Understanding Health Disparities Through the Eyes of Community Members: a Structural Competency Education Intervention

Date of Review: December, 2020

This resource describes an intervention to introduce Psychiatry residents in New Haven, CT to the economically disadvantaged neighborhoods they serve. This intervention is unique in that the authors created a Structural Competency Initiative with an experiential curriculum designed in collaboration with community leaders and individuals with lived experiences with mental illness (peer advocates). The program was delivered over 3 days with an ice-breaking session, a community tour, and a day of presentations by the psychiatry residents. The authors gathered qualitative data from post session debrief and share best practices learned from the experience. This well designed and well presented intervention is a great resource for health professions programs planning a community tour immersion in teaching structural competency. —Monica Yepes-Rios, MD, NCEAS