To improve public health, Stanford and academic medical centers around the country conduct research to identify solutions to systematic and preventable inequities in medicine and health care. A selection of these projects - including research led by Abby King, PhD, professor of health research and policy and of medicine - have been highlighted in the 2014 Health Equity Research Snapshot developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
King and colleague Timothy Bickmore, PhD, with Northeastern University, are conducting ongoing research examining how virtual advisers can promote physical activity regardless of individuals' level of education or language. Findings published last August demonstrated how individuals who participated in an exercise program guided by the online coach had an eight-fold increase in walking compared with those who did not. In the above video, King explains how virtual advisers can be as effective as their human counter parts in promoting regular physical activity and can reach far larger groups of people in a more cost effective way.
In addition to King's video, the snapshot features six others produced by health-equity researchers and their teams that represent work on a wide array of health outcomes and populations. The AAMC initiative is intended to demonstrate how research at every stage - from basic discovery to community-based participatory research - can contribute to closing or narrowing gaps in heath and health care.
Previously: Help from a virtual friend goes a long way in boosting older adults’ physical activity
Video still in featured-entry box by Relational Agents Group, Northeastern University
