The Baobab Cultural Center will host a discussion concerning health disparities as part of its Community Dialogue series on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at 7:00 pm, at the Baobab, 728 University Ave.

The presentation, Health Disparities: How Hypertension and Other Diseases Disproportionately Affect the African American Population, will show data on the high rates of amputation in African Americans related to hypertension. Leading the discussion and presentation are Drs. Ian Wilson, MD, Radiologist, Strong Memorial Hospital, and Kevin Fiscella, Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry; Associate Director, Rochester Center to Improve Communication in Health Care; and HIV Clinical Coordinator, Westside Community Health Center.

Dr. Fiscella’s research has focused on racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in health and health care. He is currently conducting two Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) - sponsored R01 projects. One project examines the impact of HMOs on disparities in health care using national data. Another examines the impact of reporting biases on estimates of disparities in preventive care. Dr. Fiscella is also conducting research in minority women’s health. He authored the congressionally-mandated report, “Assessing Health Care Quality for Minority and Other Disparity Populations” for AHRQ in addition to reports for Physicians for Human Rights, The Harvard Civil Rights Project, and the National Quality Forum.

Dr. Ian Wilson graduated in 1999 at the University of Rochester with a Doctor of Medicine Degree. He is the head of Interventional Radiology at Highland Hospital. He is a member of the Society of Interventional Radiology and a member of the Radiological Society of North America. Dr. Wilson was recently recruited as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Imaging Sciences at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Wilson is a member of the Village Council of the Baobab Cultural Center.

Doors open at 6:30 PM; presentation begins at 7 PM. Open to the public; $5 donation requested but not required. For additional information please call The Baobab Cultural Center, 585 563-2145. To RSVP for this program please follow this link.