Integrated Health Disparities

Explore our health initiatives.

Working Together to Address Social and Structural Health Inequities

The Illinois Extension Integrate Health disparities Team provides leadership and resources in the crusade to address health inequities. Our resources and public engagements focus on the priority issues of health promotion and education, healthcare access, behavioral health, and community well-being.

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Abriendo Caminos

Extension’s Abriendo Caminos program helps Hispanic families and their communities to prevent childhood obesity through a series of workshops delivered in both English and Spanish. Abriendo Caminos is a 6-week program which offers 2-hour group workshops once a week on the topics of nutrition education, family wellness, and physical activity. Training to deliver this program can be requested online for your region.

Empowering Communities on a Healthier Journey

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HEALER

The HEALER© training (Humility, Empathy, Awareness, Leverage, Empower, Reflect) is a 1.5-hour cultural humility workshop for professionals that work with diverse populations. Although cultural humility is a lifelong learning process, this training is intended for those who would like to become more aware of their implicit biases and begin conversations on how to better connect with others of diverse backgrounds. Training to deliver this program can be requested in-person or online for your region.

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HEROES

The Health Equity Resource and Outreach Extension Supporters (HEROES) programs aim to empower people in the community regardless of prior education level to learn more about how to improve their own health and the health of those around them. At the end of the 16-class program participants receive a certificate of completion and are named community health workers once they help disseminate this information to 10 additional families in their community. This online program can be requested for adaptation for your region.

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Nurturing Foundations

The 1,000 days between pregnancy and a child's second birthday offer a unique opportunity to support better health outcomes for both mother and baby. The free, online program provides evidence-based information to raise awareness of existing disparities in maternal health and help parents and healthcare professionals reach informed decisions in a critical period of the lifecycle. This series is presented by the University of Illinois Extension’s Integrated Health Disparities team in collaboration with Carle Illinois College of Medicine and Avicenna.

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Mission and Vision

Our Vision: We strive to make health possible for all individuals, regardless of their age, ethnicity, cultural identity, gender, ability, or socioeconomic background. We aim to address the structural and social determinants of health that contribute to inequities in health outcomes. Through our work we envision a healthier, more equitable future for communities across Illinois.

Our Mission: To decrease disparities in mental and physical health conditions affecting vulnerable, marginalized populations.