Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Post

This Black History Month, we're highlighting influential Black voices and organizations who have made an impact on health equity and policy. In a May 2023 article, Andrew Anderson and coauthors shed light on the opportunity cost of not addressing disparities when developing cardiovascular disease health care policies. Read the full paper: https://hubs.la/Q02mylwB0

Help your community take a stand against tobacco use. Download The Center for Black Health & Equity’s toolkit to access templates, topics, fact sheets, activities, and more. Schools, places of worship, businesses and community organizations alike can use these valuable resources to encourage tobacco cessation, and help the people in our communities quit tobacco for good. Download the toolkit today: https://lnkd.in/ej-Aiui

The first 8️⃣ years of a child’s life set the foundation for their health, safety, and overall well-being. Our Eight Essential Outcomes provide a framework for Black child development from birth through age 8. From digital safety to nutrition and important milestones in between, these outcomes guide our advocacy work. Learn more about these important pillars on our website: https://bit.ly/3FlyK9e

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the self-reported health status of Black and African Americans continues to improve each year; however, nearly 19% of adults still report being in fair or poor health compared to 10% of Asian Americans, 13.6% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, 13.6% of white Americans, and 16% of Hispanic/Latinos. CEAL Regional Teams address issues related to racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities; by engaging with community-based organizations and other partners located in and trusted by communities, they reach racially and ethnically diverse communities. CEAL Regional Teams have reached much higher proportions of Black or African American individuals compared to the U.S. population as a whole and compared to the demographics of their focus communities. For example, 12% of the U.S. population and 18% of CEAL focus counties were Black or African American, whereas 41% of CEAL’s Common Survey respondents were Black or African American. In honor of Black History Month, we are joining U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Minority Health (OMH) in highlighting resources, programs, and events that focus on improving the health of Black communities through enhanced health literacy, culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services, and community-based interventions: https://bit.ly/3UDlyp0

🙋♀️You’ve got the questions and we’ve got the answers!    In the spring 2024 issue of Packard Children’s News, we sat down with Amanda P. Williams, MD, MPH, FACOG, clinical innovation advisor at California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) since 2022, for a Q&A about advancing Black birth equity. ❤️    Q: What’s behind California’s success in reducing maternal mortality?    Q: Even in California, there’s still a gap in outcomes for Black patients. What is CMQCC doing next to address this?    Q: How is philanthropy advancing CMQCC’s work?    📖 💡Find out the answers in the latest issue of Packard Children’s News (PCN)! Read now https://tr.ee/N3uKTJTrQN

Black Americans continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials, with participation rates as low as five percent. Read more about how Black participation in clinical trials can be increased through measures including better communication and education, improved access and more inclusive trial designs: https://buff.ly/48N3TyV #ClinicalTrials #ClinicalTrialDiversity

📊 Today is #MondoDataDay, and we’re celebrating the last Monday of the month by sharing #data related to the month's #holidays or initiatives. Take a moment to learn something new and share it with others in your network. ➡️ Historian Carter G. Woodson launched Black History Week in 1926 to recognize the contributions of African Americans. Fifty years later, Congress expanded it to National #BlackHistoryMonth. In 2019, Black business owners owned 3.5M businesses and employed more than 1.2M people. Check out the following #stats provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration: https://lnkd.in/eKiCzuKs ❤️ 1 in every 3 deaths in the United States is related to cardiovascular disease. February is American Heart Month, a time when all people—especially women—are encouraged to focus on their cardiovascular health. Explore the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s #HeartMonth toolkits for evidence-based resources to support heart health: https://lnkd.in/eETWjdV

I couldn't let the day go by without highlighting this amazing day! This month is National Minority Health Month, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is coordinating a virtual day of action on April 30 to highlight the positive impact that diversifying the healthcare workforce can have on long-standing health inequities and how initiatives like the Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Title VII and Title VIII workforce programs are vital to increasing workforce diversity for the benefit of all patients. The charge of the action collaborative is to: Identify replicable solutions to amplify and support Black men’s interest in a career in medicine and/or in the biomedical sciences. Use existing data and evidence to develop systems-based solutions to address exclusionary practices that create barriers for Black men and prevent them from having equitable opportunities to successfully enroll in medical school. Convene key partners to act on measurable solutions. You can become an action partner and stay updated on the work of the action collaborative via email at actioncollabforblackmen@aamc.org. 

In the state of California, a major focus is on reducing disparities in mental health. This means providing behavioral health services and care to populations and communities that have historically received less of it. A recent study has identified key actions that are critical to reaching and addressing the needs of the Black male population in California: "Healthcare providers, systems, and community organizations have an opportunity to partner with Black men to improve their health care experiences and those of their loved ones. Specific actions include: - Offer and promote community-based forums for Black men to discuss health care issues and to share information with each other. - Engage health care providers in building strong, trusting relationships with Black men. - Expand access to Black health advocates and medical chaperones. - Involve Black men in initial and ongoing training for health care providers and frontline staff."

Recently, community-engaged efforts to improve Black maternal health disparities have moved towards cross-sector approaches that center the lived experiences of Black birthing people. Despite these comprehensive approaches, community members rarely participate throughout the research lifecycle. Citizen science-led projects like those described in this paper by Drs. Catov, Miller, and Krishnamurti are one way to acknowledge and commit to bidirectional community-partnered research and action https://lnkd.in/eJY2xbEz