Other Events, Opportunities and Resources

  EVENTS

Call for Proposals: Carolina Engagement Week

December 2

Carolina Engagement Week 2025 is coming!

From Monday, February 24 through Friday, February 28, Engagement Week will feature skill-building workshops, research presentations, panel discussions and more. These events highlight authentic, effective and sustainable collaborations between UNC-Chapel Hill and community partners across North Carolina.

By submitting a proposal for your event featuring engaged research, teaching and/or service, you help make Carolina Engagement Week 2025 happen!

CHER is a proud co-host of Carolina Engagement Week.

Submit a Carolina Engagement Week proposal.

The 9th Annual John W. Hatch Lectures & Symposium: Activating Change: Health Justice in the 21st Century

December 3; hybrid: Wake Forest, NC and online

In a world where disparities persist, where voices are silenced, and where health outcomes are shaped by systemic inequities, this lecture is a call to action. We believe that by building bridges between faith-based organizations, healthcare institutions, and social justice movements, we can create a formidable force for positive transformation.

Learn more and register for Health Justice in the 21st Century.

How to Counter Public Health Myths and Elevate Science Now

December 5; online

For public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates, it’s hard to know how to react to this moment. Skepticism of science is front and center, and many health policy ideas being discussed seem to be rooted in fear, not facts. Those of us who support public health have important, urgent work to do in crafting effective responses.

We invite you to join us for a webinar hosted by FrameWorks senior advisor, Dr. Julie Sweetland, and moderated by FrameWorks board member and director of the Population Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Dr. Sheri Johnson. The conversation will explore why purveyors of myths and misrepresentations have gained traction in American culture, and which tested framing strategies can effectively push back.

Register for How to Counter Public Health Myths and Elevate Science Now.

Women’s Health Equity Symposium

December 5-6; University of Cincinnati, Nippert West Pavilion, Cincinnati, OH

The proposed project aims to address persistent gender and sex disparities in health care and health outcomes in the United States. This two-day symposium will foster interdisciplinary collaboration among women’s health researchers, clinicians, and community members. The symposium will center the voices of historically marginalized women, integrating biomedical research with sociological frameworks to address systemic oppression in health care. Sessions will focus on understanding barriers to research and treatment, promoting innovative strategies, and forming action teams to advance health equity post-symposium.

Learn more and register for the Women’s Health Equity Symposium.

Allyship Showcase: Institutional Programs to Support Allyship (AAMC IDEAS)

December 11; online

In the third and final webinar of this series, speakers will share insights into how to institutionalize allyship efforts at your institution. This webinar will showcase promising programs from academic medical centers that have established regular and embedded allyship efforts at their institutions.

Learn more about the series; registration coming soon.

From Practice to Policy: A Roundtable on Equitable Community Compensation

December 13

Community expertise is critical to building effective, responsive public health initiatives. However, equitable compensation for community members—ensuring fair and meaningful compensation for their expertise, time, and lived experience—remains a challenge for many health departments. This 90-minute roundtable discussion will dive into why equitable community compensation matters, the principles behind it, and how local health departments are working to advance these practices.

The session will feature insights from representatives of the Pima County Health Department (AZ), Lake County Health Department (IL), and the Vermont Department of Health, who will share their experiences in implementing equitable community compensation practices. These practitioners will discuss the impact of compensation on engagement as well as the challenges they’ve faced along the way. This session is designed for public health professionals from local health departments, community engagement leaders, and stakeholders interested in fostering authentic partnerships that honor and respect community contributions.

Register for From Practice to Policy.

December 2024 Jam Session (Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity)

December 11; online

CHE at Johns Hopkins offers monthly Health Equity Jam Sessions on the second Wednesday of each month, from September to May. Jam Sessions offer opportunities for colleagues and community members to engage with one another in an informal setting. The goal of these Jam Sessions is to provide a supportive forum to discuss research ideas, proposals, research-in-progress, responses to peer review, career development, collaborations, and opportunities to be inspired and energized by each other.

Register for upcoming Jam Sessions.

▶️ Watch earlier Jam Sessions.

Abby Spears on Harm Reduction

December 11; online

Part of the Connect, Empower, Prevent: IVP Webinar Series, hosted by the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center.

