The dual crises of COVID-19 and racial reckoning in the United States have challenged individuals and organizations alike to confront the history of structural racism that has perpetuated health inequities and racial disparities throughout the country for people of color.
Even before these crises converged, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) had begun carving a path to achieve racial equity in the Commonwealth by using racialized data—stratified data that acknowledges how people of certain races are impacted by systems of privilege and oppression—to inform policies and programs that can close these racial gaps in health.
The Activist Lab hosted epidemiologists from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Sarah Lederberg Stone (SPH’05, ‘14) and Christine Silva (CAS’11, SPH’13), to present the Racial Equity Data Road Map to the BU Research community. This collection of guiding questions, tools, and resources was developed to be used in eliminating structural racism by assisting programs in taking concrete steps to better identify, understand, and act to address racial inequities.
Speakers:
Sarah Lederberg Stone, Ph.D., MPH
Sarah Lederberg Stone earned her MPH in 2005 and her Ph.D. in Epidemiology in 2014 from the Boston University School of Public Health. After completing an Applied Epidemiology Fellowship through the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists in MCH in 2016, she joined the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, working in the Division of MCH Research and Analysis for the Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition. As a senior-level epidemiologist, Dr. Stone has a lead role in data collection, complex analysis, interpretation, and dissemination for the Massachusetts WIC Program (the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children), the Growth and Nutrition Program, and state breastfeeding initiatives, with an emphasis on using data to improve and promote racial equity in health.Christine Silva, MPH
Christine Silva received a B.A. from Boston University and an MPH from the Boston University School of Public Health and is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. She is an Epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and serves as the Director of the Massachusetts Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. Ms. Silva is responsible for all operational aspects of Massachusetts MIECHV including program operations, implementation, and adherence to federal grant and reporting requirements. She is charged with demonstrating program effectiveness and measuring the impact of services for statewide evidence-based home visiting models.
Event Recording:
Additional Resources:
- Racial Equity Data Road Map Infographic: https://www.mass.gov/doc/racial-equity-data-road-map-overview-pdf/download
- The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH)’s Racial Equity Strategic Pathway Implementation Team (RESPIT): Email RESPIT for additional information or questions: RESPIT@mass.gov