Online Program

332215
Developing Health Leaders to Champion Health Equity


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 9:05 a.m. - 9:20 a.m.

Harry Heiman, MD, MPH, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Lerissa Smith, MPH, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
Carey Bayer, EdD, MEd, BSN, RN, CSE, Departments of Community Health & Preventive Medicine/Medical Education; Center of Excellence for Sexual Health in the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
The Satcher Health Leadership Institute’s Health Policy Leadership Fellowship Program at Morehouse School of Medicine, established in 2009, is a multidisciplinary training program designed to provide physicians and postdoctoral professionals with the specific knowledge, skills, and experiences to prepare them for leadership roles promoting and implementing policies and practices to reduce disparities and advance health equity.  Each cohort is intentionally multidisciplinary, with fellows bringing unique backgrounds and expertise, including physicians and professionals in public health, psychology, health law, and public policy. The program leverages their diverse backgrounds to develop a broad health and health equity-in-all-policies lens that intentionally looks beyond conventional sectors and silos to address health and health care issues and develop leaders prepared to champion health equity. 

The fellowship’s major focus areas include leadership development, health policy, and health equity, with concentrations in both behavioral and sexual health. The curriculum includes formal and informal instruction, policy leadership shadowing and learning experiences, and community-based practicum experiences. In addition, fellows have practice, teaching, and/or research responsibilities with academic departments and complete a health policy research project.

Based on our five-year experience, the following lessons have emerged:  (1) a commitment to diversity and health equity are fundamental values that must be integrated across across the training program; (2) a social determinants of health and health-in-all-policies lens needs to be integrated across program activities; and (3) strategic collaboration and partnerships with agencies and community-based organizations are critical to ensuring training experiences that prepare leaders to advance health equity in all policies.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe core training modalities for preparing health leaders to advance health equity in all policies Discuss the value of diverse, multidisciplinary perspectives and approaches to reducing health disparities and advancing health equity Assess opportunities to collaborate with professional and community-based partners to train health leaders prepared to advance health equity in all policies

Keyword(s): Health Disparities/Inequities, Public Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am director of health policy at Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine and developed and direct our postdoctoral health policy fellowship program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.