IDOH Health Equity Council
The Indiana Department of Health places equity at the center of our work to ensure every Hoosier, regardless of individual characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion, has access to social and physical supports needed to promote health from birth throughout end of life. The IDOH Health Equity Council (HEC) works to increase IDOH’s internal capacity to center health equity in all program areas.
Join the Council
The HEC holds one two-hour meeting on the fourth Wednesday of each month; hour-long subcommittee meetings are held monthly or bimonthly. Participants can expect to spend up to six hours per month as part of the council. Participants must receive their supervisor’s approval.
If you want to join or learn more about the council, email council co-chairs Naima Gardner-Rice at ngardner1@health.in.gov or Marika Baptist at mbaptist@health.in.gov.
Subcommittees
Health Equity Council (HEC) members are expected to serve on at least one of the council’s subcommittees. These groups include the data, policy, communications, and resources and training committees within the HEC. Here is a brief breakdown of some of the work of each engagement subcommittee group:
- Data: Hiring and exit data is analyzed by various demographics
- Policy: Bi-annual review and updating of IDOH health equity policy
- Communications – Work with agency staff on communications and messaging
- Resources and Training – All new staff are trained in health equity at orientation
HEC Resource Hub
Access HEC-recommended tools and resources below.
| Resource Type | Title and Link | Source | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool | Implicit Association Test | Project Implicit | This web-based test measures participants' unconscious attitudes regarding various aspects of identity. This can help them understand how implicit bias may be influencing their words and actions. |
| Training | Advancing Racial Equity | American Public Health Association (APHA) | This six-episode webinar series explores racism as a profound influence on the social determinants of health that give rise to health inequities in the United States. It contains episodes on racism in our society, reproductive justice, policing, racial healing, housing, and environmental justice. |
| Training | Racial Allyship Training | Cornell Center for Health Equity | This four-module web-based course teaches skills that allies can use to combat anti-Black and other forms of racism. It contains modules on racism in our society, fundamental attribution error, building and practicing allyship skills, and creating an action plan. |
| Training | Health Equity and Social Justice 101 | National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) | This three-episode webinar series educates local health departments and their partners on key concepts, principles, and applications pertaining to health equity and social justice. It contains episodes on the politics of health inequity, intersectionality, and stories from the field. |
| Training | Roots of Health Inequity | National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) | This six-module web-based course explores the root causes of inequity in the distribution of disease, illness, and death with a focus on the local public health perspective. It contains modules on getting started, framing, public health history, root causes, social justice, and advancing a public narrative for health equity and social justice. |
| Tool | What is Health Equity? | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | CDC's Health Equity webpage features health equity news from our federal public health agency. The homepage links to CDC's "What is Health Equity?" page, where you can read definitions of health equity and health disparities, learn about several social determinants of health, and get ideas for how to advance health equity. The homepage also links to the CDC's strategic plan for integrating health equity into its work as well as the offices of Minority Health and Health Equity and Women's Health. You can also check out CDC's Conversations in Equity blog and view or subscribe to its quarterly health equity newsletter. |
| Tool | Your Address & Your Lifespan | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) | The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation’s largest philanthropic organization focused solely on health. RWJF is a leader in new and innovative ways to promote health equity. Explore the influence of social determinants of health by trying the “Your Address & Your Lifespan” interactive tool, which estimates your lifespan based on your address. We also recommend the “Health Equity in Action” section, which describes what you can do to promote health equity in your field of work as well as in your community. |
| Tool | Veterans Geography of Opportunity | US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | The VA Office of Health Equity has a team dedicated to advancing health equity and reducing health disparities through its Health Equity Coalition and Health Equity Action Plan. The VA webpage includes data, a podcast, information on specific populations impacted by health inequities, resources on social determinants of health, and links to publications and research. Try the Veterans Geography of Opportunity tool, an interactive map that shows different factors that influence health in communities where Veterans live, work, and play. |
| Tool | Health Equity and Social Justice Toolkit | National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) | The Health Equity and Social Justice Toolkit is a robust and searchable database of tools, publications, and resources created and shared by members of the public health community. |
Contact
Marika Baptist
HEC Co-Chair
mbaptist@health.in.gov
Anna Andrews
HEC Data Subcommittee Co-Chair
aandrews@health.in.gov
Lillian Gant
HEC Communications Subcommittee Chair
lgant@health.in.gov
Naima Gardner-Rice
HEC Co-Chair
ngardner1@health.in.gov
Peter Krombach
HEC Data Subcommittee Co-Chair
pkrombach1@health.in.gov
Antoinette Holt
HEC Sponsor
aholt@health.in.gov
Jen Brown
HEC Resources and Training Subcommittee Chair
jenbrown@health.in.gov
