title: The importance of transdisciplinary collaborations for understanding and resolving health disparities.
abstract: Group disparities in health have been documented for several decades. Despite recent efforts to eliminate them, group differences persist and challenge the ability of scientists to address them using traditional research paradigms. Because the determinants of disparities occur at multiple levels, from the molecular to the societal, and interact with one another in ways not yet fully understood, they represent a challenge to researchers attempting to capture their complexity. After reviewing existing models of disciplinary collaboration, we outline the challenges of a transdisciplinary approach and its ability to afford the holistic view of disparities needed to develop effective interventions.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Health Disparities Research, and School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. sgehlert@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gehlert
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sohmer
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McClintock
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Conzen
authors.forename: Olufunmilayo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Olopade
mesh_terms: D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006126:Group Processes; D006302:Health Services Research; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D007400:Interprofessional Relations