News

Recent advancements in HIV treatment, including long-acting antiretroviral therapies and promising gene editing technologies like CRISPR, are transforming care for the 38 million people worldwide living with HIV and offering new hope for a future cure.

On World Mental Health Day, Morehouse School of Medicine announced the expansion of the Health Equity Tracker to include trend analyses for mental and behavioral health metrics, allowing users to track disparities across race, sex, and age in these critical areas.

The first-ever "Walk in Her Shoes" event at Morehouse School of Medicine brought together mothers, daughters, and advocates to empower Black women living with HIV through panel discussions, performances, and community connection.

SHLI joined over 300 exhibitors at APHA's 150th anniversary conference with multiple faculty presentations, including Daniel Dawes discussing the Political Determinants of Health and Dr. David Satcher participating in a panel on health inequity.

This article explains how political determinants of health differ from social determinants of health, examining how policy choices and political decisions lead to social factors that impact health outcomes and can be categorized into voting, government, and policy influences.

SHLI released "The Economic Burden of Mental Health Inequities in the United States Report," revealing that nearly 117,000 lives and approximately $278 billion could have been saved over a four-year period, while identifying that nearly six million vulnerable Americans are not accounted for in national mental healthcare reporting.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute hosted the Inaugural Robert Raben Health Equity Innovation Award Competition, awarding $10,000 to Sandra Kong and Xindi Chen for their project "Optimizing Care Coordination for Patients with Multimorbidity" to advance health equity innovation.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Google.org received two Halo Awards for their Health Equity Tracker, winning Gold for "Best Health Initiative" and Silver for "Best COVID-19 Initiative" at the 2022 ceremony.

In Smarter Healthcare's Episode 21 podcast, Daniel E. Dawes discusses his initial motivation for pursuing health policy work and explores the upstream drivers called the Political Determinants of Health affecting America's health outcomes.

The Health Equity Tracker has expanded to include a new "Behavioral Health" category with five indicators: Frequent Mental Distress, Depression, Suicide, Opioid and Other Substance Misuse, and Alcohol Use, helping to address significant disparities in mental and behavioral health outcomes.

Daniel Dawes discusses the troubling 2021 mortality figures for communities of color in a USA Today article, highlighting how the US is undercounting COVID-19 deaths and the persistent inequities affecting these communities.

The CDC Foundation supported the development of a comprehensive report by the Presidential COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force with recommendations for mitigating inequities caused by the pandemic, with input from SHLI's Daniel Dawes.

Dr. David Satcher, 16th U.S. Surgeon General and founding director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, received the 2021 Fries Prize for Improving Health for his outstanding achievements and lifetime commitment to eliminating health disparities and championing health equity.

Daniel E. Dawes has accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises on policy and broad strategies to enable CDC to fulfill its mission of protecting national health and addressing health disparities.

The National Academy of Medicine announced the election of Daniel E. Dawes to its membership, recognizing him as a national leader in health equity whose groundbreaking books have reframed policy conversations and led to actionable solutions.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute's Health Equity Tracker has launched vaccination data as part of its most recent update, highlighting underlying factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy and inequitable vaccine access for historically marginalized communities.

Dr. David Satcher and Daniel Dawes reflect on how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted disparities in healthcare access and exacerbated health inequities, particularly for Black Americans who have lost about three years of life expectancy during the pandemic.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute, The University of North Texas Health Science Center, and YouTube announced the Inaugural Garth N. Graham Distinguished Lectureship Award, with the first award going to renowned public health expert Dr. David R. Williams.

The Health Equity Tracker has been updated to include data from United States Territories including Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, allowing users to track available health outcome data in these areas.

Dr. David Satcher co-authored an opinion piece arguing that violence is something we can understand and prevent through a public health approach based on science, prevention focus, and collaborative work.

Dr. Aletha Maybank and Daniel E. Dawes discuss the partnership between the American Medical Association and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute to create the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship, designed to help physicians address the root causes of health inequities.

The American Medical Association and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute announced the selection of 12 physicians as the inaugural fellows for the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship, which will empower physician-led advocacy to advance health equity.

This video series explores the history, purpose, vision, and mission of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, providing an intimate look at the Health Equity Tracker project and why accounting for health data disparities is crucial for underserved communities.

Madhuri Jha, Director of the Kennedy-Satcher Center for Mental Health Equity, reflects on the cultural impact of Lin-Manuel Miranda's "In the Heights" and her experience as a bilingual psychotherapist serving Washington Heights, highlighting how language, tone, and environment shape cultural experiences in mental health care for immigrant communities.

SHLI reflects on the significance of Juneteenth becoming a federal holiday, noting that while this recognition marks a cultural shift, continued work is needed to educate, inform, and change policies to break down systemic barriers to equity.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute launched the Health Equity Tracker, a comprehensive data platform highlighting COVID-19's impact on marginalized communities, with support from Gilead Sciences, Google.org, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the CDC Foundation.

