Policy Briefs
CPEHN's policy briefs provide in-depth analysis of the most pressing multicultural health policy issues in California.
- > Home
- > Data & Resources
- > Policy Briefs
Our policy briefs fall into four priority categories:
Please visit our Multicultural Health Library for additional studies and reports addressing the health of communities of color.
Advocating for Cultural and Linguistic Competency
A Blueprint for Success: Bringing Language Access to Millions of Californians
(January 2009, 12 Pages)
This brief documents CPEHN's advocacy efforts on SB 853. The first of its kind in the country, this law holds health plans accountable for the provision of language services - requiring health plans and health insurers to provide their enrollees with interpreter services, translated materials, and to collect race, ethnicity, and language data.
The Impact of Race/Ethnicity and Language on Access and Experience of Care Among California's Commercially Insured Adults
(February 2007, 3 Pages)
Funded by the California Program on Access to Care, this study explores the role of race/ethnicity and language in access to, and experience of, care among adult Californians enrolled in the state's seven major health plans.
Taking Cultural Competency From Theory to Action
(October 2006, 28 Pages)
Supported by the Commonwealth Fund, this paper provides principles and recommendations for implementing cultural competency in the field. Based on interviews with leaders in the field of cultural competency, the authors discuss best practices and important lessons in the implementation of cultural competency initiatives.
Holding Health Plans Accountable: The Provision of Culturally and Linguistically Competent Services by Health Plans Participating in the Healthy Families Program
(March 2006, 12 Pages)
Our review of the state's current process of overseeing health plan compliance with the Healthy Families cultural and linguistic requirements finds that they need to do more to ensure compliance.
Limited English Proficient Enrollee Access to Health Plan Grievance Systems
(December 2004)
Health plans and the Department of Managed Health Care must do more to ensure LEP access to grievance procedures. CPEHN conducted an analysis of the reports health plans submitted to DMHC which found critical limitations and provides recommendations for improvement.
Download the Executive Summary (10 pages) or Full Report (20 pages)
Diverse Patients, Disparate Experience: The Use of Standardized Patient Satisfaction Surveys in Assessing the Cultural Competence of Health Care Organizations
(March 2001, 72 Pages)
Funded by the California HealthCare Foundation, this project examined whether standardized surveys of consumers' experience and satisfaction with health care could provide useful information on certain dimensions of the cultural competency of health care organizations.
Addressing the Social and Environment Determinants of Health Disparities
Unlocking the Playground: Achieving Equity in Physical Activity Spaces
(September 2009, 16 pages)
A new report by CPEHN, presents case studies, expert opinions, and recommendations from our spring 2009 convenings on joint use.
The Landscape of Opportunity: Cultivating Health Equity in California
(June 2009, 44 pages)
This new report highlights some of the social and environmental inequities that lead to the health disparities experienced by California's communities of color. It includes charts and maps, all by race/ethnicity, and is accompanied by additional mapping resources on our website at www.cpehn.org/landscape.php.
The Unequal Landscape of Diabetes : Place based solutions to end an epidemic
(May 2008, 12 pages)
This policy brief provides statistics on the growing diabetes epidemic among communities of color and highlights policy recommendations and innovative solutions to improve our communities' nutritional and physical landscapes.
Out of Balance
(September 2005)
This report documents how money spent to advertise foods including soda, candy, snacks and fast foods, dwarfs the dollars spent to promote the California and Federal "5 A Day" programs to encourage eating vegetables and fruits. Written by Consumers Union, and CPEHN, this report concludes that this imbalance is one of the key factors contributing to unhealthful dietary trends in the United States that have led to the obesity crisis.
Download the Full Report in English or Full Report in Spanish (31 pages).
Policy Implications of Racial and Ethnic Differences in Managed Care vs. Fee-for-Service Utilization Disparities in California
(October 2004)
Funded by the California Program on Access to Care, this study examined the differences in utilization of services, cancer screenings, and chronic disease management among California's racial and ethnic groups in managed care compared with fee-for-service using 2001 CHIS data.
Download the Executive Summary (4 pages) or Full Report (31 pages)
Addressing the Obesity Epidemic - Public Policies for Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Environments
(August 2003, 14 Pages)
This Issue Brief discusses social and environmental contributors to the obesity epidemic from the perspective of communities of color, proposes solutions directed at community-level environmental change, and stresses that public policy responses are requisite for addressing this epidemic.
Improving Access to Health Care
A Primer on California's Uninsured
(March 2006, 4 Pages)
Developed in partnership with New America Media for the project, "Giving Uninsured Californians a Voice in the Health Care Debate," and funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, this brief provides ethnic media an overview of the uninsured and health care reform efforts.
Health Care Reform Principles: A Multicultural Approach
(1992, 3 Pages)
These guiding principles represent the core areas of agreement among CPEHN's multicultural partners and the primary values of our organizations. These principles are used to evaluate various health care reform proposals to ensure that the needs of communities of color are met.
Descargue Los Fundamentos Sobre la Reforma del Cuidado Médico En Español
Using Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data to Eliminate Health Disparities
(June 2005, 16 Pages)
The health system is not doing enough to collect, standardize, and utilize race, ethnicity, and language data to improve our health. Download our report and help make significant advancements in the use of this data to eliminate health disparities.
To view, print, or download any PDF document above, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download the program for free by selecting the Adobe link to the right.In order to view any PowerPoint presentation above, you must have Microsoft PowerPoint or PowerPoint Viewer installed. To download the PowerPoint Viewer for free, please choose from the appropriate links below:
PowerPoint Viewer for Windows
PowerPoint Viewer for Mac