Haitian Physician Receives William A. Hinton Award
Boston resident Michele David, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, an immigrant from Haiti, has received the 2010 William A. Hinton Award. David was selected by Public Health Commissioner Dr. John Auerbach to receive this award in recognition of her many years of activism, commitment to public health and tireless work to educate others in order that they may better understand, promote and support efforts to eliminate health inequities. David is an assistant professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, director of community health programs at Boston University Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and co-director of the Boston Medical Center Haitian Health Institute.
The award is named in honor of one of the first African-American graduates of Harvard Medical School who made tremendous contributions in the field of immunology. David is also the scheduled keynote speaker of the William A. Hinton Lecture, a collaboration between the Harvard School of Public Health and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health in observance of Black History Month. The lecture honors leaders who address challenges and improvements in health care within communities of color.
The Haitian Health Institute at Boston Medical Center (HHI at BMC) provides culturally and linguistically sensitive care for the Boston Haitian community. Under David’s direction, HHI physicians collaborate with other community organizations to provide informational health outreach though the Haitian media, to investigate barriers to health care and the means of removing those barriers, and to identity and promote strategies which encourage preventive physical and mental health.
David has focused her career on addressing issues of immigrant health and cross-cultural medicine. She has conducted research addressing health beliefs and their influence on patient views of the health care system, studying Hispanic, African American and Haitian populations. Her interests include a range of public health problems affecting communities of color. She has conducted educational campaigns on such diverse topics as respiratory illnesses, breast and cervical cancer, HIV disease, hypertension, nutrition, obesity and diabetes.
“This award comes at a time of great tragedy for me and my homeland,” said David. “I am honored to have been recognized for my work to help eliminate health inequities for people of color, however there is more which must be done.”
In 2006, David was one of four physicians chosen as a Physician Advocacy Fellow. She spent the next two years advocating for the elimination of health disparities in diverse populations while working with Health Care for All, a Boston organization that promotes the creation of a health-care system responsive to the needs of all people. In 2008, she received an Outstanding Leadership for the Associations of Haitian Physicians Abroad for her services to the organization.