August 2024 (sent in September)
National Wellness Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
Minority Donor Awareness Month
National Wellness Month
In this 2023 study on the experiences of 129 African American individuals, respondents reported that they thought about historical losses such as land, language, and spiritual ways at least yearly or at special times, and sometimes or more had feelings or associated symptoms of historical loss such as sadness or depression or being uncomfortable around White people.
National Immunization Awareness Month
This 2024 study reveals that African Americans are less likely to trust doctors and the healthcare system. This mistrust influenced COVID-19 vaccination rates among African Americans (African Americans are less likely to get vaccinated). The researchers in this study tie the reason for this distrust back to Tuskegee Syphilis Study (a different study from 1932 in which 399 African American men were misinformed about their diagnosis of syphilis.)
Minority Donor Awareness Month
This 2024 study found that Black patients in need of organ donations were less likely to move forward at each step of the donation process compared to non-Black patients. (The steps include being approached about organ donation, having their organ donation authorized, and the organ actually being used in a transplant.) This mini documentary highlights the need for more organ donations for African Americans.
Call To Action
The Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report lists several suggestions for our members of Congress to enact laws to mitigate racial disparities in the healthcare system (scroll down to the very bottom of the report.) You can help by calling your representative and urge that they take action on these suggestions. You can find your representative by going to this website.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