Learn more about the series.

2024 Political Drivers of Health Symposium

December 16; Manchester, NH

Featured speaker: Philip Alberti, Ph.D., Founding Director of the AAMC Center for Health Justice

Political determinants of health include the governmental systems, structures, and policies that impact health outcomes.

In collaboration with an array of healthcare stakeholders and partners, the Office of Government Relations at Dartmouth Health is hosting a day-long symposium on December 16 to explore the political determinants of health. We will discuss how laws and regulations influence the health and economic prosperity of Granite Staters.

This event is open to the public, and all interested in the health and well-being of our communities are welcome to attend.

Register for the 2024 Political Drivers of Health Symposium.

VCBH Lecture series: Hugh Garavan, Ph.D.

December 18

Hugh Garavan, Ph.D., will be the next speaker in the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health speaker series. Dr. Garavan is Professor in Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Vermont.

Learn more about the VCBH Lecture Series.

❗Early bird pricing ends: Rainbow Resilience: Advancing LGBTQ+ Wellbeing

December 20

Early Bird Price: $199 When You Register by December 20! General Admission Price: $595

The Rainbow Resilience Summit is a two-day interactive professional development event dedicated to the wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community. Hosted by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. Friday, March 28, and Saturday, March 29, at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Two tracks of workshops are offered: one focused on policy and advocacy, and the other on clinical mental health care. This gathering will bring together social workers, mental health practitioners, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and advocates to strengthen the community’s health and empowerment.

Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a range of hands-on workshops designed to equip them with the tools and strategies needed to foster resilience, promote equity, and drive social change, all through a lens of equity and intersectionality.

Register now to contribute to a collective effort toward a stronger, more just future for the LGBTQ+ community!

Wendy Shields, Ph.D., MPH on Advancing Traffic Safety in Tribal Communities

January 8; online

Part of the Connect, Empower, Prevent: IVP Webinar Series, hosted by the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center.

Learn more about the series.

Nickens Lecture: The Importance of Institutions in our Personal Development and in our Society (AAMC IDEAS)

January 14; online

Join the Honorable Louis W. Sullivan, MD, Founding Dean and President Emeritus of Morehouse School of Medicine and former U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services, for his 2024 Herbert W. Nickens Award lecture.

The Herbert W. Nickens Award was established by the AAMC in 2000 to honor the late Herbert W. Nickens, MD, MA, and his lifelong concerns about the educational, societal, and health care needs of racial and ethnic minorities. This award is given to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to promoting justice in medical education and health care. Learn more about the Herbert W. Nickens award here.

Register for the Nickens Lecture.

Strategic Collaboration for Better Community Health, Well-being, and Equity – A Two-Day Workshop for Diverse Organizations Collaborating to Improve Well-being

January 14-15 (virtual) or February 25-26 (in-person, Denver, CO)

The Population Health Innovation Lab (PHIL) invites leaders working across sectors and boundaries to a two-day, project-based workshop designed to deepen understanding and practice of collaboration for improved population health and health equity.

Drawing on invaluable lessons from PHIL’s Aligning Systems for Health research, this workshop blends theoretical frameworks with hands-on applications. You’ll walk away equipped with tailored collaboration strategies that you can immediately implement in your work, empowering you to more effectively drive meaningful change. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with like-minded leaders and transform your collaborative’s approach to population health.

Register for the workshop of your choice today on PHIL’s Eventbrite page.

Talking Data Equity series

📍 on break until January 17

Talking Data Equity is a series of weekly drop-in conversations addressing questions with people who are working on operationalizing data equity. Hosted by We All Count.

As a community, we share our experiences going from wanting to embed equity in your data work to actually feeling competent doing so.

Feel free to join every week or occasionally and stay as long as you like. There are opportunities to ask questions live from experts and beginners alike.

Register for Talking Data Equity sessions.

  RESOURCES

NIH Health Equity Research Hubs

NIMHD update: The NIH Common Fund is funding five new research awards to Health Equity Research Hubs that will support community-led research projects.

These Hubs will assist ongoing community research projects in advancing health equity by providing hands-on scientific support for study design, analysis, and research capacity building.

