Diversity Week Advocacy

At the Ohio Statehouse, two resolutions have been introduced (SCR14/HCR31) to declare racism a public health crisis and to promote racial equity. Here at the College of Pharmacy, we have made a pledge to better advocate for all of our patients and that starts with a better understanding of the barriers that minority populations experience when receiving healthcare treatment.  Dr. David Williams, a professor of public health at Harvard, states in a review on racial disparities in the healthcare field, “A broad range of system barriers such as long waiting time, complex bureaucratic procedures, and the failure to treat patients with dignity and respect can lead to patient alienation and the avoidance of contact with the health care system unless absolutely necessary.”  We must work to alleviate these issues in our current and future practices and understand our implicit biases to address these issues to deliver high quality patient care to all of our patients.  Below is a list of research articles for more information on the racial disparities in the healthcare field.  

Resources