Nevada Minority Health & Equity Coalition
The (NMHEC) is organized pursuant to Chapter 82 of Revised Statutes (“NRS”) as a Nevada nonprofit corporation for the purpose of providing resources that will ensure all Nevada residents can have a healthy, productive life; and to eliminate health disparities through research, education, advocacy and access to healthcare services for minority populations.
The mission of the NMHEC is to eliminate health disparities in Nevada through constructive and supportive collaboration among partners, leaders, and stakeholders committed to improving the health and well-being of underserved Nevadans.
UNLV Health Law Program
is a partnership between the William S. Boyd School of Law and the School of Public Health. The Program aims to create opportunities for faculty and students across UNLV’s campus and in our community to learn about the multiple connections between health and law.
Global Public Health and Implementation Science Initiative
The Global Health Initiative facilitates multidisciplinary collaboration among UNLV faculty, students and public health experts to reduce health disparity across the globe. This is accomplished this through implementation research, training, and program development in resource-limited settings, locally and globally.
Raiders/UNLV Sports and Health Program (RUSH)
Housed in the UNLV School of Public Health, the Raiders/UNLV Sports and Health Program (RUSH) will provide opportunities for middle school youths to learn the skills and knowledge needed to play sports in high school. The overarching goals of the RUSH program are to increase:
- The amount of physical activity of all participants.
- Girls’ intention to play sports in high school.
- The consumption of healthy food options among all youths.
- The intention to seek help for mental health issues among participants.
The program is a three-day clinic, thoughtfully designed to teach the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully play flag football in high school. Girls and boys from three, 100% free or reduced lunch, majority-minority middle schools in CCSD will be recruited to participate.
Although young girls and boys enroll in sports at a similar rate, girls’ participation in sports begins to decline around age nine, and drops off sharply in the teen years. By the age of 14, girls drop out of sports at two times the rate of boys.
The Women’s Sports Foundation provides many reasons that it is important to keep girls in sports, starting in middle school. Through sports, girls learn important life skills such as teamwork, leadership and confidence. In fact, high school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes and more than three-quarters of working women feel that sports participation helps enhance their self-image. Participation in sports also has positive effects on women’s health.
Common barriers to sports participation for girls include a lack of availability and awareness of sports, low confidence, perceived lack of skill, and feeling unwelcome. Cost is also a barrier.
The purpose of the RUSH Program will be to help girls overcome these barriers to sports participation by exposing them to flag football, its rules, and the skills needed to be successful for free. During the initial three-day clinic, participants will learn the rules of flag football and gain confidence in their ability to play flag football by participating in skill drills.
According to Healthy Southern Nevada, 24.8% of children in Clark County are impacted by food insecurity. Breaks from school can mean breaks from meals, for some students. The RUSH Program will aim to address this by partnering with Three Square to provide breakfast and lunch to all participants for the duration of the clinics. During breaks between drills and physical activities, healthy snacks will be provided and accompanied by discussions about the importance of eating healthy.
Additionally, trained mental health professionals will talk to participants to reduce stigma about mental health issues and provide resources for help.