Last month, Miaisha Mitchell, Qasimah Boston, and I spoke about HEAT at the Mayor’s Summit on Race, Culture, and Human Relations in Tallahassee. The theme of this year’s summit was “Moving Forward with Positive Change.” Our panel, which also included Dr. José Rodríguez (FSU College of Medicine) and Dr. Makeba Earst (Sunshine State Dental Association), addressed this theme with a focus on how collaboration between community residents and university researchers can generate positive change for equity in health.

The event reminded me of how challenging it is to shift the discussion about health from the doctor’s office and to the community. Many of us are used to thinking about health in terms of health care. Health care is undoubtedly important. But in terms of health equity, it is not the most important factor. The root causes of inequities in health are inequities in social and economic resources. It was exciting to discuss that idea at the Mayor’s summit, because many of the people who attended our panel work in local government in areas that impact public health — even if health isn’t part of their job description.

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