Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute (REHDAI): Impacting Health Equity at State and Local Levels

Learn about CDC's Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute, which provides local and state teams with tools, resources, and strategies for developing evidence-based approaches to build healthier communities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Action Institute (REHDAI) began in 2008 to expand support to communities taking action in addressing health disparities through the lens of health equity.

REHDAI is a three-year pilot project supporting teams that join the social movement to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. The project equips community teams with the knowledge and tools necessary to launch and sustain an effective local community action plan.

The nine REHDAI state teams include Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Oregon, Tennessee, and Texas.

Each REHDAI team works to meet these objectives in their communities:

• increase capacity to recognize and respond to health issues
• develop and articulate a vision to eliminate health disparities
• identify influential community leaders and to establish a community coalition with representation from at least four public and private sectors
• develop and use skills to implement one or more awareness campaigns reaching at least 25% of residents, key stakeholders, and change agents
• implement at least one strategy to address one or more social determinants of health
• write and submit at least two proposals for public and/or private funding to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities
• identify and explain at least five root causes of racial and health disparities in the United States.

The nine state REHDAI teams build health equity at the local and state levels through increased collaboration and commitment.

REHDAI teams also collaborate with a REACH U.S. (Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Across the U.S.) Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities (CEED). CEEDS are national expert centers that implement, coordinate, refine, and disseminate programmatic activities.

Each REHDAI state team is paired with a REACH CEED to receive mentorship, technical assistance, and financial support. Available funds from the REACH CEED can be used to further develop their team and community action plan.

REHDAI State Teams and REACH U.S. CEED Partners:

• Florida - Genesse County Health Department (Michigan)
• Kentucky - University of Illinois at Chicago
• Maryland - Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (New York)
• Minnesota - Regents of University of California, Los Angeles
• Mississippi - Medical College of South Carolina
• Missouri - Hidalgo Medical Services (New Mexico)
• Tennessee - University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Texas - Boston Public Health Commission (Massachusetts)
• Oregon - Public Health Institute (California)

The nine REHDAI teams also receive technical assistance from CDC. This includes yearly technical assistance workshops, webinars, conference calls, one-on-one calls, and other resource sharing.

In addition, the program is undergoing a rigorous evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the REHDAI model.