Health Equity Rounds: An Opportunity for Clinical and Anti-Racism Learning to Intersect
Day 2: November 15, 2022 | 12:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m., Marquee Theater
Session Video
Session Materials
- Presentation: Health Equity Rounds: An Opportunity for Clinical and Anti-Racism Learning to Intersect (PDF)
- Equity Rounds Framework form (PDF)
Session Description
Healthcare practitioners commonly learn about the social determinants of health, which are the conditions where people live, learn, work and play that affect health risks and outcomes. However, practitioners rarely confront the healthcare system’s role in influencing the social determinants of health, particularly the elements of “social and community context” and “healthcare access and quality.” Healthcare-based institutional racism and other forms of bias contribute to health disparities between races and perpetuate mistrust of the healthcare system by those from historically marginalized groups. Racism and other forms of bias exist outside the healthcare setting, too. This session will outline how the Department of Pediatrics is addressing racism, ableism and other forms of bias in the healthcare environment through Health Equity Rounds. We will also guide participants in thinking of ways to prioritize equity work within their sectors of the university.
Speakers
Jenna Contreras
Jenna Contreras is the strategic initiatives specialist at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She works in the Department of Pediatrics and collaborates with the directors of Advocacy, DEI, Professional Development, QI Scholarship, and Well-Being to support the department’s strategic plan. Contreras worked alongside colleagues to implement the first Health Equity Rounds in the Department of Pediatrics. She is now leading efforts to establish Health Equity Rounds as a recurring professional development program and to integrate health equity education into UW’s pediatric residency program. Her goal is to instill the importance of taking an equity lens to health care.
Mary Ehlenbach
Mary Ehlenbach, M.D., is a general pediatrician in the Division of Hospital Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at UW–Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health. She serves as the department’s Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is also the medical director of the Pediatric Complex Care Program at UW Health Kids. Dr. Ehlenbach‘s professional interests include anti-racism/anti-bias policy development and education, as well as improving the health and care experience of children with medical complexity.
Laura Houser
Laura Houser, M.D., is a clinical professor in the General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and Global Health divisions of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. She is a general pediatrician at UW Health East Terrace Drive Clinic. Dr. Houser is the director of advocacy for the Department of Pediatrics and focuses her advocacy on anti-racism efforts as well as dyslexia education.
Mala Mathur
Mala Mathur, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., is a general pediatrician in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She serves as the director of professional development in the Department of Pediatrics, where she helps to develop and support innovative professional development initiatives such as Health Equity Rounds. Her professional interests include quality improvement, advocacy and integrative health. Dr. Mathur is passionate about promoting health equity and supporting the well-being of children and families.
Kelly McGregory
Kelly McGregory, D.O., M.S., F.A.A.P., is a clinical associate professor, interim chief of the Child Protection Division and associate director of the Residency Program in the Department of Pediatrics at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She was instrumental in introducing health equity rounds to the Department of Pediatrics and continues to support participation in the residency program.
