Healthwise and African American Wellness Project Form Unique Partnership to Increase Access to Vital Health Education
Focus on prevention and information can lead to healthier lives and reduce health disparities
BOISE, Idaho, Oct. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, and the African American Wellness Project (AAWP), a nonprofit organization that empowers the African American Community to improve health outcomes have formed a partnership to address health disparities in the African American community. The goal of this partnership to better engage African Americans by providing easy-to-understand information on a range of important health issues, conditions, treatments, and more on AAWP’s free and easy-to-use site—https://aawellnessproject.org.
Organized to respond to the inequities in health care delivery between African Americans and almost all other ethnic groups in the United States, the AAWP is helping bridge the gap in health and wellness for the African American community through various digital health education programs. Directly from AAWP’s website, people can now access the Healthwise® Knowledgebase: thousands of interactive, unbiased, action-oriented health education materials that instruct and engage them about their health conditions.
African Americans ages 18 to 49 years are twice as likely to die from heart disease than White Americans, and African Americans ages 35 to 64 are 50% more likely to have high blood pressure than whites.1 Additionally, younger African Americans live with or die from many conditions typically found in White Americans at older ages.
AAWP works to improve these conditions and the health of the African American community by serving as a megaphone for trusted information that enables and encourages this population to better navigate the healthcare system, advocate for themselves, and receive improved care, regardless of insurance or circumstances.
“We know that health disparities will exist if we allow them to continue, and that through partnerships with companies like Healthwise, we can start to reduce some of these disparities in the health and health care for African Americans,” said Monique Pittman, executive director for AAWP.
Together, through this partnership, Healthwise and AAWP will make it easier for minorities to learn:
- How to access better care at lower costs.
- How to take care of common health problems at home.
- When it is important to see the doctor.
- What to do to stay healthy.
- How to have a better quality of life with chronic disease.
“Health information found online is often incomplete, contradictory, and hard to understand. However, the capability of the internet to deliver information is proven,” said Adam Husney, MD, CEO of Healthwise. “When patients know they can trust specific health information sources, such as the African American Wellness Project, and get credible information, they can improve their health outcomes.”
“Healthwise is committed to transforming the role of the patient in health care and helping all people live healthier lives,” Husney added. “This partnership is a natural fit for our purpose and mission.”
Healthwise, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help people make better health decisions, worked with AAWP to invest in their mission, collaborating on removing cost barriers for delivery of education to underserved communities.
1https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealth/
About Healthwise
Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, is a nonprofit organization that empowers people to live their healthiest lives. More than 2 billion times, people have turned to Healthwise information to help navigate their unique health journeys with confidence. Leading hospitals, EMR providers, health plans, care management companies, health websites, and technology innovators partner with Healthwise to provide the world’s best health information—and achieve better outcomes for patients and businesses. Learn more at healthwise.org or call 1.800.706.9646.
About AAWP
Founded more than a decade ago, the African American Wellness Project (AAWP) was formed to respond to health disparities in the African American community and is dedicated to health equity and better health outcomes for people of color. AAWP is particularly focused on improving the health of the African American community by serving as a megaphone for trusted knowledge and information and providing guides and resources that enable and encourage African Americans to advocate for themselves and receive improved care, regardless of insurance or circumstances. Visit aawellnessproject.org for more information.
Healthwise Media Contact:
Sonja Deines
sdeines@healthwise.org | 208-489-8481
AAWP Media Contact:
Monique Pittman
mlenoir@aawellnessproject.org| 202-210-2470
