Community Health and Inequities (CHI) Lab
What is the CHI Lab?
The Community and Health Inequities (CHI) Lab at the University of Utah, led by Dr. David Curtis, explores health disparities through various research projects. These include studying preterm birth risks among Black mothers and examining the impact of neighborhood recreational spaces on obesity in Utah’s Wasatch Front.
Contact
The Community and Health Inequities Lab at the University of Utah is under the direction of Dr. David Curtis. Please email any questions to david.curtis@fcs.utah.edu.
Recruiting
The CHI Lab is currently recruiting a graduate research assistant for this project. Interested?
Projects
Preterm birth risk among Black mothers
The research project aims to reveal the social and structural determinants of preterm birth risk among black mothers by examining determinants that include systemic barriers to healthcare, residential segregation, economic inequities, and criminal justice factors.
Recreational spaces in the Wasatch Front and the obesity epidemic
The research project includes a large data collection effort of neighborhood recreational spaces within the four most populous counties in Utah; data is merged with geocoded administrative and health records from the Utah Population Database. A key project goal is to understand connections between access to quality recreational spaces and class-based disparities in weight-related health outcomes. Data are also being used to inform health interventions.