A message from the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the more concerning revelations has been that historically underserved communities in our country continue to experience significant health disparities. When adjusted for age differences across the population, COVID-19 mortality rates have been disproportionately high for people who identify as Hispanic, Black or Native American. At the University of Arizona Health Sciences, through the work of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and their efforts with our colleges and centers, we are sharpening our focus on promoting health equity and addressing the needs of underserved communities. By increasing the diversity of the health care workforce, improving the cultural proficiency of health care providers and programs, and increasing the amount of research that addresses social determinants of health and demographic variables, the health care profession can close the gaps in health equity that are still with us. In a sense, many of the health equity problems we face in society can best be addressed by starting at the beginning of the inequity cycle – by increasing the diversity of the health professions workforce and improving the awareness of equity, diversity, and inclusion among current providers. At the University of Arizona Health Sciences, we seek to achieve these goals by identifying, supporting, and preparing students who come from underrepresented groups to enter the health care professions, and by creating training opportunities for health care professionals to acknowledge their own biases, while also gaining an appreciation of how a patient’s identity, experiences and relationships with the world can affect their health.
4 | UArizona Health Sciences Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
MICHAEL D. DAKE, MD Senior Vice President University of Arizona Health Sciences
Over the years, we have launched programs for students in middle school and high school, as well as a college transition program and an undergraduate research program at Health Sciences. In addition, learning services and mental health services are available to students and faculty. Other programs expand educational and research opportunities to address the needs of disadvantaged communities and promote health equity. These include the Graduate Medical Education Health Disparities Track, Medical Spanish Bilingual Training, Rural Health Professions Programs, Commitment to Underserved People Program, Global Health in Low- and MiddleIncome Countries, and collaborations with the Arizona Area Health Education Centers and the Center for Rural Health. In all these ways and others led and supported by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, the University of Arizona Health Sciences remains committed to creating a diverse and inclusive center of health sciences excellence that will make lasting contributions to a society where gaps in health and wellness continuously get smaller, and where every patient can receive the care, they need.
