Facing up to Disparities in Healthcare


Please note this event will take place across two afternoons: 7th June 13:30 - 17:40, 8th June 13:30 - 17:15

Despite advances in medicine gleaned during the past few decades, considerable disparities in health outcomes persist among ethnic minority populations around the world. This event will feature presentations from leading epidemiologists, sociologists, and geneticists that will be coupled with focused discussions on causes of health inequity and potential solutions. The programme will address:

scientific and social factors that contribute to biases within healthcare systems and result in unequal outcomes in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
exploration on how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated health disparities among BAME communities.
address how the genomics revolution and efforts to advance ‘personalised’ medicine may be increasing, rather than ameliorating, current disparities in healthcare.
A keynote from Professor Dorothy Roberts from the University of Pennsylvania will discuss conceptions of racial identity and their consequences in medicine.

This is a collaboration between the Centre for Personalised Medicine and Dr Jenny Douglas of the Open University, as part of her time as a Plumer Fellow at St Anne’s College, Oxford in Trinity Term, 2021.

Programme Monday 7 June

Session 1:
1.30 Introduction: Julia Hippisley-Cox
1.40 Kevin Fenton
2.05 Vittal Katikireddi
2.30 Clare Bambra
2.55 Jeremy Farrar
3.20-3.35 Discussion

Session 2:
3.50 Introduction: Jenny Douglas
4.00 Marion Knight
4.25 Jenny Douglas
4.50 Dawn Edge
5.15-5.40 Discussion

Programme Tuesday 8 June

Session 3:
1.30 Introduction
1.40 Eimear Kenny
2.05 Alicia Martin
2.30 Aime Lumaka
2.55 Keolu Fox
3.20-3.35 Discussion

Session 4:
4.00 Keynote lecture: Dorothy Roberts
4.45-5.15 Discussion