Presented on: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 at 12:00pm (CT)

When health care providers and researchers and health and research institutions are working on addressing health equity, it is important to consider the extent to which the work is based on the expressed wishes of the people whose lives are most likely to be affected positively and negatively by the work. This presentation explored why and how clinicians, researchers, and systems should center community engagement strategies in the design, implementation, and assessment of health equity goals.  There was space discuss ways to learn about communities (history and cultural context), build relationships, and develop capacity for engagement.

During this webinar Jen and Candace discussed:

  • the necessity of centering the lived experience and expertise of communities most experiencing inequities to understand and pursue health equity
  • strategies for healthcare providers and academic researchers to apply community engagement and equity lenses to their work

Presented by:

Jen Brown, Director & Co-Founder, Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC), Northwestern University

Jen is passionate about ARCC’s mission to grow equitable research partnerships between Chicago area communities and Northwestern University to improve health and equity. She has over twenty years of experience building and supporting community-academic engaged research partnerships at a project, institutional, and multi-institutional levels. She is on faculty at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine Department of Preventive Medicine. Jen is a member of the Executive Committee of Chicago Consortium for Community Engagement, the Partnership for Healthy Chicago, Associate Editor of the Progress in Community Health Partnerships journal, and was a Chicago United for Equity 2019 Racial Justice Fellow.

Candace Henley, Chief Surviving Officer, The Blue Hat Foundation and Community Chair of ARCC

Candace is a 16yr colon cancer survivor and accomplished Executive Director with significant experience in community engagement and patient advocacy. After years of advocating against health disparities, Candace identified a need for grassroots awareness and education of colorectal cancer in minority and medically underserved communities. She started the Blue Hat Foundation in 2015. The organization utilizes community partnerships with healthcare providers and health and academic institutions to deliver the message of the importance of early detection, knowing your family’s medical history, and free screening.

Hosted by the National Collaborative for Education to Address the Social Determinants of Health

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