Center Experts Address the NIH Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities

Robert Valdez and Nina Wallerstein, Ph.D., M.P.H., addressed the NIH-produced Summit on the Science of Eliminating Health Disparities, which examined the intersection of science practice and policy, held December 16–18, 2008. Dr. Valdez provided the opening scientific keynote address in which he stated that “Health disparities really mean that many American Indians die young, African Americans die five years earlier than Whites, and Latinos often die after painful and disabling disease.” He advocated that progressive social policies can reduce these inequities and improve the health of the public. Dr. Wallerstein, director of the UNM Center for Participatory Research, Institute of Public Health, gave a presentation encouraging the utilization of community-based participatory research as a strategy in developing interventions to reduce health disparities. Her presentation provided details from her research experiences in working with American Indian communities in New Mexico.

Director Robert Valdez's address at the NIH Summit
A video, podcast, and/or transcript of Dr. Valdez's address are available by clicking on the icons above the session on Health Disparities and the Intersection of Science and Policy.

It's Health Disparities: The Intersection between Science and Practice: The Role of Community Based Participatory Research
A video, podcast, and/or transcript of Dr. Wallerstein's presentation are available by clicking on the icons above the session on Perspectives on Health Care Reform: Eliminating Health Disparities.