Spring 2024 Semester Program: Systemic Inequalities in Health and Healthcare

The Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM Education has organized a range of programming during the spring 2024 semester around the theme Systemic Inequalities in Health and Healthcare. The overall goal of this semester-long program is to enhance our understanding of systemic health disparities and to help us identify actions we can take to address these inequities. This important programming seeks to advance our Inclusive STEM Studies community.

Background

Despite spending significantly more on health care, Americans, in general, are among the least healthy people as compared to others living in industrialized countries. Moreover, there are significant inequities in health outcomes and access to healthcare such that individuals from historically-minoritized populations in the United States suffer even poorer health than those from majority populations. According to the Centers for Disease Control, some Americans do not have equitable access to health “resources and opportunities due to unfair policies, practices, and conditions and differential treatment because of a variety of factors. These factors include but are not limited to race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical abilities, geographic location, educational background, and economic status.” Many scholars and policy makers are sounding the alarm that we are experiencing a health equity crisis, and we need to heed the clarion call to address these startling inequities.

Goals of the Semester Program

The Systemic Inequalities in Health and Healthcare Program is a semester-long series of speakers and discussions to critically examine health and healthcare practices in the United States through a social justice lens. This program will explore health inequities based on factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status, and the often overlooked biases in health practices. The overall goal of this semester-long program is to enhance our understanding of systemic health disparities and to help us identify actions we can take, both individually and as a community, to address these injustices.

The program will include presentations from renowned scholars in the field, including faculty from Lafayette, who have conducted significant research identifying population patterns and systemic biases in health and healthcare. The programming will also incorporate panel discussions with community leaders and student researchers working to advance a more equitable and just healthcare system. Through these varied types of presentations and engagements we hope to stimulate meaningful discussion and dialogue among faculty, students, and staff on this critical issue.

February

Wednesday, February 7, 4:15 – 6:00 Kirby 104 and Kirby Hall of Civil Rights Lobby

Mini-Conference Session I: The Economics of Systemic Inequalities in Health and Healthcare

Dr. Susan Averett (Economics): The Gender Wage Gap and Health

Dr. Adam Biener (Economics): Intergenerational Wealth Transfer Through the ACA Dependent Coverage Mandate and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Coverage and Access

Dr. Sayorn Chin (Economics): The Welfare Costs of Late-Life Depression

4:15-5:15 Short Research Presentations: We are delighted that at our first mini-conference session three Lafayette faculty from our Economics Department will present on their significant research exploring the economics of systemic inequalities in health and healthcare. Similar to the format used at academic conferences, each presenter will speak for fifteen minutes, followed by five minutes for questions.

5:15-6:00 Reception and Posters: During the reception we will continue to engage on the topics explored in the research presentations as well as learn via poster presentations about faculty-student research being conducted in the area of health economics. Come engage with others and discover the important research being conducted at Lafayette.

Saturday, February 17, 11:45: Marquis Dining Hall

Keynote Speaker at RAISE Up Inclusive STEM Retreat

Joel Bervell, Current medical student and ”Medical Mythbuster“

We are thrilled that Joel Bervell will be the keynote speaker at lunch for our 2nd Annual RAISE Up Inclusive STEM Retreat. Joel Bervell is a Ghanaian-American medical student at Washington State University, science communicator, and host of ‘The Dose’ Podcast. Known as the ‘Medical Mythbuster’ online, with 850,000+ followers, he addresses health disparities on TikTok and Instagram. Bervell has spoken at major institutions, participated in the White House Healthcare Leaders Roundtable, and earned accolades for his impactful work, including being named a Scientific American ‘Revolutionary.’ Come hear from Joel Bervell and help us RAISE Up Inclusive STEM!

