This week we revisit one of our most popular episodes from season 1 of the InOn Health Podcast, featuring Dr. Brittani James, family physician and co-founder of The Institute for Antiracism in Medicine. KP and Dr. James discuss the racial disparities in medicine, and how racism is a contributing construct in the American healthcare system.
Show Notes
Dr. Brittani James, family physician and Co-Founder of The Institute for Antiracism in Medicine, joins KP in the ongoing discussion addressing health equity. Dr. James begins the conversation by sharing her upbringing, witnessing segregated systems in and outside the healthcare system. She reveals how the Covid-19 pandemic spotlighted the racial disparities in the healthcare systems and the mental health impact on the Black community.
While attending medical school at the University of Michigan, Dr. James reflects learning how black individuals are more inclined to experience health issues, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but never taught the explanation of why. She further explains how race is often regarded as a biologically distinct entity, which has led to false conclusions that people of color are biologically different. This fundamental flaw inaccurately suggests and justifies the concept that people of color are “inferior” to other races on a biological and genetic level. Dr. James discusses how this misconception is evident in research studies, especially in medical journals, which are primary sources of information in medicine. She provides insights into the harmful effects of the lack of editorial neutrality in medical journals, such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, blocking scholarship of racism and findings in research.
The Institute of Antiracism in Medicine is designed to train clinicians to recognize implicit biases by providing tools to serve as advocates for their patients, understanding how to engage in the topic of racism, and ultimately eliminating racism from the healthcare system. Dr. James explains confronting racism and implementing change requires a clear understanding of its foundation. The first steps to creating change involve identifying your influence and recognizing relationships in your life.
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What is InOn Health Podcast?
Health equity issues in our country have been around for decades – largely impacting communities of color and rural areas. When it comes to economic and racial disparities in health the evidence is clear. This is more than a hot topic. Covid-19 has exposed the underbelly of how social determinants of health and racial disparities play out in our country. What we need now is to impart lasting change.
Welcome to the InOn Health podcast. I’m your host Kaakpema Yelpaala, and I’m the co-founder and CEO of InOn Health.
In this podcast we’re going to be talking about health equity. We’ll be talking to entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, and other industry experts in healthcare and public health. The topics we’ll cover will range from racial disparities in health to digital innovation for diverse populations, and ultimately how we build better policy to more inclusively serve everyone around their healthcare needs.
Join me on this podcast series to not only be inspired by our leaders but also to get insight on how we can all take action.