I had the privilege of moderating a webinar discussion on January 19, 2024 with William Jahmal Miller, Michael D. Valle, and USC Price Vice Dean LaVonna Lewis.
We engaged in a wide-ranging conversation motivated by the publication of Jahmal's memoir/call to action (Equity, Equality, and Justice for All).
Here are a few of my takeaways from our conversation:
Health disparities are not new.
Existing traditional services may not serve communities well. Working in partnership with community organizations, research groups, and public sector agencies can lead to new ways of delivering and reimagining health services.
Healthcare system data transparency and literacy are crucial for identifying, confirming, and developing evidence-based policies, practices, and programs. Building visualizations that are more readable by many more people requires conversations with communities. See for example, California HCAI's website, which provides data visualizations.
Being uncomfortable is part of the process of building health equity and overcoming health inequity. Part of the solution is building our active listening skills and our relationships across many different groups and individuals to enable us to have difficult but necessary conversations.
Enhancing our storytelling ability will help us explain health disparities in ways that elected officials, health providers, and community leaders can understand.
Link to the entire conversation. Link to a short highlights video.
Thank you very much the panelists for their leadership and insights, to Geovanna Quiroz for her expert technical support, and to the following USC Price units for co-sponsoring the webinar: USC Price in Sacramento, USC Price Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Analysis, and USC Price Dean's Office DEI Initiative.
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