HERSHEY, Pa. — With a mission to bridge the gap in health equity in rural communities, Penn State College of Medicine has launched the Center for Advancing Health Equity in Rural and Underserved Communities (CAHE-RUC). This novel, groundbreaking center is dedicated to studying, addressing and reducing health disparities affecting rural and underserved communities in Pennsylvania and beyond.
The center will initially focus on reducing cancer health disparities and improving health literacy and education in cardiovascular health, cancer and diabetes for minority, underserved and rural populations. In the long term, CAHE-RUC intends to expand patient-centered health research that is grounded in precision medicine and implementation science to address health disparities.
“Health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease experienced by populations that are historically and systematically disadvantaged,” said Dr. Karen Kim, dean of Penn State College of Medicine. “Our faculty, students, and staff across our departments, centers and institutes are committed to understanding mechanisms and innovative interventions to mitigate rural health disparities across the spectrum of basic, translational and clinical sciences to community-engaged research and inclusive policies.”
Like many states across the country, Pennsylvania is 70% rural, requiring a collective, multisector approach to improving the health of these vulnerable communities. The CAHE-RUC will leverage Penn State’s robust infrastructure and interdisciplinary research capacity, including the colleges, Commonwealth Campuses and the College of Medicine’s nationally recognized multidisciplinary institutes and centers focused on rural health. Additionally, the CAHE-RUC will collaborate with Penn State Health’s community health care and health equity teams to identify and address health disparities of local relevance.
The CAHE-RUC is an academic-community partnership between Penn State College of Medicine and the national non-profit community-based organization, Asian Health Coalition (AHC). The longstanding work of AHC will be instrumental in establishing the foundational model of the CAHE-RUC.
For more than 25 years, AHC has been committed to eliminating health disparities among rural and underserved communities. By utilizing a collaborative partnership approach with more than 45 different ethnic community-based organizations and academic institutions across the country, AHC has supported the development and implementation of culturally and linguistically appropriate health equity initiatives that span cancer and mental health disparities as well as a host of other chronic and infectious diseases.
"This is a pivotal moment for addressing health disparities among rural and underserved communities of Pennsylvania," said the inaugural director of CAHE-RUC, Fornessa T. Randal, associate professor of medicine and public health sciences, associate director of Research Excellence and Health Systems Engagement (OREHE) at the Penn State Cancer Institute, and executive director of AHC. "Through our multidisciplinary and multimethodological approaches, we are committed to achieving outcomes that benefit the whole person within broad communities. Our longstanding partnerships will expand the portfolio of Penn State’s well-established research programs, centers, and institutes to offer a blueprint for addressing health equity locally and nationally."
Enhancing health equity and promoting holistic public health approaches beyond geographic considerations has profound implications. Recognizing that health disparities are influenced by a range of social determinants, including socioeconomic status, education, social networks, and barriers to health access such as transportation and food insecurities, encourages the development of comprehensive solutions. By studying the complex interplay of health disparities, systemic change can be implemented in urban and rural settings based on need and location.
“Penn State College of Medicine remains dedicated to pioneering initiatives that have a lasting and positive impact on rural health,” said Kim. “The creation of the Center for Advancing Health Equity in Rural and Underserved Communities expands our ongoing commitment to fostering healthier and more equitable communities in Pennsylvania and beyond.”