Evaluating social determinants among HBCU communities, and how the public health programs at the corresponding HBCUs respond

Social determinants can be described as predisposed conditions that affect health. They can be biological (ex. gender), behavioral (ex. smoking), or determined by socioeconomic status (ex. income and neighborhood)¹. Many of our U.S. underserved communities are subject to social determinants that are detrimental towards health. In this study, we aim to identify what social and physical environment factors contribute to the disparaging these communities with public health based academic programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This research seeks to evaluate which social determinants among the social and physical environment factors, contribute more to the disparities of these communities, and how the public health programs at the corresponding HBCUs respond. This research assesses zip codes, from the U.S. Census Bureau, congruent with HBCUs that offer academic degrees in public health. The U.S. Census Bureau data reveals an abundance of minorities within the selected zip codes. It also shows highly impoverished communities with numerous disparities. We propose that income and poverty level will be the largest contributors among all other social determinants, because these communal disparities are seemingly driven by income and isolated to specific living areas. Through the development of public health at HBCUs, they have fought to eradicate social health issues in the surrounding communities. To what extent are the institutions successful in trying to eradicate these social determinants is unknown at this time, but this research serves as an important foundation for further investigation. It is important that we know where to begin for effective change.