Week of RSCA: Mobilizing for Health and Social Justice: Research, Teaching and Practice

Published December 1, 2020

The College of Health and Human Services is pleased to announce our participation in the Week of Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity (RSCA) from April 5 - April 9, 2021.

Session: Social Justice

Social justice ideology requires students and faculty to uphold moral, legal, and humanistic principles. Teaching social justice demands action beyond classroom pedagogy. This session will focus on the opportunities and challenges of achieving social justice across the disciplines.

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Melawhy Garcia
Moderator: Dr. Melawhy Garcia

Director of the Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training

Melawhy Garcia is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) and the Director of the Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training. She has experience with multidisciplinary epidemiological and applied research through her work at the Center for Latino Community Health as well as SDSU’s Institute for Behavioral and Community Health and the South Bay Latino Research Center. 

Session: Health Equity

This session focuses on health equity through the lens of social determinants of health such as the social, political, economic, health systems, and cultural conditions in which people live and work and the structural drivers of these conditions.

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Dr. Laura D'Anna
Moderator: Dr. Laura D’Anna

Director of the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) 

Dr. Laura D’Anna is the director of the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) and an assistant professor in the Health Science Department at California State University, Long Beach. She has published in the areas of health equity and disparity, the relationships between social discrimination and health outcomes, substance use and sexual health risk, and HIV prevention. Since her appointment in 2016, D’Anna has brought over $4.71 million in direct research and research training funding to CSULB. 

Session: Health & Wellness I

This session focuses on aspects of becoming and maintaining health from a whole-person perspective, including physical and mental wellness.

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George Beneck

Moderator: George Beneck

Department Chair of Physical Therapy

Dr. George Beneck has 18 years of clinical practice experience in orthopedic physical therapy. As a professor within the Department of Physical Therapy, he serves a both the director and as an instructor of the orthopedic curriculum. His area of expertise is in the management of spine pain disorders. Dr. Beneck is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and the Research Chair of the Orthopaedic Section’s Imaging Special Interest Group. He is also an International Editorial Review Board member of Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.

Session: Aging

Never before has the global population included as many older adults as it does today. This session focuses on examining the broad spectrum of opportunities and challenges of the aging population and the role of students and faculty in advancing research and practice for healthy aging.

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Dr. Iveris Martinez
Moderator: Dr. Iveris Martinez

Director of the Center for Successful Aging 

Dr. Iveris Martinez is Archstone Foundation Endowed Chair in Gerontology and Director of the Center for Successful Aging at California State University, Long Beach.  She received a joint PhD in Anthropol­ogy and Population Health Sciences (with an emphasis in demography and aging) from the Johns Hopkins University. An applied anthropologist, she has been working in the fields of public health, medicine, and aging since 1997. Dr. Martinez has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Macarthur Foundation, and others for her research on social and cultural factors influencing health, with an emphasis in aging, Latinos, and minority populations. Her current interests include improving services for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s, as well as interprofessional efforts to create age-friendly communities. Dr. Martinez serves as Technical Advisor to the Los Angeles Aging and Community Health Alliance (LAACHA) and is co-founder of the Long Beach Aging Services Collaborative. She previously served as the Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Aging, Inc., the local area agency on aging for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties in Florida. 

Session V: Clinical Practice

This session focuses on research and training, including professional work in a variety of environments of patient care, across the disciplines.

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Belinda Daughrity
Moderator: Dr. Belinda Daughrity

Assistant Professor, Speech-Language Pathology

Belinda Daughrity, Ph.D., CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at CSULB. She completed her B.A. in English and Spanish at Spelman College. She earned her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology at NYU and her Ph.D. in Education with a specialization in Human Development and Psychology at UCLA. Her research interests include social skills and parent involvement in children with autism spectrum disorders, as well as barriers to early access to diagnosis and treatment of autism in communities of color. Additionally, she is interested in issues of cultural competence for speech-language pathologists.

Session: Health and Wellness II

This session focuses on aspects of becoming and maintaining health from a whole-person perspective, including physical and mental wellness.

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AJ Jadalla
Moderator: Dr. Ahlam (AJ) Jadalla 

Associate Professor, School of Nursing

Dr. Jadalla has 15 years of clinical experience in adult oncology. As a professor within the School of Nursing, she has taught in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels with focus on research and evidence-based practice. Her areas of expertise include the interplay of culture and health, evidence translation in clinical settings and evidence synthesis. Dr. Jadalla is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS)and Sigma Theta Tau International. She was inducted into the Western Institute of Nursing in 2019. She serves as an Academic member on the Kaiser Permanente Academy of Evidence-Based Practice and on the ONS’s Caregiver Strain evidence team. She reviews regularly for the Oncology Nursing Forum and has published widely.

Dates:

  • Session: Social Justice
    • Monday, April 5, 2021 - (2 pm - 3:30 pm)
  • Session: Health Equity
    • Tuesday, April 6, 2021 - (2 pm - 3:30 pm)
  • Session: Health & Wellness
    • Wednesday, April 7, 2021 - (3:30 pm - 5 pm)
  • Session: Aging
    • Thursday, April 8, 2021 - (2 pm - 3:30 pm)
  • Session: Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
    • Thursday, April 8, 2021 - (4 pm - 5:30 pm)
  • Session: Clinical Practice
    • Friday, April 9, 2021 - (2:30 pm - 4 pm)

Team Leads: 

  • Faculty Affairs and Research
    • Dr. Grace Reynolds-Fisher, Associate Dean
  •  CHHS Faculty Council 
    • Kellie Walters, Chair