Civic Learning, Dialogue, and Connection
to Advance Health Equity: A Deliberative Approach
If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught America anything, it is that there is no consensus about our individual or collective obligations to protect and promote human health. With overall U.S. life expectancy in decline and race- and class-based disparities entrenched and growing, a new project at the Center asks, “Can people from all walks of life learn and talk together with mutual respect and concern about what, if anything, we should do to address America’s most pressing health challenges?”
Using the tools of deliberative democracy and population health science, this project is in the first stages of building a circuit of civic learning, dialogue, and connection about population health challenges in Missouri and Kansas. Democratic deliberation convenes diverse members of the public to learn about, discuss, and weigh in on shared challenges in search of solutions (1,2,3). Over the last three decades, deliberative methods have been used in the U.S. and around the globe to gather well-informed, carefully considered public input on ethically complex questions.
The project is founded on the belief that under good deliberative conditions people with varied identities and interests can learn and talk together and find shared purpose.
The Center’s John B. Francis Chair, Erika Blacksher, PhD, leads this project with a superb research team and advisory committee comprised of local, regional, and national experts in deliberative democracy, population health science, and health and social justice. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has funded the first phase of this project. Since Fall 2020, these experts have been working to create a democratic deliberative toolkit that will be used in subsequent years to convene racially, socioeconomically, and geographically diverse Kansans and Missourians to learn and talk together about our most pressing population health challenges.
¹ Burkhalter S, Gastil J, and Kelshaw T. 2002. “A conceptual definition and theoretical model of public deliberation in small face-to-face groups.” Communication Theory 12(4):398-422.
² Chambers S. 2003. “Deliberative democratic theory.” Annual Review of Political Science 6(1):307-326.
³ Blacksher E, Diebel A, Forest PG, Goold SD, and Abelson J. 2012. “What is public deliberation?” Hastings Center Report 42 (2):14-16.
The Research Team
Marion Danis, MD
HEAD, SECTION ON ETHICS AND HEALTH POLICY; CHIEF, BIOETHICS CONSULTATION SERVICE
NIH CLINICAL CENTER
The Expert Advisory Committee
John Gastil, PhD
PROFESSOR
COMMUNICATION ARTS & SCIENCES AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, SENIOR SCHOLAR AT THE MCCOURTNEY INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY
PENN STATE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
Marthe Gold, MD, MPH
PROFESSOR EMERITUS,FORMER CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SOCIAL MEDICINE
THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK
Hedwig Lee, PhD
CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF RACE, ETHNICITY & EQUITY PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY DIRECTOR, UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY FACULTY FELLOW
UMRATH & ZETCHER RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE WASHIGTON UNIVERSITY
IN ST. LOUIS
Bobby Saunkeah, RN, MSHCE, CIP
DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH; CHAIR, INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
CHICKASAW NATION DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Lancer Stephens, PhD
ASSOCIATE DEAN/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, HUDSON COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Sean A. Valles, PhD
DIRECTOR AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
CENTER FOR BIOETHICS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE,
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Take a look at what's new
A Philosopher Who Does Bioethics
June 20, 2022New careers often emerge from new technology. Clinical ethics is one of them. Clinical ethicists assist health professio ...
Hundreds Connect with Voices of the Unheard
May 25, 2022Art of the Wish: Hundreds Connect with Voices of the Unheard .image-placeholder > .custom-preloader-image { ...
CEO John Carney Honored by Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care Association
May 24, 2022CEO John Carney Honored by Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care Association Missouri Hospice & Palliative ...
Targeting the Uneven Burden of Kidney Disease on Black Americans
May 19, 2022Targeting the Uneven Burden of Kidney Disease on Black Americans Erika Blacksher Quoted in The New York Times Ar ...
Payne Palliative Care Leadership Award Recipient Announced
May 18, 2022Inaugural Dr. Richard Payne Palliative Care Leadership Award Recipient Announced The Hastings Center, in collab ...
Art of the Wish on Fox 4 News in Kansas City
May 4, 2022Art of the Wish on Fox 4 News in Kansas City Art of the Wish on the Fox 4 Morning News in Kansas City Fox 4 N ...
Exhibit and Fundraiser at Leedy Voulkos Art Center: “Art of the Wish”
May 4, 2022Exhibit and Fundraiser at Leedy Voulkos Art Center: “Art of the Wish” “Exhibit and Fundraiser at Leedy ...
Art Exhibit Supporting the Center Celebrates Wishes of Older Adults
April 29, 2022Art Exhibit Supporting the Center Celebrates Wishes of Older Adults “Art Exhibit Supporting the Center for ...
