When Milwaukee County became the first jurisdiction to declare racism a public health crisis in 2019, it had among the worst health outcomes in Wisconsin. It was also one of the most segregated areas of the country, with a high Black mortality rate. The county’s Office on African American Affairs and Wisconsin’s Public Health Association […]
Health
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
The Fight Over Abortion Rights Is a Black Issue
Maternal health care advocates raised alarm Tuesday after a leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion suggested that the nation’s highest court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, a decision that would limit abortion access nationwide and could exacerbate racial disparities in births. Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the leaked opinion, published Monday […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Menthol Cigarette Ban Receives Pushback from Some Racial Justice Advocates
This story has been updated. The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday rules for a proposed nationwide ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes, a move that has significant implications for Black communities, which disproportionately smoke menthol products. Public health experts lauded the FDA’s announcement, saying it will significantly reduce tobacco-related health diseases and death. […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
Capital B Live: Highlights from “The State of Black Maternal Health”
The State of Black Maternal Health In our opening conversation, Stacey D. Stewart, president and CEO of March of Dimes, U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of North Carolina, and Tonya Lewis Lee, co-producer and co-director of the documentary Aftershock, discussed the current state of Black maternal health care and outcomes for Black women — which have […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
New Study Highlights How Complex Trust in Science and Medicine Is For Black Americans
A majority of Black adults have had at least one negative experience with a health care provider, according to a new report. But young Black women are particularly likely to report a harmful interaction during routine health care. More than 70% of Black women ages 18 to 49 said they’ve experienced at least one negative […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
The Reading List: Maternal and Reproductive Health in America
As racial disparities in maternal health complications rise and unequal access to comprehensive care continues, American women face potentially life-threatening health outcomes — and the outlook is particularly frightening for Black women. They are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy related causes than white women. In the United States, Black maternal mortality […]
Posted inCOVID-19, Health
Talking About COVID-19’s Racial Disparities Makes White People Care Less. But There’s An Exception.
Soon after COVID-19 spread across the United States, the racial disparities became clear: Black Americans’ chances of dying after infection were — and remain — twice that of white Americans. The realization spurred discussion in news reports across the country about health inequities. But highlighting the racial disparities in COVID-19 infection and death made some white […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
How Racism in America Affects Black Babies — Even Before They’re Born
This is an excerpt from Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation. The book, by journalist Linda Villarosa, examines the inequities that quietly wear on Black Americans’ health from before birth, causing them to “live sicker and die quicker.” Villarosa, former executive editor of […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Organ Transplants Reached a Record High Last Year. Why Are Black Donors Still So Rare?
It was during a road trip that Steven Robinson stopped to visit his former college roommate and noticed something was wrong. Richard Koonce had lost weight – evidence of the dwindling appetite and low energy that the 62-year-old had been experiencing for the past two years. Koonce revealed that he had been struggling with primary […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Meet the Black Women Behind the New Digital Startups Aimed at Reducing Health Disparities
The trip from Sacramento to Oakland, California, is an hour and a half on a good day. Maybe three when traffic jams the highway. But it’s a trip some of Dr. Joy Cooper’s patients were willing to take to see a provider who looked like them. “Otherwise,” she said, “they would not see a Black […]