Race, Racism, and Health Disparities in COVID-19

COVID-19 and Health Inequities Seminar Series

Tanjala Purnell

Dr. Tanjala Purnell is an epidemiologist and health services researcher with over a decade of research experience related to identifying and addressing patient/family, healthcare system, and community factors influencing health and healthcare disparities for adults with cardiovascular disease risk factors, including hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. She is an Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Disease and Clinical Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In her role as an Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute, Dr. Purnell co-leads the institute’s efforts to facilitate and recognize collaborations between communities, universities, healthcare delivery systems, government, and the private sector to build collective capacity for achieving health equity in Baltimore.

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has disproportionately affected communities of color, people living in poverty, and other marginalized groups. Speakers will explore how COVID-19 exposure risk, the quality of COVID-19-specific medical care, and social determinants of health contribute to disparate trends in COVID-19 infection and mortality seen in the United States. Speakers will be asked to comment on the major public health needs, such as data collection and studies performed, that are required to support a more equitable pandemic response.