LSUHealthNO Public Health Hosts Free Health Disparities Event

Dean G. Smith, PhD, Professor and Dean of LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health will host a special event focused on health disparities on Wednesday, March 15, 2017, at 12:00 noon in the Medical Education Building, 1901 Perdido Street, 3rd floor, Seminar Room 4. Author Patti Rose, MPH, EdD, and contributing author Annie Daniel, PhD, will discuss their new book, Health Disparities, Diversity, and Inclusion: Context, Controversies, and Solutions, followed by a book signing. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Rose’s book has been a labor of love. She, along with her contributing authors, explores the health status gap in the U.S. along with an exploration of diversity and inclusion. Other social injustice topics include mass incarceration, educational disparities, the school (k-12 children) to prison pipeline and important concerns regarding women, children, rural and urban environments, food injustice and other current, critical issues. The focus of the book is not solely on problems, but solutions.

The authors examine diversity in terms of patient satisfaction and quality outcomes with an emphasis on racial, ethnic, gender and linguistic diversity. The book highlights steps that key stakeholders—including federal, state, and private health care and public health entities—should consider to ensure that representatives from emerging majority groups are involved with and serve as leaders in terms of the provision of health care at every level. The discussion of diversity is contrasted with the concept of cultural competency and how both go hand in hand in terms of the ultimate goal of closing the health status gap in the United States.

The book is intended for courses in programs of Public Health, Health Education, Nursing, and other Allied Health Professions but can also be used in a variety of other programs and courses, which focus on Social Justice on a broader basis. Beyond the classroom, it is a read for all who are interested in understanding health disparities, diversity and other social injustice issues, with an emphasis on solutions.

Dr. Patti Rose earned her Master’s Degree from Yale University, followed by her Doctorate (EdD) from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has served as a faculty member (from Adjunct Professor, Instructor, to the Associate Professor Level) at the University of Miami, Florida International University, Springfield College, Worcester State College, Nova Southeastern University and Barry University. In recent years, courses that she has developed and taught include Black Women in Medicine and Healing, Psychosocial Health and Healing and Women (on-line course), Race and Healthcare in America, Culture, Race and Diversity Issues in the United States, Mass Incarceration and the Impact on the Black Community and Black Women in Medicine and Healing.

Dr. Annie J. Daniel is Director of Veterinary Instructional Design and Outcomes Assessment in the Office of Student and Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Veterinary Medical Education at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. As Director, she develops, manages, and implements initiatives that facilitate the improvement of faculty pedagogical and assessment skills. She is also responsible for continuing to further develop the outcomes assessment model, curriculum mapping, and instructional design for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program.