- Increase their awareness of their own bias;
- Increase their cultural awareness of others;
- Use shared decision-making and teach-back methods;
- Accommodate each patient’s preferred method of communication;
- View people as individuals and not solely as part of a group; and
- View themselves as part of a larger group to increase empathy and trust.
Dr. Akinsete concluded her speech with a discussion of the social determinants of health, which include education access/quality, healthcare access/quality, a patient’s neighborhood and built environment, a patient’s social structures and support within the community, and economic stability. Through a great deal of research, we know social determinants of health can have a huge effect on a patient’s likelihood of developing certain health issues, experiencing a delay in diagnosis and suffering with disease management and treatment when such factors complicate access to high-quality care.
As Dr. Woo noted and Dr. Akinsete further underscored, the issue is not whether the socioeconomic structures of our society play a role in health and healthcare, but how we as a medical community seek to reduce and eliminate the negative effects these variables have on the care and quality of life of our pediatric patients.
Jason Liebowitz, MD, completed his fellowship in rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, where he also earned his medical degree. He is currently in practice with Skylands Medical Group, N.J.
References
- Al-Mayouf SM, Al Mutairi M, Bouayed K, et al. Epidemiology and demographics of juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Africa and Middle East. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2021;19(1):166.
- Soulsby WD, Lawson E, Pantell MS. Cumulative social disadvantage associated with childhood arthritis: A cross-sectional analysis of the national survey of children’s health. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2023;75(1):3–8.
