FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Elana Parker
 (334) 206-7980

The Alabama Department of Public Health will offer a summer series of satellite programs on cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness for health care providers and social workers who treat patients in community clinics, public health departments, medical and dental facilities.

This training will provide community medical providers with knowledge to better understand the stereotypes, prejudices, stigmatizations and personal conclusions that can often present barriers in patient treatment and access to health care for minority, vulnerable and underserved populations in Alabama.
 
The first program of this three-part series on Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity Awareness Training will be presented on June 23 from 2-4 p.m. central time. Information will be presented on the various social and health disparities that impact currently incarcerated and newly released offenders in the Alabama prison system. Other satellite and webcast training events are scheduled for July 21 and Aug. 18, also from 2 to 4 p.m.

This program will offer information on health literacy programs, reentry outreach initiatives, and opportunities for managing chronic health conditions that are available to the incarcerated population prior to and after release from prison. The program will include discussions on substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence and community prison reentry programs.

The State Office of Minority Health has a goal to work toward the following strategies:

• Ensure that all people receive equitable and effective treatment in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner;
• Make services responsive to the individuals’ needs;
• Address the needs of populations that experience unequal access to health care services; and
• Contribute to the elimination of cultural disparities in
  health care services.

In the health care arena, we treat and answer the questions of Alabama’s multicultural populations, who may have differing socioeconomic and geographic status, varied sexual orientation, or whose religious and cultural beliefs have potential to cause tension between the patient and provider.

ADPH provides these trainings to keep the medical community informed on diversity and to help ensure cooperation in providing appropriate care and service to all Alabamians. The Alabama Department of Public Health Office of Minority Health, Aid to Inmate Moms, Inc, the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Dannon Project and the Alabama Department of Corrections are partnering in this combined satellite and webcast. This is the ninth satellite conference/webcast program in a series on Alabama health disparities.

To find out more about the free satellite and webcast conference, go to the Alabama Public Health Training Network at www.adph.org/alphtn to view program information. To see the other programs which are now available as on demand webcasts, click on “On Demand Programs” and then select “Minority Health and Health Disparities."

For more information on the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities, visit the Federal Office of Minority Health at www.omhrc.gov or for additional information visit the State of Alabama Office of Minority Health Web site at www.adph.org/minorityhealth.

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6/16/10

The Alabama Department of Public Health Office of Minority Health mission is to improve the health status of minority populations by improving access to quality health care services and by promoting minority presence and participation in health planning and policy formation. For additional information, go to www.adph.org/minorityhealth.

The mission of the Alabama Department of Corrections is to confine, manage and provide rehabilitative programs for convicted felons in a safe, secure and humane environment, utilizing professionals who are committed to public safety and to the positive re-entry of offenders into society. For additional information, go to www.doc.state.al.us.