Join host Lauren Whiteman as she discusses achieving health equity through community empowerment with Dr. Ebonee Johnson, an expert in health equity research and the project director of PEER, a community-based organization focused on HIV and substance abuse prevention. In this episode, Dr. Johnson shares her insights on the importance of community engagement in healthcare, the challenges of health literacy, and the power of shifting power dynamics to empower communities.

00:00 - Introduction
01:18 - Dr. Johnson's background and research focus
03:35 - The importance of community engagement in healthcare
07:11 - Addressing health literacy challenges in healthcare
10:10 - Shifting power dynamics to empower communities
13:15 - The origin story and work of PEER
18:19 - Innovative outreach strategies during COVID-19
21:41 - The biggest takeaway: achieving health equity through community empowerment
23:06 - Conclusion and wrap-up.

About the host: Lauren Whiteman is a student at the University of Iowa, getting her bachelor's in health promotion. Lauren is part of a team supporting the My City My Health Conference in Iowa City. The conference aims to bring together the University of Iowa and the Iowa City corridor community to discuss health equity programs and collaborations. Interested individuals can register for the conference through www.mycity.health