OHA releases five priorities for 2020-2024 State Health Improvement Plan
The Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA-PHD) recently announced its top five priorities for the 2020–2024 State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP). The plan, which is still in development, identifies key public health priorities for the state and strategies to improve health outcomes across Oregon.
OHA-PHD is currently developing the health improvement plan in partnership with community-based organizations and the PartnerSHIP, a community-based steering committee.
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During the committee’s most recent meeting, the PartnerSHIP decided on the following key priorities for the upcoming plan:
- Institutional bias – defined as “the systematic distribution of resources, power and opportunity in society to the benefit of people who are white and the exclusion of people of color, people with disabilities, people with low income and people who identify as LGBTQ+.”
- Adversity, trauma, and toxic stress – such as abuse or neglect, family separation, or exposure to racism and discrimination
- Economic drivers of health – such as housing, living wage, food insecurity, and transportation
- Access to equitable preventative health care – addressing issues such as transportation barriers, provider shortages, and cultural differences
- Behavioral Health, including mental health and substance abuse
The priorities were voted on from a list of health issues identified through the 2018 State Health Assessment. The PartnerSHIP also took into account survey results and feedback from OHA and seven community-based organizations to develop the list.
“The 2020-2024 SHIP priorities reflect where we need to focus our efforts and respond to the statewide health challenges uncovered in the State Health Assessment,” said Katrina Hedberg, MD, state health officer and epidemiologist at the OHA Public Health Division. “They take a more upstream approach to improve the health of everyone in Oregon in a more equitable way.”
The next step is the creation of individual subcommittees that will be responsible for creating work plans, strategies, and measurable outcomes for each health priority.
The State Health Improvement Plan will then be used as a tool for OHA, CCOs, elected officials, state and local health departments, community-based organizations, among others as a common direction for health care goals in the state.
The subcommittee meetings may begin as soon as April 2019, with the SHIP expected to launch in January 2020.
