Development and validation of a psychometric tool for assessing the readiness and feasibility of CRE screening in LMICs: A cross-sectional instrument validation study.

In Kansas, two counties with the largest populations and concentration of Black Americans are Wyandotte County, KS (21%) and Sedgwick County, KS (9.3%). Black Americans in these two counties suffer significant health disparities. When examining the prevalence of chronic disease conditions in Kansas, Black Americans have higher prevalences of Type 2 diabetes, 20%, hypertension 52%, stroke, 6.2%, and obesity 41%, compared with non-Hispanic Whites. These inequities are due to both “downstream” factors such as inequitable treatment and access to care, as well as “upstream” social and structural determinants of health (SDoH) such as the legacies of housing discrimination and disparate public education funding. Together, both upstream and downstream SDoH manifest worse individual and population health outcomes for these two communities. To better understand and address such inequities, the Center for African American Health (CAAH) was officially launched in June 2023 as a collaboration between the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and community members in Wyandotte and Sedgwick County, Kansas. In December 2025, CAAH was renamed to to honor a community member’s legacy of addressing health inequities in Wyandotte County, KS. For the purposes of this article, we will continue with the name CAAH. In 2021, a team of faculty and staff from the Schools of Health Professions, Medicine, and Nursing and community partners came together through planning sessions to outline the need, scope, mission, and goals for a center focused on addressing the systemic health inequities that have plagued Blacks and African Americans in Kansas for decades. Our community partners included pastors, retirees, nonprofit representatives, and community leaders. The planning sessions were led by the former Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at KUMC. This unique group of academic and community partners formed the Center for African American Health Implementation Team (CAAHIT).