NABJ to hold annual conference on Health Disparities

Conference will confront Health Disparities and Reporting on Health Care Reform to communities of color

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will hold its annual conference on Health Disparities, March 4-6, 2010 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. The conference will provide journalists the tools to effectively report on the impact of health, health policy and health care reform on communities of color. This annual conference has garnered the attention of headliners and newsmakers in the fight including former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and Phill Wilson, Founder of the Black AIDS Institute.

"With steadily high unemployment rates, epidemic levels of chronic disease, and disproportionately high rates of premature death in communities of color, journalists must take a deeper look at the future of health care reform and heath policies that impact their health and well-being," says NABJ President Kathy Y. Times. "Despite the changing landscape of news, journalists have a responsibility to cover these issues."

Conference Program Chair Andrea King Collier says, "Participants will leave with not only the latest information, but a whole host of experts to add to your 'go to list' for future stories."  Collier says that the content is designed to change and expand the way that journalists cover health. "We work hard to give journalists access to the thought leaders in the field in order to help them shape fully formed stories on these important topics."

"Unemployment, the environment, education, food and nutrition all have a direct effect on the health of our communities. These three days will not only inform, but show ways to cover these stories in new and exciting ways," Collier says.

Topics addressed at the conference include covering and understanding the social determinants of health, creative community solutions to health care access and prevention, updates on HIV/AIDS in the black community, mental health, food access and understanding studies and data. In addition, Saturday is career development day, dedicated to helping journalists figure out new opportunities to cover health in this changing environment.

The Barbara Jordan Conference Center is located at the Kaiser Family Foundation, 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The conference is open to all journalists and media professionals, including those who cover health, government and politics, education, business and finance.