Brian D. Smedley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brian Smedley
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| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (MA, PhD) |
| Known for | Health equity Racial disparities in health |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Health policy Psychology |
| Institutions | National Collaborative for Health Equity Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies |
| Thesis | Environmental Climate Perceptions, Psychosocial Stress, Social Supports, and Adaptational Outcomes among African-American College Students: A Test of a Social-Ecological Model (1992) |
Brian D. Smedley is a very important person who works to make sure everyone has a fair chance to be healthy. He helps lead an organization called the National Collaborative for Health Equity. This group tries to solve health problems that affect different communities unfairly.
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Who is Brian Smedley?
Brian D. Smedley is a leader in the field of health equity. This means he works to make sure everyone, no matter their background, has the same opportunities to be healthy. He is a co-founder and the executive director of the National Collaborative for Health Equity. This organization focuses on making health fair for all people.
What is Health Equity?
Imagine that some people have better access to doctors, healthy food, or safe places to play. This can make them healthier than others. Health equity is about fixing these differences. It means working to remove unfair obstacles to health. These obstacles can be things like poverty, discrimination, or lack of good schools.
Brian Smedley's Work and Organizations
Brian Smedley has spent his career working to improve health for everyone. He has held important roles in several organizations. Each role helped him push for better health policies.
Leading Health Initiatives
From 2008 to 2014, Brian Smedley was a vice president. He also directed the Health Policy Institute. This institute was part of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. This group works on issues important to African Americans. Before that, he helped start an organization called the Opportunity Agenda. He was also its research director. This group works on communication and policy.
Brian Smedley also worked at the Institute of Medicine. He was a senior program officer there. He also served as the Director for Public Interest Policy. This was at the American Psychological Association. These roles allowed him to influence health policy. He helped make sure that people's well-being was a top priority.
Education and Background
Brian Smedley studied at two major universities. He earned his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts (BA), from Harvard University. Later, he went to the University of California, Los Angeles. There, he earned both his Master of Arts (MA) and his Doctor of Psychology (PhD) degrees. His studies focused on how people's surroundings affect their health. He looked at how stress and support systems impact African-American college students. This research helped him understand health differences.
