Subscribe to the RSS feed.Health Equity Open Forum Held in Portland
By: CHP | Posted on: February 26th, 2009. |
Categories: Disparities • Economic Issues • Education • Policies and Laws • Public Health
On January 25, 2009 Community Health Priorities co-sponsored an open community forum to discuss health and health equity. According to Pierre Morin, MD, Clinical Director of Lutheran Community Services NW, “the idea was not to give expert knowledge to people, but to provide space for a community dialogue on the issue.” Around 65 participants gathered and shared their views.
Conversations were were guided by different ways of thinking of health (individual perspectives, community or social perspectives, equity issues, social dynamics, etc.)
One participant spoke from a perspective of a cancer survivor and mother of a mentally ill son.
Another spoke about working as a nurse practitioner and now an assistant professor at a local nursing school, emphasizing the need to connecting with one’s humanity.
A Multnomah County employee spoke about health being much more that an individual problem and emphasized the need to address the social issues that contribute to poor health.
An open discussion that followed covered the need for community building and overcoming a sense of isolation and marginalization.
Some participants blamed health care providers, social structures and policies, and the insurance and pharmaceutical companies for delivering poor services and fostering social injustice that contributes to poor health.
Some people expressed frustration and hopelessness and a sense of feeling that they had no voice.
Some compared the American health care system to other health care systems and complained about the American one to be ineffective and too costly.
In answer to the complaints and blames some young nursing students expressed their pride in their profession and the successes that they see possible in the US.
Health disparities were contrasted with the richness of the diverse voices heard that include humor, sadness and anger.
Further discussion ensued about how to be healthy as individuals and communities, how to take care of ourselves and our communities, how to empower underserved communities by using a Community Health Worker model, how to advocate and find answers to the multiple problems.
In small groups, participants spoke more personally about how they experience health inequities in their lives, as well as their visions for change.
According to Dr. Morin, “When the large group reconvened a renewed sense of community arose. A participant advocated for another participant and asked for concrete support. One participant offered three hours/month of coaching/mentoring. Two participants from socially marginal subgroups expressed the fact that everybody needs a hand, even a doctor, even the president.”
Participants gave positive feedback and stressed the need for ongoing community forums and the need to reach out across diverse communities to share and discuss the commonalities of experiences.
For more information about the open forum, you can visit the Proces Work Institute media archive for mp3s of the event.
Or contact Dr. Morin:
Pierre Morin, MD, PhD, LPC
Clinical Director
Lutheran Community Services NW
503-231-7480 Ext:662
For more information on hosting an open community forum, please e-mail David Rebanal at the Northwest Health Foundation at .
Next entry: 
Previous entry: 
Back to main