This research study analyzed changes in state reporting of COVID-19 data by race/ethnicity between April and November 2020, revealing significant gaps in data collection that prevent a true accounting of the pandemic's impact on racial/ethnic minority communities.

SHLI premiered a two-part animated series of "The Allegory of the Orchard," an excerpt from Daniel E. Dawes' book The Political Determinants of Health, illustrating barriers faced by racial and ethnic minority communities and the importance of addressing political determinants.

The Health Equity Tracker Project was created through collaboration between the Satcher Health Leadership Institute, the CDC Foundation, Google.org, Gilead Sciences, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to collect and clearly present health disparity data to drive response toward areas most in need.

Dr. David Satcher received the prestigious Rev. Robert Ross Johnson Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Rotary Club of Buckhead, recognizing his medical and educational accomplishments and profound impact on health equity throughout his career.

The American Medical Association and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine announced a collaborative fellowship to empower physician-led advocacy that advances equity and removes barriers to optimal health for marginalized communities, with applications due March 31, 2021.

This insightful op-ed by Daniel E. Dawes and Brian C. Castrucci highlights the need to continue advancing health equity post-COVID-19 pandemic through systemic policy change rather than returning to pre-pandemic "normal."

Google CEO Sundair Pichai announced grants to help create equitable access to COVID-19 vaccination sites, with the Satcher Health Leadership Institute collaborating to collect vaccination data that will help provide resources to health providers and community leaders.

SHLI honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, noting how his vision for equity and justice continues to inspire their work to educate and train leaders who move the health equity needle forward.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute partnered with UBER Technologies to offer 10 million free rides to vaccination sites, targeting communities of color who have been hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure transportation access for both vaccine doses.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute received $500,000 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to implement the "Political Determinants of Health Virtual Learning Laboratories" program, which will train elected officials and community leaders to examine political factors influencing health outcomes and develop equity-focused projects.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute, with support from the Environmental Defense Fund, convened a virtual meeting to solicit policy recommendations from southern state representatives to mitigate disproportionate effects of the climate crisis on vulnerable populations exacerbated by COVID-19.

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute successfully convened its first Health Equity Task Force meeting, bringing together members from various committees to identify priority areas and create innovative strategies for eliminating health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The highly anticipated audiobook version of "The Political Determinants of Health" by Daniel E. Dawes is now available, examining how political decisions create social drivers that affect health outcomes and equity.

The 11th annual Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards recognized University of Rochester Medical Center faculty and staff for their significant contributions to reducing health inequities in partnership with community organizations.

Dr. David Satcher's memoir "My Quest for Health Equity: Notes on Learning While Leading" shares his fifty-year career journey toward moving the needle forward in achieving equity for all and offers inspiring lessons on health leadership.

Gilead Sciences and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute announced a partnership to develop a real-time, public-facing health equity data platform to address the impact of COVID-19 and other diseases on communities of color.

SHLI commemorates the life of Congressman John Robert Lewis, honoring his lifelong activism in the Civil Rights Movement and his unwavering stance to fight for justice, noting their commitment to continuing his legacy through health equity work.

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal released a comprehensive staff report titled "Left Out: Barriers to Health Equity for Rural and Underserved Communities" analyzing barriers to healthcare in underserved areas and how challenges are byproducts of systemic racism and economic inequality.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Minority Health selected Morehouse School of Medicine to lead the National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 within Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities initiative, with Dr. Dominic Mack and Daniel E. Dawes serving as principal investigators.

The CDC Foundation and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute announced a partnership to address COVID-19 health inequities by establishing a Health Equity Task Force to monitor and assess disparate impacts on vulnerable populations and create a COVID-19 data consortium.

Daniel E. Dawes, Director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine believes there are lessons from the success we realized in other crises to advance more equitable policies today.

Google.org awarded a $1 million grant to the Satcher Health Leadership Institute to collect and analyze detailed data on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, with Google engineers and data scientists supporting the six-month project.

Dr. Kisha B. Holden was appointed as the Poussaint-Satcher Endowed Chair in Mental Health, bringing her vision to build capacity and nurture collaborations that bolster mental health initiatives focused on underserved and underrepresented populations.

YouTube and the Kaiser Family Foundation are partnering with the Satcher Health Leadership Institute to produce a video series examining health equity through the lens of healthcare access, alongside The Loveland Foundation and National Birth Equity Collaborative who will focus on mental health and maternal health respectively.

This article published in Generations Journal examines how political determinants of health impact health equity for aging populations, discussing how COVID-19 exacerbated inequities and offering solutions to advance health equity for older adults.