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Departments & Units Undergraduate Degrees Master's Degrees Doctoral Degrees Dual Degrees Certificates Online Graduate Programs Advising & Resources
Why UMD Public Health Prospective Undergraduate Students Graduate Admissions Non-Degree Seeking Students Tuition & Aid Request Information Visit SPH
Research Centers Laboratories, Projects and Programs Research Hubs Policy Reports Innovation AI for Public Health Public Health Research Day U21 Health Research Exchange (HREx) The SPH Happiness and Wellness Initiative Public Health Practice & Community Engagement
Faculty & Staff School Leadership Alumni Community
Career Exploration Mentorship Professional Development Internships Student Research Opportunities Student Organizations, Honor Societies and Honor Programs Advising & Academic Resources Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society Peace Corps Prep Program Fund Your Idea
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Dr. Angela, YiEn & Chidimma visit The Shop

Projects: Maryland Center for Health Equity

Home Research & Impact Research Centers Maryland Center for Health Equity Projects: Maryland Center for Health Equity

Our programs are designed to address the Healthy People 2030 definition of health disparities: “…a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage…” 

Whether through education, research or policy initiatives, we’re putting into action the knowledge and information we have gained about what causes health disparities and how to reduce and eliminate them. While some of our research programs focus on answering outstanding questions about why certain disparities exist, others incorporate what we already know into testable interventions designed to improve minority health.

Featured Projects

CommuniVax logo

Communivax

M-CHE is working with a research coalition funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to strengthen the community’s role and involvement in an equitable vaccination campaign. Our team is engaging diverse communities throughout Prince George’s County, Maryland and beyond to strengthen COVID-19 vaccine delivery and build trust in the vaccine. 

Learn more about the CommuniVax Initiative
The Barbershop Storybook Project

The Barbershop Storybook Project

The Barbershop Storybook Project series seeks to translate public health research into relatable storylines and champion principles of human-centered design

The Cutting Edge: All things health and wellness COVID-19 and Beyond

The Cutting Edge

Are you looking for real talk on current issues with Black experts? Look no further than The Cutting Edge Podcast, All Things Health and Wellness: COVID-19 and Beyond, hosted by Mayor Omar Neal and Dr. Stephen B. Thomas.

Find The Cutting Edge
A Black woman holding a COVID-19 air filter in front of a hair salon

Wellness Warriors

The HAIR Program has expanded to a national program through our Wellness Warriors. These shop owners are bringing health interventions to their local community to promote health.

Read more about Wellness Warriors
Summer Intern Students visit Black Barber shop as part of the Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR).

The Health Advocates In-Reach and Research Campaign (HAIR)

The primary aim of HAIR is to create an infrastructure to engage barbershops and beauty salons in Prince George’s County as culturally relevant portals for health education and delivery of public health and medical services in the community.

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Cut 4 Health logo with gold scissors

Cut 4 Health

The CommunitiesUnitedTogether (CUT4health) project will train barbers and stylists from Health Advocates In-Reach and Research (HAIR) to become lifestyle coaches specializing in behavior change

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All Projects

H.A.I.R. Founders posing in the Barbershop in masks

Maryland Barbers & Stylist United for Health

We are Maryland Barbers and Stylists United for Health. We have come together from Prince George’s County, Montgomery County and Baltimore City to protect ourselves, our clients, family and loved ones from ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic in our community.  

Learn about Maryland Barbers and Stylist United for Health
Health Equity Leadership Institute group from 2019 of School of Public Health

Health Equity Leadership Institute (HELI) 

This annual, intensive week-long “research boot camp” is offered by the Maryland Center for Health Equity and the Collaborative Center for Health Equity at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It aims to increase the number of minority investigators engaged in health disparities and health equity research.

Learn more about M-CHE’s educational initiatives
Three men at the barbershop, smiling at the camera. Two are African American, one White.

Changing Hearts and minds About Institutional Racism (CHAIR)

The CHAIR project is extending the reach and scalability of trusted Black barbers/stylists using human-centered design and innovative technology to catalyze community-driven collective action promoting health and racial equity.

Learn more about the CHAIR Project
Black female nurse standing up and giving COVID vaccine in the arm of a young Black man who is seated and wearing construction worker clothing.

COVID-19 Vaccines- Webinar Series

The Center for Health Equity has held several informative and informal webinars to address questions and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccines with community members and medical and public health experts.

Access the COVID-19 Vaccine webinar playlist
Mission of Mercy, dentist cleaning teeth at the University of Maryland

Mid-Maryland Mission of Mercy and Health Equity Festival: Free Adult Dental Clinic

MID-MD MOM is a free adult dental clinic with wraparound healthcare services, the next event will be held in 2022.

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Maryland Statehouse Aerial photo

Health in All Policies Workgroup

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Shots at the Shop: from Vaccine Hesitancy to Vaccine Confidence

Shots at the Shop

Shots at the Shop is a White House-backed effort from the University of Maryland’s Maryland Center for Health Equity, the Black Coalition Against COVID and the beauty and personal care brand SheaMoisture to recruit 1,000 Black-owned barbershop and hair salons nationwide to promote informed decision-making as a means to increase COVID-19 vaccinations. 

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University of Maryland | School of Public Health
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301-405-2438