Racism - A Public Health Crisis
Martha’s Vineyard is a diverse community. Recent US Census data and community research reveal the Island is home to a sizable Brazilian population (an estimated 20% of the year-round population); a historic Black Community (6.3%); and of course, the Island’s first community, the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, which oversees tribal lands Up-Island (1.5%).
The joint Boards of Health are committed to creating a welcoming and healthy community for all and work directly with these communities in the following ways:
Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe
Collaboration with Tribal Health Services for equitable access to island-wide health resources
Brazilian Population
Completed a Brazilian Community health survey in 2022 with an additional commitment to getting quality and timely public health information to this group in a language-accessible format. The outcomes of the 2022 survey can be found here.
Black Community & Additional Communities of Color
The Island has been a vacation and recreation destination for the nation’s African American Community for generations. Honoring that rich history while also acknowledging and unraveling the systems that have perpetuated health inequities for communities of color on and off Island are paramount for successful modern Public Health delivery on Martha’s Vineyard. Today the joint Boards of Health are committed to dismantling systemic racism and building new networks and bridges to ensure all who visit and reside on the Island have access to high quality public health services and information. Some of the joint Boards of Health efforts in this area include:
· Summer Camp Initiative – In response to current events on-Island and across the nation as well as community input, the joint Boards of Health are working with the youth summer recreational camps to address historic inequities in children’s summer camp programming, how they reverberate into the present day, and how we can build community solutions for a better and safer future. Topics include anti-racism training for summer camp operators and staff, cultural sensitivity programming for campers, and addressing cultural appropriation, especially in outdoor recreation camp settings.
· Brazilian Community Health Survey – In 2022, the joint Boards of Health supported a community research effort through the Inter-Island Public Health Collaborative to better understand the health needs among the members of the Island’s vibrant Brazilian Community. The research utilized diverse methods including focus groups in Portuguese, key informant interviews in English, and a dual-lingual digital survey. To review the survey outcomes and next steps, click here.
· Revamping Public Health Communications – A major concern among the health agents highlighted by the community research outcomes, was the need to revamp Public Health communications on the Island to better serve different populations in their primary language. This effort also includes research and guidance ‘translation’, meaning taking messaging laden with scientific terms and putting it in a format that is easier to understand for the entire Island. This can include reformatting messaging into different languages and mediums such as video and social media content.
· Partnering with the Island’s Communication Ambassador Program (CAP) – CAP has secured its place as a central pillar in the community for engaging with the Brazilian Portuguese speaking population in a meaningful way. The Boards of Health regularly partner with CAP to disseminate Public Health Emergency information, such as the precautions related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In the future, the Boards of Health along with Island Health Care plan to collaborate with CAP on community roundtables related to health equity through a lens of race and on community health initiatives related to social determinants of health including housing and food security.
· Assisting Island Health Care in examining racial health disparities among their patient population – through the Inter-Island Public Health Collaborative, the Boards of Health is supporting population health analysis. Currently, this workflow is piloting ways to identify racial disparities in Hypertension diagnosis and care among patients of color with plans to expand this analysis to other health conditions.
· Coming Soon: Health Metrics for progress toward Racial Equity in Public Health on Martha’s Vineyard
Collaborators and Resources