The Tale of Two Californias: “Averages Are No Consolation to Those Who Have Been Left Behind”

COVID-19 and Health Inequities Seminar Series

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, MAS is Professor and Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the Lee Goldman, MD Endowed Professor of Medicine. She is the inaugural Vice Dean for Population Health and Health Equity in the UCSF School of Medicine. Dr. Bibbins-Domingo co-founded the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital that generates actionable research to increase health equity and reduce health disparities in at-risk populations in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and nationally. She is one of the PIs of the UCSF Clinical and Translational Science Institute and leads the UCSF COVID Community Public Health Initiative.

Dr. Bibbins-Domingo is a general internist, cardiovascular disease epidemiologist, and a national leader in prevention and interventions to address health disparities. She is an NIH-funded researcher who uses observational studies, pragmatic trials, and simulation modeling to examine effective clinical, public health, and policy interventions aimed at prevention. She leads the UCSF Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model group that conducts simulation modeling, disease projections, and cost-effectiveness analyses related to cardiovascular disease in the US and in other national contexts.

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.