Minority Health and Health Equity Archive

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/21769

Welcome to the Minority Health and Health Equity Archive (MHHEA), an electronic archive for digital resource materials in the fields of minority health and health disparities research and policy. It is offered as a no-charge resource to the public, academic scholars and health science researchers interested in the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

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    The Case For Transforming Governmental Public Health
    (2006) Salinsky, Eileen; Gursky, Elin A.
    Changing threats to the public’s health necessitate a profound transformation of the public health enterprise. Despite recent attention to the biodefense role of public health, policymakers have not developed a clear, realistic vision for the structure and functionality of the governmental public health system. Lack of leadership and organizational disconnects across levels of government have prevented strategic alignment of resources and undermined momentum for meaningful change. A transformed public health system is needed to address the demands of emergency preparedness and health protection. Such transformation should include focused, risk-based resource allocation; regional planning; technological upgrades; workforce restructuring; improved integration of private-sector assets; and better performance monitoring.
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    HURRICANE KATRINA: Providing Oversight of the Nation's Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Activities
    (United States Government Accountability Office, 2005) Rabkin, Norman J
    Hurricane Katrina will have an enormous impact on people and the economy of the United States. The hurricane affected over a half million people located in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama and has resulted in one of the largest natural disaster relief and recovery operations in United States history. In terms of public health, standing water and high temperatures have created a breeding ground for disease, and public health advisories have warned about the spread of disease in the affected areas. Hurrican Katrina also resulted in environmental challenges, such as water and sediment contamination from toxic materials released into the floodwaters. In addition, our nation;s energy infrastructure was hard hit; it affected 21 refineries. In terms of telecommunications, Hurricane Katrina knocked out radio and television stations, more than 3 million customer phone lines, and more than a thousand cell phone sites. GAO prepared this testimony to highlight past work on government programs related to Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, and to provided information on plans and coordination among the accountability community--GAO, the Inspectors General, and other auditors at the state and local level.