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This week, hosts Steven Jones and Amy Vodarek delve into the topic of medical racism and its impact on marginalized communities. Our guest, Kaytura Felix, is a distinguished scholar in the Department of Health Management at Johns Hopkins...
This week, hosts Steven Jones and Amy Vodarek delve into the topic of medical racism and its impact on marginalized communities.
Our guest, Kaytura Felix, is a distinguished scholar in the Department of Health Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, focusing on structural racism and health justice. She’s a medical doctor trained in health services & community-based participatory research, with over 20 years in the federal government, supporting improvements in minority health and she’s also an executive leadership coach. A dynamo at everything she does, Kaytura is a serial architect, passionate about leadership with a care for building new ventures that build on collaboration across diverse people and organizations in order to advance justice and equity.
Kaytura shares her personal experiences and insights as she discusses the ordinary yet pervasive nature of medical racism and the need to make this visible. She highlights the disparities in healthcare services, and the impact on the health outcomes of Black individuals. We explore with Kaytura the work being done to address these issues, as well as how individuals and organizations can take action to promote health justice and put power and resources in the hands of communities so that people can take care of their health.
Episode Highlights:
Structural and Medical Racism
Through a diverse background in research and clinical care, Kaytura offers a unique perspective emphasizing the opportunity to write about structural and medical racism in ways that resonate and make medical racism visible to a broader audience. Raising awareness includes acknowledging there is a pervasive disrespect experienced by Black individuals and people of color, leading to chronic stress and adverse health effects.
“We live in these bodies, and we show up, and we're talking to doctors and nurses about what we're experiencing, and we're being dismissed. And for some people, that's extremely stressful, extremely traumatizing. It may not be around race–it may be around gender, it may be around income, it may be around ability–but there's a lot of injustice around many different social dimensions, many different identities. ''
Making Change
But where do we begin to make a difference? Kaytura addresses this question from both an individual and organizational lens. As individuals, we can start by examining our surroundings. Looking for patterns of inequality and injustice. Organizations can create safe spaces for marginalized staff, fostering an environment that values and utilizes the diverse perspectives and talents they bring. Join us next time as we continue to explore critical issues and conversations shaping our lives, organizations, and communities.
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Resources mentioned in this episode:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaytura-felix-md-87540526/
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Keywords: #racism #health #community