📰 Fall 2024 #EquityandData Newsletter

The Fall 2024 #EquityandData newsletter is out now from the National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems.

🗺️ Roadmap for Researchers: Navigating the Research Process with an Equity Lens

One of the resources on the Evidence-Based Guidance on Advancing Racial Equity Through Research page.

The Roadmap is organized into ten steps that occur across the research lifecycle, from forming your team and developing your ideas to disseminating your findings and reflecting on what you learned. Each of the ten steps includes a contextual overview of the step, questions for your team to answer together, and references and resources for further study. An extensive glossary and additional resources are also included.

From Academy Health.

🧰 Achieving Health Equity

“Why health equity matters and what you can do to help give everyone a fair shot at being as healthy as they can be.

Across the nation, gaps in health are large, persistent and increasing—many of them caused by barriers set up at all levels of our society. After all, it’s hard to be healthy without access to good jobs and schools and, safe, affordable homes. Health equity means increasing opportunities for everyone to live the healthiest life possible, no matter who we are, where we live, or how much money we make.”

Resources from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

🧰 HDPulse Interventions Portal

The Interventions Portal provides access to a repository of interventions and resources that can help researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and communities implement and evaluate evidence-based interventions. The Interventions Portal allows users such as minority health and health disparities researchers, program planners, and intervention developers to submit, find, sort, and download evidence-based interventions and resources.

From the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

🧰 Health Equity Performance Measures and Toolkit for Community Health Workers

In 2023, NACCHO funded the Center for Public Health Systems (CPHS) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health to create a toolkit to increase LHDs’ capacity to define, measure, and track progress toward health equity as a part of their performance improvement.

To best inform creation of a useful toolkit, CPHS first conducted an environmental scan in February and March of 2023 of peer-reviewed literature and plans written by public health departments. Next, CPHS held three listening sessions in January and February 2024 with professionals from LHDs across the country. The goal of the listening sessions was to understand LHDs’ working definitions of health equity, their HEPM strategies, and their data sources. Thirdly, much of the content included in this toolkit builds on Measuring What Matters in Public Health, published by NACCHO in 2018. This report provides guidance on building a performance management system, supplemented with templates, worksheets, and stories from the field. We add to this report by focusing specifically on performance measurement (an aspect of performance management) of health equity.

📰 #EquityandData Summer 2024 newsletter

The summer issue of the #EquityandData newsletter is out now, with resources, updates, events and more!

▶️ Health Equity Jam Sessions (Johns Hopkins)

CHE offers monthly Health Equity Jam Sessions on the second Wednesday of each month, from September to May. Jam Sessions offer opportunities for colleagues and community members to engage with one another in an informal setting. The goal of these Jam Sessions is to provide a supportive forum to discuss research ideas, proposals, research-in-progress, responses to peer review, career development, collaborations, and opportunities to be inspired and energized by each other.

2024-2025 schedule coming out soon; share this as a way to catch up and explore.

📃 2nd Annual Heart of America National Poll: The Power of Racial Healing

The National Collaborative for Health Equity (NCHE), in partnership with BSG and the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), conducted a survey among a nationally representative sample of 1,306 American adults to delve into their experiences of division in our country, their aspirations for overcoming these divisions, and strategies for promoting racial healing.

📰 People, Policy, & Well-Being Update (Urban Institute)

This month marks the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Yet, despite these legal protections, disabled people continue to have inequitable access to jobs, housing, affordable health care, and other key facets of well-being.

To help advance equity and help people with disabilities thrive, the Urban Institute has several suggestions for federal policymakers, agencies, and decisionmakers. These changemakers could develop a more accurate, inclusive way to count disabled people in the US, close the employment and education gap, and more.

🧰 The Health Equity Inventory

The Health Equity Inventory (HEI) is a coordination tool to help institutions and community organizations communicate about their health equity work and form effective partnerships. The HEI gathers information about health equity-related programs, initiatives, strategies, partnerships, and other activities across institutions’ research, clinical, education, and community engagement missions, and identifies opportunities for alignment and efficiency. The HEI was designed, developed, and tested by academic health systems like yours, using REDCap, a software you already know. It’s a central location where your institution can document health equity work and share the information you want with your community partners so you can take action together for your community’s health.

