Prescribing Change: Tackling Black Health Disparities

Healthy Disruptions Podcast

This episode will discuss black health and the different ways community members, health care professionals, and politicians can make strides to end health disparities. It is known that black people in the United States are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, making their life expectancies much shorter than their white counterparts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2017, the average life expectancy of a black American is 75.3 years compared to 78.8 years for their white counterparts. The cause for these visible inequities isn't limited to systemic racism and bias in the healthcare and medical treatment, but also to the lack of access to care, information, and socio-economic differences. So, join Hemen Mekonnen, an incoming fourth year public policy major with a track in health and population and an intern at UCR School of Medicine Center for Healthy Communities, as she explores this critical issue. We will hear from Michelle Burroughs, Director of UC Riverside Center for Healthy Communities and public health experts, and Dr. Sims, a professor in the UCR medical school Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health