A new report from the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC) highlights the urgent need to address healthcare workforce challenges in order to better support Black mothers and reduce racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. The report, titled “Uplifting Black Birthing People and Our Villages: A Maternal Health Policy Agenda,” was released in partnership with Black Mamas Matter Alliance. It emphasizes that the underrepresentation of Black healthcare professionals, especially in leadership roles, negatively impacts the quality of care received by Black mothers. Dr. Joia Crear-Perry, founder and president of NBEC, stated that increasing diversity and cultural competency in the healthcare workforce…
Author: Disparity Matters
In a significant step towards understanding breast cancer risk factors in African American women, researchers have published the largest genetic study to date focused on this underrepresented population. The study, published in Nature Genetics, analyzed genetic data from approximately 40,000 women of African descent, including 18,000 breast cancer patients and 22,000 healthy controls. Led by Wei Zheng, a cancer epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University, the study compiled data from about 30 different studies investigating breast cancer in African or African American women. The increased statistical power enabled researchers to identify specific genetic variations closely related to breast cancer risk in this…
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has launched a new epidemiological cohort study called MOSAAIC (Multi-ethnic Observational Study in American Asian and Pacific Islander Communities) to address the lack of data on cardiovascular health among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. These groups, which collectively make up about 8% of the U.S. population and represent around 40 ethnic subgroups, have been understudied in terms of health disparities and cardiovascular disease prevention. The seven-year study, launched in August 2023, aims to recruit approximately 10,000 adults aged 18-64 from across the country. In addition to cardiovascular health, MOSAAIC will…
Continued racial disparities in new HIV infections in the United States are revealed in three new HIV surveillance reports published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . The reports show that although progress has been made in overall HIV prevention, longstanding social and economic factors are still contributing to health inequities, particularly among Black and Hispanic/Latino populations. According to the CDC, in 2022, 47% of estimated new HIV infections among women were in Black women, despite making up only 13% of the female population. Additionally, male-to-male sexual contact accounted for 67% of all estimated new HIV infections.…
A significant lack of diversity in genetic studies, with 78% of data coming from people of European descent, was found in a recent analysis published in the journal Cell. Despite efforts to address this issue, progress has been slow, according to the study led by Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania. The underrepresentation of non-European populations in genetic research has far-reaching implications for understanding disease risk and developing targeted treatments. Eimear Kenny, a geneticist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, emphasized the importance of diversity in genetic studies, stating that the lack thereof can…
Significant racial disparities in access to mental health services in the United States has been found in a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The research, based on a nationally representative survey, revealed that Black and Hispanic adults with fair or poor mental health are less likely to receive treatment compared to their White counterparts. According to the study, 54% of White adults who reported fair or poor mental health received mental health services, while only 37% of Black adults and 35% of Hispanic adults in the same category received care. The disparities persisted even when controlling for health…
Pharmacogenomics testing could help reduce racial disparities in treatment outcomes for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a new study suggests. The research, led by Dr. Jacqueline Valdez from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, found that Black and Hispanic children with AML are more likely to have genetic variations that affect how they metabolize and respond to chemotherapy drugs. The study analyzed data from 234 pediatric AML patients, including 58 Black and 62 Hispanic children. Results showed that Black and Hispanic patients had a higher prevalence of certain gene variants associated with poor drug metabolism and increased toxicity risk.…
An implicit bias among medical professionals is a significant barrier to Black participation in clinical trials, according to a new study by Dr. Altovise Ewing of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The research, published in the American Journal of Public Health, highlights the underrepresentation of Black individuals in these critical studies. Dr. Ewing and her team conducted interviews with Black patients, community members, and healthcare providers. They discovered that unconscious biases held by medical staff often led to Black patients feeling unwelcome, disrespected, and distrustful of the clinical trial process. This lack of trust, coupled with a history…
The lack of trust among Black male patients towards their physicians has been highlighted in a recent study by Aaron Henry (above), a fourth-year medical student at Howard University College of Medicine. The study, which involved a survey of 900 Black men, revealed that only 43% of respondents trusted their doctors. Henry attributes this distrust to a long history of racism and discrimination in the medical field, citing examples such as the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study. He emphasizes the need for increased representation of Black men in the medical profession to help bridge the trust gap. The study also found…
The impending end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and subsequent Medicaid disenrollment process threatens to exacerbate existing health disparities and access to care issues faced by Native American communities, according to a recent analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). Native Americans, who already face significant barriers to healthcare due to chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service (IHS) and underrepresentation in Medicaid, could see their tenuous access to care further eroded as states begin unwinding pandemic-era Medicaid expansions. Jennifer Sullivan, Director of Health and Housing Integration at CBPP, warns that the Medicaid unwinding process may…