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Philadelphia, Pa. October 18, 2010- In a recent interview on WURD Radio, here, Dr. David Rivers, an assistant professor of the Medical University of South Carolina, and an organizer of the Fourth Annual Conference on Health Disparities, said this year’s conference, scheduled to be held in Philadelphia, November 10-13, 2010, will look beyond the usual “medical model” to focus on social determinants that can have significant impact on healthcare, as a strategy for reducing health disparities.
 
Commenting on how widespread societal issues, beyond direct medical services, contribute to healthcare disparities in this country, Rivers pointed out that: “We have 30 million people in this country who live below the poverty line… 30 percent of our young people don’t graduate high school and 175 million people live in locations where the air quality is bad. Each of those issues contribute to negative healthcare outcomes.”
 
According to Rivers, “Any sincere effort to eliminate health disparities has to recognize that where people live impacts the quality of their health. “If, for example, you live near a chemical producing plant, if you live near a landfill, those things can have an impact on your health.”
 
“Clean water,” he added, “is also an absolute necessity for addressing healthcare.”
 
“What we’ll be emphasizing at the conference, therefore,” said Rivers, “is that one of our first objectives should be to create healthy communities. Sometimes, even the design of a place tends to cause problems for people who want to participate in a regularly scheduled exercise program. So, in cases such as that, we also have an obligation to explore urban design alternatives.”
 
The Fourth Annual Conference on Health Disparities, scheduled to be held November 10-13, at the Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, is designed to attract a wide spectrum of attendees, including healthcare providers, churches, elected officials, business leaders, insurance companies, working professionals and neighborhood residents. Click here to learn more.
 

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