Health disparities science: NIH institute director reflects & looks ahead

For nearly 14 years, the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities (known as NIMHD) has been the focal point for National Institutes of Health funding and programs to promote research that identifies and tests ways to address inequities in health and health care across the United States. 

How NIMHD came to be, and what researchers should know about its current programs and goals, was the focus of the 2024 IHPI Director's Lecture, given by the institute's director Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.

In a "fireside chat" discussion with IHPI Director John Z. Ayanian, M.D., M.P.P., Pérez-Stable traced his own path to becoming NIMHD director, and the path that the institute had taken from its inception as an NIH office, to a center to its current state as an institute on par with other NIH institutes. 

He described the "pillars" of health disparities science, which he and colleagues also described in a recent JAMA Health Forum piece: race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. He noted that disability status, and social determinants of health including food, housing and transportation are increasingly being included.  

He called for IHPI members and other researchers to explore the funding available through NIMHD, the career development programs especially for those in the early stages of health disparities-focused careers, and the Diversity Supplements available to help any NIH-funded researcher diversify their research teams.