The Health Disparities Podcast

Every person brings their own cultural background into their encounters with the healthcare system. But this doesn’t mean that every healthcare provider needs to develop an encyclopedic knowledge of every culture in order to provide equitable, high-quality care to every patient. “The truth of the matter is: that could never be done. I'm Puerto Rican, Latino, and even among Puerto Ricans, there's a...

Artificial Intelligence is transforming health care. The promise of this technology is enormous and is already being realized to increase the accuracy of diagnoses, promote patient engagement, increase efficiency in health care and lower costs. It’s even being used to identify patients at risk of disease and predict patients who might be good candidates for medical procedures.  Done well, AI tools...

For too many people in the U.S., health care is unaffordable and not accessible. Even patients who have health insurance coverage can be confronted with barriers that keep them from accessing the health care that they need. And research shows health disparities are rampant, with health care access — and outcomes — worse for people of color and other marginalized groups. The new State of Patient Ac...

Mental health is an important part of our overall health, but many people confront barriers that keep them from accessing the mental health care they need. A program in Boston aims to  address mental health disparities by disrupting traditional health care models. The Boston Emergency Services Team, or BEST , is led by Dr. David Henderson , chief of psychiatry at Boston Medical Center.  BEST bring...

Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams has the following message for health equity advocates: forge respectful relationships with people with different viewpoints — and pay close attention to the words you use. “We need to learn to speak in a language that resonates with folks,” Adams says. “When that happens, you will get better policy making.” Adams recounts his experience – both as the 20...

There’s a long history of racism in both education and health care. But some health equity advocates — including Michellene Davis, President and CEO at National Medical Fellowships — are holding onto hope that real change is possible. “The only reason why I like the name, the title ‘social determinants of health,’ is because anything that has been socially constructed can be socially deconstructed...

It’s important that health care workers provide quality health care. But when it comes to addressing health disparities, clinical care can only go so far, says Dr. Diana E. Ramos, an OB/GYN who now serves as California’s first Latina surgeon general .  “It would be wonderful if that 10-minute appointment that a patient just saw me for made the biggest difference in the patient's life. That's not t...

Many envision influencers as social media stars with vast followings. But being an influencer is so much more than that. In today’s episode, we redefine the term across various sectors, from health to social justice, and delve into how you can activate your network by using your influence. One thing influencers do is share information throughout their communities to spread awareness about importan...

Nonprofit organizations rely on funding to execute their mission, but steady funding is not always easy to come by. So, what can leaders of nonprofits do to attract attention — and resources — from foundations and corporations with money to give? Many funders want to understand an organization’s impact — and quantifying and conveying that impact can take many forms, says Velma Monteiro-Tribble , f...

In a nation where healthy choices often take a back seat, Dr. Marc Watkins, chief medical officer at Kroger Health, advocates a transformative shift: viewing food as medicine. Watkins is spearheading a mission to eradicate food insecurities, paving the way for a healthier America.  “If we’re going to change the way America eats, we have to lead around making sure we have a variety of foods in our...

When it comes to self-care, many people think of taking a break due to exhaustion or burnout. But the acts of self-care that make a real difference go beyond self-soothing, says Ariel Belgrave, an award-winning health and fitness expert, wellness consultant, and the founder of Gym Hooky .  Belgrave challenges people to consider self-care as an investment in their future selves. “The mindset shift...

Many people who go into medicine come from well-off families and don’t know what it’s like to live in poverty. So when they graduate and become physicians, they can struggle to understand why their therapeutic interventions aren’t improving the lives of their patients. This, according to Dr. Pedro José Greer Jr. , is because med schools have not done a great job helping their students understand t...

Movement is important for a person’s health and well-being. The good news is: many activities that promote movement come with enormous benefits that extend beyond physical health.  Today’s discussion features the founders of two organizations that aim to promote physical activity — and build community while doing it.  Walk with a Doc began in 2005 after Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus...

Dr. David Ansell’s book “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills” was first published in 2017. In a foreword for the book updated in 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote that “Three years before the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. David Ansell published The Death Gap, brilliantly synthesizing what he experienced in decades of practicing medicine in two utterly different medical worlds that were mere blocks a...

Can equitable real estate development organization Parity help solve Baltimore's empty housing problem and build Black wealth? Founder Bree Jones and her backers are making it happen. According to a profile in Baltimore Magazine , Bree Jones counts herself among a generation of young Black Americans who are being spurred to activism by high-profile killings of unarmed Black people. These are peopl...

Our guests are health equity practitioners Christin Zollicoffer and Dr. Bonnie Simpson Mason, who discuss programs and initiatives that are making headway in dismantling structural racism with episode host Claudia Zamora. Together they explore a number of different examples and critical success factors that contribute to success, and mention some common mistakes that organizations may make when es...

For the third installment of our mini-series exploring systemic bias and racism in healthcare, our panel of experts discuss various examples which illustrate how systemic racism is embedded in systems of healthcare and social determinants of health. These include measurements such as eGFR, BMI, and metabolic panels, scoring for post-operative risk; lack of diversity in dermatology textbooks; and h...

For the second episode in our mini-series exploring systemic racism in healthcare, our panel explores different definitions of bias, stereotyping, systemic racism, and structural racism, and how these behaviors intersect with social determinants of health. Perspectives from both patient and professional viewpoints are addressed. The panel also discuss solutions such as bias training, cultural comp...

This is the first of a 4 episode mini-series of The Health Disparities Podcast exploring bias & systemic racism in medicine. The series aims to bring to the surface discussions, definitions, & perspectives about the problem of bias, examples of bias, structural & systemic racism, & examples of programs and policies that are tackling bias & racism. "Unconscious Bias, Yes it is R...

The Movement is Life Annual Summit is fast approaching, and thanks to philanthropic support from the Zimmer Biomet Foundation , there is no cost to register. Over two days (Nov 30 - Dec 01) a mix of plenary sessions and workshops will feature a stellar lineup of health equity thought leaders at the Renaissance Hotel Downtown, Washington, DC. Online registration: https://www.movementislifesummit.or...

Very few physicians can name Dr. LaSalle Leffall and Dr. Clive Callender as pivotal mentors in their career, and also cite their experiences growing up with sickle cell as another important teacher. In a wide ranging discussion with fellow surgeon and Howard University alum Dr. Randall Morgan, Dr. Frederick explores some of the most important aspects of mentorship. He also discusses developing you...

Michaele Turnage Young, Senior Counsel at Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), joins orthopedic surgeon Tamara Huff, MD, MBA, to discuss the recent SCOTUS ruling on the Fourteenth  Amendment which has impacted affirmative action. According to the Legal Defense Fund, "the Supreme Court has bowed to pressure from anti-civil rights activists, finding that Harvard and the University of North Caro...

When the supreme court struck down race-conscious admissions this year, they ended policies of affirmative action that have helped to diversify college campuses since 1978. The ruling is considered detrimental to efforts to cultivate a representative healthcare workforce. At this year’s annual National Medical Association scientific assembly in New Orleans, Dr. Ruth Simmons was the keynote speaker...

From COVID to Katrina to soaring temperatures, when disasters strike it is our most vulnerable communities that are on the emergency frontline, and it’s our underserved populations who experience the most disproportionate impact – and widening health disparities. The mission of Healthcare Ready  is to help build resilient community health infrastructure that is prepared for, can respond to, and ab...