New Social Determinants of Health Report Launches Today

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC) is releasing a report, Academic Health Centers and the Social Determinants of Health: Challenges & Barriers, Responses & Solutions. The report release coincides with an online discussion focused on how academic health centers and community partners can address both the opportunities and challenges of social determinants of health.

"AAHC is excited to be a convener of stakeholders regarding this issue. Our goal is to encourage academic health centers to broaden their traditional focus on medicine and build partnerships to address health where it begins," said AAHC President and CEO, Dr. Steven A. Wartman. "Collaborative responses are crucial to address the complex issues that can impact the full range of health determinants: genetics, social circumstances, environmental conditions, and behavior."

Dr. Paul Roth, chancellor for health sciences, CEO of the UNM Health System, and dean, School of Medicine, The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, and AAHC Board Member, will keynote the online discussion, SDOHForward: Collaborating to Overcome Barriers and Create Solutions. Questions will be taken via social media, and participants can follow the discussion using the hashtag #SDOHForward. The online launch event will begin today at 2:00pmET and the report will be made available at the same time at wherehealthbegins.org.

Additional speakers for the webinar include Alejandra Gepp, associate director of the Institute for Hispanic Health at the National Council of La Raza; Dr. Denise Koo, senior advisor for health systems in the Office of Public Health Scientific Services (OPHSS) at the Centers for Disease Control; and Elizabeth Tobin Tyler, clinical assistant professor at the Brown University Alpert Medical School and the Brown University School of Public Health.

The report grew out of a meeting held March 9-11, 2014 at Georgetown University. The meeting brought together a variety of stakeholders to identify barriers to improving population health, and propose collaborative responses and solutions to addressing social determinants of health. Funding for the meeting, report, and online event was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AAHC Social Determinants of Heath Initiative was formally endorsed by the AAHC Board of Directors in 2012.

The AAHC is a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the nation's health and well-being through the vigorous leadership of academic health centers.

SOURCE Association of Academic Health Centers

Related Links

http://www.aahcdc.org/