Black History Month

During Black History Month in February, the Office of Minority Health (OMH) joins partners to honor and celebrate the achievements of African Americans. Throughout the month, OMH will focus on the positive impact an active and healthy lifestyle can have in helping to eliminate cardiovascular health disparities affecting the African American community.

To help spread awareness and resources addressing heart health disparities in the African American community, OMH will co-host a Twitter chat on February 19, 2020 at 2 pm ET with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Use the hashtag #LoveYourHeartChat to participate.

Visit our webpage during Black History Month for materials, events, and health resources.

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Sickle Cell Disease Training and Mentoring Program (STAMP)

The Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Training and Mentoring Program (STAMP) is a collaboration between OMH, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care. STAMP is a free telehealth series taught by hematologists for primary care providers. The program trains primary care providers on the basics of sickle cell disease care such as pain management, hydroxyurea, and preventive services. Trainings this month include:

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 ǀ 2 PM ET: Imaging Uncomplicated Headache in SCD
Tuesday, February 18, 2020 ǀ 5 PM ET: Screening Assessments in SCD

Visit our sickle cell disease site to register and learn more about upcoming trainings.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

Each year, the Strategic Leadership Council coordinates National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on February 7 to increase HIV and AIDS education, testing, community involvement, and treatment among African American communities.

This year’s theme is “We’re In This, Together,” and hopes to promote togetherness in the African American community and highlight that everyone has a role in ending the HIV epidemic. Take some time on this day to learn how you can stop HIV stigma and empower your community to get tested and seek treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

1 in 7 African Americans with HIV do not know they have it.
African American males have 8.6 times the AIDS rate as white males.
African American females have 18.6 times the AIDS rate as white females.

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American Heart Month

According to NHLBI, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. To help spread awareness of heart health disparities that affect African Americans and other racial and ethnic minority groups, OMH joins NLHBI and The Heart Truth in their Our Hearts initiative.

You can help spread awareness of heart disease this month by wearing red on National Wear Red Day on February 7. Don’t forget to take a look at NHLBI’s toolkit for various materials about heart health to share among your family and friends.

This year, NHLBI will be spreading heart health messages with a weekly theme:

Week 1: Be physically active together
Week 2: Eat healthier together
Week 3: Track your heart health stats together
Week 4: Manage stress, sleep better, and quit smoking together

Learn More

Knowledge Center

In support of both Black History Month and American Heart Month, the Knowledge Center is featuring recent publications from the online library catalog. To read about cardiovascular health for African Americans, click here.