Multimorbidity—the co-occurrence of multiple chronic conditions—disproportionately affects Black Americans and often begins earlier than in other racial and ethnic groups. The MOSAIC (Multimorbidity Outcomes & Solutions for African/Black Americans In California) Initiative at UCLA is a three-phase, community-engaged research collaborative launched in 2024 to expand the evidence base and address these disparities. In this talk, Dr. Courtney S. Thomas Tobin will share findings from MOSAIC’s empirical studies examining how gender, socioeconomic status, and psychosocial factors shape multimorbidity patterns, alongside insights from consensus-building sessions with the Community Advisory Board on effective dissemination strategies. She will also introduce MOSAIC’s innovative approaches, including arts-based methods and a Virtual Toolkit, to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact.
Dr. Courtney S. Thomas Tobin is an Associate Professor of Community Health Sciences and the Associate Dean for Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion at the Fielding School of Public Health. She is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies and holds a joint appointment in the Department of African American Studies at UCLA.
Dr. Courtney S. Thomas Tobin’s research examines the social, psychological, and biological (i.e., biopsychosocial) pathways to health and longevity among Black Americans. As a trained medical sociologist, Dr. Thomas Tobin integrates traditional sociological theories with perspectives from public health, social psychology, medicine, and the biological sciences to better understand the causes and consequences of long-standing Black-White differences in health. She utilizes both quantitative and qualitative methods to consider the multiple ways that racial minority status shapes the everyday experiences and health trajectories of Black Americans across the life course.
