Led a West Side safety-net hospital where she combats diabetes, food insecurity and access issues for Black and Brown patients.
Author: Disparity Matters
Investing $210+ million in scientific research on health inequities and expanding opportunities for underrepresented groups in science and medicine
Black women with Lyme disease face significant disparities in diagnosis and treatment compared to their white counterparts, according to research highlighted in “Disparities in Lyme Disease Diagnosis, Outcomes Affect Black Patients” published on RheumatologyAdvisor.com. [1]The article cites a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University that found Black patients, particularly women, were more likely to experience delays in Lyme disease diagnosis and receive inadequate antibiotic treatment. Dr. Yvette Brutsch, an artist and activist featured in the piece, recounted her struggle with debilitating symptoms that went undiagnosed for years due to dismissals from medical professionals.Another study from the University of Pennsylvania…
Advanced Indigenous health by providing mobile HIV/STI testing, education, and culturally responsive interventions.
A federal task force has recommended a new national strategy to address the mental health needs of pregnant and postpartum women in the United States. The plan aims to reduce maternal deaths by improving access to mental health care, particularly in underserved areas. Perinatal depression affects up to 20% of women in the U.S., with some states reporting rates as high as 25%. However, many women go untreated due to the lack of a widely deployed screening system, leading to higher rates of mental illness, suicide, and drug overdoses, which are now the leading causes of death in the first…
Championed bilingual, culturally responsive oncology care and improved health access for Latino communities facing resource barriers.
The overall cancer death rate in the United States has decreased by 33% between 1991 and 2020, but significant disparities remain among different racial and ethnic groups, according to the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR) Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024. The report highlights that Black and Indigenous individuals have the highest overall cancer death rates in the U.S., despite lower incidence rates compared to the white population. For example, Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as white men, and Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women, despite similar…
“The Report highlights significant advancements in cancer research and treatment, yet underscores persistent health disparities affecting minority communities…Minority communities face higher cancer incidence and mortality rates due to barriers in accessing quality healthcare.”
A new study led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Duke University has uncovered the significant health risks posed by the V142I transthyretin variant within the US Black population. The study, published in the JAMA Network, reveals that this genetic variant, present in 3-4% of self-identified Black individuals in the US, is associated with an increased risk of heart failure and death. Dr. Senthil Selvaraj from Duke University School of Medicine, the lead author of the study, estimates that carriers of this variant could collectively lose approximately a million years of life. The research, which drew data from over…
Recent studies have uncovered troubling disparities in access to free preventive care mandated by the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. Despite the law’s requirement that most health plans cover preventive services without cost to patients, minority and low-income individuals are more likely to face claim denials and unexpected out-of-pocket expenses. Research published in JAMA Network Open reveals that insurers are more prone to reject claims from Asian, Black, and Hispanic patients, as well as those with lower incomes. The study, which analyzed 2.5 million preventive care claims filed between 2017 and 2020, found that low-income patients were 43%…