Dr. Baskin is a nationally-renowned health disparities researcher and professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. For nearly 20 years, she has led an extensive extramurally-funded research program focused on reducing health disparities in the Deep South among residents of both rural and urban communities and populations across the lifespan. Dr. Baskin’s work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and others.
Most of her research has focused on community-based participatory methods that link academic partners to community- and faith-based networks to better understand and address individual, family, and environmental factors associated with healthy eating, physical activity, obesity, and cancer prevention and control. Dr. Baskin brings this community mindset to her roles as the inaugural Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB.
Dr. Baskin has leveraged her research expertise in health disparities and clinical expertise in psychology and behavioral change in service to the Birmingham community and beyond. She chairs the Jefferson County Collaborative for Health Equity (JC-CHE). Formerly known as Jefferson County Place Matters, JC-CHE is dedicated to empowering leaders and communities to identify and address social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health and life opportunities. JC-CHE members represent academic researchers, public health practitioners, grassroots leaders, and members of Birmingham community- and faith-based organizations who seek to improve the conditions in which our neighbors live, work, and play to prevent or reduce the risk of chronic diseases/conditions and their associated costs. At the heart of the team is a commitment to improve social determinants of health by informing and building capacity of community leaders, facilitating community action planning and implementation, and illuminating public policy.
Under Dr. Baskin’s leadership, the team investigated and released a landmark report on the intersection of race, place and health on the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham (September 2013). The report revealed powerful inequities for race and ethnic groups that are linked to geography and socioeconomic status. This research and subsequent communications between the Birmingham City Council and Mayor’s Office of the previous administration, as well as multiple local community groups and organizations contributed to the identification of “health equity” as a leading priority during the county health departments community needs assessment process. This priority area was subsequently adopted by the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership (HAP), a collaboration of over 100 organizations in the metro area that are committed to improving the health of communities in our region.
Dr. Baskin chaired the Advancing Health Equity priority group for the HAP from 2015-2019 during which time the group developed a set of guiding principles for the application of health equity into clinical care, public health, transportation and safety, and mental health. Dr. Baskin now serves as elected chair of the HAP, which just released an expanded and updated version of the report which informs the efforts of the community partners who actively engaged in reducing and eliminating health disparities.
Dr. Baskin has also led the development and deployment of two critical community training programs for health equity. Her community health equity orientation has been presented to over 45 organizations and groups across the metro area to make the heart and business case for health equity. She also worked with a national organization (CommonHealth Action) to adapt a two-day training on equity, diversity and inclusion to address local needs; this curriculum is now co-branded with the JC-CHE. Dr. Baskin and members of her team have facilitated the training for over 125 participants in Birmingham, including senior leaders at the Jefferson County Department of Health and the United Way of Central Alabama.
