A panel of experts, comprised of academics, policy makers, and health system stakeholders, including Bernadette Boden-Albala, MPH, DrPH, founding dean and professor of health, society, and behavior at UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, discussed the importance of social justice within healthcare.
The panel’s viewpoints were presented at a Section Session, sponsored by the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA), titled “Moving Towards Social Justice in Cardiovascular Health.”
Following the session, Boden-Albala and panelists co-authored a viewpoint article published in JAHA that describes the strategies that can be used to achieve social justice, such as creating more diverse healthcare teams and changing how clinicians and academics conduct cardiovascular disease-related (CVD) research.
In the article, social justice is defined as a fundamental value where everyone has the right to affordable healthcare, including access to health education and resources. Effectively addressing health disparities in CVD demands a comprehensive and multifaceted approach that prioritizes social justice, addresses social determinants of health, confronts bias, involves community, and promotes cultural competency.
Boden-Albala’s work exemplifies this principle, particularly in addressing CVD within families and disadvantaged communities. “We are working in disadvantaged communities, which is a big part of the impetus in trying to work with the whole family to achieve ideal heart health,” Boden-Albala, senior author, explains. Her research focuses on collaborating with community groups to tackle structural barriers—such as noise pollution, limited access to fresh produce, and lack of safe spaces—that negatively affect heart health. By involving families and communities, her approach echos the article’s recommendation for a comprehensive and multifaceted strategy.
We are working in disadvantaged communities, which is a big part of the impetus in trying to work with the whole family to achieve ideal heart health.”
– Dr. Bernadette Boden-Albala, Senior Author
The paper outlines key strategies for advancing social justice in research – which include enhancing clinical trial inclusion, fostering CVD disparity‐focused research, integrating multilevel interventions, cultivating institutional support, diversifying editorial boards, and establishing organizational justice.
Additional authors include corresponding author Carissa M. Baker-Smith, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University; Salina P. Waddy, Associate Director, CTSA Program Clinical Affairs, and Sara Hassani, Member, CTSA Program Clinical Affairs, at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; Mahasin S. Mujahid, Professor of Epidemiology at School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley; Tochi Okwuosa, Professor of Medicine at Rush University Medical Center; and Emmanuel Peprah, Associate Professor of Global and Environmental Health at School of Global Public Health at New York University.
