iStock
Doctors confront generations of fear of medical debt in Black familiesDr. Kecia Gaither is intimately familiar with the realities of women of color and how they're treated in healthcare, as a double-board certified OB-GYN and director of perinatal services at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the Bronx. And many of us already know the grim realities for people in this demographic: Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes, receive late-stage cancer diagnoses and remain underrepresented in clinical trials. Dr. Gaither is also aware of another glaring issue that cannot be ignored when discussing racial disparities in healthcare: debt. In 2022, the U.S. healthcare system spent an average of $13,500 per individual, which is less than half of other developed countries' health costs per person. Without universal health coverage, the quality of healthcare in the U.S. largely depends on income and insurance. But what does this mean for generations of families who are terrified of medicine and accruing medical debt?
Researchers Emily McTate and Gladys Asiedu, both Ph.D.s, decided to study how to create more welcoming spaces for Black and Brown patients in healthcare settings, inspired in part by personal experiences. Credit: Dymanh Chhoun for Sahan Journal
Black doctors and researchers say racism is a problem in pediatric care. They see it with their own kids.In what may be the first survey of its kind, Black and Brown youth from the Rochester area in New York, along with their parents, shared their experiences in a survey published in a recent edition of the journal Academic Pediatrics. Many of the youth said they had never shared such personal incidents before. The study's researchers, who work in medicine and have children, tell Sahan Journal they are well aware of disparities in care based on race, which prompted them to launch the study documenting racism within healthcare settings. “When people ask me, do you really want to be called ‘Doctor,’ or can I call you Emily?’ I explain that I’m very aware of discrepancies in care based on race,” said Dr. Emily McTate, a pediatric psychologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. “If there’s anything I can do to mitigate [biases], I’m going to do that.”
🚀
You can now find our partners' essential intersectional reporting and perspectives at our new URL Media website updated daily. Dive into the stories that matter. Check us out here!
Author Sweta Vikram and her book “The Loss That Binds Us.” Image courtesy of Sweta Vikram
'The Loss That Binds Us' offers tips on coping with grief & lossCoping with grief may be difficult, but it can also be a catalyst for living a life we didn't know was once possible — a life of service and purpose. In "The Loss That Binds Us," Sweta Vikram offers a heartfelt guide to coping with the grief and agony of losing a loved one. In 2013, the author lost both her father and father-in-law just two days apart. "May 2023 still feels like a dystopian novel," she writes. Through 108 tips, Vikram offers practical, compassionate, respectful, and authentic guidance, which she says has helped "redefine [her] in a world where [she] is officially parentless." Read more in India Currents here.
Meet the Game Changers
Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities
Dr. Garen Wolff is an allergist-immunologist and the chief physician of Wolff Allergy & Asthma of Detroit. Through volunteer work at local health fairs, Dr. Wolff is passionate about reintroducing preventative care to underserved communities