 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Brian K. Gibbs, PhD, MPA, Division of Public Health Practice, Program to Eliminate Health Disparities, Harvard University, School of Public Health, 1552 Tremont Street, Boston, MS 02120, (617) 495-5849, bkgibbs@hsph.harvard.edu and Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD, School of Public Health, Division of Public Health Practice, Harvard University, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.
Contributors to racial disparities in the prevalence, severity, and outcomes of disease (i.e. cardiovascular disease) may include genetic, cultural, and socioeconomic factors. To address health disparities, an examination of the disenfranchisement of minority and poor populations is essential. Although some progress has been made, attempts at closing the gaps in quality of care have been lacking.
During this presentation, participants will be introduced to A REACH 2010 project, Cherishing Our Hearts and Souls, in Roxbury, MA. The workshop will explore community intervention strategies addressing cardiovascular disease and racism through experience-based social transformation and public health practice models. These models draw on experiences in other disciplines across racial, ethnic, educational, and economic barriers.
By the end of this session participants will be able to: (1) identify major social transformation models and their contributions towards the production of illness and promotion of health among poor and minority populations; and (2) describe two models that have strong implications for sustainable community-centered interventions involving the elimination of health disparities.
Racial disparities have a complex etiology. Translating effects of systematic social transformation models such as economic development, labor movements, and civil, voting and women’s rights movements will assist public health practitioners in their efforts to eliminate health disparities. A paradigm shift away from traditional models of public health practice is recommended, moving toward models that address multiple and interrelated socio-cultural factors that contribute to health disparities in poor and minority populations.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Social Justice, Community Collaboration
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employment