(a) For purposes of this section: (1) "Health disparity" means a preventable difference between 2 or more groups of people in the quality of health or health care based on all of the following: a. A shared characteristic of the individuals within each group, such as race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. b. The differences between the groups regarding access to health care or burdens, prevalence, or incidence of disease or violence. (2) "Health equity" means the absence of systematic health disparities or disparities in the major social determinants of health between groups of people with different levels of underlying social advantage or disadvantage such as, wealth, power, or prestige. (3) "Social determinants of health" mean conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. (b) The Bureau of Health Equity (BHE) is established within the Division of Public Health (DPH), in the Department of Health and Social Services and includes all of the following: (1) The Office of Minority Health. (2) The Office of Women's Health. (c) The purpose of the BHE is to ensure that everyone in Delaware will achieve their full health potential by promoting conditions that are vital for health and well-being, eliminating health disparities, particularly among all racial and ethnic minority groups. The BHE works with communities to address social determinants of health, focusing on prevention, health, and wellness of the broader population instead of treatment focused on individuals. (d) The BHE shall do all of the following: (1) Provide relevant statistical data to assess and identify the health status of groups of people with shared characteristics. (2) Increase awareness of major health problems and factors that influence health. (3) In collaboration with other DPH programs, identify needs and expand community-based health promotion and disease prevention outreach efforts, including working with communities to build capacity to meet the health needs in disease prevention, education, and health promotion. (4) Establish and strengthen networks, coalitions, and partnerships to identify and address health problems, including identifying and supporting assets within Delaware's public health system to close the gap of health disparities. (5) Collaborate with public health partners to develop and promote programs and best practices to achieve health equity, including all of the following: a. The Primary Care Reform Collaborative of the Delaware Health Care Commission. b. The Office of Value-Based Health Care Delivery in the Department of Insurance.
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