The 2023 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium, "Turning the Vision of Health Equity into Reality," was held at the Birmingham Hilton at UAB on April 20th. The event brought together over 200 researchers, practitioners, students, and community partners to address several themes surrounding health disparities and health equity.
This annual symposium, sponsored by the UAB Minority Health & Health Equity Research Center, was the first in-person since 2019, when COVID restrictions for public meetings were put in place.
The 2023 symposium featured a poster session and engaging breakout sessions on Food Insecurity, Social Vulnerability, COVID-19 Testing, and Vaccine Hesitancy. Oral presentations were conducted by investigators ranging from the Division of Sociology to the Department of Surgery. A panel of judges evaluated each poster and oral presentation using the NIH (National Institutes of Health) Research Project Grant Applications 9-point scale critique, focusing on criteria such as overall impact, significance in relation to health disparities, investigator(s), innovation, approach, and future funding. The highlight of the event was the keynote address given by Dr. Wayne Giles, Dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois Chicago, that emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts in advancing health equity.
The symposium concluded with the recognition of recipients of the UAB MHERC Excellence in Mentoring Awards, commending their contributions to nurturing future leaders in health equity research. With its diverse range of perspectives, the symposium helped reaffirm a collective commitment to drive meaningful change in healthcare.
2023 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Poster Presentations - Top Presenters
1st Place: Ene M. Enogela, MPH
UAB School of Public Health, Epidemiology
Race, Social Determinants of Health, and Comorbidity Patterns Among Participants with Heart Failure in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study
2nd Place: Altamish Daredia
UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Intentionality of Pediatric Firearm Injuries Based on Area Deprivation Index
3rd Place: Shanequa Roscoe, MS
UAB School of Health Professions, Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences
Is Time Everything: The Role of Time on the Relationship between Patient-Centered Communication and Provider Empathy in U.S. Health Care Organizations
2023 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Poster Presentations – Special Recognition
Dalton A. Norwood, MD
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Medicine
Live HealthSmart Alabama’s Mobile Wellness Clinic: Results from the first year of implementation
Tiffany Osborne
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Preventive Medicine
Community Perceptions of Violent Crime and Solutions Emerging from a Community Engaged Planning Process: The Building a Better Bessemer Project
2023 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Oral Presentations - Top Presenters
1st Place: Noha Sharafeldin, MD, MSc, PhD
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Hematology & Oncology
Impact of neighborhood disadvantage on cognitive complaints in solid cancer survivors
2nd Place: Mackenzie E. Fowler, PhD
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Hematology & Oncology
Association between Food Insecurity and Frailty among Older Adults with Gastrointestinal Malignancies - The CARE Registry
3rd Place: Gabriela Oates, PhD
UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Pediatrics
Reducing Ethical and Social Prejudicial Effects of COVID-19 Testing in Underserved Populations (RESPECT-UP)
2023 UAB Health Equity Research Symposium Excellence in Mentoring Award Recipients
Pariya Wheeler, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Associate Professor, Nursing Family, Community & Health Systems, Nursing Academic Affairs
Nabiha Yusuf, PhD. MSPH
Professor, Dermatology, Heersink School of Medicine
Professor, Epidemiology, School of Public Health
Karlene Ball, PhD
Professor, Ophthalmology, School of Medicine
Professor, Neurobiology, Academic Joint Departments
University Professor, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences