Racism

Stan and Clarence chat about an all-important topic, racism.

Health Chatter recognizes that this one episode will not encompass all components of racism. Instead, this episode begins the conversation.

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Brought to you in support of Hue-MAN, who is Creating Healthy Communities through Innovative Partnerships. More about their work can be found at http://huemanpartnership.org/

Research

• https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2020/07/addressing-racism-as-a-public-health-crisis-next-steps/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAqOucBhDrARIsAPCQL1aktrToW3fuULRD3FyYZ6NRTnlT9sZQ8YNrnAHbPXp3X8tMAhz46NcaAs1kEALw_wcB
• We need to then take the next steps to enact anti-racist policies that actively advance equity, prioritizing resources to:
• Ensure everyone is able to exercise their right to physical and mental health, and access to quality health care to sustain the well-being of one’s own body without discrimination
• Develop, improve, and reaffirm education and training that prepare students and professionals with knowledge and skills to expose the role of inequity as it relates to each discipline under study.
• Dismantle and re-imagine the current criminal justice system and militarization of public servants that lead to mass incarceration of children and teens, Black, indigenous and people of color, people with mental health disorders, and impoverished people.
• https://www.bluecrossmn.com/sites/default/files/DAM/2021-11/P11GA_16928228-the-cost-of-health-inequities-in-mn.pdf
• $2.26 Billion yearly is the cost of health disparities in MN

•  https://mncm.org/new-report-highlights-minnesota-health-care-disparities/
• November 22 Report
• Groups that are most likely to have quality performance rates that are lower than the statewide average include Black, Indigenous/Native, Hispanic/Latinx; speakers of Hmong, Somali, or Spanish; and patients born in Laos, Mexico, or Somalia.
• For many of these groups, the measure with the largest disparities compared to the statewide average is colorectal cancer screening, with rates that are 15 to 40 percentage points below the statewide average. This has important health impacts, because colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the U.S., and early detection and treatment is associated with higher survival and lower treatment cost. 
• Despite improved performance for several quality measures in 2021 compared to 2020, results for many groups remain statistically below their 2019 rates. This is true for the population as a whole and for Black, White, Not Hispanic/Latinx, English-speaking, and U.S.-born. Some smaller subpopulations such as Indigenous/Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander also have lower rates for many measures in 2021 compared to 2019, but the changes were not statistically significant due to smaller numbers of people included in the measures.
• One bright spot with statewide improvement and improvement within many subpopulations is adolescent mental health screening. The statewide average performance for this measure in 2021 was 91.2 percent, compared to 88.7 percent in 2019. Rates for nearly all subpopulations improved between 2019 and 2021, with some of the lowest gaps between groups of any quality measure.
• https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2021/oct/confronting-racism-health-care
• Strategies for Combatting Racism in Health Care
• Examining institutional policies with an equity lens
• Establishing accountability frameworks such as equity scorecards
• Auditing medical school curricula for erroneous references to race
• Reviewing clinical algorithms that erroneously rely on racer
• Investing in scholarships for students of color interested in health professions
• Training leadership and staff in diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism principle
• Creating real-time reporting initiatives to track and respond to racist or other discriminatory behavior
• Reviewing vendor relationships to support Black and other minority-owned businesses
• Creating more equitable workplaces, including efforts to build wealth and opportunities for advancement
• Listening to and learning from patients and health care professionals of color
• https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-measure-racism-academic-health-centers/2021-02