Addressing the Challenges of Health Disparities in Minority Communities

Let’s talk about the challenges of health disparities…

I’ve recently discussed in the previous episodes how technology and social media are of great help for the practice of medicine. There’s no denying that I’m all for the power of these two as these help me reach more people and allow more people to have access to important healthcare information.

There were significant amounts of people who look like me who were not able to get the information they need in relation to their health, and there’s no way I’m ignoring that reality anymore. If we don’t talk about access to healthcare and the challenges our patients face in relation to that, then we’re only doing half the job, and that’s not in any way playing a significant role towards betterment.

As a physician, it’s hard to sleep at night knowing that these deserving yet minority community people get to be severely behind the eight ball in healthcare just because of color.

So today, we’ll address these issues and face the reality that as physicians, we still need to go above and beyond.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Understand what these health disparities are and how these affect minority communities;
• Discover the social determinants of health and why that has played such a significant factor in minority communities being severely behind the eight ball in their healthcare;
• Learn about the current situation of access to healthcare and why it’s something that should be talked about; and
• Recognize the importance of being culturally competent, especially on how it affects the practice of medicine

“Help us help you; that’s what I always say. And for healthcare providers, understand that we still need to go above and beyond, because we know our patients are dealing with things that we can’t even ignore anymore.”– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes:

“If you do not talk about access in regards to the challenges of health and being healthy, then again, you’re only doing half the job.” – Dr. Berry Pierre

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Listen on Apple Podcast, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and Spotify

Links/Resources:

• Lunch and Learn Patreon Family
• CDC’s Office of Minority Health and Health Equity
• NCBI’s Social Determinants of Health in the United States
• KFF’s Health Insurance Coverage in the United States