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NORC at the University Chicago
NORC experts use inclusive and equitable methods in investigating health disparities and social determinants of health to advance health equity.

The burden of disease and poor health are inequitably distributed based on race, ethnicity, culture, age, social orientation, gender identity, geography, religion, ability, and other characteristics. Social, economic, political, and environmental factors influence these differences in health outcomes. Understanding the root causes of health disparities is vital to creating more just and fair access to health for all. 

NORC has decades of experience studying health inequity. Our researchers are skilled in culturally responsive and equitable evaluation, gathering and summarizing reliable data and information on influences that contribute to health disparities and promising strategies to advance health equity. They excel at recruiting and surveying people who are medically underserved and those who are historically marginalized and minoritized.   

NORC is deeply committed to embedding diversity, racial equity, and inclusion in our work, including ensuring that teams are racially and culturally diverse, investigating and maintaining awareness of implicit bias, actively engaging community members as research partners, and developing research questions and data collection protocols that examine cultural contexts and power dynamics among groups.  

NORC has supported a variety of projects meant to promote equity and access across the health care landscape, including investigating awareness of racism, social justice, and equity for the Ad Council, integrating clinical and behavioral health care for Black men who have sex with men living with HIV for the Health Resources and Services Administration, advancing health equity within the American Cancer Society, and promoting a culture of health and health equity for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Together, NORC’s health departments and Center on Equity Research combine robust research and technical support capabilities and deep subject matter expertise to deliver innovative solutions to challenges in health research, health care, and health equity.

Health Equity Experts

Highlighted Projects

Reducing Health Disparities Through Quality Improvement

Helping to embed health equity into Medicare and Medicaid services

Client:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Office of Minority Health

Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy & Health Disparities Among Rural Farmworkers

Using Migrant and Seasonal Head Start infrastructure to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and document health disparities

Client:

W. K. Kellogg Foundation

Equitably Promoting a Hypertension Control Method

Determining if the Hypertension Management Program is effective in high-burden, low-resourced health care settings

Funder:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention

Community Health Toolkits for Rural America

Evidence-based approaches for building effective rural community health programs

Client:

Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration

Emerging Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes for People Aging with HIV

Helping HRSA evaluate strategies to improve the health of older adults with HIV

Client:

Health Resources and Services Administration

Framework for Advancing Health Equity in Medicaid

Helping states improve health care for diverse populations

Funder:

NORC at the University of Chicago

How Right Now / Qué Hacer Ahora

A communication initiative to increase people’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic

Client:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Foundation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Menthol Cigarettes & Social Justice Views

Understanding the perceptions of those targeted by marketing of flavored tobacco

Client:

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data Collection in Medicaid

Best practices in measuring race, ethnicity, and language of Medicaid beneficiaries by state

Funder:

NORC

HHS OMH Performance Improvement Management System

Identifying best and promising practices to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities

Client:

DHHS Office of Minority Health

Understanding Historically Marginalized & Minoritized Communities in the Forgotten Middle

A deep dive into disparities among middle-income older adults’ finances, housing, and health status

Client:

The SCAN Foundation

Understanding Health Equity Data Collection in Medicaid

How state Medicaid agencies and health plans are collecting data to advance health equity

Funder:

NORC

Appalachian Overdose Mapping Tool

An online tool enables sophisticated analysis of opioid crisis in Appalachia

Client:

Appalachian Regional Commission

ERASE Maternal Mortality Evaluation Plan Development

Planning for the evaluation of the U.S.’s primary source for review of pregnancy-associated deaths

Client:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Evaluation of the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network

Evaluation of multi-racial/ethnic and multi-sectoral network addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on priority populations

Client:

DHHS Office of Minority Health

Health Disparities in Employer-Sponsored Insurance

Forming a baseline understanding of the health status of employer-sponsored insurance enrollees

Client:

Morgan Health

Postpartum Emergency Care Materials Development & Testing

Applying communication science to develop, test, and promote resources supporting clinician readiness for pregnancy-related emergencies

Client:

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists

Project Catalog

Project Catalog

Project Catalog

Improving HIV Health Outcomes for Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

Evaluating clinical care and behavioral health support services for Black MSM with HIV

Funder:

Health Resources and Services Administration