Category Archives: Genetic Medicine

This piece is excerpted from a longer article alum T. Wyatt Reynolds, AB 17, wrote for Mere Orthodoxy.

An atheist, a Christian, and a Jew start talking about science and faith. This might seem like it is either the lead up to a joke or the beginning of a fight. Instead, it was the setting of a meeting convened by S. Joshua Swamidass, MD, associate professor of Pathology & Immunology in the School of Medicine and of Biomedical Engineering in the McKelvey School of Engineering. This meeting gathered scientists and theologians of nearly every stripe to discuss his new book, The Genealogical Adam and Eve (Intervarsity Press). Its argument: that there is no intrinsic contradiction between conventional evolutionary theory and belief in Adam and Eve as a couple specially created six thousand years ago.

The book offers an invitation to skeptics on all sides of the issue to consider either a world where evolution could be true, or a world where Adam and Eve could be real.

Most scientific research to date has focused on whether Adam and Eve could have passed on genetic material to everyone living; however, this doesnt seem to be the type of ancestry the Bible is concerned with. Instead, the Bible is quite concerned with genealogy; extended genealogies fill eleven chapters of Genesis. Who begat whom, and what is the history of their line? This is an entirely different question, and as it turns out, one that can be explored with population genetics. While all genetic ancestors are genealogical ancestors, the inverse is not necessarily true.

So, what does this mean for Adam and Eve? Well, in 2004, a computer simulation of life on Earth was created to test and see when the most recent common ancestor for all humans was. The researchers put higher barriers than historically existed to stack the odds against there being a common ancestor in the recent past. Despite this, the results, published in Nature, found common ancestors only two or three thousand years ago.

Most of these common ancestors are genetic ghosts, meaning that though they are your ancestor, you have inherited no DNA from them. This means that universal ancestors are both surprisingly recent and surprisingly hidden. Swamidass also includes engrossing theological, historical, and philosophical tidbits sprinkled in amidst the science. The book and author are truly making room for many voices at the table of discussion.

The cover art plays a critical role here as it marries DNA strands with a reflective gold foil reminiscent of Makoto Fujimuras paintings. The cover brings together art, theology, and science much as the book itself attempts to create a common ground between these diverse modes of seeing and making sense of the world.

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What does science tell us about Adam and Eve? | The Source - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

Precision medicine (PM) is an approach to patient care that allows doctors to select treatments that are most likely to help patients based on a genetic understanding of their disease. Personalized nanomedicine involving individualized drug selection and dosage profiling in combination with clinical and molecular biomarkers can ensure the maximal efficacy and safety of the treatment. The major hindrance toward the development of such therapies is the handling of the Big Data, to keep the databases updated. Robust automated data mining tools are being developed to extract information regarding genes, variations, and their association with diseases. Phenotyping, an integral part of PM, is aimed at translating the data generated at cellular and molecular levels into clinically relevant information.Precision Medicine Moves Care from Population-Based Protocols to Truly Individualized Medicine as President of the US announced the Precision Medicine Initiative in his 2015 State of the Union address. Under the initiative, medical care would transition from a one-size-fits-all approach to an individualized approach, in which data on each patients genomic makeup, environment, and lifestyle (the exposome) helps medical professionals tailor treatment and prevention strategies. To achieve the Precision Medicine Initiative mission statement, to enable a new era of medicine through research, technology, and policies that empower patients, researchers, and providers to work together toward development of individualized care, researchers and clinicians need vast and varied amounts of data and the technology to ensure that data is widely accessible and usable.

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Based on technology type, the market is fragmented into big data analytics, bioinformatics, gene sequencing, drug discovery, companion diagnostics, and others.Recent technological and analytical advances in genomics, have now made it possible to rapidly identify and interpret the genetic variation underlying a single patients disease, thereby providing a window into patient-specific mechanisms that cause or contribute to disease, which could ultimately enable the precise targeting of these mechanisms

Based on the market segment by application type, the market is segmented into oncology, respiratory diseases, central nervous system disorders, immunology, genetic diseases and others. With the advent of precision medicine, cancer treatment is moving from a paradigm in which treatment decision isprimarily based on tumor location and histology followed by molecular information to a new paradigm whereby treatment decisions will be primarily based on molecular information followed by histology and tumor location

