Health Inequalities and the Social Determinants of Health

By:  Dr. Carolyn Hart

Health outcomes, such as life expectancy, have increased greatly over the past century, largely due to advances in medical and scientific knowledge as well as improvements in social conditions. Despite these improvements, the concurrent increase in education for physicians and nurses, and the development of healthcare systems on a worldwide basis, a widening gap in health outcomes exists among different populations within the United States and globally. This talk will focus on the nature of health inequalities within the U.S. and globally.

Dr. Carolyn Hart received her Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Missouri–Kansas  City and maintains certification as a nursing educator. Her research interests include development of the Persistence Scale for Online Education (PSOE-N), an instrument to measure the ability of online nursing students to succeed. As an assistant professor at Wilson College, Dr. Hart serves as chair of the Division of Nursing and Health Sciences. Dr. Hart is a fellow of the Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy (NFLA) and the Emerging Education Administrators Institute and is currently a scholar in the Experienced Nurse faculty Leadership Academy. Dr. Hart has been the recipient of the Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI)/National League of Nursing Education Grant, the Edith Anderson Leadership Education Grant, and the Weidman Excellence in Nursing Award. She is currently serving as the STTI North America Region 9 Chapter Coordinator.