ASPH/Kellogg Taskforce: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

The connection between the lack of diversity in the nation’s public health workforce combined with the prevalence of preventable health conditions affecting specific groups of Americans has influenced how public health schools and programs recruit faculty and students, what they teach and priority areas for research.

In light of this ongoing problem of racial and ethnic health disparities, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation convened a seminar in February 2005 entitled, "Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities: Schools of Public Health Respond as Engaged Institutions." This seminar brought together leaders from schools and programs of public health, along with key stakeholders and community health leaders, to discuss mechanisms for creating or sustaining engaged institutional environments where the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities is an integral component of public health teaching, research and service. At the end of the seminar, participants were invited to express their commitment to addressing health disparities in their school’s communities, along with continually working to improve the environment and practices to support faculty, staff and student efforts to address health disparities.

Following-up on this seminar’s recommendations, the Kellogg Foundation funded ASPH to convene a taskforce with the intention of achieving a unified commitment to eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. The taskforce included a diverse group of engaged public health educators experienced with working in underserved communities, as well as leaders from public health programs that house researchers and students of minority backgrounds.

For more information about this project, please contact Karen Helsing at khelsing@asph.org or (202) 296-1099, ext. 130.

For more information about health disparities research activities of our member schools and diversity-related issues in public health, visit ASPH’s Health Disparities Research and Diversity Resource Center at http://diversity.asph.org/.