The Health Disparities Podcast

10 Episodes
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By: Movement is Life

This podcast highlights disparities evidenced in common chronic conditions featured in the "vicious cycle" (e.g. diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, mental health) and musculoskeletal/arthritis conditions, with emphasis on disparities and how social determinants of health impact these conditions and their management.

How cross-collaborative partnerships can improve lifelong health trajectories
#163
Last Wednesday at 9:00 AM

It’s important for health care workers to provide quality health care. But when it comes to addressing health disparities, clinical care can only go so far, says Dr. Diana E. Ramos, an OB/GYN who now serves as California’s first Latina surgeon general. 

“It would be wonderful if that 10-minute appointment that a patient just saw me for made the biggest difference in the patient's life. That's not the reality,” Ramos said. “We have to [take] into consideration the environment that the people live in.”

Ramos says cross-collaborative partnerships between health care providers and community...


How to be a health equity influencer
#162
03/13/2024

Many envision influencers as social media stars with vast followings. But being an influencer is so much more than that. In today’s episode, we redefine the term across various sectors, from health to social justice, and delve into how you can activate your network by using your influence.

One thing influencers do is share information throughout their communities to spread awareness about important issues, says Beth O’Connor, the executive director of the Virginia Rural Health Association, 

“People want to know more,” O’Connor says. “And people who are often in those mineral age groups are th...


‘Without money, there’s no mission’: Fundraising advice for nonprofits
#161
02/28/2024

Nonprofit organizations rely on funding to execute their mission, but steady funding is not always easy to come by. So, what can leaders of nonprofits do to attract attention — and resources — from foundations and corporations with money to give?

Many funders want to understand an organization’s impact — and quantifying and conveying that impact can take many forms, says Velma Monteiro-Tribble, former director of grants and programs for the Florida Blue Foundation.

“People think that there is money lying around; money is tighter today,” she said. “And people are looking at those that really can tell the story...


Food is Medicine: How Kroger Health uses technology to promote health equity
#160
02/14/2024

In a nation where healthy choices often take a back seat, Dr. Marc Watkins, chief medical officer at Kroger Health, advocates a transformative shift: viewing food as medicine.

Watkins is spearheading a mission to eradicate food insecurities, paving the way for a healthier America. 

“If we’re going to change the way America eats, we have to lead around making sure we have a variety of foods in our stores that represents an adequate format of foods that makes sense for Americans to purchase at the right price,” Watkins says. 

This week on the Heal...


Debunking self-care myths with Ariel Belgrave, founder of Gym Hooky
#159
01/31/2024

When it comes to self-care, many people think of taking a break due to exhaustion or burnout. But the acts of self-care that make a real difference go beyond self-soothing, says Ariel Belgrave, an award-winning health and fitness expert, wellness consultant, and the founder of Gym Hooky. 

Belgrave challenges people to consider self-care as an investment in their future selves.

“The mindset shift I challenge folks to have is: thinking about the future version of you,” Belgrave says. “...The reality is: Taking care of yourself now could be the difference between your independence and being in a nu...


How med schools can equip doctors to help eliminate health disparities
#158
01/17/2024

Many people who go into medicine come from well-off families and don’t know what it’s like to live in poverty. So when they graduate and become physicians, they can struggle to understand why their therapeutic interventions aren’t improving the lives of their patients.

This, according to Dr. Pedro José Greer Jr., is because med schools have not done a great job helping their students understand the social determinants of health — the many nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes.

“It's not for the student physician to be able to resolve the social determinants, it's for th...


Building community through movement: A conversation with the founders of Walk with a Doc and Semilla Cultural
#157
01/03/2024

Movement is important for a person’s health and well-being. The good news is: many activities that promote movement come with enormous benefits that extend beyond physical health. 

Today’s discussion features the founders of two organizations that aim to promote physical activity — and build community while doing it. 

Walk with a Doc began in 2005 after Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, invited his patients to go for a walk with him in a local park. The program has since spread to more than 500 locations.

Semilla Cultural, founded by Isha M. Renta Ló...


”The Death Gap” author Dr. David Ansell discusses social and structural vectors for disease that were not taught at his medical school. With Dr. Carla Harwell.
#156
12/19/2023

Dr. David Ansell’s book “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills” was first published in 2017. In a foreword for the book updated in 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote that “Three years before the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. David Ansell published The Death Gap, brilliantly synthesizing what he experienced in decades of practicing medicine in two utterly different medical worlds that were mere blocks apart. What makes this book so compelling is that rather than focusing exclusively on data and statistics, Dr. Ansell makes these gruesome numbers real. He tells the story of the disparities through the real-life experiences of patients with who...


Building Black wealth and addressing social determinants of health in Baltimore - the Parity story with Bree Jones
#155
12/06/2023

Can equitable real estate development organization Parity help solve Baltimore's empty housing problem and build Black wealth? Founder Bree Jones and her backers are making it happen. According to a profile in Baltimore Magazine, Bree Jones counts herself among a generation of young Black Americans who are being spurred to activism by high-profile killings of unarmed Black people. These are people who demand accountability on issues involving race, violence, and equality in the U.S.

For Bree Jones, a central solution is revitalizing neighborhoods – without gentrification. Her organization, Parity, a non-profit equitable real estate development company, is wor...


Solutions, success factors, & common mistakes. Round table. (Systemic Bias & Systemic Racism in Healthcare 4/4)
#154
11/16/2023

Our guests are health equity practitioners Christin Zollicoffer and Dr. Bonnie Simpson Mason, who discuss programs and initiatives that are making headway in dismantling structural racism with episode host Claudia Zamora. Together they explore a number of different examples and critical success factors that contribute to success, and mention some common mistakes that organizations may make when establishing initiatives. This is the fourth and final episode in our mini-series focused on systemic bias and systemic racism, and we end with constructive forward steps and an optimistic outlook. 

Christin Zollicoffer is Chief Belonging and Equity Officer at Lifespan He...