Improves the lives of Cincinnati residents at the policy level. Headed by Councilman Wendell Young and co-chaired by the Health Gap, the task force mission is to incorporate health considerations into all city policies.
These areas are home to 25% of Cincinnati’s population. In response, the Health Gap is part of the Food Access and Healthy Living Task Force and is behind the Cincinnati Fresh Food Retail Finance Fund.
These are critical to the Health Gap’s work and include organizations like LULAC, the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission and Su Casa Hispanic Center. The Health Gap and Su Casa collaborated on the Házlo Bien! Campaign, a Spanish language outreach designed to help residents better understand their health.
Established in 2005, this effort resulted in 126 churches being trained to develop or enrich existing health ministries. Health Leadership Institute (HLI) helps build strong and healthy congregations and communities through the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles in Greater Cincinnati. Two hundred and fifteen pastors and laypersons Greater Cincinnati have graduated from the program since its inception.
HLI Do Right! Challenge was launched as a result of the positive response to HLI. Over a 20-week period, five church teams consisting of 208 participants competed for the greatest overall health status change. Weekly physical activity instructors, bi-weekly dieticians, and cooking instructors provided education and support for the teams throughout the program. Over those five months, core participants experienced 13% reduction in BMI, 44% reduction glucose levels, and almost all made significant life-style changes due to the program.
The Health Gap has partnered with the Ohio African American Coalition on Health Disparities (OAACHD), an advocacy voice for health disparities among African American in each of Ohio’s five regions and collectively at the state level. The coalition’s goal is to increase awareness of health disparities among African-American populations and to ultimately eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities through education, advocacy and outreach.
