The Inequitable Distribution of Social Determinants of Health - Keynote Address

This event is a part of the DEI Kickoff Week 2022 series.

Did you know that the neighborhood you were born in can reliably predict your lifespan—and that disparities in life expectancy amongst neighborhoods in the greater Columbus area alone vary by up to 27 years? Why might this and other well-documented health disparities exist nation and worldwide even at a time when healthcare is making so many advances in care? Research shows that about 50% of health outcomes are determined not by genetics, personal behaviors, or clinical care but by our socioeconomic and physical environments. These factors are known as social determinants of health and they comprise “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.” Join keynote speaker and Ohio State alum Dr. Kierra Barnett for an engaging session about how social determinants of health create and maintain health disparities, as well as what healthcare providers can do to better their practice through understanding of how these inequities affect patients, colleagues, and society.

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Dr. Kierra Barnett is a Research Scientist at the Center for Child Health Equity and Outcomes Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Her work focuses on the impact of structural racism, stress and social determinants of health on racial and ethnic inequities. Prior to joining NCH, Dr. Barnett completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University, were she collaborated with state, county and city public health departments, as well as non-for-profit organizations, to assess health outcomes and make policy and practice-based recommendations to address the disparities. Dr. Barnett received her Ph.D. in Public Health from The Ohio State University. She also holds a Masters of Public Health from OSU and a Bachelor’s of Science in Community Health from the University of Illinois.