Sept. 21, 2006 – The Nursing Division of the University of the Virgin Islands will examine the role the Virgin Islands' diverse culture plays in health care gaps at an institute titled "Cultural Diversity and Health Disparities in the U.S. Virgin Islands: Challenges for the Health Care System." The two-day institute will be held on Oct. 5 and 6, at the Palms Court Harborview Hotel on St. Thomas.
Health disparities refer to the inequality of health care across racial and ethnic groups. The goals of the institute are to: identify the impact of demographic changes and culture diversification of the U.S. Virgin Islands population on territorial health care needs and outcomes; review the territorial health care system before and after 1960 population changes; and analyze variables that may assist policy makers and program specialists in designing interventions to address territorial health disparities that impact all U.S. Virgin Islands population sub-groups.
Day one of the institute opens with a keynote address by Dr. Thomas LaVeist, director of the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions. He teaches courses in minority health and public health policy at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Frank Mills, director of UVI's Eastern Caribbean Center, will present data relating to the diverse culture of the Virgin Islands, including immigration patterns since the 1960s. Panel discussions and lectures will follow on both days on diverse topics related to community-based health care, the impact of fast food on health, insulin resistance on Virgin Islanders and other issues. The institute will end with a town-hall-style open forum where attendees will be encouraged to ask questions.
Health care providers, school counselors, spiritual leaders and everyone concerned about health care in the Virgin Islands are invited to attend. The registration fee for the two-day institute is $20 and includes all materials, lunches and breaks. The registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 22. A late registration fee of $30 will be accepted until Sept. 29 or until the limited number of seats are filled.
This is the second annual institute sponsored by the UVI Caribbean Export Center for Research and Education in Health Disparities. The Center was established with a portion of a three-year, $1.1 million grant UVI received from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in September 2004. The grant funds came from the NIH's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
To register, or for more information, contact Export Center Program Coordinator Julia Hardwick at 693-1172 or jhardwi@uvi.edu.
