Integrated Communications

Q1 2024 Real Health Equity Check-Up: Addressing Systemic Disparities

April 7, 2024

Welcome to Real Chemistry’s Real Health Equity Check-Up, a quarterly summary of relevant highlights and emerging trends in today’s complex, ever-evolving health equity space.

Sign up here to receive the complete digest to your inbox each month.

Welcome back,

We are excited to announce that our Health Equity Digest continues in its pursuit to share the latest about cultivating equitable health outcomes.

In that pursuit, we introduce, “The Real Health Equity Check-Up (RCU),” a new name for our digest that reflects our intention to pause, reflect, and check-in about work that inspires us to expand our potential as change-agents and our purview as industry-leading experts.

The lens through which we view challenges profoundly influences our ability to address them. In the health equity space, the way we frame and perceive inequities greatly impacts our ability to address them.

Like adjusting the focus on a camera lens, reframing our perspectives allows us to see beyond the surface and recognize the system of factors that contribute to health inequity.

The RCU illuminates the path toward a fairer healthcare landscape.

Quarterly, we'll curate diverse perspectives and share compelling stories that are reshaping conversations–and actions–around health equity.

We’ll provide you with insights and resources aimed at disrupting inequities in our healthcare systems and supporting all people with better health outcomes.

RELEVANT NEWS IN Q1

Healthcare leaders, advocacy groups, and patients are working together to address systemic disparities.

The American Heart Association and Chickasaw Nation are asking the public to join them for the 2024 Southeastern Oklahoma Heart Walk Saturday, April 20, at Koi Ishto Stadium. The walk will raise life-saving funds for heart and stroke research.
While diversity in clinical trials has driven (needed) buzz in recent years, uneven representation of diverse populations in clinical trials remains a substantial barrier to health equity. Companies harnessing AI for clinical and drug development should aim to build trust even among the most skeptical users.

Following Black History Month and Women’s History Month, patient health advocates and patients aimed to reframe the intersection of race, gender, and health. Some of the most resonant topics were HIV awareness in women and girls, disparities in health care for Black women, and fears of discrimination in maternal care among Black women.

Throughout February and March, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Foundation, Black Women’s Health Imperative, and Black Mamas Matter Alliance shared content about HIV awareness, heart health, and reproductive justice. Respectively,enhancing community engagement and initiating policy advocacy to address systemic health inequities.
In February, the American Heart Association and Brigham and Women's Hospital amplified the Apple Heart and Movement Study, the link between physical activity and heart health, by focusing on recruiting Black women during Black History Month.

THOSE TO WATCH

Q1 boasted several important health equity-related events and many organizations engaged social platforms to augment their efforts.

Michigan Emergency Department Improvement Collaborative: Same Patient, Same Health System, Different Race?
Modern Mystics: For Centuries, Latin American and Hispanic Communities Have Turned to Curanderos for Holistic Healing
CDC Foundation: CDC Foundation’s Live to the Beat Campaign Spotlights Cardiovascular Disease in Black Women, Issuing a Call-to-Action to Help Black Women Prioritize Self-Care for Their Own Heart Health
Johnson & Johnson: Winners Have Been Selected for the 2024 Health Equity Innovation Challenge Aiming to Address Health Inequities
TargetHIV: Black Women First Initiative, Demonstration Projects Focus on Improving HIV Care and Treatment Coordination for Black Women
Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA): Angela Doyinsola Aina is Determined to Give Black Mamas the Care They Deserve

OUR HEALTH EQUITY EFFORTS IRL

Our experts published a study that reframes the traditional interpretation of “out-of-pocket costs”.

Out-of-pocket (OOP) costs are commonly thought of as a catch-all for patient payments for prescription drugs not covered by insurance premiums, but a new study published in Population Health Management documents 31 distinct OOP costs impacting patients and caregivers. Acknowledging the diversity of patient OOP costs (beyond copays, deductibles, and coinsurances) creates a foundation for reducing financial barriers to more equitable, accessible, and patient-centered care.*

We’re partnering with patients to develop better cancer treatments.

Our very own Jewel Jones moderated a panel at SXSW highlighting the necessity of the patient and community voices to drive equity in oncology research and development, touching on clinical trial research, AI tools, and patient-facing programs. Panelists included Candace Henley (The Blue Hat Foundation), Marisol Mendez Peron (Genmab), and Karriem Watson, DHSc, MS, MPH, (All of Us Research Program, National Institute of Health).

The reframe: While organizations throughout the healthcare ecosystem acknowledge the incorporation of patient voices as mission-critical, engagement of historically unheard voices still poses a challenge. Panelists reframe “hard to reach” patient populations as underengaged; these populations are not hard to reach when the right tactics are employed to be present in their communities.

The take-home: "The patient voice is extremely important because we have that experience. And so often I found myself in battles with doctors. You have a PhD in your education. I have a PhD in experience." – Candace Henley

*Shoutout to authors from our Market Access team (Theresa Schmidt, Christine Juday, Palak Patel), Merck (Taruja Karmarkar, Esther Renee Smith-Howell), and University of Michigan (A. Mark Fendrick) for bringing attention to this topic.

CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE? CHECK OUT HOW:

A neuroscientist detangles sex-based brain condition disparities.

Dr. Lisa Mosconi, PhD, briefly explains the importance of acknowledging the difference between men’s and women’s brains.
Why it matters: Historically, women’s brains were excluded from postmortem studies which may have exacerbated gaps in understanding disparities in brain conditions (ie, depression, autoimmune disorders affecting the brain, post-menopausal Alzheimer disease) among women as compared with men.

An oncologist encourages earlier screening mammograms for women younger than 50.

Dr. Regina M. Stein, MD, speaks about women aged 40+ who may benefit from mammogram screenings.
Dr. Stein highlights that approximately 12% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 50, yet the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends biennial screening with high certainty that the screening is highly beneficial for women aged 50 to 74 (Grade B), and with moderate certainty that the screening is somewhat beneficial for women aged 40 to 49 (Grade C).