CHEEA’s Learning and Social Change Framework

The Center for Health Equity Education and Advocacy uses a learning and social change framework that grows out of several traditions and is organized into 3 domains. The first domain, understanding the problem of inequities in health and healthcare, draws on previous models including social medicine, social accountability and structural competency. This domain sees inequities in health and healthcare as arising primarily from historical and structural forces (institutional, economic and political) and illegitimately constructed social hierarchies, including racism. It regards these inequities as unjust and holds that in order to combat these inequities, healthcare professionals need to change institutional, economic and political structures and social hierarchies. The second domain, acting to combat health and healthcare inequities, draws on several models of social change including research-based health advocacy, community organizing and health activism. This domain sees involvement of communities affected by health and healthcare inequities as essential to achieving structural and social change. It recognizes the effectiveness of advocacy based on rigorous evidence and analysis and of community organizing practices and health activism in achieving this change. The third domain, pedagogical practice, draws on adult learning theory and strives to produce a non-hierarchical, respectful, supportive learning environment in which learners and teachers co-construct knowledge through examination of critical health equity questions, presentations of essential topic content, sharing of lived experiences and through experiential learning while doing advocacy project work.