AAFP, NHMA Join Forces on Advancing Health Equity
Groups Will Collaborate on Diversity, Health Disparities and More
October 18, 2021, 3:55 p.m. News Staff — The AAFP and the National Hispanic Medical Association signed a groundbreaking agreement during National Hispanic Heritage Month that calls for the organizations to work together to advance health equity and diversity, with a focus on addressing health disparities in Latinx/Hispanic patients and remedying underrepresentation of Latinx/Hispanic physicians in the workforce.
Among other things, the agreement calls for the creation of a Council of Family Medicine and the establishment of member resources that support professional development, leadership growth and clinical expertise in family medicine.
Background and Details
The AAFP and NHMA have shared a number of mutual professional objectives for years. When the AAFP launched its Center for Diversity and Health Equity in 2017, the NHMA demonstrated its support by attending the Academy’s inaugural Health Equity Roundtable meeting in Washington, D.C., and provided feedback and guidance on the CDHE’s strategic priorities. This included developing and supporting initiatives that aim to grow a workforce that reflects the diversity and culture of the communities served by family physicians, advocating to advance health equity, developing education and training resources to support members in understanding the complexity of health equity topics, and creating tools that members can implement in clinical practice to serve the needs of patients and communities. The NHMA also has a vested interest in these priorities; as such, the new agreement positions both organizations well for a mutually beneficial collaboration that maximizes their individual and collective impact.
Under the agreement, each organization will have individual and shared responsibilities. The NHMA will establish and support a Council of Family Medicine with an appointed chair and co-chair that will work closely with the AAFP to develop family medicine-focused programming and networking opportunities for members at its events. The Academy, in turn, will offer complimentary memberships to these appointed leaders, as well as registration to attend a networking reception with AAFP members at its National Conference of Constituency Leaders. In addition, both organizations will collaborate on shared advocacy initiatives and workforce diversity issues.
“This partnership demonstrates our continued focus on cultivating relationships that advance equity not only for the communities served by family physicians but also the family physician workforce,” said Danielle Jones, Ph.D., M.P.H., the Academy’s director of diversity and health equity. “By working together to implement this council, both the AAFP and the NHMA hope that family physicians will feel a greater sense of both cultural and professional identity embraced and celebrated by both organizations.”
For more information on how to get involved in the NHMA Council of Family Medicine and leadership opportunities, please contact the AAFP Center for Diversity and Health Equity at healthequity@aafp.org.
About the NHMA
Established in 1994, the NHMA represents 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. Its mission is “to empower Hispanic physicians to lead efforts to improve the health of Hispanic and other underserved populations in collaboration with Hispanic state medical societies, residents, medical students, and other public and private sector partners.”