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DURHAM, N.C. -- Former U.S. Surgeon General, David Satcher, M.D., PhD, will discuss methods to eliminate health disparities around the world at the Duke University School of Nursing's 6th Annual Global Health Lecture and Research Seminar on Jan. 24, 2013. Satcher's keynote address, "Defining the Path to Global Health Equity," will illustrate examples of major strategies and programs that are improving science, policy and practice around the world.

"For the past six years, the Global Health Lecture has brought together the best minds in global public health," said Dorothy Powell, EdD, RN, FAAN, associate dean of the Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives at Duke University School of Nursing. "Dr. Satcher will share his unique perspectives on how we as a society can increase our capacity in providing health care to our minority and underserved communities both in the United States and around the world."

The theme for this year's lecture is "A Dream Yet Fulfilled: Addressing Health Disparities Domestic and Abroad." The event coincides with the university's celebration of both Martin Luther King Jr. Day as well as the 50th anniversary of the first African-Americans to enroll in Duke University.

Satcher served as the 16th Surgeon General of the United States from 1998 to 2002. He also served as assistant secretary for health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, making him only the second person to have held both positions simultaneously. He currently serves as director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta.

In addition to Satcher's keynote address, the program will feature a series of discussions on a variety of global health care issues. Among the topics to be discussed are: hypertension, obesity, and premature birth weights within the African-American community; depression among the elderly both in China and Chinese-American populations; HIV prevention interventions for adolescents in South Africa; and in-home interventions for reducing depression among low-income, Spanish-speaking mothers of infants and toddlers.

The event will be held at the Duke University School of Nursing, 307 Trent Drive, Durham, N.C., beginning at 1:00 p.m. and concluding with a reception after Dr. Satcher's 4:30 p.m. presentation. For more information, visit the school's Web site: nursing.duke.edu.

The Global Health Lecture is co-sponsored by the Duke University School of Nursing, Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives, Office of Research Affairs, and the Duke Global Heath Institute.

About DUSON

As a diverse community of scholars and clinicians, the Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) educates the next generation of transformational leaders in nursing, advances nursing science in issues of global import, and fosters the scholarly practice of nursing. In 2011, U.S. News and World Report ranked Duke among the top seven graduate schools of nursing in the nation. It is one of the top 10 nursing schools in NIH-funded research. The school offers the masters, PhD, and doctor of nursing practice degrees, as well as an accelerated bachelor of science in nursing degree to students who have previously graduated from college. More than 750 students are enrolled in the School of Nursing one of the largest numbers in the school's 80-year history.