ABHPC Prevention Pathways Monthly Bulletin for March 2024
Women’s History Month
What began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California has grown into a national annual event – Women’s History Month in March. Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions and achievements of women throughout the history of the United States and aims to increase integration of women’s history into educational settings. This year, the theme for Women’s History Month is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion” and recognizes the efforts of women who aim to decrease discrimination and equality in society.
According to a survey done by the Community Prevention Initiative (now Advance Behavioral Health Prevention California, or ABHPC) in 2019; 75% of the prevention workforce identify as female. To celebrate the contributions of women to the prevention field, check out the National Institutes of Health’s, The Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative’s podcast series Women Leading Prevention Science. The series hosts prevention researchers who identify as women to share innovations in prevention, their experiences in the field, and lessons for emerging prevention professionals.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation has educational resources and events on women’s history in Southern California. You can find online and in-person events for Women’s History Month being hosted by the California Natural Resources Agency. The Library of Congress is holding online and in-person events on Women’s History Month that highlight women artists, politicians, and authors.
Transgender Day of Visibility
March 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility. This day of observance was started in 2010 by executive director and a co-founder of Transgender Michigan Rachel Crandall, and officially proclaimed by President Joe Biden in 2023. The goal of Transgender Day of Visibility is to celebrate and empower transgender people in the face of discrimination and violence from society.
Transgender people experience discrimination in a variety of forms, including harassment and physical violence in public and at schools, negative experiences with healthcare providers, and challenges with work and housing based on their identity. Stigma and trauma resulting from discrimination can lead to mental health diagnoses including anxiety and depression. 39% of transgender people report experiencing “severe psychological distress” compared to 5% of the general U.S. population. Transgender students additionally report greater frequency of current substance use; according to data from the 2023 California Health Kids Survey, self-identifying transgender students report higher rates of alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, and vaping when compared to their non-transgender peers.
Since the start of 2024, and at the time of this publication, 478 anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer+ (LGBTQ+) bills have been introduced across the country, compared to over 500 in all of 2023. The majority of these bills aim to restrict the rights of transgender individuals to access healthcare including gender-affirming care, participate in school sports, and use public accommodations such as bathrooms that align with their gender (sometimes known as “bathroom laws”). Some state bills place limitations on schools to provide resources and support to LGBTQ+ youth, despite evidence showing that access to education, supportive networks, and use of chosen name, pronouns, and facilities that align with gender identity leads to better health and well-being for LGBTQ+ youth. These laws and the prevalence of bullying against non-gender conforming youth can have devastating consequences, and are linked to the recent attack and death of Nex Benedict, a non-binary Choctaw youth from Owasso, Oklahoma.
Currently, no anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been proposed in California. You can access information from the California Attorney General on LGBTQ+ Discrimination Rights here, and resources on transgender community health in California here.
Social Drivers of Health (SDOH) Fundamentals: Equity and Inclusion in Health Care System Access and Quality
Health Care Access and Quality is one of the five domains of the SDOH and a goal of Healthy People 2030. Health Care Access and Quality includes health insurance coverage and health literacy, both key components to access. Barriers such as lack of health insurance, transportation to appointments, and long wait times deter people from seeking primary and preventative care. This shows how other SDOH have an impact in health care access and quality, including economic stability and neighborhood and built environment. Healthy People 2030 aims to mitigate these barriers by developing and implementing evidence-based programs and policies.
Currently 7.9% of the United States population do not have health insurance, which is the lowest rate since 2017. This rate is consistent with the percent of Californians who do not have health insurance. Lack of health insurance deters people from seeking primary and preventative treatment, leading to long-term health challenges later in life. Healthy People 2030 aims to both increase health insurance coverage and increase employment in working-age people to address access to health care.
Racism and discrimination are embedded throughout the health care system. Experiencing discrimination is linked to changes in emotional and physiological health for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color populations as well as LGBTQ+ individuals. Studies show that implicit racial bias is present in health care as well, and that medical providers’ beliefs and perceptions influence how they address communication and care of Black individuals. This treatment perpetuates mistrust of the health care system and drives further health disparities.
It will take attention and effort to reduce the financial and systemic barriers to health care. To learn more about nation-wide plans to address SDOH, you can read the White House’s SDOH Playbook and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ accompanying Call to Action.
Call for Proposals: 2024 Substance Use Disorder Integrated Care Conference
The Department of Health Care Services seeks proposals from organizations and agencies to present at this year’s Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Integrated Care Conference. If your proposal is accepted, you will present at this year’s SUD Integrated Care Conference held from August 13–15, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency and Convention Center in Long Beach, California.
The deadline to submit proposals is Monday, April 1, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. For more information, visit the Call for Proposals webpage.