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Urban Health Collaborative Awards Two New Working Group Proposals

February 3, 2025

The Urban Health Collaborative (UHC) at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health is pleased to award two proposals for collaborative working groups that will begin this spring.

The projects cover a range of topics and will engage in diverse interdisciplinary and scholarly activities while engaging faculty, trainees and partners to promote mental health equity and continue promoting health equity for sexual & gender minorities.

Pathways to Mental Health Equity (PHME): Culturally Relevant Digital and Community-Engaged Solutions for Black Youth and Young Adults

The PMHE Working Group brings together faculty researchers, students, community members, and stakeholders to co-create equitable mental health solutions for Black youth and young adults. In its first year, PMHE is addressing the mental health crisis among Black youth in Philadelphia through three main activities:

  • Advisory Group: Youth and community members will be invited to form advisory groups to guide PMHE’s activities, ensuring the group’s activities promote cultural relevance and align with the lived experiences of Black youth.
  • Digital Photovoice Project: Youth advisors (N ≥ 10) will use social media to share mental health experiences, particularly those involving racial discrimination, and to express their preferred forms of support, empowering youth as co-designers of solutions that best serve them and their needs.
  • Grant Development: Insights from the photovoice project will help adapt an existing mental health intervention, co-designed with youth and stakeholders, for an R34 grant proposal to the NIMH.

To maximize impact, it will pursue a broad dissemination strategy, including a high-impact publication and a stakeholder engagement panel, a photovoice exhibition, and multimedia resources, such as podcasts and infographics. PMHE will also utilize a dedicated website, social media account, and collaborate with the UHC to expand visibility and foster ongoing engagement.

Through all efforts, PMHE aims to combat racial health disparities by fostering trust and creating innovative, sustainable solutions, ultimately establishing best practices for promoting mental health equity and policy change to benefit traditionally excluded urban populations.

Led by Kofoworola D.A. Williams, PHD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Community Health and Prevention (CHP), Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health, and the Drexel FIRST Program.

The Queer Inclusion, Equity, Health, & Rights (QuIEHR) Working Group

The UHC is pleased to announce the award of renewal funding for the QuIEHR Working Group. It comprises Drexel community members and community partners engaging in research, education, practice, and advocacy related to public health, human rights, and social inclusion for sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations.

The working group brings faculty and students together to collaborate on shared interests, provide students with research and practice opportunities to promote health equity for SGM in the U.S. and globally, and promote professional development of future generations of researchers to support SGM communities.

The three pillars of QuIEHR’s work are:

  1. Research and Education about SGM Health
  2. Advocacy for SGM Rights, and
  3. Application of Public Health in Practice

The group will disseminate scholarly work through written and oral mechanisms, support and champion initiatives that promote SGM equality and well-being and connect students to experiential learning opportunities with QuIEHR-affiliated projects.

Led by Stephanie Hernandez, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Drexel FIRST Program.


To more about how the UHC promotes urban health research through working group awards and pilot funding visit Pilot and Working Group Funding.