We Are Public Health

Global Health is Women's Health

Dear UCI community,

Each year in early May, National Women’s Health Week (May 8-14, 2022) coincides with the winding down of April’s celebrations around World Health Day. Rather than shift our focus from one public health issue to the other, here at UCI Public Health, we recognize that the two are intertwined. Global health is women’s health.

Every day, women make extraordinary contributions to all aspects of society from science, business, and governance to education, parenting, and community engagement. Without proper health and well-being to support their full participation in these endeavors locally, nationally, and globally, our economies, communities, and families would collapse.

The way a society supports the health and well-being of women is often reflective of its overall public health infrastructure and healthcare system. The extent to which a nation, state, or society allows for women’s enjoyment of their full rights and freedoms can be a strong indicator of its commitment to achieving health equity across the board.

We can view global health through the same lens and assess the state of global health by looking at the ways in which women are disproportionately impacted by a wide range of public health issues. In fact, that is why the U.N. has largely focused on women and children’s issues over the last two decades.

COVID-19 serves as a particularly salient and timely example. We face an urgent need to fund and bolster global health initiatives aimed at protecting the health and well-being of millions across the globe against the catastrophic threats posed by the virus. To be successful, these efforts must recognize and mediate the disparities that women face. Throughout the pandemic, women – and particularly women of color – have been disproportionately affected by increased responsibilities in the U.S. and across the globe, often struggling to balance work, home schooling, child and elder care while simultaneously working to protect the health and welfare of their families and communities.

Nor can we forget about the gendered social and economic consequences of emerging infectious diseases caused by climate change. We already know that climate change accelerates the spread of disease by expanding the habitats of vectors like mosquitoes and ticks, and that outbreaks often occur in areas with existing gender disparities. When infectious diseases (e.g., Ebola, malaria, Zika, etc.) disrupt essential health services and strain public health resources, these disparities are exacerbated.

War-torn areas of conflict can affect the health of both the young, old, and not-yet-born, with women again bearing the greater burden of disease. We are seeing this now in Ukraine, where approximately 90% of those fleeing the country and 60% of those displaced are women. With this displacement often comes increased safety risks due to lack of supplies and resources to support basic human needs.

And finally, let us not forget the inequities in women’s health and well-being emerging in our own country. Stripping women of their most basic and intimate right – the ability to make decisions about their own bodies – will have devastating, long-lasting consequences for public health. The proposed overturning of Roe v. Wade will force millions of our nation’s most vulnerable women experiencing poverty, cut off to safe options for care. This issue represents a significant regression from all the progress we have made in women’s health and human rights over the past 50 years.

These are concerns that we should all care about. We need to allocate resources to global health and invest in a skilled workforce that recognizes the role gender inequity plays in exacerbating the burden of disease and disparities. Our dedicated students, faculty, and alumni are out in the field in all parts of the world addressing the needs of communities facing a range of disparities and public health challenges.

UCI Public Health is poised to respond to these complex challenges through its commitment to evidence-based, equity-driven action. By focusing on the social determinants of disease, like gender inequity, we are determined now more than ever to advocate for health equity in all that we do.

Language and discourse are important tools that when carefully chosen, describe the magnitude and scope of a topic. Throughout the academic literature and public policy, the term “food desert” is used to describe areas such as neighborhoods, zip codes, or census tracts, where there is a lack of accessible healthy food like fresh produce.

Unsurprisingly, low-income and racial/ethnic minority groups are more likely to live in a food desert and face barriers towards accessing healthy foods. Some scholars have offered other terms like “food swamps” to describe the density of unhealthy food available within the food desert or “food apartheid,” to acknowledge the high concentration of unhealthy food options in low-income and minority communities across the United States.

Ron Finley, the founder of the Ron Finley Project, calls these areas “food prisons.” I had not heard this term until I began working with Ron during my MPH Practicum experience, and as I’ve walked around the Crenshaw and West Adams neighborhoods, I am beginning to understand the barriers that prevent residents from accessing fresh produce and other nutritional foods.

In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we're proud to showcase the work of our AANHPI public health researchers and practitioners who have dedicated their careers to improving the lives of others, one community at a time. We also use this time to recognize the challenges that AANHPI community members face, including those experienced throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look to the future, let's continue to celebrate our diverse, mission-driven community members and acknowledge the ways we can promote racial equity in all that we do.

This month, UCI Public Health reaffirms its commitment to promoting mental health awareness and addressing disparities mental health on campus, in our local communities, and beyond. Learn more about the work being done at UCI Public Health through the highlights below.

CAMPUS RESOURCES

UCI offers a number of resources for students and employees struggling with mental health challenges. Help is readily available through any of the university-wide resources below.

UCI Student Health Center - Psychiatry & Mental Health Services (for students)
Confidential UCI Employee Assistance Program (for employees)
UCI Wellness, Health, and Counseling Services (for all)
UCI Counseling Center (for all)
UCI Campus Assault Resources & Education (CARE) (for all)
Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (for all)

The UCI Police Department at 949-824-5223 is available to take reports 24 hours a day. Please call 911 if there is an immediate threat to safety.

5/9/22: The Common Places BA.2 And Other Omicron Subvariants Are Spreading (Bernadette Boden-Albala and Andrew Noymer)

4/9/22: Money Smart, Kure It - Part 1 & Part 2 (Sora Park Tanjasiri)

Ephie Bakou
Department Administrator,
Population Health and Disease Prevention

Alexandra "Lexx" Demontano
Digital Communications Coordinator,
Marketing & Communications

Arturo Razo
Senior Academic Advisor,
Student Affairs

Michael Robert, EdD
Assistant Director,
Instructional Design and Support

All events are listed in Pacific Time (PT).

*Affiliated. The interdisciplinary nature of public health as a field is reflected in the work of our affiliated faculty, who draw expertise from other areas of study to support UCI Public Health's mission of promoting health equity while reducing the global burden of disease.