Addressing Gaps in Health Equity Research
Advance a robust research and outreach agenda informed by current gaps in health disparity assessments. These gaps include better understanding of disparities in heart disease, stroke, and cancer outcomes, as well as the role of policy, societal biases, healthcare providers, and the home and family environment in overcoming them. Community-based research efforts make clear that more information is needed about the most vulnerable groups and to better assess these groups’ most urgent needs for assistance. The Center’s research is vital in order to pursue and affect systemic progress in health equity.
Infrastructure to Implement Research and Community Outreach
The Center for Health Equity is building the requisite infrastructure to ensure engagement by all stakeholders to advance a research and community outreach agenda. This infrastructure consists of the following “Cores” that will guide and inform all Center activities:
- Community Engagement and Advocacy Core to ensure productive, two-way academic scientist-community partnerships to integrate “on-the-ground” perspectives and produce research with direct relevant application to the community. This core includes the Patient Activated Learning System (PALS), an innovative online patient education platform which currently is being developed collaboratively with community partners to provide value for patients and caregivers alike.
- Administrative Core to monitor and advance health equity research, conducted both in New York City and upstate. Currently funded research programs include, among others, biological variations within individuals and personal behavior choices and interpersonal relationships that impact health-related decisions. Scientists with a wide variety of expertise will serve as a resource in this core.
- Research, Training and Mentoring Core to generate research findings and help translate evidence into practical, understandable information for ethnically diverse populations. This core will include a pilot research program to seed larger research projects, as well as an annual Health Equity Symposium to both showcase the Center’s work and forge new connections for future collaborations.
- Education Core to coordinate offerings in health equity education across the two campuses. This taps into Cornell’s well established pipeline programs for engaging minorities to pursue health-related professions and scientific discovery – adding an explicit focus on engaging young scientists interested in research on health equity.