Appendix D
Statement of Task
The Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities will form an ad hoc committee to plan and conduct a 1-day workshop that will include invited speakers and discussions. The committee will define the specific topics to be addressed, develop the agenda, select and invite speakers, and moderate discussions during the workshop. An individually authored summary of the presentations and discussions at the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.
The workshop will focus on the economic case for promoting health equity. Thriving businesses benefit from health equity values and goals. Additionally, the larger society benefits because of improved community health and the improved health of the local economy. The workshop will explore ways to enable a “first of its kind” dialogue that showcases the shared values and visions of health equity–promoting strategies of researchers, health equity experts, and business sectors. Showcasing the effect of health equity–promoting initiatives will help to build bridges across sectors in order to foster additional large-scale collaborative health equity efforts.
Three specific topics that lift up best practices will be highlighted at this workshop. These topics are
- Transforming communities so that they are healthier for all residents
- Improving individual employee health
- Workforce development
More specific questions to be considered include
- Why is engaging in health equity good for the economy?
- How can businesses and other organizations be key partners in promoting health equity?
- What are some examples from across business sectors of companies that demonstrate health equity promotion?
- How can businesses and other organizations engage with local communities to promote health equity?
- What are examples of nonemployee community engagement?
- Are there examples of companies investing in workforce development programs and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs for adolescents?
