The KCU Center for Population Health and Equity (CPHE) Research Lab serves as a nexus for student, faculty, staff and community research efforts, with an emphasis on the population health, public health, health equity and health policy factors impacting the overall Health of the Heartland. 

Health of the Heartland is a CPHE initiative that highlights health issues and research that are important to KCU students and the communities they serve in Kansas City, Joplin and across the Midwest. As a part of Health of the Heartland, students create Health of the Heartland Fact Sheets, synthesizing publicly available data and evidence to inform the general public and decision makers and guide them in their pursuit to improve health equity. In addition to Fact Sheets, the CPHE will publish a full Health of the Heartland report annually, which will focus on the key drivers of health for both urban and rural populations.