More than half a million New Yorkers reported needing medical care in the past 12 months, but not receiving it.
Addressing Health Disparities in NYC
Despite improvements in health for all New Yorkers, significant social, economic and racial health disparities across a wide array of health outcomes persist. In an effort to focus more targeted attention on addressing these disparities, the NYC Health Department established District Public Health Offices (DPHOs) in the city's poorest neighborhoods, which bear a disproportionate burden of illness and premature mortality. The DPHOs serve as "mini Health Departments" by providing community-specific approaches to improving health.
DPHOs were established in 2002 to reduce health inequities across New York City by allocating resources and implementing programs in high-need neighborhoods in the South Bronx, East and Central Harlem, and North and Central Brooklyn. The DPHOs work to ensure that conditions for good health - available, sustainable, high-quality services and efficient, effective systems - flourish in these neighborhoods. They further this mission by:
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Administering programs that address priority health issues
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Focusing and coordinating the work of central DOHMH programs
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Informing, developing, and advocating for policy change
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Conducting research and disseminating public health information
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Supporting and assisting community residents and organizations
The New York City Health Equity Project, a three-year project made possible by grant funding through FPHNY, is a collaboration between the DPHOs and Hunter College - City University of New York. The program works with youth groups serving high school age students in North and Central Brooklyn, East and Central Harlem, and the South Bronx to raise awareness about underlying causes of poor health affecting these communities and to lead youth through advocacy efforts to address some of those issues.
Funding through FPHNY allowed the NYC Health Department to collect, analyze and publish data regarding health disparities in NYC. Download a copy of the New York City Health Disparities Chartbook.