If you’re ready to get started, fill out the interest form via the button below. Once you submit your response, we’ll reach out to schedule an introductory call. In that call, we’ll get to know you, your team, and more about your institution’s health equity work to make sure the HEI is the right fit. We’ll provide more information about the HEI and next steps for gathering the data we need to build the tool for you. Questions? Contact the AAMC Center for Health Justice!

📖 AJPH Supplement focused on RADx-UP

Yesterday, the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) published a special supplement focused on RADx-UP and its prioritization of community-engaged research.

The supplement includes perspective pieces, editorials, and RADx-UP project summaries that emphasize the vital importance of community-engaged research. These articles demonstrate the mutual trust and tangible benefits that arise from authentic partnerships between community organizations and academic health researchers.

📖 Carolina Public Health Spring 2024 (magazine from the UNC Gillings School)

This issue explores how public health and policy work to achieve healthier communities, with emphasis on evidence-informed strategies and community engagement.

from Matthew Chamberlin, editor and Associate Dean for Communications and Marketing:
“What do we mean when we talk about “health policy?” Sometimes we think of policy as a shorthand for legislation, but that is only a part of how successful policies are created and implemented.

In this issue of Carolina Public Health, we aim to share a 360-degree overview of the inner workings of health policy. This is also the first multimedia edition of the magazine, with live links to video content. As always, thank you for your support of the Gillings School.”

📃 AAMC Center for Health Justice letter to the FDA on race and ethnicity data in clinical trials

The AAMC and the AAMC Center for Health Justice submitted a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 3 in response to the agency’s draft guidance for a standardized approach for collecting race and ethnicity data in clinical trials.

In its letter to the FDA, the Center highlighted key areas in the draft guidance that are consistent with the new updates to The White House Office of Management and Budget’s race and ethnicity data standards, as well as areas that should be reevaluated.

🧰 North Carolina School-Based Medicaid Billing Toolkit

This toolkit is designed for any public school, district or charter, in North Carolina looking to increase their Medicaid billing capabilities. By enhancing the capacity to effectively bill Medicaid for services, schools can boost their revenue and provide more mental health support to students.

With more funds, your school can offer additional mental health services, supporting our studentsʼ wellbeing and success.

▶️ Artificial Intelligence and Health Series (NIHCM) (recordings)

The latest webinar in NIHCM’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Health Series provided a comprehensive exploration of the intersection between AI and health equity. Harnessing AI’s full potential to improve health equity requires developing unbiased, comprehensive solutions. Expert speakers discussed:

• Identifying biases in different areas of health care AI algorithms and their role in exacerbating health disparities.
• Emphasizing the importance of keeping humans at the center of AI design, with a focus on community involvement in the development process.
• Strategies to responsibly build AI that ensures equitable health care, along with methods for addressing existing biases.

#Equity and Data Newsletter Spring 2024 Issue

The latest edition of the #EquityandData newsletter is out! This issue focuses on recognizing the importance of data reflecting women’s needs which is crucial for developing effective programs in health. As we strive for equality in healthcare, it is essential to address disparities in access, treatment, and research that affect women’s health outcomes daily. The newsletter is distributed by the National Collaborative for Health Equity.

New Tip Sheet for Inclusive Recruitment in Clinical Trials (CEAL)

The CEAL Inclusive Participation Work Group (IPWG) shares best practices and community-engaged, evidence-based approaches for recruitment in clinical trials. Check out their new tip sheet for researchers and communities with strategies about how to support effective community engagement.

Racial Disparities in Lung Cancer Start With Research

Improving lung cancer outcomes in Black communities will take more than lowering the screening age, experts say. Disparities are present in everything from the studies that inform when people should get checked to the availability of care in rural areas

Video: Importance of Multisector Collaboration for Health Justice

The AAMC Center for Health Justice is committed to partnering with public health and community-based organizations, government and health care entities, the private sector, and community members to achieve the goal of better health for all. In 2022, the center convened a Multisector Partner Group to bring together people of diverse backgrounds and sectors to use their expertise and leadership to contribute to the work of the center. A new video features members of the Multisector Partner Group and highlights the importance of collaboration across sectors to achieve health justice.

