About Us
The Center of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities (CEED) of the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health of the University of Colorado Denver is funded by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
About REACH Across the U.S. (2007 to Present)
Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the U.S. (REACH U.S.) is a national program and important cornerstone of CDC’s efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in the United States. This REACH U.S. program builds on the body of knowledge initiated by projects funded under the original REACH 2010 cooperative agreement program. Through establishing a national infrastructure to promote evidence and practice-based public health programs, community-based participatory approaches, and the integration of systemic influences, REACH U.S. supports and disseminates programmatic activities that are successful in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.
REACH U.S. funds a total of 40 grantee partners that were selected to operate at one of two levels of funding—
- Centers of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities (CEEDs) serve as national and regional expert centers by providing experience and expertise working with one or more racial and ethnic groups, as well as having a high level of expertise in addressing one or more of the priority health problems listed below. The CEEDs were established to be a resource for mentoring communities in processes of community mobilization, community-based participatory research, and program development and evaluation. CEEDs have the infrastructure to implement, coordinate, refine, and disseminate the range of programmatic activities needed to work successfully toward the elimination of health disparities. CEEDs also provide pilot funding, support, local training, and guidance to Legacy Projects to encourage them to initiate or enhance work towards the elimination of health disparities. Members of communities may apply for a CEED grant through a competitive application process for Legacy funding. There are 18 REACH U.S. CEEDs.
- Action Communities (ACs) are community-based programs implementing evidence-based approaches to eliminate disparities in a selected health problem. ACs are particularly attentive to cultural and environmental influences on health status and behaviors. ACs play a central role in the translation of evidence-based public health strategies in their local communities. There are 22 REACH U.S. ACs.
Both levels of funding focus on at least one of the following racial and ethnic groups: African American/Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino, as well as at least one of the following health priority area(s): breast and cervical cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, adult/older adult immunization, hepatitis B, and/or tuberculosis, asthma, and infant mortality.
Contributions to Public Health
REACH U.S. supports CDC’s strategic goals by addressing health disparities in critical life stages (infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults), and developing innovative approaches to improving health in communities, health care settings, schools, work sites, and after-school programs.
CDC provides training, technical assistance, and support to REACH U.S. grantee partners in understanding the social determinants of health and their relation to health disparities. Current work in the area of racial and ethnic health disparities point to various conditions and existing social and organizational structures that impact disparities among racial and ethnic groups, such as health care systems/institutional conditions (e.g., quality, access, levels of care, culturally appropriate care); policy decisions at the local, state, and national levels; and the social, environmental, and cultural contexts in which disparities persist. REACH U.S. grantee partners have identified numerous individual, community, societal, cultural, and environmental factors that must be changed in order to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. Thus, using the social-ecological perspective, each REACH U.S. grantee partner develops appropriate programs that address the complex and deeply engrained influences on racial and ethnic health disparities. By sharing their strategies and best practices, the REACH grantee partners give communities and other public health programs valuable tools to eliminate health disparities among racial and ethnic minority populations.
For more information on the CDC’s REACH US Program please visit their website at http://www.cdc.gov/reach/index.htm.
ABOUT LEGACT PROJECTS
As part of the CEED project, Legacy Projects will be awarded to urban Indian health programs to support implementation of the Honoring the Gift of Heart Health curriculum in their programs. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, we will solicit applications for Legacy Projects. Three to five awards will be granted each year. Five 1-year awards will be funded at $10,000-25,000 per award in each of the three remaining program years, totaling 15 Legacy Awards. The purpose of these grants is to enable awardees to implement their newly obtained curriculum: Honoring the Gift of Heart Health.
