Health Equity Working Group Director Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards facilitates conversation on “Teens, Sexual Health, and Depression” during the Cook Center’s 2016 Young Scholars Summer Research Institute.

The Health Equity Working Group uses a holistic approach to understanding and achieving health equity. Investigating the sociocultural, economic, and structural indicators of health is necessary in both risk assessment and risk prevention efforts to eliminate racial/ethnic and gender disparities in health. The Health Equity Working Group deploys an interdisciplinary approach to move beyond the acknowledgement of disparities toward understanding the root causes of both positive and negative health outcomes. We use this understanding to inform practitioners, researchers, and community health organizers on strength-based approaches to health. Our working group includes the broad intersections of race, gender, wealth, and health.