400 years after enslaved Africans were first brought to North America, inequalities continue to impact the health and life expectancy of African Americans. One driver of disparate outcomes is quality of care. Doctors tend to talk more and listen less to minority patients. Undoing this, says Johns Hopkins internist and researcher Dr. Lisa Cooper, requires educating future physicians. And sociologist Alexandre White tells how historical responses to disease outbreaks can teach useful lessons about structural racism.
A conference on this issue - co-hosted by the offices within Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine - is today at 3 pm. Details and webcast available here here.
