HEALTH & WELL-BEING

NAACP is committed to ending racial health disparities. Our aim is not simply disease prevention, but to create an inclusive culture of healthy people and communities. 

WHY WE FIGHT

The NAACP believes that all people deserve access to resources, communities, and care that contribute to overall health and longevity. Unfortunately, that ideal scenario is inaccessible to many Black Missourians and people of color. Our reality is one of immense disparities with regard to our health and well-being.


The numbers reflect a grim outlook for numerous individuals and families across the state:

  • According to a report published by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, the pregnancy-related mortality rate is 4x greater for Black women than for White women.
  • The 'Bootheel' region of the state (comprised of Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Dunklin counties), which contains the state's highest concentration of Black residents, only contains two hospitals across the 5-county area.
  • MOST Policy Initiative reports that Black Missourians have a lower life expectancy than White Missourians, primarily due to lower incomes and lack of insurance.


We must prioritize the physical, mental, emotional, and general health and well-being of the members of our community and the community at-large. That means addressing not only the way that discrimination shows up in healthcare settings, but also finding and implementing solutions for systemic poverty and improving social determinants of health.

WHAT WE'RE FIGHTING FOR

PROTECTING DEI IN HEALTHCARE


There is no one-size-fits-all approach to quality, equitable healthcare. Everyone deserves a healthcare system that caters to their individual and collective needs. We challenge Missouri's health institutions to meet those needs by maintaining diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as an integral elements of their operations, their treatment plans, and their overall culture.

MENTAL & EMOTIONAL HEALTH


Oppression, stress, lack of safety, lack of support in public and professional settings, and a host of other factors lead to higher rates of suicidality, high blood pressure, maternal and infant mortality, organ failure, and numerous other health-related problems. Our mental and emotional well-being deserves just as much attention and care as our bodies.

LOCAL HEALTH DISPARITIES


Just as the care we receive from healthcare institutions must be tailored to our unique needs in order to be effective, our focus on addressing health disparities in Missouri as an organization must be customized to tackle the distinct issues our various communities face. We model what we we desire from the healthcare system through our own behavior.

PARTNERING TO PROTECT MATERNAL HEALTH

In 2023, the closure of two factories—Magnitude 7 Metals and Tyson Foods— in Southeast Missouri, an area colloquially known as the 'Bootheel,' triggered the loss of roughly 1200 jobs in a matter of weeks. The Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, through a nationwide collaboration with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized the distribution of much-needed resources to families in crisis in the area through a partnership with the Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium (MBRC). Through this effort, maternal and infant wellness commodities were provided to 600 families enrolled in MBRC programs and food assistance was administered to 2,000 individuals in the area.

LEARN MORE
Dr. Cheryl Avant

MEET THE EXPERT

DR. CHERYL AVANT

Health Committee Chair, Missouri NAACP

Associate Professor of Sociology, American Public University System

Member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)

MEET DR. AVANT
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