Date: 2008-04-22
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STANFORD, Calif. — How can a country that spends $2 trillion per year on medical care—half the health-care dollars in the world—rank at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations when it comes to life expectancy and infant mortality rates? That’s the kind of question at the heart of the documentary aired recently by the Public Broadcasting Service, “Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick?”
(Media-Newswire.com) - STANFORD, Calif. — How can a country that spends $2 trillion per year on medical care—half the health-care dollars in the world—rank at the bottom of the list of industrialized nations when it comes to life expectancy and infant mortality rates?
That’s the kind of question at the heart of the documentary aired recently by the Public Broadcasting Service, “Unnatural causes: Is inequality making us sick?”
Inspired by the film, the Office of Community Health at the Stanford University School of Medicine is sponsoring a public forum May 1, titled, “Rethinking health inequities beyond medicine.”
The PBS documentary sparked such a strong response it has fueled a national grassroots movement encouraging people to look beyond medical care to the effects of housing, land use, poverty, education and socioeconomic status on the health of Americans.
The Stanford event will include a 15-minute snippet of the four-hour documentary and a panel discussion with faculty, representatives of community agencies and students.
“You just feel like talking after you see this film,” said Rhonda McClinton-Brown, MPH, executive director of the Office of Community Health. “It examines population specific issues, the higher infant mortality rates among African Americans, higher diabetes rates among Native Americans. It looks at the social causes of poor health.”
Gabriel Garcia, MD, associate dean for medical school admissions and director of the Haas Center for Public Service, will moderate the panel. The forum will include faculty from the schools of medicine, law and education joining together to discuss Stanford’s work in addressing health disparities through local community partnerships.
The event will be held 5-7:30 p.m. May 1 at Stanford’s Tresidder Union in the Oak Lounge West. It is free and open to the public. Those who plan to attend must RSVP to pgonzalez@stanford.edu.
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