Developing a Community Health Training Program for Population Health Scholars

Multiple epidemics converge in the lived experiences of those at multiple intersecting minoritized social positions. People who identify as women experience gender-based violence, are vulnerable to HIV transmission, and face grave structural social inequities that contribute to poor health outcomes. In particular, minoritized women – BIPOC women, transgender (or trans) women, and BIPOC trans women (the intersectional interplay of minoritized sex, gender and race/ethnicity) – are at heightened vulnerability. Today’s contemporary social, legal, and cultural environment threatens the rights of women, especially minoritized women, in a milieu with a growing absence of protections for reproductive health, gender affirmative care, self- determination, and bodily autonomy. The systemic divestment of power away from women promotes a society whose structures are emboldened to perpetuate oppressive intersectional ideologies that make women more vulnerable to HIV transmission and poorer health outcomes. Disparities in HIV prevalence and care are especially high among trans women of color and cis women of color, creating a disparity within a disparity. Educational opportunities to advance gender and health justice research and practice are critical to end these multiple intersectional epidemics. Our proposed project includes several short courses designed to complement and enhance the training of a new generation of the public health workforce in diverse career stages to gain strong understanding and skills in methods to advance the intersection of HIV prevention and gender and health justice. Our focus will be on undergraduate students, MPH students, and community health workers. The proposed project will build on the intellectual capital and infrastructure of the world-class University of California Center for Gender and Health Justice.