Improving Health Equity
The Urban Health Alliance celebrates new funding and growth.
The UF Health Urban Health Alliance, or UHA, opened the social services hub and headquarters in the Professional Office Building in June 2021. The program has been active for more than two years after launching in late 2019. It has experienced tremendous growth and accomplishments within the past year alone, and is continuously working toward eliminating health disparities.
UHA is a comprehensive resource and community health network that brings organizations and services together to help improve the health and wellness of those considered to be the most vulnerable populations in the community. UHA is built on four pillars: service, education, research and policy.
Service
The Food Pharmacy was created to support UF Health Total Care Clinic – Jacksonville patients who have chronic conditions and food insecurity, while also providing nutrition classes to make a long-term impact on their lives. Nutrition classes consist of education and food demonstrations. Topics included eating healthy on a budget, understanding food labels and educating on chronic diseases such as diabetes, cholesterol and hypertension.
This past year, the Food Pharmacy served approximately 240 patients each month. Francis Paige, a Total Care Clinic and Food Pharmacy patient, expressed her gratitude for the program.
“I have a better understanding of what I should be eating while living with diabetes,” Paige said. “Since I began receiving food from the pharmacy, my cholesterol has also improved.”
The Food Pharmacy reported a 75% improvement in hemoglobin A1C for diabetic patients and a 36% improvement in blood pressure for patients with hypertension. The program continues to welcome new patients and support the UHA’s goal of improving the health of vulnerable patients.
Another program under the UHA service pillar is the Social Services Hub. The hub opened in June 2021, and collaborates with other organizations to assist patients who need support locating housing, finding jobs and much more. On-site staff ensure each patient is connected with what they need. Organizations working with the Hub, such as Yoga 4 Change, provide an opportunity for patients to engage with each other and offer support and encouragement. Other organizations, such as Family Foundation, provide educational resources to support patient needs.
Francis Paige, a Total Care Clinic patient, shops in the Food Pharmacy’s “grocery store” as part of her nutrition plan with the program.
Education
From the earliest days of the pandemic, UHA prioritized COVID-19 education. In the beginning, the focus was on offering testing for residents, and it now encompasses vaccine education in order to increase understanding, reduce fear, eliminate myths and increase vaccination rates. The UHA team recognized the need to shift quickly from testing to vaccine education. Volunteer staff and community health workers engaged and educated more than 2,312 residents across the community, specifically in areas with higher health vulnerabilities. This helped to mitigate fears and concerns among residents.
UF Health leaders at the Social Services Hub ribbon-cutting in June 2021.
Research
In January 2021, UHA received a $248,000 award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards program to drive patient participation in health disparities research.
This allowed the UHA team to work on new projects, such as:
- Conducting listening sessions with patients, community members, providers and other stakeholders to identify key barriers and solutions to improve health equity.
- Developing a patient-centered research approach.
- Recruiting and training community members to serve as citizen scientists.
The grant also contributed to the development of a health disparities data center, which collects and houses data and reports generated by UF Health personnel and other community members.
Policy
Earlier this year, UHA was also awarded $3.7 million in grant funding by the Florida Blue Foundation to establish the Center for Health Equity and Social Justice. The center is bringing together diverse stakeholders to conduct research and educate the community. The center’s work has begun with strategic planning and infrastructure building, which will be led by the center’s director, Atiya Abdelmalik, PhD.
The UHA will continue to address many complex needs that focus on the social determinants impacting our patients’ ability to live the healthiest lives possible. For more information, to volunteer, or to contribute and share thoughts, please contact the UHA team at uha@jax.ufl.edu.
