Oral

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office on Women’s Health (OWH) provides national leadership and coordination to improve the health of women and girls through policy, education and model programs. One way this is accomplished is through partnerships with organizations and institutions to promote women’s health equity and address the needs of women disproportionately impacted by poor health outcomes, racial-ethnic minority women. As the leading HHS office in women’s health promotion, OWH launched a new pilot project entitled the Health and Wellness Initiative for Women Attending Minority Institutions in 2010. This grant initiative focused on reducing health disparities at the collegiate level, among minority-serving institutions--Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). The overall goal of this initiative is to provide the institutions with resources to conduct gender-responsive, age-appropriate, and culturally- and linguistically appropriate health promotion activities in three areas: 1) education and prevention of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); 2) awareness and prevention of violence against women with both young women and men, and 3) education of overall health and wellness (mental health, overweight/obesity, heart disease, diabetes, reproductive health, substance use and abuse, autoimmune diseases, dental health, nutrition, and other topics). Each grantee collaborated with local health service providers and community-based organizations to support the needs of the student body and foster a culture of health, wellness, and safety for the entire campus community. The institutions or organizations that were awarded funds for this initiative will present on their respective programs.

Session Objectives: To identify promising practices focused on women’s health promotion at US minority institutions to include: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). To describe violence prevention strategies for bystander interventions, peer educator activities and/or improved campus policies and resources that address violence against women, within a college setting. To discuss gender-specific and culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS prevention strategies for college students at minority institution (HBCUs, HSIs, and TCUs) campuses.