OUR MISSION
The Center for Health Policy and Inequalities Research (CHPIR) is an instigator and facilitator of a broad range of health policy and health disparities research that addresses policy-relevant issues. Activities focus on population-based health research with marginalized groups and intervention and evaluation research.
The mission of the Center is to improve the health of individuals and communities, locally, nationally, and internationally, by addressing health inequities through interdisciplinary policy-relevant evaluative, population, and intervention-based research.
The Center, founded in 1981 as the Center for Health Policy Research and Education, was known for its evidence-based research and clinical care guidelines. It served in the unique position of bridging researchers from the Schools of Medicine and Arts and Sciences: a multi-disciplinary approach practiced throughout the Center’s history.
Kathryn Whetten, PhD, began directing the Center in 1993. The Center has had multiple Associate Directors across the years, with Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, PhD, assuming this role in 2024. From the beginning, Dr. Whetten intentionally created a substantive interdisciplinary home for faculty and research staff interested in understanding and addressing ways to optimize health-related quality of life for persons around the globe. The CHPIR faculty and research teams today continue to examine health disparities through interdisciplinary lenses, including epidemiology, population health, psychology, sociology, social work, and medicine.
OUR GOAL
The Center’s research has become increasingly global. The Center is focused on ensuring that global is local when dealing with health inequities. We do this through acknowledging health disparities in the United States and working with hard-to-reach and neglected populations in North Carolina and the US South. We also engage in reciprocal innovation, where people from two countries or geographic contexts co-create health solutions that benefit both communities.
The history of the Center demonstrates its commitment to the original vision of weaving health policy research, evaluation, and service to address communities impacted by health disparities. This grant-funded organization has remained steadfast in its mission – to the partners in the community, the students who are mentored, the populations and the programs served, and to informing decisions of policymakers.