“Community” Set the Tone on a Nationwide Stage
This article is a part of our CTSC Event Recap series.
The fourth and final challenge in our inaugural Mission: Health Equity Challenge Series is complete. On March 16, 2023, 145 members of the research community, from colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, medical schools, and private companies nationwide convened for the CTSC Health Disparities Un-Meeting: Sparking Conversation to Enhance Health Equity. An un-meeting is a meeting without the formal restrictions of a traditional meeting. Running from 10AM-2PM, and led by un-meeting principal investigator, Dr. Shari Bolen, participants had an opportunity to hear 4x4 talks (four slides in four minutes on one topic framed by a subject matter expert) on topics that centered community, in its many forms, or global topics. The 4x4 talks were followed by 45-minute breakout sessions that were participant-led and facilitated by moderator-catalysts. Morning and afternoon sessions were bridged with an engaged break–centering micropractices–facilitated by Jennifer King, DISW, LSW, Assistant Professor and the Assistant Director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity, Jack, Joseph, and Morten Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
The morning sessions–with a community-centered focus–were led by Domonic Hopson, MPH, President and CEO, Neighborhood Family Practice (Cleveland), Gulnar Feerasta, MSSA, MNO, Senior Director of Programs, The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, and Sherita Mullins, Director of Supportive Services, Burten, Bell, Carr, Development, Inc. Hopson framed the role of community health centers in addressing health disparities, Feerasta discussed how community health organizations provide scaffolding for those left behind by healthcare institutions, and Mullins explained how community development corporations are defining their role in public health.
Afternoon sessions–with a global focus on health equity research–were led by Deborah Duran, PhD, Senior Advisor, NIH/NIMHD, Philip Alberti, PhD, Founding Director, AAMC Center for Health Justice; Senior Director, Health Equity Research and Policy, and Kavita Shah Arora, MD, Division Director, Division of General Obstetrics and Gynecology and Associate Professor, The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Dr. Duran framed data science and systems and how we can ensure better representation of minorities and social determinants of health in large datasets, Dr. Alberti focused on health equity research, implementation, and evaluation, and Dr. Arora guided participants through physician activism in the age of health equity.
Un-meetings are a popular CTSA Program concept, however, 85% of survey respondents reported that this was the first un-meeting they’ve attended. On trend with other challenges in the Mission: Health Equity Challenge Series, 78% of survey respondents identify as female. In the spirit of not only sparking conversation, but also providing an environment ripe for future collaboration, 90% of survey respondents agreed to share their contact information with other attendees.
The un-meeting is available for viewing on our YouTube channel.