SPOTLIGHT: NEW HWRCS H
Introducing 2 New Health Equity Centers
ealth equity has been described by the National Academies as the “state in which everyone has the opportunity to attain full health potential, and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this full potential because of social position or other socially defined circumstances�. The health workforce can address social determinants of health and promote health equity by delivering culturally and linguistically competent care to reduce health disparities among a population diverse on a number of dimensions (eg, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, geography, socioeconomic status, disability status, language, and age) and partnering with communities to promote population health.
In 2018, HRSA issued 2 coopertative agreements for 2 health equity centers: one with the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies, and the other with George Washington University’s Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity. 2019 was the first full year of operation for both equity centers. The goals of the equity centers are to conduct innovative, timely, and relevant health workforce research and evaluation that examines a range of topics on health equity in health workforce education and training. They aim to strengthen the evidence base that provides the health workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to foster health equity in the delivery of patient care and population health. Their research strives to nurture partnerships among academic institutions, communities, and healthcare organizations that will help enable the health workforce to address social determinants of health and foster health equity within the US population.
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