The University of South Alabama Center for Healthy Communities in collaboration with fourteen local and state partners is convening the first Regional Health Disparities Symposium on July 26, 2006 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the USA Mitchell Center .

The theme of the symposium is “Health Disparities on the Gulf Coast : Challenges and Opportunities” and will focus on the health disparity issues affecting Gulf Coast residents.

A variety of prominent, national, regional and local speakers will present their research on health issues affecting Gulf Coast residents. Others will discuss innovative approaches that have been employed to improve health outcomes. These include speakers from USA , Harvard University , the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Morehouse School of Medicine, the University of Alabama at Birmingham , the Alabama Department of Public Health, the National Center for Minority Health and Tulane University .

Topics to be addressed include Infant Mortality; Chronic Diseases; Health Literacy; Cancer; and Impact of Disasters on Health Disparities . These discussions will take place through a series of plenary and panel sessions. Each session will allow for interaction between speakers and symposium participants.

The targeted audiences for the symposium are health care professionals, health educators, public health administrators, community outreach members, academicians, students and others interested in addressing health disparity issues in the region. Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit for physicians and Continuing Education Units (CEU) for Nurses, Social Workers, and Counselors have been applied for.

Registration for the symposium is $25.00. Make checks payable to:

Health Disparities Symposium
The Center for Healthy Communities
University of South Alabama
307 University Blvd.
CSAB 104
Mobile, AL 36688

The registration fee will include lunch. The space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. The deadline for early registration is June 19, 2006. For more information please call (251) 471-7709, or visit our website at: http://www.southalabama.edu/healthycommunities/export/rhds/