00:00 So how did you even go about the process of seeking out and finding the care that you
00:05 eventually said was so empowering?
00:08 And is the Advil Pain Equity Project campaign doing anything to connect black women to healthcare
00:17 providers who are providing that sort of empathetic care and putting the patient over profit?
00:24 Well, again, I think that this issue is so complex.
00:32 It is so deeply systemic.
00:34 And what the pain, the Advil Pain and Equity Project is doing is tackling it at the source.
00:42 And the sources at the medical schools that these physicians are being trained in.
00:48 And I think so they are launching a pilot program that is going to kind of revolutionize
00:54 the curriculum and address systemic bias and pain inequity and give language to these very
01:04 real phenomenons in hopes that, you know, and I feel very hopeful that over time and
01:12 as this as this pilot program, you know, as they're able to scale it across the country,
01:20 that we are going to raise a more compassionate next generation of medical health care providers.
01:28 I think it's not a quick fix.
01:32 There isn't there isn't a quick fix for some for an issue as deeply systemic as this for
01:36 one for an issue that we're still having to prove is real.
01:41 I think, you know, another part of this is providing stats, investing in doing the research
01:49 and doing these studies that validate our experiences that that make this issue sort
01:55 of inescapable or, you know, something that you can't deny.
02:01 And that's what they're doing.
02:02 They're part Advil is partnering with Black Health and with the Morehouse School of Medicine
02:06 to bring this research to the forefront of the medical community and to the public so
02:13 that we know that.
02:16 We are not alone in our experiences, that this is real and that, you know, and I think
02:21 that's a really key component because medical gaslighting is also very real.
02:26 And that's why it's also important as a third component to the storytelling piece is so
02:32 key because you and I know as journalists, the power of storytelling, it truly has the
02:39 power to change hearts and minds.
02:40 It also has the power to equip entire communities with tools and knowledge that we need to help
02:49 save our lives.
02:50 I think if you go into the medical if you go into the medical system expecting that
02:59 they know better than you in all cases and you give up your power, I think you're putting
03:04 yourself at risk.
03:05 And I think it's important that we know that we need to be our own best advocates.
03:10 We need to advocate for our loved ones when they are dealing with health issues.
03:16 It's we unfortunately can't just trust blindly trust our health care provider because we
03:24 have the benefit of having these stats that and this education and all of these stories
03:31 that help us understand this is a complex issue that will affect one in five.
03:40 There's this stat that came out through this study that says one in five black patients
03:45 say that they feel discriminated against when seeking pain treatment.
03:50 And I think that's really compelling, but I would actually say in my in my world, in
03:54 my sphere, it's even higher than that.
03:57 I don't actually don't know.
03:59 I don't know a black person who hasn't either directly or indirectly experienced some form
04:06 of bias within the medical system or at least some sort of unacceptable, you know, scary
04:15 interaction that that has had a negative outcome for them.
04:18 So, yeah, I think that I'm so proud to to lend my voice to this to this effort.
04:27 And it's even helped me understand how just how complex it really is.
04:32 (upbeat music)
04:34 (upbeat music)
Comments