Addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis PDF

Addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis Meagan A. Brown, PharmD, BCACP Clinical Associate Professor Director, Center for Clinical and Translaonal Science Fun Fact Aaron E. Henry – Graduated from Xavier University in 1950 – Opened a pharmacy in Clarksdale – Helped organize the Clarksdale brance...

Addressing Racism as a Public Health Crisis Meagan A. Brown, PharmD, BCACP Clinical Associate Professor Director, Center for Clinical and Translaonal Science Fun Fact Aaron E. Henry – Graduated from Xavier University in 1950 – Opened a pharmacy in Clarksdale – Helped organize the Clarksdale brance of NAACP in 1960 – President of the MS State Conference of NAACP – Fourth Street Drug Store 220 4th Street Clarksdale, Mississippi Racism Racism is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks (which is what we call "race"), that: unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, unfairly advantages other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources. h@ps://www.apha.org/Topics-and-Issues/Racial-Equity Historical Perspecve Phrenology: character traits could be read through diDerently shaped skulls – Black people were naturally submissive Spirometry – Used during American Civil War to conclude Black soldiers had inferior bodies to bc White soldiers had a higher lung capacity Tuskegee Study/Experiment Tuskegee Study – Promised people special treatment for “bad blood” – Run by the U.S. Public Health Service – Recruited 600 Black men, 399 diagnosed with syphilis and never treated; 201 in the control group – 1972; outed in the New York Times– revealing the men had deliberately been leL untreated for 40 years – 1974; Congress passed the Naonal Research Act Men who participated in the experiment, part of a collection photos in the National Archives labeled “Tuskegee Syphilis Study. 4/11/1953-1972.” Herman Shaw, one of the last survivors of the Tuskegee study, raises his arms with praise as President Bill Clinton apologizes for the Henrie@a Lacks In 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a 30-yearold African American woman diagnosed with cervical cancer She was killed by the disease, but the cancer cells lived on They were cultured on a mass scale, becoming known as the “HeLa” cell line These “immortal” cells were critical to medical breakthroughs In Today’s World It sll aDects us today – Medical SoLware discriminaon The computer appeared to give fewer referrals to Black people because their care costs – on average – were less over a year than for white patients (despite the Black patients being sicker) – COVID 19 – Racism has been linked to Black men having higher levels of death from suicide, disease and homicide – On average, black youth face one major discriminatory event yearly (similar if not more in other minority groups as well) – Race being used in medical calculators to determine risk https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/george-?oyd-racismopportunities-life-expectancy/ Disparies in Americans 25% of medical residents believed that black people have thicker skin than whites Racial Bias in Pain Nursing Textbook: Misconcepons about how each race handles pain: Lanx, Black and Nave American 2012, 34% AAs less opioid prescribing than others Disparies in Americans Highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world is in the US 3-4x higher for AA women, REGARDLESS of socioeconomic status Mostly ed to disbelief of pain levels Bias in HealthCareThe Evidence Maternal Mortality Rates Highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world is in the US 3-4x higher for AA women, REGARDLESS of socioeconomic status Mostly ed to disbelief of pain levels The Bystander EDect DiDusion of responsibility The more people who are present, the less likely that someone will take acon during a situaon Social in4uence Group behavior Individuals don’t want to violate the norms Intervene: Stop the harm Educaonal moment is good bonus Some ways to Respond Ask quesons that invite discussion I don’t understand. Is that supposed to be a joke? Can you explain to me why it’s supposed to be funny? What do you mean when you say that? Do you know what that word actually means? (Bc I didn’t either) Can you explain your thought process to me? I want to be sure I understand how we reached such diDerent conclusions. State that you are uncomfortable “That kind of language makes me uncomfortable, could you please not use that around me? Create a conversaon speedbump I’m not sure how I feel about that Ouch! Whoa! Seriously! I’m not an expert but my understanding is that language is outdated. Does anyone else know what might be be@er ay to phrase that? Some Ways to Respond Create a conversaon speedbump I’m not sure how I feel about that Ouch! Whoa! Seriously! I’m not an expert but my understanding is that language is outdated. Does anyone else know what might be be@er ay to phrase that? Use direct communicaon This is unacceptable That’s not okay. Remind people of personal and or instuonal values I know you want to be an ally, and that's exactly why I want to check in about that lcomment you made Intenons and Outcomes These oLen come out as microaggressions “What kind of Asian are you?” “Your English is really good.” ”I bet you did really well on that math test” “You are so arculate!” (Google what kind of Asian are you? You tube video) Tips and Tricks in Navigang Bias Don’t rely on your BIPOC colleagues and friends to teach you. Do the work! If they want to share, they will. Speak up even if you don’t have the right words, the goal is: do not cause harm KNOW be@er so you can DO be@er Racial Equity Racial equity is what would exist if our society no longer assigned advantages and disadvantages, through society’s institutions, policies, practices and cultural beliefs, based on a person’s skin color. Racial equity looks at the root causes of inequities, not just the manifestation of the inequities itself, and focuses on the restructuring of institutional policies and practices and cultural beliefs. In this way, racial equity is central to health equity and achieving the healthiest nation. Community-Based Strategies to Address Racism Local government declaraons Community-based iniaves Non-health community partners Addional Possible Soluons Be explicit Engage people of color in equity iniaves Health in all policies approach Measure and evaluate progress in reducing health disparies Protect moms and babies of color Accountable protecon in communies