Editor's note: In The WellNest Watch, master's degree candidates in the public health program at EMU's School of Health Promotion and Human Performance explore news, research and standard practices in the field of health and wellness.
Ebrima Jobarteh is a graduate assistant in EMU's Office of Health Promotion.
Health outcomes are contingent on numerous factors that fall within the umbrella of the Social Determinants of Health, or the SDOH. Race as a social construct has been used to negatively impact individuals’ access to health care services, treatment options, and their voices on policies that affect their health.
From the non-anesthetic surgical treatment of enslaved Black women using the Sims speculum, the Tuskegee experiment that observed the natural history of untreated syphilis in Black men, the unconsulted usage of Henrietta Lacks’ stem cells for cancer treatment, to the current high rates of chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes among Latino and Black populations, historically, racial minorities have endured much with the advancement of health care.
Moreover, racial minorities face an inadequately advanced health infrastructure, and along with the high cost of health insurance, the health outcomes of racial minorities are significantly affected.
Through public health, there has been the recognition of social determinants of health, as well as the introduction of health policies that expanded Medicaid access for low-income adults, especially in racial minorities. Examples include the Affordable Care Act, federal funding provided to local communities to implement healthcare interventions that reduce chronic disease burden, like the REACH Program, and implementation of substance abuse prevention and harm reduction strategies to improve healthcare for all segments of society.
Public health must persist in its efforts to provide health equity for racial minorities. Improving healthcare access through better, more affordable insurance policies, culturally appropriate healthcare delivery, and protection of vulnerable groups with comprehensive vaccination and immunization programs rests on the shoulders of public health advocates.
Contributors to The WellNest Watch health column are Kegan Tulloch, Ebrima Jobarteh and Ruby Wyles, graduate assistants in the Office of Health Promotions, and Shafaat Ali Choyon and Nathaniel King, graduate hall directors in the Department of Residential Life. All five are master's degree candidates in the Public Health Program from the School of Public Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University.
