“The Social Determinants of Urban Mental Health: Paving the Way Forward,” will tak e place on September 19-20 at the Chicago, IL Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.

More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. According to the United Nations, that figure is projected to grow to more than 60 percent by 2050. Although cities embody conditions that promote good mental health, they also possess conditions, such as poverty, conflict and social isolation, that can harm mental health and well-being.

At this fall’s conference, we will host professionals in government, the academy and philanthropy to discuss the ways cities impact the mental health of urban residents. Invited speakers will share new and exciting research findings, as well as information about emerging tools, practices, and processes for ensuring that those impacts narrow mental health inequities and promote the positive mental health and well-being of urban populations.

Michael G. Marmot, Ph.D., a leading scholar on global health inequalities, will give the keynote presentation. Marmot is director of the University College London Institute of Health Equity (Marmot Institute), and chair of the European Review on the Social Determinants of Health and the Health Divide. His pioneering work over the last 35 years advances understanding of the social causation of health inequalities.

Plenary presenters will be:
• Sarah Curtis, D.Phil., a Professor of Health and Risk at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom.
Curtis is an internationally-recognized specialist in the geography of health. Her work focuses on the geographical dimensions of health and health care inequalities and addresses how and why varying geographical settings relate to human health inequalities.

• Kwame McKenzie, M.D., the Director of the Social Aetiology of Mental Illness Training Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto in Canada. His work focuses on the social causes of mental health problems, multi-cultural mental health, and social equity and health research. He is an expert on the social causes of psychosis, social capital, and the impact of racism on mental health.

For details and conference registration, visit adler.edu/conference.