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Latonya Rucker (right), Co-Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the Center for Research, Health & Social Justice, meets with the Center’s Research Projects Coordinator, Sandilyn Bullock, to plan one of the segments of the Community Health Impact Conference. doing. .
| | Arkansas College of Medicine (UAMS) Faye W. Boozman College of Public Health Center for Research, Health & Social Justice announced the first statewide Community Health Impact Conference.
Themed ‘Social Justice in Turbulent Times: Reclaiming Our Space’, the two-day virtual event will address issues such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, health outcomes in rural settings and social justice reform Several discussions and group activities were held to
“Our goal with this conference is to provide tools that can help eradicate cancer and cardiovascular disease using a social justice lens,” said co-director of community outreach and engagement at the Center. Latonya Rucker said in her opening remarks, “Today we face chronic health disparities that can be addressed through community partnerships.
“The main components of this conference are community-based research, education, strengthening health care provider relationships in rural areas, community development, and strategic planning and implementation,” she added.
More than 150 people attended the conference.
Natalie S. Burke, President and CEO of CommonHealth Action, spoke on day one about the role social justice can play in finding solutions to Arkansas’ health disparities.
Burke’s presentation focused on four areas of health inequality: environmental, social, behavioral and clinical. Burke emphasized social factors, particularly how socially-based identities are positioned in all people, and how harmful they are usually.
Understanding the role of identity is important. Because it affects the lives of each of us.
“Social identity is defined by the group you identify with,” Burke said. “Your identity can change over time. Understanding the role of identity is very important.
“Identity, power and policy go together. It is important that we recognize and focus on that. All policy is rooted in identity.”
Burke also explained how the situation for African Americans has improved over the years. However, improvements are still needed, especially when it comes to social justice and health.
“The good news is how society values that people can always change for the better,” she said. “But we have a lot of work to do, because the roots of anti-blackness are still there.”
Another main point of Burke’s presentation was that health inequalities are differences in health status or outcomes between groups of people. Burke also said that health inequality is a particular type of disparity. This is due to systematic, preventable and unjust policies that create barriers to opportunity.
“It’s our job to keep in mind what an impartial approach is that ultimately helps everyone,” she said.
Burke’s speech set the stage for the rest of the conference.
Later in the first day of the event, Kwami Abdul-Bey, Co-Director of the Washitaw Foothills Youth Media Arts & Literacy Collective, led discussions on diversity, community development and social justice reform.
A pair of panel discussions highlighted the second day.
Bishop Fred Harris, Bishop of Rejoice 105.5 FM in Little Rock, shares what society has learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and what African Americans in Arkansas and their rural or underserved communities can do. He led talks focused on the strategies needed to improve the health of the people in the state where he lives. .
Jeff Cowart, Senior Vice President, Detroit Medical Center, moderated a discussion focused on cancer survival and later prosperity. Shalanda Wilson, MBA, and her Carline Massey, MBA, both members of the staff at her UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, share their personal experience of beating cancer and how it impacts their work in healthcare. She was one of the panelists who spoke about how it affects professional.
Throughout the conference, there were special health-related and social justice breakout sessions where attendees could discuss various topics.
Overall, Rucker and her fellow organizers are happy with the first meeting.
“We have received a lot of positive feedback about the conference,” she said. “There’s a lot of useful information and insight you can use as you start planning your next conference.”
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