Exhibit Celebrating the Wishes of Elders Evokes Strong Emotions
March 15, 2022Exhibit Celebrating the Wishes of Elders Evokes Strong Emotions If you’ve lived in or around Kansas City lon ...
Pathways to Health Equity through Civic Engagement
March 9, 2022Pathways to Health Equity through Civic Engagement The Center’s John B. Francis Chair, Erika Blackshe ...
Equitable Treatment and Care: Ethical AI Initiative Poised to Test Recommendations
March 9, 2022Equitable Treatment and Care: Ethical AI Initiative Poised to Test Recommendations There is broad agreement ...
Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2022
March 9, 2022Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2022 Read about our 2022 annual event, Art of the Wish; updates on the Ethic ...
Center for Practical Bioethics What Would Be Your Wish for Our World?
March 4, 2022Magazine Article: Center for Practical Bioethics What Would Be Your Wish for Our World? March 1, 2022 Featur ...
Mentoring Medical Students for Research in the Medical Humanities
March 4, 2022MENTORING MEDICAL STUDENTS FOR RESEARCH IN THE MEDICAL HUMANITIES The Clendening-King Summer Research Fellowship The Cl ...
2022 Vision to Action Award
February 21, 2022Brian Carter, MDVision to Action Award Goes to Pioneer in Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Ethics When Brian Ca ...
In Times Like These
February 18, 2022In Times Like These . . . What Should Bioethicists Do?By Tarris (Terry) Rosell, PhD, DMin Rosemary Flanigan Chair at the ...
Art exhibit celebrates wishes of older adults
February 10, 2022The Center for Practical Bioethics, a Kansas City-based nonprofit recognized for its work in practical bioethics through ...
Our CEO quoted in news article: Man denied heart transplant because he won’t get vaccinated against COVID
January 26, 2022Man denied heart transplant because he won’t get vaccinated against COVID January 25, 2022 Featuring John ...
Becoming a Living Organ Donor
December 9, 2021Becoming a Living Organ DonorA Path to Recovery and Meaning The first step in determining Lindsey Jarrett’s el ...
IN MEMORY of Sarah (Liza) Rowland Townsend, JD, MSW
December 2, 2021Sarah Rowland Townsend, a member of our Board of Directors and an extraordinary human being, died at her home i ...
Covid Outbreaks Devastated Prisons, but State Inmates’ Access to the Vaccine Varies Widely
October 28, 2021Covid Outbreaks Devastated Prisons, but State Inmates’ Access to the Vaccine Varies Widely March 17, 2021 F ...
US experts tackle ethical dilemmas posed by the vaccine rollout
October 28, 2021US experts tackle ethical dilemmas posed by the vaccine rollout March 15, 2021 Featuring Terry Rosell, PhD Al ...
Meatpacking plant workers prioritized for vaccines
October 28, 2021Meatpacking plant workers prioritized for vaccines March 4, 2021 Featuring John Carney, CEO, and Terry Rosell ...
Cerner is helping create ‘COVID-19 passports.’ Will they be a reverse scarlet letter?
October 28, 2021Cerner is helping create ‘COVID-19 passports.’ Will they be a reverse scarlet letter? February 28, 2021 F ...
Computer error blamed for people getting COVID-19 vaccine before they’re supposed to
October 28, 2021Computer error blamed for people getting COVID-19 vaccine before they’re supposed to Featuring Terry Rosell, ...
The Coronavirus Is Pushing More People To Ponder If They’re Ready For Death
October 28, 2021The Coronavirus Is Pushing More People To Ponder If They’re Ready For Death August 24, 2020 Featuring J ...
The Center for Practical Bioethics helps guide families and doctors during the pandemic
October 28, 2021The Center for Practical Bioethics is helping guide families and doctors during the pandemic August 18, 2020 ...
Our Inability to Hear and Breathe Freely – A message from Our Board and Staff
October 28, 2021Our Inability to Hear and Breathe Freely – A message from Our Board and Staff June 5, 2020 ...
Erika Blacksher, PhD, Named Fourth John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics
October 28, 2021Erika Blacksher, PhD, Named Fourth John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics The Center for Practical Bioethics in K ...
Sunflower Foundation awards $200,000 grant to better understand elder abuse in Kansas
October 28, 2021Sunflower Foundation awards $200,000 grant to better understand elder abuse in Kansas The Sunflower Foundatio ...
