Speaker
Jenna Contreras
Strategic Initiatives Specialist in the Department of Pediatrics
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.
Speaking in
Health Equity Rounds: An Opportunity for Clinical and Anti-Racism Learning to Intersect
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.