Health Equity Research Virtual Site Visit (VSV): UC Davis
UC Davis School of Medicine, together with the UC Davis Health System, is known for cutting-edge research, innovative education, community engagement, and patient-centered care. The health system provides healthcare services to some of the most diverse, metropolitan and rural communities in Northern and Central California, and is committed to reducing and eliminating health inequities in the 33 counties it serves. UC Davis prepares physicians and other healthcare providers to improve lives and transform the health of the communities in which they will serve by incorporating culturally and linguistically appropriate care in all aspects of the clinical and academic environment. Led by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, UC Davis School of Medicine, and the entire health system, is committed to developing solutions that will reduce health disparities and improve health and mental health for all. For more information about the full range of health equity initiatives and programs at UC Davis, visit the Office for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Reducing Health Disparities.
Organize a Health Equity VSV
CONTACT USThe Solano County Behavioral Health Innovation Plan: A Cultural Transformation Model
The Solano County Behavioral Health Innovation Plan: A Cultural Transformation Model represents a significant community-initiated planning effort involving one California county in collaboration with the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities (CRHD), the university’s Clinical and Translational Science Center, as well as stakeholders, particularly from the Latino, Filipino-American, and LGBTQ communities. The project is an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to adapt and train stakeholders on the Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service (CLAS) Standards to address disparities on access to and utilization of county mental health services. The proposed work aims to develop quality improvement in cultural and linguistic proficiency and the delivery of mental health services, and measure the effectiveness of those efforts and sustain that work well beyond the project’s five-year timeframe.
- Community-Defined Solutions for Latino Mental Health Care Disparities- California Reducing Disparities Project (PDF)
- Engaging the Underserved: Personal Accounts of Communities on Mental Health Needs for Prevention and Early Intervention Strategies (PDF)
- Facilitator Manual for Providing Quality Health Care with CLAS-Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (PDF)
- The Solano County Behavioral Health MHSA Innovation Plan (PPT)
Latino Aging Research Resource Center
The UC Davis Latino Aging Research Resource Center (LARRC) is one of the nation’s seven Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research. It is the only center specifically focused on Latinos and cognitive health. The center aims to reduce disparities in cognitive health, impairment, related healthcare services and caregiving among older Latinos and their families. LARRC brings together an interdisciplinary collaborative group of researchers, including faculty from UC Davis School of Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, as well as a regional academic network that includes California State University, Sacramento, UCSF Fresno and UC Merced. The center’s other key goal is to increase the workforce pipeline by promoting careers in minority-aging research through strategic outreach, sustained mentoring, and pilot grants to junior scholars.
- Brochure: Latino Aging Research Resource Center (PDF)
Mothers’ Wisdom: An Intervention Designed by and for American Indian Women to Boost Breast Cancer Screening
To address disproportionately high rates of breast cancer mortality among American Indian women, Marlene von Friederichs-Fitzwater, who leads the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Outreach Research and Education Program worked with an American Indian advisory group to develop and implement a multi-disciplinary intervention to boost mammography screening rates. The intervention, a DVD to educate women about healthy eating, exercise, myths about breast cancer, and the importance of cancer screening, led to dramatic increases in mammography among patients at participating tribal health centers in Northern California.
Enhancing Outcomes for Immigration Populations Through a Cultural Movement Intervention
The Asian American Center on Disparities Research (AACDR) at UC Davis conducts research to examine cultural factors that influence the effectiveness of mental health and health interventions for ethnic minority and immigrant communities. One of the center’s main projects is the Enhancing Health and Resilience project, an interdisciplinary study sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Frontiers for the Humanities and the Arts (IFHA) program at UC Davis. Given the multi-disciplinary emphasis of this project, UC Davis faculty from four academic units serve as the Co-Principal Investigators, including Professor Nolan Zane (Departments of Psychology and Asian American Studies), Professor Jill Joseph (Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing), and Professor Lynette Hunter (Department of Theatre and Dance). Using a community-based participatory research approach, the study tested the effectiveness of a traditional form of Chinese movement, Lishi, in improving the health of elderly Vietnamese American immigrants. Findings indicated that this culturally-embedded intervention significantly improved mental and physical health outcomes for these community members.