SDOH Speaker Series

Maternal Health Equity: Supporting Community and Structural Interventions
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

The United States has the highest rates of maternal mortality and morbidity among all developed countries, with significant disparities by race and ethnicity. These inequities are largely caused by social exclusion, economic disadvantage, and political or geographic marginalization that are embodied throughout a person’s life and across generations. We can’t solve these inequities one individual at a time; structural solutions are needed at the community, state, and national levels to improve care and outcomes. Community Based Organizations (CBOs)—like community-based doula programs, federally qualified health centers, community hospitals, and birth justice organizations—situated in communities experiencing inequities are essential to understanding the causes of health inequity, and to implementing meaningful policies and practices. In this webinar, our panelists draw on their experiences to discuss how we can help CBOs address individual health and social needs while also improving community or societal health.

On the Edge: How Climate Affects Community Health and Equity
Tuesday, January 18, 2023 | 12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. EST

Climate change has serious implications for everyone. However, climate stressors—including increases in the frequency of extreme weather events, frequency of droughts, risk of wildfires, and increasing temperatures resulting in heat islands and other hazards— have the potential to disproportionately worsen conditions for underserved communities in particular. Our society’s responses to climate stressors must involve interventions to address these inequities. For this webinar, Abt is joined by three experts to discuss their experiences addressing the disproportionate effects of climate change. Panelists will cover longstanding and more recent challenges for the Navajo Nation as well as people, communities and neighborhoods facing drought, limited access to clean drinking water, and the funding constraints to address these and other challenges. Please join us to learn more about the climate justice issues many underserved populations are facing, and about applying justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) principles in climate change adaptation planning so we can develop effective solutions to climate change impacts at the local level.

Making Equity the Bedrock of Value-Based Care and Payment
Tuesday, December 13, 2022 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm EST

The U.S. spends more on health care than any other country but has some of the worst population health outcomes, and health care costs are taking up an increasing proportion of public spending. To help reverse this trend, public and private payors are increasingly using value-based care and payment models. Further, to truly reduce the total cost of care, addressing social determinants of health as part of value-based care is critical. In this webinar, our expert panelists drew from their experiences serving both urban and rural areas to describe how value-based care can and should address social determinants of health for high-cost, high-needs patients. Panelists shared their perspectives on how to measure quality, ensure accountability, and demonstrate value while supporting the flexible payment options needed for people to achieve health. Together, we explored how value-based care models can serve as the bedrock for equity in the future of healthcare.

Harnessing Our Collective Wisdom to Create the Necessary Community Conditions so Children and Families Thrive
November 15, 2022 | 12:00 p.m. EST

Children who experience trauma—including abuse and neglect or loss of one or more parents—known as Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs), are more likely to face lifelong challenges to their well-being. How can we spare children and families from having deeper involvement in the social service systems? In this one-hour webinar, Abt and a distinguished panel explored the social and policy conditions that influence disproportionate representation of children of color in the child welfare system, including racism, access to services (including Medicaid and CHIP), and lack of economic opportunity, affordable housing and childcare, among others.  Panelists also identified ways in which leaders across sectors make decisions that impact families encountering the system, and described changes needed to reduce family and child engagement.

Promoting Health and Racial Equity through Sustainable Homeownership
November 10, 2022 | 2:00 p.m. EST

Homeownership is a key pathway to building wealth and stability for America’s families, but is out-of-reach for many low- and moderate-income families. In particular, people of color face heightened barriers stemming from both current and past discrimination and systemic bias. A new series of briefs and a landscape analysis prepared by Abt identify a range of specific opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and funders to advance racial and health equity by increasing access to sustainable homeownership. In this installment, Abt and distinguished speakers discussed the racial homeownership gap in America and how to address it.

Protecting High Risk Youth: Opportunities in Education and the Justice Systems
June 9, 2022

Poverty and systemic racism are major risk factors for entering the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, which in turn can increase the lifelong risk for poor health and wellbeing. In this one-hour webinar, Dr. Jean O’Connor moderated a panel of experts as they discussed the problems and potential solutions to break the cycle of poverty and crime. Former prosecutor and author Daphne Robinson explained how the juvenile justice system continues to adversely impact the health, well-being, and economic development of Black children in America, and the devastating costs to society. Dr. Terri McFadden discussed how early prevention, education, and justice systems are intertwined, and how policies can exacerbate systemic, institutional racism and poor outcomes. Christine Judd from Roca, Inc., discussed how their interventions are disrupting the incarceration pipeline and transforming the lives of young people at the center of urban violence.

2021 Speaker Series

• John Auerbach and Social Determinants of Health: Moving Beyond Meeting Individual Needs to a Systems Approach
• Harold Philips and the Impact of the SDOH in Ending the HIV Epidemic
• Katherine Theall and Violence as a Key Social Determinant of Health
• Wayne Giles and Social Determinants of Health and Population Health
• Harry Heiman and Opportunities for Public Health to Move Upstream and Advance Health Equity