Welcome to the Center for Health Equity

Founded in 2001, the Center for Health Equity, Inc. is dedicated to public service and participatory research that is community-based and focused on the elimination of disparities in health due to race, gender, age, socioeconomic status, or geography. With several community-based projects awarded since 2000 that address racial disparities in health access and health outcomes, the Center is committed to community programming and community empowerment, and works with community leaders in Gadsden in the development of effective strategies to address entrenched health problems.

Center projects focus on maternal and child health and chronic disease, particularly related to women’s health in the pre-interconceptional period. A companion federal grant focusing on infant mortality and health disparity was funded concurrently by the Office of Minority Health in 2001-05. In 2003, an NIH-funded contract with Florida A&M University was awarded to develop and provide in-depth evaluation of the peer Family Health Advocate model. The Center was awarded state funds two separate times to provide technical assistance and evaluation services to community based programs for Closing the Gap projects (52 projects statewide) and Chronic Disease Health Promotion and Education Projects (36 projects statewide). A Closing the Gap service grant, focused on reducing maternal risks through programming in nutrition and physical education in Gadsden, was also awarded.