WHY INVOLVEMENT OF BLACK MEN IN MEDICINE SO IMPORTANT?


Answer:
More black doctors are needed because black patients are more likely to feel comfortable with black doctors and more likely to adhere to certain preventive means given by black doctors, research shows. Also, black doctors are more likely to help people living in underserved communities.
Black men have the lowest life expectancy among all ethnic group in the United States because of higher rates of incarceration, lower socioeconomic status, and greater barriers to health care, resulting in higher rates of chronic disease. So having many black doctors will make it possible to treat those patients with better understanding.
“More black physicians in the system establishes trust in the system,” said Dr. Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry and dean of students at Harvard Medical School. An entirely white staff “discourages black people from using those facilities,” he said.
Hodge believes that reshaping academic medicine to make diversity and inclusion an integral part of the institutional fabric is essential to addressing this issue.
“Identifying high-achieving black men is critical,” he said. “This is easier when there is increased minority representation on admissions committees, in administrative leadership and in teaching positions.”

Comments