Health disparities in communities in color

DUTCHESS COUNTY — The Dutchess County Commission on Human Rights — in collaboration with the Ulster County Human Rights Commission and the Orange County Human Rights Commission — held a virtual lecture entitled, “Health in Communities of Color: Disparities, Their Impact and What Needs to Change,” on Wednesday, March 10.

Tuning in on Zoom at noon, attendees were introduced to Catskill-Hudson Health Education Center Services Executive Director Megan Deichler, Maternal Infant Services Executive Director Giovanna Rogow and Astor Services for Children & Families Clinical Supervisor Edna Muhammad as the lecture’s speakers.

Presenting an overview, Deichler explained health equity is achieved “when every person has equal opportunity to attain his or her full health potential and no one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of their social position or other socially determined circumstances.” 

Regarding social determinants of health, she acknowledged the health factors that are uncontrollable (such as genetics) but said the large majority of factors that impact health can be controlled and are preventable. Deichler estimated 80 to 90% of the factors that impact health are social determinants while the other 10% refer to medical services and the actual healthcare received. 

Examples of social determinants of health include economic stability, neighborhood and physical environment, education, food, community and social context and the healthcare system.

Discussing COVID-19 and racial disparities in health, Deichler displayed a New York Times Op-Ed quote that stated “White, Black and Latino people make up only 13 and 18% of the U.S. population, respectively,” and as of this past November, they “account for more than 50% of the country’s COVID-19 hospitalizations.” 

She advised implementing health in an all policies approach with health equity as the goal; strengthening community capacity to create the communities’ own healthy future; and expanding the communities’ understanding of what creates health. She observed there’s been a lot of advocacy for pressuring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC) and the federal government to declare racism a public health crisis. Doing so would require more resources be put toward understanding the issue as well as solutions to close the gap.

Rogow reported on maternal health, and that Black women are more likely to experience a preventable maternal death compared to white women. She stated 22% of Black women report discrimination when going to the doctor or clinic, and that they die at triple the rate as white women giving birth, regardless of their education, income or any other socioeconomic factors. She explained maternal mortality refers to deaths due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth. 

In a recent study published by the CDC, per 100 live births, 14.1% of deaths were among Asian American women, 30.4% were among indigenous women and 42.4% were among Black women compared to 13% of deaths among white women.

Emphasizing that “maternal health is a human right,” Rogow advised education, self-advocacy and increasing the range of birth options going forward, as well as screening for risk factors, increasing medical professionals of color at every level and including doulas in the delivery of care as an expansion of Medicaid services.

Delivering her presentation on people of color and mental health from a clinician’s perspective, Muhammad shared her belief that “when we share stories about people’s circumstances, we really understand what’s happening.” As an example, she projected three scenarios in which individuals of color sought help but were unable to obtain it due to racial disparities.

When they’re in a space that’s safe and comfortable, Muhammad said people of color are able to talk about some of the things they weren’t able to say when they previously tried, whether it’s admitting they’re ashamed to ask for help for fear of being seen as weak or feelings of being devalued or being told to “pray and push through it.” 

She said key questions to ask are: who, what, why, when, where, how and how much, as in: “Who can I go to for help?” “What do I need to know?” “Why do I need to get help now?” “Where is the support located?” 

In addition to considering the status of their agency in terms of working with persons of color, Muhammad also advised that individuals consider some of the implications that may be involved when carrying out this work. 

Following the presentation, the lecture opened for a Q&A session between the speakers and the audience.

For more information on Maternal Infant Services, go to www.misn-ny.org. For information on Catskill-Hudson Health Education Center Services, go to www.chahec.org. For information on Astor Services for Children & Families, go to www.astorservices.org.

For the link to the March 10 presentation, go to youtu.be/UE_UOWxD5Hg.