Publication Date
2025
Abstract
In his essay “The Creative Process” writer and activist James Baldwin notes, “It goes without saying . . . that if we understand ourselves better we would damage ourselves less” (Baldwin, 1985). This quotation reflects Baldwin’s viewpoint that often individuals knowing and learning about themselves and what impacts them (e.g., education, employment, social environments, policy) and their quality of life is compromised by the action of seeking to know others instead. This paper meets at the intersection of Baldwin’s profound words and the ways health equity and wellness conversations complement rather than compete with STEM fields. The National Framework for Health Equity and Well-being offers a tool to systematically address the programmatic area of health and wellness at the individual, community, policy, and environmental levels. STEM education allows learners to become innovators, collaborators, and problem solvers, leading to various opportunities to fill critical roles (e.g., STEM, public health, education) in fields worldwide. STEM education in conversation and collaboration with public health programs and equity initiatives can create positive relationships with communities, introduce a broader range of questions and comparisons involving social determinants. This approach can introduce and increase cross-sectional efforts to limit poor health outcomes and improve the quality of life for all. Keywords: STEM (Science, Technological, Engineering, Math), public, cooperative extension framework for health equity
Recommended Citation
Lockett, Brione and Krajecki, Lisa, ""I Wish I Knew That”: Understanding and Bridging the Gap Between Public Health, STEM, and the Cooperative Extensions National Framework for Health Equity and Well-being" (2025). Extension Publications. 183.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/extension/183
