Culture, race and health

Culture, Race and Health

The Culture, Race and Health Transdisciplinary Core addresses how culture and race/ethnicity impact health and overall well-being, in particular among the citizens of the Crater Health District experiencing disparities. The Crater Health District includes the cities and counties of Petersburg, Hopewell, Emporia, Prince George, Greensville, Surry, and Sussex, Virginia.

Developing interventions to prevent health disparities
Environmental and social factors, along with cultural beliefs and experiences, influence how health and illness are faced and how health services are accessed and received. This core engages in collaborative team science to understand the mechanisms underlying health disparities and also develop culturally informed interventions that are acceptable to community members and likely to reduce disparities.

Transdisciplinary core team

- Cecelia Valrie, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Sciences
- Valrie provides expertise in the areas of children’s health and developmental processes, with a special focus on Black children and children with a chronic illness. She co-chairs the core with Kliewer, which includes coordinating activities with team members, responding to iCubed requests and documentation and other administrative duties.
- Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn, Ph.D.
- Interim Director, Research Institute for Social Equity Director & Associate Professor, The Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
- Nakeina E. Douglas-Glenn, Ph.D., director and associate professor, provides leadership for the institute and its programs. She is a higher education academic and practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in organizational development, leadership development, public policy analysis, and racial equity. Douglas-Glenn has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors at VCU, including the President’s Outstanding Achievement Award and the Presidential Award for Community Multicultural Enrichment. In addition, she was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society.
- Wendy Kliewer, Ph.D.
- Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Sciences
- Kliewer provides expertise in the areas of family, and child and adolescent well-being. She co-chairs the core with Valrie, which includes coordinating activities with team members, responding to iCubed requests and documentation and other administrative duties.
- Faye Belgrave, Ph.D.
- Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Sciences; Director, Center for Cultural Experiences in Prevention; Associate Dean for Equity and Community Partnerships in the College of Humanities and Sciences
- Belgrave provides expertise with regard to cultural appropriateness of all research and programmatic activities; community partnership and engagement; and program evaluation.
- Kristina Hood, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Health Program, College of Humanities and Sciences
- Hood provides expertise in the areas of qualitative research methods, implementation science, and sexual health promotion among African American women.
- Chelsea Williams, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor, Developmental Psychology, Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Sciences
- Williams provides expertise in the areas of culturally-informed theories; quantitative methods; cultural processes within families; ethnic-racial identification and identity; and youths’ positive development and adjustment.
- Kelli Williams Gary, M.P.H., Ph.D., OTR/L
- Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, College of Health Professions
- Gary provides expertise in traumatic brain injury and other disabling conditions among racial and ethnic minorities using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
- Shu-Fang (Ann) Shih, Ph.D., MSc, MBA
- Assistant Professor, Department of Health Administration
- Shih provides expertise in the public health system and health care delivery; development, implementation, and evaluation of theory-based health promotion and health education programs; quantitative methods; mixed method design; and community-based participatory approaches.

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