Lifetime Achievement in Bioethics
October 28, 2021Lifetime Achievement in Bioethics Center for Practical Bioethics Founding Executive Myra Christopher Honor ...
Former DHHS Assistant Secretary Joins the Center Staff
October 28, 2021Former DHHS Assistant Secretary Joins the Center Staff A major boost to its three-decade commitment to ...
Rosemary Flanigan Named to Starr Women’s Hall of Fame
October 28, 2021Rosemary Flanigan Named to Starr Women’s Hall of Fame The Center is honored that Rosemary Flanigan, PhD, as ...
KCP&L Offers New Employee Benefit
October 28, 2021KCP&L Offers New Employee Benefit Now, a group of KCP&L employees have somewhere to turn for consulta ...
Kansas Citians with Chronic Pain Take Their Plight Public
October 28, 2021Kansas Citians with Chronic Pain Take Their Plight Public “We don’t call them sufferers. We don’t ...
CHRONIC PAIN: National Groups Call on HHS to Release the National Pain Strategy Report and Endorse Four Core Messages
October 28, 2021CHRONIC PAIN: National Groups Call on HHS to Release the National Pain Strategy Report and Endorse Four Core Me ...
Death and dying: An emerging conversation
October 28, 2021Death and dying: An emerging conversation Experts at KU Med Center and Center for Practical Bioethics am ...
Death and dying: Expanding palliative care
October 28, 2021Death and dying: Expanding palliative care KU Hospital, Topeka nonprofit lead efforts to promote patient ...
Expert hails Medicare proposal to reimburse end-of-life counseling
October 28, 2021Expert hails Medicare proposal to reimburse end-of-life counseling KU palliative care doctor says plan r ...
Death and dying: Advocates seek state laws
October 28, 2021Death and dying: Advocates seek state laws Debate of ‘death with dignity’ legislation spreads across ...
Truly the Best Business of the Year Award
October 28, 2021Truly the Best Business of the Year Award MetroCare wins the Lee’s Summit Chamber’s non-prof ...
Attorney General Supports Center’s Position on TPOPP
October 28, 2021Attorney General Supports Center’s Position on TPOPP On January 13, 2015, the Kansas Attorney General (AG) pr ...
Brittany Maynard’s Choice to End Her Life Raises Profound Questions
October 28, 2021Brittany Maynard’s Choice to End Her Life Raises Profound Questions John Carney, President & CEO of the C ...
5 Things to Know About Death and Dying Debates
October 28, 20215 Things to Know About Death and Dying Debates Cathy Lynn Grossman, senior national correspondent for Religion ...
Myra Christopher Named to Starr Hall of Fame
October 28, 2021Myra Christopher Named to Starr Hall of Fame Myra Christopher, the Center’s founding director and current Kat ...
You see a man in a kilt. You don’t see his searing pain.
October 28, 2021You see a man in a kilt. You don’t see his searing pain. Ken agreed to share his story not merely to explai ...
Current Issues in Bioethics Lecture Series
October 28, 2021Current Issues in Bioethics Lecture Series Co-Sponsored by the Center and Kansas City University of Medicine ...
Nancy Cruzan’s Legacy: Open Talk About Death With Dignity
October 28, 2021Nancy Cruzan’s Legacy: Open Talk About Death With Dignity Removal of her feeding tube 25 years ago end ...
40% of Cancer Patients Didn’t Discuss Preferences
October 28, 202140% of Cancer Patients Didn’t Discuss Preferences “Patients want their providers asking about their ...
Will a ‘vaccine passport’ be required to travel? As idea grows, travelers have mixed reactions
October 27, 2021Will a ‘vaccine passport’ be required to travel? As idea grows, travelers have mixed reactions March 30, 20 ...
Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2021
October 21, 2021Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2021 The pandemic brought America face-to-face with the impacts of disparities ...
Should Doctors Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated People?
August 23, 2021ETHICISTS DEBATE Should Doctors Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated People? A story appeared on August 17 in the Alabama News w ...
Should Doctors Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated People?
August 23, 2021ETHICISTS DEBATE Should Doctors Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated People? A story appeared on August 17 in the Alaba ...
Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2021
March 27, 2021Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2021 The coronavirus pandemic has informed our collective conscience about w ...
Eight Principles and Practices for Ethical Vaccine Distribution: A Proposal
March 9, 2021Eight Principles and Practices for Ethical Vaccine Distribution: A Proposal The COVID-19, once-in-a-century, pandemic ha ...
The Truth of COVID-19: An Ethicist Reflects on His Experience
December 19, 2020The Truth of COVID-19: An Ethicist Reflects on His Experience I have been honored and privileged to serve the Kansas Ci ...
Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2020
October 27, 2020Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2020 From the mid-1980s when ventilators came into common use, the Center for ...
Medical Bankruptcy, Personal Luck and A National Sin
September 16, 2020Medical Bankruptcy, Personal Luck and A National Sin I was raised on a farm up in Minnesota by Fundamentalist Depressi ...
Support Missouri Medicaid Expansion
June 29, 2020Support Missouri Medicaid Expansion Register by July 8 to Cast Your Vote on August 4 Ballot On Tuesday, August 4th, vo ...
National Healthcare Decisions Day 2.0
June 24, 2020National Healthcare Decisions Day 2.0 In the future, those of us who survive 2020 will use words like “scary,” and ...
Ethics Consultation in COVID Times
June 17, 2020Ethics Consultation in COVID Times Q: What happens to clinical ethics consultation in a pandemic? A: Ethics consult ...
Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2020
March 27, 2020Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2020 People don’t like to talk about politics, religion or money. To that ...
Advance Care Planning
March 16, 2020Advance Care Planning Deciding How You Want to Live in the Time of COVID19 People don’t like to talk about politics, r ...
A Family’s Journey to Peace of Mind
March 15, 2020A Family’s Journey to Peace of Mind Jama’s mom had been living in a long-term acute care facility on dialysis and a ...
Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2019
October 27, 2019Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2019 A 52-year old African American woman with chronic obstructive pulmonary d ...
Ethical Issues in OB/GYN Inspire Board Service
September 23, 2019Ethical Issues in OB/GYN Inspire Board Service My first exposure to the Center for Practical Bioethics was as a guest at ...
Advance Care Planning and the Legacy of Dr. Richard Payne
September 5, 2019Advance Care Planning and the Legacy of Dr. Richard Payne The African American Advance Care Planning Palliative Care Net ...
Walking Humbly with a Sacred Mission
August 15, 2019Walking Humbly with a Sacred Mission When our colleague and mentor, Dr. Richard Payne, died suddenly in January 2019 fo ...
Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2019
March 27, 2019Bioethics Newsletter Winter-Spring 2019 Celebrating our 35th anniversary. View the Newsletter ...
Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2018
October 27, 2018Bioethics Newsletter Summer-Fall 2018 Let’s go to the movies! Bioethics film series. View the Newsl ...
Film Series: Frankenstein Asks Us to Ponder What Is Monstrous
October 16, 2018Film Series: Frankenstein Asks Us to Ponder What Is Monstrous This year marks the 200th anniversary of the publication ...
Film Series: Watching Big Fish Next to My Mother in the Hospital
October 9, 2018Film Series: Watching Big Fish Next to My Mother in the Hospital Now, this is an interesting coincidence, as I was wa ...
Gattaca Continues to Spark Pertinent Bioethics Discussions
October 3, 2018Gattaca Continues to Spark Pertinent Bioethics Discussions It’s October and the Center for Practical Bioethics is abou ...
Fostering Civil Discourse – and Humor – in a Partisan Era
January 18, 2018Fostering Civil Discourse – and Humor – in a Partisan Era Fifteen years ago in the aftermath of 9/11, I was ...
Ethics, Morality and Genomic Science: Can We Play God the Way God Plays God?
December 11, 2017Ethics, Morality and Genomic Science: Can We Play God the Way God Plays God? The wisdom of humans tinkering with nature ...
Gun Violence: Prevention by Paying Attention
October 12, 2017Gun Violence: Prevention by Paying Attention In a time of heightened anxiety about gun ownership and gun violence, the t ...
Lifetime Achievement in Bioethics
September 6, 2017Lifetime Achievement in Bioethics Center for Practical Bioethics Founding Executive Myra Christopher Honored by America ...
Whatever Happened to Long-Term Care Reform?
August 4, 2017Whatever Happened to Long-Term Care Reform? From the Trenches: A Prescription for Change I have enjoyed looking at th ...
The Americans with Disabilities Act: Before and After the Fall
July 26, 2017The Americans with Disabilities Act: Before and After the Fall For the past many years, I have publicly and privately ...
Charlie Gard, Baby Doe and the Wisdom of Bill Bartholome
July 24, 2017The family of Charlie Gard. Charlie Gard, Baby Doe and the Wisdom of Bill Bartholome These difficult and highly emotiona ...
Personalized Medicine: Our Future or Big Data Voodoo?
July 5, 2017Personalized Medicine: Our Future or Big Data Voodoo? Personalized medicine has the potential to revolutionize medicin ...
