Adult Services, Cancer, Health Equity

Late-stage lung cancer diagnoses weigh heavily on the socially disadvantaged

As a medical oncologist at Norton Cancer Institute, I’ve seen remarkable advances in how we treat lung cancer. Lung cancers caught early can now often be successfully treated. Unfortunately, Kentucky has a massive lung cancer problem. We have the highest rate of lung cancer in the nation, and we rank 45th among the 49 states…

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Adult Services, Health Equity, Heart & Vascular

Health disparities in cardiology

In a recent continuing medical education presentation, Kelly C. McCants, M.D., executive medical director, Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure & Recovery Program, and executive director, Institute for Health Equity, a Part of Norton Healthcare, described the state of health care disparities in Louisville. He also detailed how vulnerable communities struggle, in particular…

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Health Equity

Comprehensive care includes treating mental illnesses

Mental disorders are so common that 1 in 5 Americans will deal with mental illness at some point in their lives — and many of these conditions and related symptoms are treatable. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 47 million U.S. adults grappled with some type of mental, behavioral or emotional disorder…

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Health Equity, Orthopedics

How providers play a role in reducing maternal mortality rates and racial disproportionality

Black people are nearly 3 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than white people, and the alarming rate of maternal mortality and the racial gap in pregnancy loss and pregnancy-related deaths are nationwide public health concerns. The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on maternal mortality rates shows…

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Health Equity

Facing unconscious bias in health care: Understanding different experiences of patient and provider

Unconscious bias contributes to health disparities that can affect overall patient care and outcomes. To address unconscious bias in patient care, the goal should not be to become “race blind,” but to acknowledge race, Jessica Isom, M.D., MPH, a clinical instructor and faculty leader in social justice and health equity with the Yale School of…

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Adult Services, Cancer, Health Equity, Pulmonary

Narrowing racial and ethnic disparities among lung cancer patients

Black Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival rate of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. for most cancers, according to a 2019 study. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in Black adults, according to the same study. The rate of new…

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