Disparities in Health

The Disparities in Health Group (DHG) will engage in research, health education and promotion, and outreach activities to better understand, reduce and prevent racial and ethnic health disparities.  The research agenda of this group will be 1) physical health, 2) mental health, 3) intervention development, 4) barriers and access to care, 5) doctor-patient communication, 6) the effect of discrimination on health outcomes and 7) increasing diversity in health care professions.  Additional areas of study that influence individual health and well being will be included as necessary as the working group develops.  These areas are key in preventing health disparities, which deprive America of valuable human capital needed to sustain a strong communities and the national economy.  Some of the proposed outcomes and products of this group include the  dissemination of cutting edge scholarship in the aforementioned areas as well as interventions, workshops, in-services for health care professionals, and easily digestible health information for targeted communities.  The results of these activities will translate into prevention activities that will aid in reducing health disparities in Georgia, the region, and the nation.

A number of federal, non-profit and private agencies which could fund this research, include the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Mental Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine.