Health Equity: A Solutions-Focused Approach

Health Equity: A Solutions-Focused Approach is a comprehensive textbook that illustrates existing conditions of health disparities across a range of populations in the United States, positions those disparities within the broader sociopolitical framework that leads to their existence, and most importantly, presents specific ways in which health equity solutions can be designed and implemented. Presenting current theoretical foundations, cultural context, and evidence-based models and interventions all in one, this textbook provides students with the basis to achieve greater health equity in their communities. Edited by award-winning authors and featuring contributions from diverse experts in public health, sociology, psychology, and medicine, this groundbreaking text goes beyond a traditional approach to risk factors and disparities and emphasizes the central role that health equity initiatives must play in public health research and practice.

The book is divided into three sections, with Section I focusing on providing the context of health equity research and practice. Chapters are structured in such a way that both new and experienced students in the field will develop a deeper understanding of topics such as prejudice and discrimination; frameworks and theories; and research and collaboration approaches. Section II addresses the current knowledge of specific populations impacted by issues related to health equity, including African American, Latinx and Hispanic, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, LGBTQ, Veteran, People with Disabilities, and many more. Authored or co-authored by members of the community being discussed, each of these chapters summarizes how health disparities impact the group, ongoing population-specific models of disparities and equity, emerging programs for achieving health equity, coverage of the most relevant aspects of intersectionality, and concluding exercises such as case studies and current events. Section III then highlights the role of cultural humility in achieving health equity. With its solutions-focused and community-affirming approach, Health Equity provides graduate and undergraduate students of public health with evidence-based models to help advance health through diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

Key Features:
• Origins and Theories - Discusses the sociocultural and political origins of health disparities and the major theories that underlie an understanding of health equity
• Solutions-Focused - Describes emerging models and gives best practices in designing new programs
• Diverse Population Coverage - Provides historical context, sociocultural dynamics, and population-specific evidence-based programs from the voices of the communities being discussed
• Intersectionality Perspective - Highlights the role that overlapping and interdependent identities play in promoting health equity and the interventions that build from this perspective
• Case Studies and Real-World Examples - Demonstrates how to apply health equity improvement approaches in different contexts
• eBook access -Included with print purchase for use on most mobile devices or computers
• Instructor's Packet - With an Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint slides, Test Bank, and a Sample Syllabus

Bryant Smalley, PhD, PsyD, MBA is a licensed clinical psychologist and health equity researcher. He serves as the Associate Dean for Research in the Mercer University School of Medicine, where he is also Professor of Community Medicine and Psychiatry. Prior to Mercer, he co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the Rural Health Research Institute at Georgia Southern University. He also served in multiple leadership roles (including Director of Clinical Training) for Georgia Southern's PsyD program, a clinical psychology program focused on preparing mental health practitioners for practice in underserved areas. Dr. Smalley is the past chair of the American Psychological Association's Committee on Rural Health, is a Health Equity Ambassador for the American Psychological Association, has previously been invited to discuss health disparity issues with the White House Rural Council, and was named both Researcher of the Year and Educator of the Year by the National Rural Health Association. His research has been published in more than 70 journal articles, books, and book chapters.

Jacob C. Warren, PhD, MBA, CRA is a behavioral epidemiologist specializing in health equity research. He is the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Rufus C. Harris Endowed Chair, the Director of the Center for Rural Health and Health Disparities, the Vice Chair for Research, and Professor of Community Medicine in the Mercer University School of Medicine, which is dedicated to meeting the health needs of rural and underserved populations. He has served in a variety of academic and research leadership positions, and has been PI of more than $12 million in federally funded research and service grants focused on the study and elimination of health disparities in various groups. His work has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, including Center of Excellence funding through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. He is a health equity ambassador for the American Psychological Association, chair of the State of Georgia's Migrant Farmworker Advisory Board, and was named Researcher of the Year by the National Rural Health Association. Dr. Warren has published over 70 journal articles, books, and book chapters.

Maria Isabel Fernandez, PhD is a community psychologist whose health equity work focuses on substance abuse and HIV prevention and treatment in African-American and Hispanic populations. She is the Director of the Behavioral Health Promotion Program in the Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she also serves as the Associate Dean of Faculty Research, the Director of the Student Research Fellowship Program, and Professor of Public Health. Dr. Fernandez has received more than $15 million in funding from NIH, CDC, and SAMHSA to support her health equity-focused work, published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, and served as senior advisor to multiple NIH Centers of Excellence and national working groups focused on health equity issues. Prior to her academic career, she served as a Health Scientist Administrator for the National Institute on Mental Health within NIH, as a Senior Policy Analyst within the U.S. Public Health Service, and as both a Behavioral Scientist and an AIDS Information Specialist within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In these roles, she served as a national expert in the development and implementation of ground-level health equity-focused substance use and HIV prevention efforts, advised senior administration regarding policy issues, developed testimony and other briefing materials for use in congressional hearings and committees, and coordinated NIMH's participation in collaborative AIDS research and prevention projects.