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (#WEADD)
June 12, 2017World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (#WEADD) Why I Am Tired and Inspired The United Nations recognizes June 15 as World ...
Good Death, or Assisted Suicide?
June 6, 2017Good Death, or Assisted Suicide? The Case of Mr. Perry and his Pacemaker Mr. Perry (not his real name) was 83 years ol ...
Improving End-of-Life Care for African-Americans through Advance Care Planning in Partnership with Faith Communities
May 15, 2017Improving End-of-Life Care for African-Americans through Advance Care Planning in Partnership with Faith Communities T ...
Reflections on the Life of Beth Smith
April 23, 2017Beth Smith Reflections on the Life of Beth Smith Linda’s Reflections I met Beth Smith after Terry and I returned h ...
Kathy Greenlee’s Reflections on Paths to Person-Centered Planning
April 18, 2017Kathy Greenlee’s Reflections on Paths to Person-Centered Planning Challenging Us to See the Whole Person at All Stag ...
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Presents Big Ideas in End-of-Life Care
March 7, 2017Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Presents Big Ideas in End-of-Life Care What are the “big ideas” in end of life care? Th ...
Home Birth, Hospital Birth, and the Myth of the Good Mother – Reflections from a Bad Mother
February 28, 2017Home Birth, Hospital Birth, and the Myth of the Good Mother – Reflections from a Bad Mother In the eyes of many, ...
The Affordable Care Act: It will not depart the same way it entered.
February 10, 2017The Affordable Care Act: It will not depart the same way it entered. I also recently revisited the unusual circumstances ...
Chronic Pain and the Opioid Epidemic: Wicked Issues Have No Simple Solutions
January 23, 2017Chronic Pain and the Opioid Epidemic: Wicked Issues Have No Simple Solutions Calls of Desperation My mom was a steel m ...
Bishop Tutu’s Plea Prompts Personal Meditation on Assisted Suicide
January 11, 2017Tutu Bishop Bishop Tutu’s Plea Prompts Personal Meditation on Assisted Suicide At age 30, I ...
The High Costs of Chasing Immortality
January 4, 2017The High Costs of Chasing Immortality Americans undoubtedly cherish the science of medicine, whether it be “moonshot ...
PAINS Update
September 1, 2016PAINS Update Penney Cowan has lived with chronic pain for most of her life and is the Founder of the American Chronic Pa ...
A Selfish Request for Honest Conversations
May 17, 2016A Selfish Request for Honest Conversations If you aren’t familiar with the Center, it is a nonprofit, free-standing an ...
Mothers’ Luscious Webs of Love – in Life and Death
May 6, 2016Mothers’ Luscious Webs of Love – in Life and Death A Message for James IV A 14-year old young man received the b ...
This Is How Prince’s Death Begins Conversation About Addiction
April 28, 2016This Is How Prince’s Death Begins Conversation About Addiction INTRODUCTORY NOTE FROM MYRA CHRISTOPHER Lynn Webster, ...
New Reasons for Outrage Over Persistence of Healthcare Disparities: Ignorance and Neglect
April 21, 2016New Reasons for Outrage Over Persistence of Healthcare Disparities: Ignorance and Neglect Although various studies indic ...
Cultural Expectation and Prenatal Risk – A Matter of Justice
March 18, 2016Cultural Expectation and Prenatal Risk – A Matter of Justice I recently co-authored a peer commentary in the American ...
Death with Dignity?
February 15, 2016Death with Dignity? What Kansans Need to Consider about House Bill No. 2150 (“The Kansas Death with Dignity Act”) ...
Never Too Young to Plan Beyond
February 13, 2016Never Too Young to Plan Beyond And yet, given my conversations with professionals who deal with late-in-life and end-of ...
TOUGH CASES: Code of Ethics Now Available for Healthcare Ethics Consultants
February 1, 2016TOUGH CASES: Code of Ethics Now Available for Healthcare Ethics Consultants Consider the following hypothetical case sc ...
New Program Will Bring Advance Care Planning to African-American Faith Communities
January 26, 2016New Program Will Bring Advance Care Planning to African-American Faith Communities African Americans die at excessive l ...
DEATH PANELS BACK IN THE NEWS
January 12, 2016DEATH PANELS BACK IN THE NEWS At Least in the Land of Oz for People with Hepatitis C Death Panels are back in the news, ...
Make an impact
Every dollar you give helps providers, clinicians, patients and families decide what to do when it’s hard to agree about the “right” thing to do.