Health Disparities Work Group
In Health Disparities Work Group
Interdisciplinary Concentration
The Health Disparities Interdisciplinary Concentration is available to Master of Public Health (MPH) students at the University of Minnesota.
The Health Disparities Working Group mission is to give greater visibility to health disparities research at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health (SPH), and nationally; develop collaborations with faculty and community partners; and ensure SPH students are well- trained to work in a diverse society.
The HDWG meets quarterly and welcomes new members. For more information about joining the HDWG, please contact, Kathleen Call or Rhonda Jones-Webb.
Amanda Krentz
Amanda Krentz
My name is Amanda Krentz, and I am a second year MPH student in the Community Health Promotion program. I earned my bachelor’s degree in Health Promotion and Wellness from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Before entering graduate school, I was one of the coordinators for Wisconsin’s youth tobacco and prevention program. I learned valuable lessons in community organizing and creating relationships with different communities across Wisconsin. This experience exposed me to health disparities related to tobacco but more importantly how to work with communities of color to make policy and community change. Also, I grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin where many of my community members did not have the best access to healthcare and had little access to preventative services.
My personal and professional experiences have motivated me to continue my education in public health and pursue a concentration in health disparities. My primary interests are obesity prevention, women’s health, rural health, and environmental health. I believe our health care system and environment perpetuates health disparities and there is tremendous work to be done in our county to eliminate these inequalities. I would like to use the skills I have gained through my academic, professional and personal experiences to help educate and collaborate with communities and agencies to work towards eliminating health disparities.
When I graduate, I would like to work towards creating healthier communities/environments, community organizing around specific change, or working in the college health setting to encourage young adults to engage in positive health behaviors.
HDIC concentration information
To learn more about the Health Disparities Interdisciplinary Contcentration for MPH students, see the Training section of this website.
New community engagement report
See a recent report on community engagement from the Duke University’s Translational Medicine Institute. The report is titled “Researchers and Their Communities: The Challenge of Meaningful Community Engagement.”
Grant announcement
The Health Disparities Work Group is proud to announce the Cancer-related Health Disparities Education Development Program Grant (R25T). The R25T is aimed at training new investigators who are prepared to develop, test and evaluate interventions in both clinical and population settings to reduce cancer-related inequities among disadvantaged populations.
Funds will be used to support pre-doctoral and three post-doctoral fellows for 3 years. The first cohort of fellows will be admitted Fall 2012. Jean Forster, Ph.D. (Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health) and Kola Okuyemi, MD, (Program in Health Disparities, University of Minnesota, Medical School) will serve as Principal Investigators (P.I.)
For more information contact Jean Forster or Kola Okuyemi.