Group forms to study population health issues

What factors are most important for the overall health status of population groups?

Much current research on population health, both in this country and globally, points to the importance of factors such as income distribution and disparities in political and economic power, rather than the amount of health care available.

There is growing interest in academic and policy circles in specifically identifying these broad-based determinants of population health and understanding the mechanisms involved, according to Dr. Stephen Bezruchka, affiliate assistant professor of health services in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Bezruchka and his group have established the Population Health Forum to explore and discuss these issues. The group’s Web site, including an annotated bibliography, is at http://depts.washington.edu/eqhlth/

There will also be a series of presentations, the first one scheduled for Thursday, May 25, when Toba Bryant, a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto, will speak on “The Validity of Various Forms of Knowledge in the Development of Health and Social Policy.” The talk will be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Health Services Department conference room, H-670 of the Health Sciences Center.

The second presentation will be Thursday, June 1, when Dr. Dennis Raphael of the Graduate Department of Community Health at the University of Toronto will speak on “Community Quality of Life: Making the Connection Between Community and Social Strucutre and Individual Well-Being.” That presentation will also be from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in room H-670. Future programs will be listed in the University Week calendar.

People who are interested in the group but unable to attend the presentations can contact Bezruchka by e-mail at sabez@u.washington.edu