On March 21, 2012 Dr. Brian Smedley will moderate a webinar sponsored by Communities Joined in Action, focusing on health inequities.  Racial and ethnic health inequities persist from the cradle to the grave, in the form of higher rates of infant mortality, disease and disability, and premature mortality for many communities of color relative to national averages.The causes of these inequities are complex, but are associated with differences in socioeconomic status, environmental risks and exposures, occupational exposures, health behaviors, and access to health care.At their core, many of these factors can be traced to differences in neighborhood and work environments that are the result of residential segregation and other structural inequalities.

This presentation explores how neighborhood and community contexts directly and indirectly shape health and contribute to health inequities as a result of racial and ethnic residential segregation.The presentation will also feature a discussion of policy strategies that de-concentrate poverty and increase investments in health-enhancing resources in communities that suffer from disinvestment.

Objectives:
1. Participants should be able to identify social and economic conditions that shape health and health inequities.
2. Participants should be able to identify why residential segregation is a root cause of these inequities.
3. Participants should be able to identify at least three policy strategies (i.e., land use) that can address these inequities.

For more information about the webinar visit the Communities Joined in Action website, here.