Arab Americans have recently become a federally recognized minority. In the past, the lack of recognition made it extremely challenging to collect data and conduct nationwide research on our community. To address this challenge, ACCESS established a one-of-a-kind scientific forum that has since served as a major platform for academic and public health leaders, health & mental health professionals as well as policymakers to share best practices as well as strategic solutions to improve health on a global scale and build research capacity. The unique and valuable experiences gained from this summit have led to many partnerships between our community and health systems, academic centers and national and international organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, United States Health and Human Services as well as the World Health Organization. Through the Health Summit, we aim to create a platform for discussion around issues such as health rights, public health research capacity building, and community engagement as it relates to health and mental health issues among immigrant populations.
The Arab Health Summit is the only convening of its kind that also preserves the research presented in the form of post-conference proceedings journals. Like any other ethnic minority, health in Arab Communities is culturally bound which makes it important to explore the association between culture and health. Research presented at past ACCESS Arab Health Summits has helped build a scientific link between health outcomes and cultural/social factors which continues to inform health programming and care strategies. This convening allows us to be able to access innovative research and evidence-based models which can help reduce the burden of chronic disease in immigrant and minority communities.
Additional information will be shared on our WHOVA website as we get closer to the event. Please visit www.accesscommunity.org/arabhealthsummit for more information.
More information and updates coming soon.