Health Equity

Health depends on much more than individual choice, which is why so many communities are engaging in the hard work of addressing the systemic root causes of health inequities.

System-level changes are needed to reduce poverty, eliminate structural racism, improve income equality, increase educational opportunity, and fix the laws and policies that perpetuate structural inequities. Working to tackle unemployment, concentrated poverty, and school dropout rates can seem overwhelming to communities, but when actors in the community—residents, businesses, state and local government, and other local institutions—work together across multiple sectors, communities have the power to change the narrative and promote health equity through enduring community-driven interventions.

Culturingua addresses health inequity via social determinants of health with a focus on:

• Education

• Employment

• Income & Wealth

• Social Environment

Guiding Principles

Successfully addressing health inequities, like other community-driven efforts, requires the committed collaboration of organizations working both in and outside the health and health care sector. Although no recipe for successful multi-sector collaboration to promote health equity exists, successful collaborations usually involve the following guiding principles:

• Leverage existing efforts whenever possible.

• Adopt explicit strategies for authentic community engagement, ownership, involvement, and input throughout all stages of such efforts.

• Nurture the next generation of leadership.

• Foster flexibility, creativity, and resilience where possible.

• Seriously consider potential community partners, including non-traditional ones.

• Commit to results, systematic learning, cross-boundary collaboration, capacity-building, and sustainability. Partner with public health agencies, no matter the focus of the effort.

2022 COVID-19 VACCINES

Culturingua, UT Health Science Center, and Health Collaborative have partnered for multiple Community of Welcome events throughout late 2021 and 2022, including the first annual San Antonio Welcome Walk in December 2021, as well as the Sports Day in February 2022 and Resource Day in March 2022 to provide Covid-19 vaccines and booster shots. This partnership has also allowed community members to receive free health screenings

2021 COVID-19 VACCINES

Culturingua and Muslim Children Education and Civic Center (MCECC), in partnership with the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, organized and promoted vaccine appointments to eligible residents in the community in January and February 2021, during the initial stages of the vaccine roll-out.