HELEN News

GOOGLE AWARDS $1 MILLION GRANT TO THE SATCHER HEALTH LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE TO STUDY RACIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 

This partnership will enable the real-time COVID-19 collection and study of detailed demographic data about the communities of color that are being hit hardest by the pandemic.

Atlanta, GA - May 28, 2020 -- The COVID-19 outbreak is having a disproportionate impact on communities of color, raising urgent questions about why that’s happening -- and about what can be done to reduce risk and harm for people of color. A new $1 million grant from Google.org will help the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine answer those questions by collecting and analyzing detailed data that can get to the root causes of why communities of color have been so disproportionately harmed by COVID-19. 

The new partnership between Google.org and the Satcher Health Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine will also include a team of Google engineers and data scientists who will work full-time over the next six months to support the project. 

The ongoing research will build a database with a detailed breakdown of the virus’s impact by race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status and other critical factors. The data, in turn, will help policymakers better understand how to ensure those communities receive the targeted help that they need to close those racial gaps and ensure the communities receive the resources and support that they need to battle the virus. 

This project will map data on the trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the United States, including its territories, and better understand and address entrenched health inequities in disproportionately impacted communities.

“Never before in the midst of a pandemic have we been able to realize an equitable policy. In creating a comprehensive, interactive, public-facing COVID-19 Health Equity Map of the United States, this partnership goes beyond showing disparate impact of the virus,” said Daniel E. Dawes, J.D., the director of Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the principal investigator of this grant award. “By looking at the social and political determinants of COVID-19 outcomes, we can inform resource allocation and management, jurisdictions’ response and mitigation strategies, testing, contact tracing, and overall implications for health equity for vulnerable populations.” 

"Communities of color, specifically Black, Latinx, Native and Asian & Pacific Islander communities, have borne the brunt of the death toll for COVID-19, even as many people of color disproportionately serve our nation as essential workers,” said Jacqueline Fuller, the president of Google.org. “We are grateful to respond to this tragedy by investing a $1 million grant and a team of Google.org Fellows who will work full-time over the next six months to support the critical work the Morehouse School of Medicine is doing to map health equity across the country and to provide data-driven resources to jurisdictions seeking to incorporate health equity into their policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic." 

“Disaggregated data changed the fight for black maternal health by showing that black women are far more likely to die no matter income, education level or insurance status. Data shows the root causes of staggering disparities and allows us to advocate for what we really need to save lives” said Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, Senior Advisor for the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the We Must Count Coalition.