The Transformative Potential of Strategic Partnerships to Form a Health Equity Network of the Americas.

Health inequities across the Americas are avoidable and unjust yet continue to persist. Systemic social determinants of health, which could be addressed at the policy level, are root causes of many inequities and prevent marginalized individuals and at-risk populations from reaching optimal health and well-being. In this article, we describe our approach to promote health equity through the intersectoral partnerships that were forged, and strategies that were shared, during the convening entitled "Summit 2017: Health Equity in the Americas" and the resulting emergence of the Health Equity Network of the Americas (HENA). We illustrate how this international network will raise awareness of policies and programs to inform decision makers about actions they can take to put an end to the unjust, persistent and mostly avoidable health inequities facing the Americas today.

Physician and provider education for improving health and eliminating disparities.

The Sixth Annual Primary Care and Prevention Conference and the Eleventh Annual HeLa Women's Health Conference was held on September 11-13, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. The reports in this supplement of Ethnicity & Disease provide a sample of the presentations made during the primary care and women's health sessions.

Improving health, eliminating disparities: finding solutions for better health care for all populations.

The Fourth Annual Primary Care and Prevention Conference was held October 25-27, 2004 in Atlanta, Georgia to address inequalities in primary care health outcomes and to develop strategies to improve the health status among under-served communities throughout the country. The Ninth Annual HeLa Women's Health Conference was conducted concurrently during the conference's Tuesday, October 26 sessions and were designed for those in obstetrics/gynecology. The reports herein provide a sample of the rich presentations and scientific knowledge imparted by a faculty of more than 100 who addressed disparities across disease states (heart disease and stroke; cancer; diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and obesity; infectious disease; mental health and mental disorders; environmental health/injury and violence; respiratory diseases; and substance abuse, tobacco use) and within focused areas (adult health; maternal, child and adolescent health; health policy and practice; and social and community health).

The Second Annual Primary Care Conference--Programming to eliminate health disparities among ethnic minority populations: an introduction to proceedings.

From October 31, 2002 through November 2, 2002, the Second Annual Primary Care Conference was held, sponsored by the Morehouse School of Medicine's National Center for Primary Care and its Prevention Research Center. The conference was designed as a collaborative activity with the Atlanta Regional Health Forum; The Carter Center; Emory University's School of Medicine, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, and Rollins School of Public Health; Georgia Chapter of the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine; Georgia Nurses Foundation; Southeastern Primary Care Consortium, Inc./Atlanta Area Health Education Center; St. Joseph's Mercy Care Services; United States Department of Health and Human Services: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Health and Human Services (Region IV); Health Resources and Services Administration; Office of Minority Health (Region IV); and Office on Women's Health (Region IV). The 2 and a half-day conference featured 5 plenary sessions and 3 tracks of medical education for primary care physicians and other healthcare providers. The tracks were categorized as: Track A: Adult Health; Track B: Public Health and Prevention; and Track C: Maternal/Child/Youth Health. Within each track, 6 working sessions were presented on topic areas including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health, infectious disease, behavioral and social health, women's health, stroke, and asthma. A total of 18 working sessions took place and each working session included 3 presentations. Continuing medical education credits or continuing education units were granted to participants. In all, 485 individuals participated in the conference, with the majority of the participants from the southeastern United States. Of the attendees, 35% were physicians (MD); 13% were nurses (RN); 12% held master-level degrees; and 12% held other doctorate-level degrees.