Like many medical specialties, the field of psychiatry was built on racist ideas of difference in black and white mental fitness and mental capacity. This historical backdrop of medical and scientific racism paved the way for contemporary inequities in care and the systematic underinvestments in Black mental health. The drivers of long-term Black mental health vulnerabilities are the cumulative and lingering adversities of race-based exclusions from health, educational, social, and economic resources. Black mental health practitioners have made urgent calls to improve mental health care in Black communities by improving access to care and the quality of care, as well as diversifying the mental health force and requiring culturally resonant training for providers in order to provide effective care.

Dr. Jessica Isom joins the Health EquiTEA Podcast to discuss racism and anti-racism in psychiatry, particularly in Black communities. Dr. Isom emphasizes the need for a developmental understanding of the field and the importance of incorporating equity and anti-oppression practices. She shares her personal journey in the field and the challenges she has faced as a Black psychiatrist. Dr. Isom also discusses the significance of culturally relevant care and the need for representation of Black mental health practitioners. She explores the intersectionality of race and mental health and the role of advocacy and activism in transforming the psychiatric profession.

Key Takeaways:

1. Psychiatry needs a developmental understanding of itself to address racism and improve mental health care in Black communities.
2. Culturally relevant care involves creating a collaborative and empowering therapeutic relationship with patients.
3. Black immigrant communities may have unique considerations and hesitancies when seeking mental health care.
4. Advocacy and activism efforts are essential in reducing resistance to equity-focused interventions in psychiatry.
5. Research and implementation science are crucial for developing effective strategies for workforce development and improving mental health care outcomes.

Stay Connected

• Tweet us at @Health_EquiTEA, @Jallicia, and @IjeomaKola
• Visit our website healthequitea.com
• Email us at [email protected]

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The United States has a troubling history of black bodies being used as experimental subjects for new drugs or medical treatments. Though the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 was created to require the inclusion of women and minorities in clinical trials funded by the NIH, Black participation in clinical trials still trails far below the overall demographic makeup of the US. While mistrust of medical research and clinical trials among many black people still exists, exacerbated by medical racism, which affects the extent to which black patients are exposed to and able to access clinical trials. 

In this episode of the Health EquiTEA Podcast, Dr. Jallicia Jolly and Dr. Ijeoma Kola highlight the overlap between Black underrepresentation in clinical trials and the disproportionate impact of Breast cancer in Black women. Breast cancer survivors Ricki Fairley and Valarie Worthy, the co-founders of Touch, the Black Breast Cancer Alliance, join the Health EquiTEA podcast to discuss their mission to increase Black women's participation in breast cancer clinical trials. Through their organization, Ricki and Valarie are working to reduce racial inequities in breast cancer outcomes by increasing access to advanced treatment and life-saving quality care for Black women, while also promoting Black breast health awareness in younger generations.

For detailed show notes, visit healthequitea.com/episodes/narrowing-the-gap-in-black-breast-health

Stay Connected

• Tweet us at @Health_EquiTEA, @Jallicia, and @IjeomaKola
• Visit our website healthequitea.com
• Email us at [email protected]

If you liked this episode, please leave us a review!

In this new landscape of technology, algorithms are used as data to make predictions and aid in decision-making around medical treatment and healthcare access. While they have been known to reinforce discrimination and harm, they also have the capacity to advance health equity and the well-being of Black communities.

In this episode of the Health EquiTEA Podcast, Jallicia and Ijeoma frame the struggles for health equity within the recent efforts of Black leaders to leverage innovative technology for racial justice and birth equity.   Black women leaders have paved the digital lane in health care by creating apps that combine digital tools with efforts to address coded biases and racism that exist in the medical system.  This increased representation of Black health tech founders alongside the growing awareness of systemic inequities that impact the well-being of Black people reinforces the urgent calls to hold institutions accountable for using biased technology to perpetuate health disparities.  We respond to this call by showcasing the knowledge, evidence-based solutions, and health equity work of Black leaders.

For detailed show notes, visit healthequitea.com/episodes/using-data-and-technology-to-advance-racial-justice

Stay Connected

• Tweet us at @Health_EquiTEA, @Jallicia, and @IjeomaKola
• Visit our website healthequitea.com
• Email us at [email protected]

If you liked this episode, please leave us a review!

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is already disproportionately impacting marginalized groups who struggle to access reproductive healthcare, especially Black birthing people.

In this episode of the Health EquiTEA Podcast, Ijeoma and Jallicia frame the fight for abortion access in the long history of reproductive justice for Black birthing people in America. They speak with Marisa Pizii, Deputy Director of Programs and Policy at Collective Power for Reproductive Justice, about bodily autonomy, pro-abortion vs. pro-choice language, and how the concept of reproductive justice goes beyond the legal right to abortion.

For detailed show notes, visit healthequitea.com/episodes/abortion-access-as-reproductive-justice

Stay Connected

• Tweet us at @Health_EquiTEA, @Jallicia, and @IjeomaKola
• Visit our website healthequitea.com
• Email us at [email protected]

If you liked this episode, please leave us a review!

The Health EquiTEA Podcast brings attention to racial health inequities that disproportionately impact Black communities and highlights local and national efforts to address them. By combining historical and contemporary analyses with first-hand stories of advocates, activists, and community organizations, we elevate grassroots Black voices and on-the-ground work as we put their expert knowledge in conversation with academic research and theory. As we make connections between academic research on health inequities and grassroots movements, we hope to inspire further collective action and expand access to knowledge. Ultimately, our goal is to redistribute the expertise by expanding who can be a knowledge producer and change maker.

The Health EquiTEA Podcast is hosted by two Black women scholar-practitioners, Dr. Jallicia Jolly and Dr. Ijeoma Kola, whose work foregrounds the translation and dissemination of public health research and knowledge to, for, and with Black communities. Tune in each month to get the tea on Health EquiTEA!

Stay Connected

• Tweet us at @Health_EquiTEA, @Jallicia, and @IjeomaKola
• Visit our website healthequitea.com
• Email us at [email protected]

If you liked this episode, please leave us a review!