Oct. 24, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is health equity, anyway? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers from Northern Arizona University\u2019s Center for Health Equity Research<\/a> (CHER) are helping listeners find that out through a new podcast series, \u201cFairness First,\u201d which debuts today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The podcast is a project of\nthe Community\nEngagement Core<\/a> (CEC) of the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative\n(SHERC), which is a grant initiative under CHER. One of the objectives of SHERC\nis to work with the local community about health equity matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe overall goal of the\nCommunity Engagement Core is to develop innovative tools and methods of\ndissemination to build more collaboration with the community,\u201d said Alexandra\nSamarron<\/strong>, a senior program coordinator with CHER and one of three Fairness\nFirst podcast hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nthe first episode, Samarron interviews Olga, a Flagstaff resident who\nexperienced housing inequality issues. She owned a mobile home\nbut not the land and was forced to evacuate and leave her home\nbehind. With Samarron translating Olga\u2019s Spanish, the host describes how\nOlga began experiencing headaches and other stress-related issues due\nto her housing issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The team also talks to Julio Quezada, manager of\u00a0North Country Health Care Integrated Clinic<\/a>, Darrell Marks, an academic adviser at\u00a0Flagstaff High School<\/a>\u00a0dedicated to working with Native American students, and\u00a0Samantha Sabo<\/strong>, the CEC co-lead and an associate professor of health sciences at NAU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt has been a learning\nprocess on how to conduct interviews, especially since I hosted the first\nepisode,\u201d Samarron said. \u201cI am starting to feel more comfortable with talking\non the mic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers partnered\nwith NAU\u2019s Media Innovation Center to help with the podcast recording and\nediting. They designed the episode\u2019s structure with Brian Rackham<\/strong>, an associate professor in NAU\u2019s School of Communication<\/a>. Communication\nstudent Aldric Meints<\/strong> recorded and\nedited the podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBrian has been very\nhelpful in guiding us in the process,\u201d Samarron said. \u201cHe also introduced us to\nAldric, who helped us with thinking about the interviews and all of the\ntechnical parts that were challenging to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The group plans to release two more episodes this semester. In the next episode, Kelly McCue<\/strong>, a senior program coordinator with CHER, will interview students pursuing the Master of Public Health Indigenous Health Track<\/a>. Carmenlita Chief<\/strong>, a senior program coordinator with CHER, will host the episode that features SHERC\u2019s Community-Campus Partnership Support<\/a> (CCPS)\u2014a program that partners community practitioners and leaders with university investigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chief said she thinks exploring health equity will be helpful to listeners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStorytelling is an\nessential part of our work as public health advocates because it\u2019s a personal\nand meaningful way of communicating information,\u201d Chief said. \u201cIn a previous\nchapter of my life, I was a journalist, so I loved the aspect of being back in\nmy creative element and crafting narratives that make research relatable to a\nbroader audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n McCue said she hopes the\npodcast will help northern Arizona learn more about the center\u2019s work to\npromote health equity in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to Fairness\nFirst, the group is also developing a video series and a webinar that highlights\na few SHERC health equity programs with partnerships in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also hope to really\nchallenge more researchers to start thinking about building relationships in\nthe community and to start thinking about how their science needs to be more\napplicable to community needs,\u201d Samarron said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New CHER podcast series tackles health equity issues, builds community collaboration. The podcast is available on iTunes<\/a> and also on the SHERC website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"