Alison Buttenheim's Congressional Testimony on COVID Vaccine Hesitancy
Exploring Inequities in Telemedicine
[Cross-posted from the Tradeoffs Research Corner]
The Ties Between Structural Racism, Voting Rights, and Health Equity
Penn Medicine Implements Anti-Racism Program Across Health System
How Medical Schools Perpetuate Physician Bias
[Editor’s note: In a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, a team of researchers highlighted misrepresentations of race in U.S. medical school courses, and recommended ways to address the systemic racism that produces and reproduces these inaccuracies.
Nurse Staffing and Outcomes of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
In-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCAs) are catastrophic and often terminal events. Despite improvements in resuscitation efforts, fewer than 25% of patients who experience an IHCA survive to discharge. Survival varies significantly across hospitals and by race. Racial disparities in IHCA survival have been linked, in part, to the quality of care during hospitalization.
Maternal Resilience and Low Birthweight
The United States has one of the highest rates of low birthweight (LBW) among OECD countries, with significant disparities by race and ethnicity.
Penn Nursing School/LDI Research Team Wins NAM Catalyst Grant Award
Bringing Gynecologic Cancer Care Closer to Patients
For patients with gynecologic cancers, treatment by a specialist—a gynecologic oncologist—is crucial for improving chances of survival. However, in 2015, as many as 10% of women in the U.S. lived in a county that was more than 50 miles from the closest gynecologic oncologist.
Black-White Disparities in Maternal In-Hospital Mortality According to Teaching and Black-Serving Hospital Status

Heather H. Burris, Molly Passarella, Sara C. Handley, Sindhu K. Srinivas, Scott A. Lorch
Abstract [from journal]
Background: Maternal mortality is higher among Black compared to White people in the United States. Whether Black-White disparities in maternal in-hospital mortality during the delivery hospitalization vary across hospital types (Black-serving vs. non-Black-serving and teaching vs. non-teaching) and whether overall maternal mortality differs across hospital types is not known.
Objectives: 1) Determine whether risk-adjusted Black-White disparities in maternal mortality during the delivery
..."Make the Implicit Explicit": Measuring Perceptions of Gender Bias and Creating a Gender Bias Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents

Paula Chatterjee, Lindsay N. Warner, Maria C. Basil, Michelle Christopher, Katharine Manning, Herrick N. Fisher, Kathryn M. Rexrode, Sonja R. Solomon, Rose M. Kakoza, Maria A. Yialamas
Abstract [from journal]
Background: Gender bias in clinical training has been well established; however, little is known about how perceptions differ between men and women. Furthermore, few curricular options have been developed to discuss gender bias.
Objective: To measure the prevalence of gender bias, examine qualitative differences between men and women, and create a gender bias curriculum for internal medicine residents.
Methods: We surveyed 114 residents (response rate of 53.5%) to
...Lethality of Racism for Black Children in the USA: A Primer

Max Jordan Nguemeni Tiako, Eugenia C. South, Heather H. Burris
Introduction [from journal]
In 1969, Deborah Johnson, a Black, pregnant woman in Chicago, witnessed the murder of 21-year-old Fred Hampton, her sleeping fiancé, by law enforcement. Hampton, a rising leader in the Black Panther Party, had been the target of Federal Bureau of Investigation surveillance. Two years prior, the Panthers introduced the Ten-Point Program which broadly demanded economic justice, decarceration, social liberation for Black people, and specifically called for the ‘immediate end to police brutality and murder of Black people’. Over 50 years later, the...
Rationing, Racism and Justice: Advancing the Debate Around ‘Colourblind’ COVID-19 Ventilator Allocation

Harald Schmidt, Dorothy E. Roberts, Nwamaka D. Eneanya
Abstract [from journal]
Withholding or withdrawing life-saving ventilators can become necessary when resources are insufficient. In the USA, such rationing has unique social justice dimensions. Structural elements of dominant allocation frameworks simultaneously advantage white communities, and disadvantage Black communities—who already experience a disproportionate burden of COVID-19-related job losses, hospitalisations and mortality. Using the example of New Jersey’s Crisis Standard of Care policy, we describe how dominant rationing guidance
...Racial Disparities in Mental Health Outcomes Among Women With Early Pregnancy Loss

Jade M. Shorter, Nathanael Koelper, Sarita Sonalkar, Maria A. Oquendo, Mary D. Sammel, Courtney A. Schreiber
Abstract [from journal]
Objective: To explore the relationship between race and depression symptoms among participants in an early pregnancy loss clinical trial.
Methods: We performed a planned secondary analysis of a randomized trial by comparing treatments for medical management of early pregnancy loss. We hypothesized that Black participants would have higher odds of risk for major depression (measured with the CES-D [Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression] scale) 30 days after early pregnancy loss
...Validation of the Developmental Check-In Tool for Low-Literacy Autism Screening

Jill F. Harris, Caroline N. Coffield, Yvette M. Janvier, David Mandell, Zuleyha Cidav
Abstract [from journal]
Background: Persistent disparities exist in early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children from low-income families who are racial and/or ethnic minorities and where English is not the primary language. Parental literacy and level of maternal education may contribute to disparities. The Developmental Check-In (DCI) is a visually based ASD screening tool created to reduce literacy demands and to be easily administered and scored across settings. In a previous study, the DCI showed acceptable
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