March 14 breakfast to address AIDS and its Spread in Minority Communities

As research increasingly points to disparities in health care delivery based on race, gender and ethnicity, the DePaul University College of Law has established the Center for the Study of Race and Bioethics (RABE) to help address the problem through scholarly research and the law. RABE will focus discussion on the AIDS crisis and its impact on people of color during a breakfast at 8 a.m. March 14 at the North Trust Bank, 50 S. LaSalle Street, 6th Floor. The seminar is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.

“Recent statistics from Chicago’s public health authorities suggest that people of color represent the fastest growing population of those affected by the HIV and AIDS crisis,” said Michele Goodwin, director of RABE, and an assistant professor of law at DePaul. Goodwin has done extensive research in the areas of law and medicine, bioethics, and the physical and behavioral aspects of health care.

“This seminar is designed to break the silence that is too often associated with the disease by bringing together clergy, policy makers, public health officials, activists, students and scholars to not only discuss the problem but to also explore ways to meet some of the needs and challenges that are defined by this epidemic,” said Goodwin.

Speakers will include Martin Gonzalez-Rojas, director of prevention for Latina and Gay Men at CALOR, A Division of Anixter Center, Serving People with Disabilities in Chicago's Latino community; Rob Garfalo, director of HIV Prevention, Children’s Memorial Hospital; Frank Oldham, director of AIDS/HIV funding, City of New York; Mark Ishaug, director of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago; and Lora Branch, director of Gay and Lesbian Health for the Chicago Department of Public Health. Cook County Circuit Court Judge Bernetta Bush will open the seminar.

AIDS in minority communities is only one difficult health care issue RABE will tackle. The center also will consider a broad range of topics including inadequate health care, organ transplantation, cultural competency among doctors, and the links between law and medicine as they relate to the physical and emotional health of minority populations.

The center currently is conducting surveys within communities of color that include African Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans. The studies will examine children’s perceptions of good health and their attitudes toward the health care system; adults’ experiences with the health care system and the perceived barriers preventing proper care; and adults’ attitudes about organ transplantation, both as potential donors and as recipients. African Americans also are participating in one-on-one, in-depth interviews to help researchers understand attitudes and behaviors about AIDS and organ transplantation.

According to Goodwin, the center’s work is critical because of current research that indicates minorities are not only disproportionately represented among those who receive substandard health care, but also are identified as the highest among those with aggravated health problems. And, even though lower socio-economic status is often correlated with poorer health care access and health outcomes, research shows that even minority Americans who are not economically disadvantaged often have inferior healthcare experiences when compared to those of non-minority Americans.

The center also will serve as a training ground for future health care attorneys, advocates and those in the medical profession who want to become versed in the links between race, gender and ethnicity and the delivery of legally sound medical care.

“We are positioned where law, medicine, the social services and humanities meet,” said Goodwin. “One of the center’s major goals will be to contribute to the shaping of public policy that will help eliminate barriers to health care for people of color.”

RABE will work closely with DePaul’s Health Law Institute, which Goodwin co-chairs and which is the nation’s first recognized ABA-approved program of its kind. The DePaul College of Law established the institute in 1984 and it has consistently ranked among the top 10 health law programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information about the March 14 seminar or to reserve a space, call Susan Alico at 312-362-6229.

Note to editors: Reporters wishing to cover the breakfast should contact Valerie Phillips at 312/362-5039 or 312/330-3155 (cell). Michele Goodwin can be reached at 312/362-8127.