Find Neighborhoods Facing Health Disadvantages with the Area Deprivation Index

The PolicyMap team added a new dataset to help identify neighborhoods that are most socioeconomically disadvantaged to assist researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in guiding health resources and outreach efforts to areas in need. This information is provided by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Center for Health Disparities Research, who have published the Area Deprivation Index to summarize the social determinants of health in a precise geographic area – a neighborhood – noting socioeconomic conditions that can contribute to poor health outcomes.

BELIEVE works to improve Black maternal health

A collaboration between Carolina and NC A&T is focused on strengthening birthing teams, including lactation consultants and doulas, and addressing the problem of Black maternal mortality and Black maternal health in general.

Podcast series: Health Equity in Rural Hospitals

This four-part podcast series from the National Rural Health Resource Center brings together a variety of voices to elaborate on the steps rural hospitals can take to implement sustainable health equity programs and efforts.

Health Equity and Behavioral Health Integration

A new resource from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Academy provides a brief overview of the role of behavioral health integration in reducing disparities in health and healthcare, and shares practical strategies and resources for ensuring integrated practices are advancing health equity.

A Playbook for New Rural Healthcare Partnership Models of Investment

From PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network, the Playbook is an action-oriented guide designed for healthcare organizations who want to pursue partnerships with rural communities, economic development and other sectors, to create the community conditions that support improved health. It includes case studies from across the country and four core strategies used by healthcare entities as examples for future multi-sector rural partnerships to follow.

Which strategies will make North Carolinians healthier?

Gillings School researchers say the focus should be on tobacco-use policies and excise taxes to reduce binge-drinking, sugary drinks and smoking.

Critical Term: Why are Black mothers and babies dying?

The latest documentary from WRAL News shines a light on the maternal and infant health crisis and how local programs are working to lower this rate.

Recap and Live Recording of ‘Housing as a Human Right: Next Steps to Health Equity’

If you missed the Housing as a Human Right webinar from Partners for Advancing Health Equity and Tulane University on Sept 26, the live recording is now available for viewing.

Study Demonstrates Black and Hispanic People in NC Have Highest Risk of Dying at Home Due to COVID-19

David Wohl, M.D., member of the Institute for Global Health & Infectious Diseases and professor of medicine in infectious diseases, and first author Jessie Edwards, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, examined the cumulative probability of dying at home from COVID-19 in a new study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

NIH Issues Data Management and Sharing Policy

The National Institutes of Health has issued its Data Management and Sharing Policy, which becomes effective on Jan. 25, 2023. The policy aims to promote the sharing of scientific data.

Advancing Racial Equity in Maternal-Child Health and Addressing Disparities through a Reproductive and Birth Justice Lens

From 2014 to 2015, W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) partnered with the University of New Mexico evaluation team to conduct a study to examine if and how the Foundation’s investments in the strategies of folic acid initiative, home visiting, doulas, breastfeeding peer counselors and baby-friendly hospitals were improving maternal-child health in WKKF’s priority places in New Mexico.

AAMC Health Equity Public Opinion Polling

The AAMC Center for Health Justice conducts regular nationally representative polling to ask the public about the health equity issues that matter to them. Check out these research briefs and infographics to learn more about what communities have to say about their own opportunities for health.

Supporting Communities and Local Public Health Departments During COVID-19 and Beyond: A Roadmap for Equitable and Transformative Change

In this new report, the Public Health Alliance of Southern California and the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Health Equity share policy, program, and resource recommendations and best practice examples to help ensure that local public health departments are adequately prepared to protect communities most vulnerable to the health and socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19, as well as future public health emergencies.

Grapevine Health Media Company

Grapevine Health is a data-driven health media company that delivers trusted health information to people where they are. They use technology and digital media to engage underserved communities in their health through relatable, culturally-appropriate multi-media content. They have a YouTube channel, Twitter account, podcast and more.

Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

North Carolinians can get critical help to pay for high-speed internet from a $3.2 billion federal program opening in May for families and households working, learning and shopping from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.