Nathan Stinson, Jr.: Understanding Health Disparities: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

ECHO Discovery Summary

Understanding Health Disparities: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH of the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) gave a presentation on understanding health disparities among minorities and underserved populations.

Minority Health Research

Throughout his presentation, Dr. Stinson discussed the importance of minority health research in understanding why different minority populations experience specific health outcomes compared to non-minority populations. “Race and ethnic minorities share a social disadvantage based in part on being subjected to discrimination as a common theme,” he said. Dr. Stinson said that a disparity can be defined as a health outcome that is worse in these populations compared to a reference group.

Dr. Stinson discussed the social determinants of health that can lead to these disparities, such as age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability status, socioeconomic status, and more. These factors can affect how these populations can access housing, employment, economic opportunities, and health care. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stinson said racial and ethnic minority populations have been disproportionately affected and have had higher chances of becoming infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and experiencing economic hardships.

Research Needed to Reduce Health Disparities

To address health disparities among minority populations, there are many things that need to be done to manage the discrimination that leads to this inadequate health.

Dr. Stinson explained that it is important to recognize the value of maintaining health and educating groups on healthy habits, not just of health care itself. Additionally, he said that policy makers and public health officials  should shift health care models to include population health by measuring social determinants of health, create better access to healthy foods and safe places, provide community health resources, and recognize structural and interpersonal discrimination.

Speaker:

Dr. Nathan Stinson, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH

Division of Scientific Programs

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Nathan Stinson, Jr serves as the Director of the Division of Scientific Programs at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), NIH where he oversees the extramural scientific programs on minority health and health disparities.

He began his Federal career in Arizona as a medical officer with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps where he practiced family medicine at the Indian Health Service’s Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility on the Navajo reservation. After the Indian Health Service, Dr. Stinson served as Deputy Director, Division of Community and Migrant Health and as Director of the Division of Programs for Special Populations in the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 1999, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, HHS and Director of the HHS Office of Minority Health. During that tenure he served as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Secretary, HHS until his retirement as RADM in 2005. Prior to rejoining Federal service in 2007 at NIMHD, Dr. Stinson served as the President of the Health Literacy Foundation in Munster, IN and the Director of the Center for Optimal Health and professor of Family & Community Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Stinson received a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado, a M.A. degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Environmental Biology. He earned an M.D. degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1981 and an M.P.H. in Health Care Administration from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1990.

Dr. Stinson has received numerous honors including the Louis B. Stokes Leadership Award from the National Medical Association, the University of Colorado Silver and Gold Award for Excellence in Humanitarianism, Citizenship and Professionalism, and numerous NIH Director’s Awards. His awards from the U.S. Public Health Service include the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal, Outstanding Service Medal, Commendation Medal, Achievement Medal, and Crises Response Service Award.

Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 1 to 2pm ET