Research in health disparities spans multiple disciplines and embraces expertise based in every school at the University at Buffalo. The health inequity in our community results directly from the social determinants of health, which include underdeveloped neighborhoods, failing schools, high unemployment, low property values, poor access to public transportation, poor access to healthy food, lead contamination in homes, brownfields, and poor access to healthcare.
Multidisciplinary approaches will be required to develop innovative approaches to understand root causes of social determinants of health, and to design and test approaches to reduce health disparities.
It is estimated that improving healthcare will reduce health disparities by 10 to 20%. It is critical that research addresses the upstream factors that account for these disparities, in addition to factors related directly to health and healthcare. Examples of expertise that will be required and supported by the Institute include, but are not limited to: