TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Institute for Rural Health Research at The University of Alabama is hosting its seventh annual Rural Health Conference on April 20-21 at UA’s Bryant Conference Center.

“The Emerging Faces of Health Disparities in Alabama: The Hispanic Experience” will bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds who share a common interest in improving the health of citizens throughout rural Alabama. Community leaders, health care providers, researchers, policy makers, educators, social workers, mental health professionals, representatives of faith-based organizations and federal, state and local government officials are encouraged to attend.

The keynote speakers will be Dr. Jane L. Delgado, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Dr. Fernando M. Treviño, founding dean of the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s School of Public Health and executive director of the Texas Institute for Hispanic Health, and Isabel Rubio, executive director of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.

The Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population will be almost 44 million by 2010, with Birmingham having the sixth fastest growing Latino population.

Conference topics include diabetes, children’s issues, community outreach, faith-based approaches and others. Pre-conference workshops, “Medical Spanish” and “Breast Cancer Awareness,” will be held Wednesday, April 19.

The conference is supported in part by a grant to the Institute for Rural Health Research from the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Much of the research conducted by the Institute focuses on Alabama’s rural Black Belt region, where people suffer at higher rates than other Alabamians from cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. The Institute is housed within the College of Community Health Sciences, which is the Tuscaloosa Campus of the UA School of Medicine.

Continuing Education Unit and Continuing Medical Education Unit certificates are available. For more information, or to register online, visit the conference website at http://rhc.ua.edu, or call the Institute for Rural Health Research at 205/348-0025 or, toll-free, at 1-877-363-2247.