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Ninez Ponce receives 2024 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award for trailblazing work in health and data equity

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The Director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research was honored by the CDC Foundation and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation.

“Without data equity, we will not achieve health equity.”

 

Whether leading the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, teaching graduate students at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, or speaking with lawmakers in Sacramento or Washington, D.C., Ninez A. Ponce, PhD, MPP, is widely esteemed for her decades-long dedication to turning this ideal into reality.

 

In her work, Ponce has helped ensure public health data collection goes beyond just including historically underrepresented communities; she has centered these communities to understand their unique needs and developed health programs and policies to address them. In recognition of this commitment, Ponce today received the 2024 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award from the CDC Foundation and the James F. and Sarah T. Fries Foundation.

 

“Helping make sure health policies live up to their promises and truly benefit everyone has been my life’s work. Receiving an honor like this wouldn’t have been possible without colleagues, mentors, and collaborators,” said Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) and holder of the Fred W. and Pamela K. Wasserman Chair in Health Policy and Management at the Fielding School. “As a professor at UCLA, being able to share my passion for this work with the next generation of health policy scholars is a humbling honor.”

 

The Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award was established in 1992 in memory of James and Sarah Fries’ late daughter, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and co-director of the Cancer Outreach Program, which uses behavioral and educational approaches to reduce cancer incidence. The $50,000 prize is awarded annually to an individual who has made substantial contributions to their area of health education.

 

“We’re thrilled to honor Ninez Ponce for her scholarship and policy advocacy for data equity and representativeness that has generated new and crucial understandings of racial and ethnic health disparities, particularly for Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations,” said Dr. Judy Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “The public health data infrastructure she and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research have built in California has provided comprehensive findings that have informed state and federal policy, and enabled communities to identify key health needs, tailor interventions, and advocate for resources to address health disparities.”

 

As one of the founders of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) nearly 25 years ago, Ponce helped pioneer ways to democratize data and put it into the hands of the public in ways that inform, educate, and result in grassroots-driven policy change. The center’s data and research have been cited in bills and cases on health care reform in California, the impact of the federal “public charge” rule, food assistance for undocumented immigrants, and much more.

 

“Working at a place like UCLA — a public research university largely funded by taxpayers — we have a responsibility to create knowledge and sharpen expertise that’s shared to benefit the public good,” Ponce said.

 

CHIS, led by Ponce, is the largest population-based state health survey in the nation and a leading source of credible and comprehensive data on the health and health care needs of California’s large and diverse population. CHIS is committed to making its data available to the public through free and accessible online tools and trainings.

 

Last year, users ran more than 107,000 queries in CHIS databases — AskCHIS™ and AskCHIS™ Neighborhood Edition — totaling more than 1.8 million queries since inception.

 

“It’s so gratifying to see how many organizations and people use California Health Interview Survey data,” Ponce said. “It’s a powerful reminder about how putting information into the hands of the public exemplifies what we set out to do in creating the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.”

 

An elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Ponce currently serves on the Data Disaggregation workgroup for the White House Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander Commission. She is also an associate editor for diversity, equity, and inclusion at JAMA Health Forum, on the editorial boards of Milbank Quarterly, Health Services Research and Health Affairs Scholar, and has served on the board of scientific counselors for the National Center for Health Statistics.

 

In 2021, Ponce served as a commissioner for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Transforming Public Health Data Initiative. In 2019, she and her team received the AcademyHealth Impact award for their contributions to population health measurement to inform public policies.

 

As a recognized leader in using data to advance health equity, in December the CHPR scaled its work nationally by launching the UCLA Data Equity Center. This initiative will team UCLA researchers and other experts in data science with organizations, scholars, and agencies across the country to help ensure that historically marginalized populations are more accurately represented in information used by government, business and philanthropy to make crucial decisions.

 

“In all of Dr. Ponce’s work, she brings a steady, calm, and inspiring voice to her education efforts, bringing along policymakers and program leaders to understand the distributional impacts of the choices they make and the importance of making the ‘invisible, visible’ by ensuring data disaggregation,” said Dr. Lisa Simpson, AcademyHealth president and CEO, who nominated Ponce for the Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award.

 

Ponce was presented with the 2024 Elizabeth Fries Health Education Award at today’s annual meeting of the Society for Public Health Education.

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Media Contact:
Mike Fricano
310-794-5553

About the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) is one of the nation’s leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health policy information for California. UCLA CHPR improves the public’s health through high quality, objective, and evidence-based research and data that informs effective policymaking. UCLA CHPR is the home of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and is part of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health​.

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Have you ever asked yourself: How do I express love?

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Love month goes beyond February. Yet, this can be the perfect time to start evaluating your expressions of love—not only to your family and friends, but to your community and the society at large. How does your love help make the world a more loving place to live in?

Here are some news that might stir inspiration in you.

Your ePahayagan editor,

Isabelle

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We have come a long way!

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In 2023, how do you want to transform yourself — and transform others in the process? What seed are you planting? It is the best time of the year to ask ourselves: What else do we want to see? 

We have curated a list of topics this week that will inspire you:

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Ask A Filipina

Mahiwagang Pinay

By the way,

Are you looking for a lasting Valentine's or anytime gift to motivate and inspire a young Filipina in your life? Or a Filipina woman returning to the global workplace?

FWN has a DISRUPT Leadership Book Series - 4 books published since 2014. "DISRUPT 4.0. Filipina Women: BEING" just got released. We think you should start with "DISRUPT: Filipina Women. Proud. Loud. Leading without a Doubt." - FWN’s first book on Filipina women's leadership stories to kickstart that ambitious and driven Filipina woman you know. Order one book (print or Kindle) or the entire series from Amazon!

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Filipina Women's Network is recruiting fellows for the cycle year 2019-2021. Fellowship begins in 2019 with the Fellow's selection to demonstrate desired skill sets in the administration and support of the 16th Filipina Leadership Global Summit in Paris, France on 28 October – 02 November 2019. If selected, travel to Summit venue in Paris could commence first week of October 2019. APPLY TODAY.

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