health disparities

Rural Healthcare Disparities Are Greatest In United States

July 23, 2023 Ken Terry, Medscape. Educate! Class Struggle, Health Care, health disparities, rural communities

There are more healthcare disparities between rural and urban residents of the United States than between rural and urban residents of 10 other developed countries, according to a new study published July 7 in JAMA Network Open. Using data collected by the Commonwealth Fund for its 2020 survey of 11 advanced nations, the researchers analyzed the information for differences between the rural and urban participants in each country, looking at 10 indicators in three domains: health status and socioeconomic risk factors, affordability of care, and access to care. According to the paper, "The US had statistically significant geographic health disparities in 5 of the 10 indicators, the most of any country, followed by Switzerland (4), the UK and Australia (3 each), and France and Germany (2 each).

Health Care Discrimination Still Rampant

June 29, 2023 Mark Kreidler, LA Progressive. Educate! Health Care, health disparities, Racial inequality, Systemic Racism

Since before the country’s formation, unequal health based on race, from inferior care and treatment to shorter life spans, has been part and parcel of American history. Surveys in recent decades have enabled researchers to bring those disparities into sharper and sometimes harrowing focus. But identifying these issues hasn’t brought the country much closer to resolving them. And a new report underscores how truly intractable those problems are — because it brings race-based disparities right into the safest hospitals in the United States. According to the report, which was released this month by the Leapfrog Group, America’s A-graded hospitals do no better at reducing racial health disparities than hospitals at the bottom of the scale.

American Healthcare System Failed Black Americans

February 3, 2021 Nick, Progressive Martial Artist. Educate! Black America, health disparities, Medicare for all, Racism

There are certain policy positions that are such a slam dunk that if someone does not support them, I can’t take anything they say seriously, nor can I trust their judgement. Medicare for All is one of those polices. It is the most pro-black legislation in mainstream political discourse right now. Our black leaders, such as Jim Clyburn, teaming up with health insurance companies and Big Pharma, are why the state of healthcare in the African American community is so bleak, as I laid out in my previous article Liberals, for good reason, hold social wedge issues as their primary litmus test. Can you imagine a standard liberal Democrat supporting someone who is openly against gay marriage and abortion rights?

White New Yorkers Have Received Lion’s Share Of COVID-19 Vaccine

February 2, 2021 Sydney Pereira, Jake Dobkin and Nsikan Akpan, Gothamist. Educate! COVID-19, health disparities, New York City (NYC), Vaccine

Three white residents receive a COVID-19 vaccine for every Black or Latino person in the city, according to new demographic data released by the mayor’s office on Sunday. At a press briefing, Mayor Bill de Blasio said there was a “profound disparity” about seven weeks into the city’s vaccination program. “Clearly, what we see is a particularly pronounced reality of many more people from white communities getting vaccination than folks from Black and Latino communities,” de Blasio told reporters. The vast difference in vaccine coverage shows the city isn’t meeting its pledge for equitable distribution. The mayor said supply problems were central to the challenge of distributing vaccines equitably across communities of color.

Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium Will Administer Vaccines

January 15, 2021 Emily Scott, WHYY. Create! COVID-19, health disparities, Philadelphia, Vaccine

Philadelphia’s Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium will be playing a much more hands-on role in the city’s vaccine distribution efforts. Consortium founder Dr. Ala Stanford shared on Instagram that the group — which has provided COVID-19 testing to more than 20,000 people — will be administering the vaccine to Philly’s Black communities. People can sign up through a contact form or can reach out via email at info@blackdoctorsconsortium.com. Vaccinations will be offered on a first come, first served basis. The consortium will begin administering the vaccines when Philadelphia enters Phase 1B of its distribution plan, which includes critical essential workers and is expected to start sometime soon in early 2021.

Equity Is More Than Words

January 1, 2021 Physician Women SOAR. Educate! COVID-19, Health Care, health disparities, Racism

On behalf of Physician Women SOAR, an antiracist physician group, we wish to respond to the Indiana University Health (IU Health) statement regarding the medical treatment provided to the late Dr. Susan Moore, a Black physician who was admitted to IU Health in early December for COVID-19. Twelve hours after she was discharged from IU Health, Dr. Moore was readmitted to another hospital in respiratory failure, where she was quickly transferred to the ICU. Dr. Moore remained in critical condition for over two more weeks and died on December 20th. While admitted to IU Health, Dr. Moore was treated so poorly that she turned to social media to both document her experience and to seek help from her fellow physician network.

How COVID-19 Hollowed Out A Generation Of Young Black Men

December 26, 2020 Akilah Johnson and Nina Martin, Pro Publica. Educate! Black America, COVID-19, health disparities, Racism

While COVID-19 has killed 1 out of every 800 African Americans, a toll that overwhelms the imagination, even more stunning is the deadly efficiency with which it has targeted young Black men like Bates. One study using data through July found that Black people ages 35 to 44 were dying at nine times the rate of white people the same age, though the gap slightly narrowed later in the year. And in an analysis for ProPublica this summer using the only reliable data at the time accounting for age, race and gender, from Michigan and Georgia, Harvard researcher Tamara Rushovich found that the disparity was greatest in Black men.

The AMA Officially Recognized Racism As A Public-Health Threat

November 20, 2020 Bill Bostock and Anna Medaris Miller, Business Insider. Educate! COVID-19, health disparities, Public Health, Systemic Racism

The American Medical Association has officially defined racism as a public health threat that has created substantial health inequality. Racism, both systemic and structural, has historically perpetuated health inequality and cut short the lives of many Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the US and around the world. Over the last year, a number of county and state authorities have also labelled racism a public health threat. Among them are county councils in San Bernardino, California, and Montgomery, Maryland, as well as authorities in Michigan, Nevada, Cleveland, Denver, and Indianapolis.

Black Doctors Fight For More Equitable Coronavirus Testing

October 13, 2020 Nina Feldman, Kaiser Health News. Resist! COVID-19, health disparities, Philadelphia, Systemic Racism

When the coronavirus arrived in Philadelphia in March, Dr. Ala Stanford hunkered down at home with her husband and kids. A pediatric surgeon with a private practice, she has staff privileges at a few suburban Philadelphia hospitals. For weeks, most of her usual procedures and patient visits were canceled. So she found herself, like a lot of people, spending the days in her pajamas, glued to the TV. And then, at the beginning of April, she started seeing media reports indicating that Black people were contracting the coronavirus and dying from COVID-19 at greater rates than other demographic groups.

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