Carol Javens’ Post

In recent years, patients such as Rebecca Hiles and Ellen Maud Bennett have brought attention to the fact that weight bias can lead to the misdiagnosis of critical illnesses like cancer. “It was very scary to sort of exist in a body that I thought was failing me and have medical professionals who didn’t seem to take me seriously,” Hiles said. After years of being told she needed to lose weight, Hiles was diagnosed with cancer after a tumor was found in her bronchial tube. Tragically, we cannot hear from Ellen Maud Bennet directly. Benett’s obituary read, “Over the past few years of feeling unwell she sought out medical intervention and no one offered any support or suggestions beyond weight loss. Ellen’s dying wish was that women of size make her death matter by advocating strongly for their health and not accepting that fat is the only relevant health issue.” These are two cases among thousands of others. Weight bias causes untold and entirely unnecessary suffering, preventable illness, disability, and death. Poor care and poor outcomes due to bias and discrimination against people with larger body size is an overlooked epidemic - at least 1 in 3 people living in the USA are at risk for stigma, discrimination, and poor treatment solely due to their body size. Diversity Science recently provided an in-depth post if interested. This is an urgent issue for health care organization. And, it doesn't stop with patients: Healthcare personnel are also at high risk. We have conducted Organizational Climate Assessments with dozens of healthcare organizations and found that healthcare personnel employees of larger body size, as compared with others, are: - less likely to feel respected,  - more likely to report that they have to keep proving their competence (no matter how long they worked at their organization),  - and are less likely to feel to report that their organization is a good place to get healthcare for people like them. (If you want more information its available here: https://lnkd.in/gjgAr3hi) Diversity Science has been proud to work with Lead Subject Matter expert Sean Phelan and other stakeholders to develop an evidence-based Video eLearning course for healthcare personnel on this essential and overlooked topic. As with all our courses, they are evidence-based yet responsive to the real world of health care, guided by the learners themseves, and use case examples and engaging scenarios to bring the course to life. The course was free for review for September but after several requests, we just extended the free review access has been extended one more week. (https://lnkd.in/g9aaRF2K). After that time, the course is very low cost, free for organizational review and assessment, and discounts are available. If you complete it, please provide feedback!

“It was very scary to sort of exist in a body that I thought was failing me and have medical professionals who didn’t seem to take me seriously,” Rebecca Hiles said. After years of being told she needed to lose weight, Hiles was diagnosed with cancer after a tumor was found in her bronchial tube. Tragically, we cannot hear from Ellen Maud Bennet directly. Benett’s obituary read, “Over the past few years of feeling unwell, she sought out medical intervention and no one offered any support or suggestions beyond weight loss. Ellen’s dying wish was that women of size make her death matter by advocating strongly for their health and not accepting that fat is the only relevant health issue.” These are two cases among thousands of others. Weight bias causes untold and entirely unnecessary suffering, preventable illness, disability, and death. Poor care and poor outcomes due to bias and discrimination against people with larger body size is an overlooked epidemic - at least 1 in 3 people living in the USA are at risk for stigma, discrimination, and poor treatment solely due to their body size. Diversity Science recently provided an in-depth post if you are interested (https://lnkd.in/gP9nYmVX) See our course (Lead Subject Matter Expert Sean Phelan) at https://lnkd.in/gv3td7kH to get deeper insight and actionable strategies. Contact us directly for webinars and workshops on the crucial topic (solutions@diversityscience.org).

Social determinants of health require social solutions of health. Hospitals are expected to provide not only medical treatment, but social and family-replacement support. With ever increasing demands on hospitals for expanded access and support for communities, reflection is needed by stakeholders on how safety net hospitals will sustain future pressures.

Health care systems face challenges like maternal mortality, medication compliance, hospital-acquired infections, and long ER wait times. M. Rashad Massoud from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health suggests that leaders adopt a science of improvement approach, focusing on system appreciation, variation understanding, theoretical application, and psychological insights. He proposes five steps for quality improvement: identifying problems, finding measurable solutions, emphasizing process implementation, using the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle, and being adaptable. This approach aims to improve patient outcomes and cost efficiency. https://lnkd.in/gDzQJAmG #healthcaremanagement #qualityimprovement 

There is no question: Our #healthcare system is very fragmented. Often, #primarycarephysicians only have enough time to manage a patient’s physical health but are unable to effectively provide timely #mental and #behavioralhealth services during routine visits. Problems like substance use and abuse, stress, an unhealthy diet, and chronic disease are all factors that affect our overall well-being. Failing to acknowledge these important pieces leaves a lot of blind spots in our ability to provide comprehensive, high-quality healthcare. Check out my article published by Psychology Today to learn more. #NVFP #conciergemedicine https://lnkd.in/gyrgwvzn

5 emotional-health-in-kidney-care tips you should hang on your wall: 💐 Practice empathetic listening with kidney patients. 💐 Include emotional health as part of the overall care plan. 💐 Encourage patients to express their feelings and concerns. 💐. Provide resources for emotional support and counseling. 💐 Regularly assess emotional well-being alongside physical health. https://lnkd.in/dsewptSh #kidneycare #emotionalhealth #empatheticlistening #patientcare #counseling

As a physician dedicated to improving the lives of those with chronic health conditions, Lisa Nelson, MD, witnessed firsthand the transformative healing that happens in group health visits. For people who struggle with physical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, or chronic pain, or mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, a group health visit can help people forge connections, live better, and feel better. Read more about who is a good candidate for group health visits, what are the advantages of group health visits, how do group visit patients help each other, and what are some other benefits of group health care.

Great work addressing social determinants of health, in a practical way, that’s improving health outcomes

This quote in this article nicely summarizes what I have spent years in public health trying to get folks to understand about "o*****y" research: "The relationship between weight and health is complicated. But simple assumptions that fat people are necessarily unhealthy, even doomed to die of our fatness, are clearly inaccurate: Research has shown that “overweight” people have the lowest risks of premature mortality and that “moderately obese” and “normal-weight” people have similar mortality risks. Yes, being heavier than “moderately obese” is correlated with an increased mortality risk; but so is being very thin (even excluding people who smoked or had preexisting illnesses). And whether certain elevated health risks for heavy people are caused by their weight per se remains unclear, given that they face serious independent health harms because of weight stigma, weight cycling and, again, inadequate health care."

Started the day reading this article from Cureus Journal of Medical Sciences with complicated feelings . . . First response, enthusiasm as it methodically reinforces the raison d'être for Relentless Venture Fund and our plans for Fund II. We are dedicated to investment in chronic disease management as well as the gaps in care that impact our aging population. Subsequent response, a wee bit deflated as the breadth of gaps in care are highlighted. We have a lot of work to do to deliver systematic impact and improved care for our seniors. Then from an investor's perspective, energized again. Gaps. Therein lies the opportunity for investment! Globally, we are facing an "unprecedented demographic shift that poses significant global challenges and opportunities for public health systems, demanding a coordinated and comprehensive response." #chronicdiseasemanagement #diabetes #cardiovasculardisease #mobility #mentalhealth #neurotech #AgingInPlace