Our research directly addresses health disparities leading one of Chicago's largest face-to-face health surveys across nine communities, our team of 70+ experts transforms local data into action. Our research directly addresses health disparities where they matter most
From diabetes prevention to breast health awareness, our evidence-based programs create lasting change in Chicago's West and South Side communities. Our community health workers bridge crucial gaps in healthcare access.
Through initiatives like our Fifty Cities Racial Disparities study and citywide collaboratives, we're shaping the future of urban health equity. Our findings inform policy and practice across major U.S. cities shaping the future of urban health disparities.
Since our inception, we have grown to encompass a diverse staff of approximately 60 epidemiologists, project managers,
research assistants, and community health workers, and we have become leaders in the development, implementation,
and evaluation of innovative approaches to improve population health – with a primary focus on communities facing
financial and social challenges.
As part of our health disparities research and work, we develop innovative community health interventions, deliver
community health worker training and consultation, and provide a broad scope of evaluation services. We work in
partnership with Chicago’s West and South Side communities to better understand the social factors underlying health
disparities and to collaboratively develop, implement, evaluate, and scale innovative solutions to enable all individuals to
thrive in health.
Currently funded initiatives focus on asthma, cancer navigation, screening and support, diabetes, and social
determinants of health. Race represents a major through-line in all our work; we have been examining racism as an
underlying root cause of social and health disparities since our establishment in 2000 and we continue to address
complex topics like violence and mortality inequities. Our founder, Dr. Steve Whitman, once said, “I cannot see how we
will make progress against racial disparities unless we reveal them and proclaim their destructiveness.”