摘要：Prevention Institute, a nonprofit, national center dedicated to health and well-being, developed a toolkit for health and resilience in vulnerable environments (THRIVE), a community assessment tool, to help communities bolster factors that will improve health outcomes and reduce disparities experienced by racial and ethnic minorities. THRIVE is grounded in research and was developed with input from a national expert panel. It has demonstrated utility in urban, rural, and suburban settings. Within months of piloting, several communities had initiated farmer’s markets and youth programs. THRIVE provides a framework for community members, coalitions, public health practitioners, and local decisionmakers to identify factors associated with poor health outcomes in communities of color; engage the range of partners needed to improve community health outcomes, such as planners, elected officials, businesses, housing, and transportation; and take action to remedy disparities. RACIAL AND ETHNIC minorities in the United States experience poorer health outcomes than do Whites, and these disparities are not only persistent but also increasing. 1 Health disparities are generally not the result of people experiencing a different set of illnesses from those affecting the general population. Rather, they are the same diseases and injuries that affect the population as a whole, only they affect people of color more frequently and more severely. 2 – 6 A broad range of social, economic, and community conditions, such as stress, insufficient financial and social supports, poor diet, environmental exposures, and community factors and characteristics contribute to disparities in health. 7 THRIVE—a toolkit for health and resilience in vulnerable environments—is a community resilience assessment tool that helps communities identify and foster elements and characteristics in the community environment that promote positive health and safety outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. These elements are shaped by root factors such as oppression and racism, and THRIVE helps frame a practical approach for addressing these elements to improve health outcomes.