 

March

Wednesday, March 6, 4:15: Kirby 104

Mini-Conference Session II: Systemic Inequalities In Health and Healthcare: Social Identities and Communities

Dr. Carlos Tavares (Anthropology & Sociology) and Jessie Grewal ’23: Clinicians’ Health Disparities Knowledge and Communication Practices with Patients: The Case of OB/GYN Providers in the Southeast

Dr. Abbey Mann (Psychology): Sexual and Gender Minority Healthcare Access in Southern Appalachia

Dr. Brett Hendrickson (Religious Studies): “Good Religion” and “Bad Religion” in Mexican American Public Health

4:15-5:15 Short Research Presentations: During this second mini-conference session we are pleased to hear from three Lafayette faculty from different departments who will inform us about their significant work studying the systemic inequalities in health and healthcare as a function of social identities and communities. Similar to the format used at academic conferences, each presenter will speak for fifteen minutes, followed by five minutes for questions.

5:15-6:00 Reception and Posters: During the reception we will continue to engage on the topics explored in the research presentations as well as learn via poster presentations about faculty-student research being conducted across multi-disciplinary perspectives on the systemic inequalities of health and healthcare. Come engage with others and discover the important research being conducted at Lafayette.

Wednesday, March 27, 4:15: via Zoom

Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society

Dr. Arline Geronimus, University of Michigan

Watch the recording of this meeting

Dr. Arline Geronimus, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan, is a national and international leader in population health and “has made unique and seminal contributions to theory, empirical research, methodology, and practice as it relates to diversity. Her interdisciplinary abilities and collaborations have been consistently at the vanguard of several fields including public health, medicine, economics, political science, critical race theory, and applied anthropology.” Dr. Geronimus, who coined the term “weathering” to describe the damaging effects of systemic oppression on the health of marginalized individuals, will join us via Zoom to discuss her ground-breaking research explored in her much-heralded new book Weathering: The Extraordinary Stress of Ordinary Life in an Unjust Society.

As part of this semester’s programming the Hanson Center Inclusive STEM Reading Group will read and discuss Dr. Geronimus’ book Weathering. Please let us know of your interest in participating in this reading group by completing this form. Colleagues from all academic departments and programs are welcome to join in the reading group!

 

April

Thursday, April 18, 4:15: Kirby 104

UNDERSTANDING RACIAL TRAUMA BY LEANING INTO COMPLEXITY: INTERSECTING PATHWAYS TOWARD HEALTH EQUITY

Dr. John Rich, Director of the RUSH BMO Institute for Health Equity

Dr. Rich is the Director of the RUSH BMO Institute for Health Equity and a MacArthur Award Recipient. From the powerful narratives in his book published by Johns Hopkins Press Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men to his quantitative analyses on the impact of systemic factors on health and healthcare, such as in his recent article on COVID-19 vaccination inequities in Philadelphia neighborhoods, Dr. Rich’s research demonstrates the power of a multi-method approach to both understanding health inequities and to designing new approaches to community health systems and practices.

Wednesday, april 24, 4:15: kirby 104

Panel Discussion on Community Health Systems and Systemic Inequalities

St. Luke’s University Health Network:
Dr. Ikemefuna Akusoba, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Director, Director of Student Advocacy and Community Engagement, Clinical Assistant Professor at Temple University College of Medicine
Dr. Rajika Reed, Vice President of Community Health

Spring Semester

Women in Data Science (WiDS) 7th annual WiDS Datathon Competition: Equity in Healthcare

We are excited for Lafayette students to participate in the WIDS Datathon Competition this year, especially as it connects to this semester’s theme on systemic inequalities in health and healthcare.

According to the WiDS website: “WIDS Worldwide is on a mission to increase participation of women in data science to benefit societies worldwide. We need to support the advancement of women’s healthcare with urgency. Addressing healthcare inequity is critical and has an extensive positive impact on health, society, and the economy. Women often encounter distinct health challenges and stand to gain significantly from efforts to ensure equity in access to healthcare. Achieving health equity involves addressing disparate treatments based on demographic and societal factors so that in the future women can achieve their highest level of health and well-being.”

Come join us and other aspiring data scientists to learn and have fun during the datathon competition! Co-sponsored by the Digital Scholarship Team (Skillman Library), the Data Science Minor Program, and the Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM Education.