Office of Health Equity

The Office of Health Equity’s role is to address health disparities in all populations in New Mexico. The Office seeks to reduce health disparities through efforts such as raising awareness, mobilizing communities, increasing capacity, preventing disease, promoting health, focusing resources on targeted populations and delivering culturally and linguistically appropriate health care. The Office will provide educational opportunities and access to resources to assist health care providers to provide the best possible care to their patients/clients.

For a free CLAS Training course and other cultural and linguistic resources, please visit: DPP's New Mexico Cultural Competency Information and Education Center. For DOH translation services or interpreter services, download, complete and email the appropriate form to Paul Romero and Lilia Whitener.

For additional information on New Mexico’s Minority Health Disparities Grant or related health disparity activities, email Paul V. Romero, Director of the Office of Health Equity at: Paul.Romero1@state.nm.us or call (505) 827-2056.

According to the National Institute of Health, health disparities are, “differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States (NIH, 2000). In other words, health disparities refer to gaps in the quality of health and health care across racial and ethnic groups. New Mexico is comprised of diverse racial and ethnic groups, with a population that is 43% White, 43.6% Hispanic, 9.6% American Indian, and approximately 2% African American. Though rich in diversity, New Mexico is also a state burdened by a high rate of health disparities. In fact, New Mexico ranks 40th in the nation as one of the worst states with poor health outcomes, particularly among minority populations. Some of the health challenges New Mexico faces are:

Teenage pregnancy among Hispanics continues to be higher than any other racial/ethnic minority. New Mexico’s teen birth rate for females ages 15-17 remains more than 60 percent higher than the national rate.

Rates of death for American Indians are higher than Whites for all age groups under the age of 65.

Accidents (Unintentional injuries) are the second leading cause of death for American Indians and the third leading cause of death for Hispanics. New Mexico has alcohol and drug related death rates double the national rates.

Suicide deaths at a rate of 18.7 per 100,000, New Mexico had the second highest suicide rate in the United States in 2004.

HIV/AIDS - African-Americans have the highest death rates for HIV/AIDS in New Mexico.

Diabetes was the fourth leading cause of death for American Indians and Hispanics in New Mexico in 2004.