A new report released by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health shows that racial and ethnic minor – ity populations and tribal communities often face preventable inequities that have a major impact on people’s health and well-being. 

These health inequities are due to structural disadvantages and diminished opportunities found in health care, education, social context, economic stability, and the environment, or five key areas known as the social determinants of health (SDOH). 

In a new report released on Aug. 1, “Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity,” the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) analyzes how past and current federal policies create, maintain, and/or amplify racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities. 

This report is in response to a task by Congress that was included in the Joint Explanatory Statement to the fiscal 2021 budget appropriations act. In 2022, HHS OMH tasked National Academies with assembling an interdisciplinary committee of experts to: 

• Focus on federal policies that contribute to preventable and unfair differences in health status and outcomes experienced by racial and ethnic minority and American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the United States, and 

• Provide conclusions and recommendations that identify the most effective or promising approaches to policy change with the goal of furthering racial, ethnic, and tribal health equity (including both promising and evidence-based solutions).

 The report outlines 36 conclusions in the five SDOH areas and 13 policy recommendations directed toward the Federal govern – ment’s legislative and executive branches to advance health equity. The report also provides a conceptual framework that recognizes how the inequitable impact of negative social determinants of health perpetuates racial, ethnic, and tribal health disparities. 

“It is our desire that the National Academies report will serve as a road map for a whole-of-government approach to eliminate health disparities through structural and system changes that address systemic barriers and improve the health and well-being for all racially and ethnically minoritized populations in the United States.