Members of the Department of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (DBIDS) participated in the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) Symposium, held on October 31 at the Hilton Birmingham Downtown at UAB.

The event aimed to address health literacy in support of October's Health Literacy Month, along with ways communities can work together to help build awareness towards educating and advancing health equity and social justice. 

DBIDS Chair James Cimino, M.D., and Chief Bioinformatics Officer Jake Chen, Ph.D. served as panelists for a discussion that centered on methods for improving health literacy through the use of artificial intelligence, while simultaneously achieving health equity throughout communities.

“When we talk about health literacy, I think of two pieces,” said Dr. Cimino. “The first piece is getting the right information for the person, and the other piece is making sure that the person who receives the information understands what they are getting.”

The CEI Symposium was able to implement multiple interactive sessions with keynote speakers and community partners, which provided the opportunity through networking opportunities to share resources and various insights on how to create better health outcomes throughout communities.

Keynote speakers for the symposium included: Ashley Wennerstrom, Ph.D (LSU Health Sciences Center), Catherine Haywood (Louisiana Community Health Outreach Network), and John B. Waits, MD, CPE, FAAFP (Cahaba Medical Care Foundation).