Taught By:
Maranda Ward
Assistant Professor and Director of Equity
George Washington University
Course Description:
Achieving health equity is among the nation’s health goals outlined in Healthy People 2020. The concept of health equity moves public health conversations, interventions, policies, and research beyond the individual unit of analysis to emphasize the social, legal, political, and cultural systems in which people are embedded. Where people live, work, study, play, and age- or the social determinants of health- are at the crux of understanding and assessing health equity. This course is designed around the three recommendations offered by the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (2008) to close the gaps in health outcomes: 1) improve daily living conditions, 2) tackle inequitable distribution of power, money, and resources; and 3) measure and understand problems and assess impact of action. Students will apply their understanding of these recommendations to the work of a local community-based organization that serves Black residents who live in a Washington, DC neighborhood East of the Anacostia River. Localized understanding of global health equity concepts will allow students to practice and/or strengthen public health competencies to address structural inequities that allow health disparities to persist for vulnerable populations. This community-engaged course will introduce students to the historical health disparities and long-term health inequities faced by many low-income, Black residents in Washington, DC. This course is designed to prepare students to translate a range of health equity concepts and competencies into practice.
