policy, systems, and environmental change to promote community well-being.
Evalyn Carbrey, Public Health Specialist
Section 2: Data
City of Minneapolis; specifically communities facing the greatest health disparities.
Though Minneapolis is recognized as one of the healthiest and “fittest” cities in the nation across many health indicators, populations of color and American Indians have significantly worse health status. There are large disparities between communities of color and the overall population in tobacco use, obesity, and related diseases such as diabetes.

Currently Minneapolis lacks representative data for these healthy conditions. However, in Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located, approximately 1 in every 5, or 22% adult persons aged 25+ years were obese, and one-third 36% were overweight (source: Metro SHAPE Survey, 2014). And, in 2012, approximately 1 in every 20, or 5.6%, of Hennepin County adult persons 18+ years were ever told by a doctor or other health professional that they had diabetes (based on self-report; source: Minnesota BRFSS, 2012).

 

While much data is available, health status data for communities with the highest health disparities is often difficult to obtain. Under our SHIP grant, the Healthy Living Imitative will build systems of evaluation and assessment that garner information directly from community, and use health and administrative data where appropriate. In our projects, we will use a Health Equity Analysis tool that will allow us to reflect more intentionally on the assets and concerns in community while improving defined health outcomes.
Section 3: Community Engagement
Inform Yes
Consult Yes
Involve Yes
Collaborate Yes
Empower Yes
Our Healthy Living Initiative SHIP grant work is rooted in working closely with community partners to ensure community voices and values guide our initiative and are integrated into local health policies, systems and environmental changes.

We have conducted many evaluation and engagement projects over the years, and have learned to put community first when determining project direction and outcomes.

 
Section 4: Analysis

The SHIP grant focuses on addressing systemic racism by addressing health disparities. Under this grant, the Healthy Living Initiative works with community partners on policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change efforts to improve community wellbeing and resilience.

While health equity invokes working towards equity for all community members, we focus on those most impacted by long-term systemic inequities and discrimination, one of the many reasons we lead with race. Our work focuses on health equity with an intentional focus on racial equity for several important reasons:
1. Data demonstrates that health outcomes are consistently worse for American Indians, African Americans and persons of Latino/x, Asian Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and African descent in Minnesota than for those of European heritage. This is a long-standing concern and we have made little progress toward improvement.
2. Race and racism can be difficult to talk about – but we have to confront these issues head on or they get lost in words like “disparities” and “inequities.”
3. Naming racial equity also enables us to recognize and honor the resilience and strengths of racial and ethnic communities in Minneapolis.
Section 5: Evaluation

Our impacts will be measured by our Health Equity Analysis Tool, project based evaluations, Results First Program Assessments, and the development and maintenance of authentic community relationships.

By fostering trust, sharing power, and producing outcomes that result in reduced health disparities through PSE changes, we will work together with community members and partners throughout our SHIP work. Those who are impacted will have the opportunity to serve on our Community Leadership Teams, to receive information about funding opportunities, and to provide feedback and guidance about the direction of our work.
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