Based on the market segment by end-user, the market is fragmented into hospitals & clinics, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic companies, Healthcare-IT firms and others. The precision medicine suppliers that understand technology and the goals of value-based healthcare can create value in the precision medicine value-chain by offering value-based solutions and platforms to interpret and connect data points. There are a number of technology companies who work in the field of precision medicine and more will be founded in the years to come

For better understanding on the market dynamics of Precision Medicine market, detailed analysis was conducted for different countries in the region including North America (United States, Canada, Mexico and Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Australia, India and Rest of APAC), and Rest of World

Some of the major players operating in the market includeHoffmann-La Roche, Medtronic, Qiagen, Illumina, Abbott Laboratories, GE Healthcare, NanoString Technologies, bioMrieux SA, Danaher Corporation, and AstraZeneca

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Precision Medicine Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product Types, And Applications Forecast To 2026 - Cole of Duty

MONKTON, Md. (PRWEB) June 15, 2020

Cure HHT, the only patient advocacy organization in the world funding research, awareness and education for the rare genetic disease HHT for patients, their families and the medical/scientific community issues COVID-19 cautions to HHT Patients, and works to increase Awareness of HHT for Global Awareness Day June 23rd 2020.

Most Common Symptom is Frequent Nose Bleeds

Ninety percent of people with HHT (Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia) are unaware they have the rare disease that affects an estimated 1.4 million people of all races and backgrounds globally. This genetic disorder of the blood vessels affects 1 in 5,000 people, and is as common as Cystic Fibrosis, yet receives far less funding for research. HHT creates abnormalities in blood vessels, called telangiectasias, which are fragile and susceptible to rupture and bleeding, and untreated may result in lung and brain hemorrhage, stroke, heart failure and death. The most common symptom of HHT is frequent and severe nose bleeds, often dismissed. One HHT diagnosis means there is a whole family of potentially affected people spanning generations. There is, as yet, no cure, but existing treatments can be effective if HHT is diagnosed early.

Cure HHT, a non-profit organization headquartered in Maryland, is the only patient advocacy organization in the world funding research, awareness and education for HHT patients, their families and the medical/scientific community. Since its first HHT Center of Excellence was opened at the Yale University School of Medicine in 1991, Cure HHT has dramatically expanded awareness, diagnosis and access to quality healthcare for HHT patients, and now has 26 Centers of Excellence operating in the United States and Canada headed by leading HHT physicians and specialists. https://curehht.org

HHTs blood vessel abnormalities, especially in the lungs, pose an added risk for individuals affected by COVID-19. It can also impact those HHT patients receiving medications that increase the risk for blood clot formation complications, referred to as COVID coagulopathy, with an incidence reported to be as high as 27%.

Throughout the month of June, and especially on Global Awareness Day June 23rd, Cure HHT encourages wider Awareness of the disease so that more people will be diagnosed in a timely way, and receive treatment before their situation becomes dire. This is a huge part of our mission, comments Cure HHT Executive Director, Marianne S. Clancy. Awareness of HHT is the basis of everything that we do. It is critical to alerting hundreds of thousands of people globally that they may have this disease, and may be passing it on to their children. From that Awareness comes increased diagnosis, improved treatments and more funding for research to find a cure.

In addition to hosting the only international scientific conferences on HHT, Cure HHT provides seed grants for research, education for health care professionals, and advocacy for increased funding which it has helped leverage through the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), the NIH (National Institutes of Health, the DOD (Department of Defense) and other sources.

This year, Cure HHT received a two-year capacity-building grant from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiatives Rare As One Project to develop a patient-led research network, which will accelerate its mission to find new treatments and a cure for the disease. Founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, CZI is a new kind of philanthropy thats leveraging technology to help solve some of the worlds toughest challenges.

Also, Cure HHT has launched an expanded and revamped online Resource Library which is a free, centralized hub for patient and medical provider information. The user-friendly Resource Library offers separate gateways for Patients and Providers, and facilitates the search for critical information with a Quick Topic Access button leading viewers to information on a wide range of topics including genetics, mental health, pregnancy and womens issues, and the impact of the disease on the brain, heart, liver, lungs and more. Users can seamlessly navigate between topic areas, or use the improved search to locate the specific information they are seeking. It is the most comprehensive free online source of information on HHT in the world.

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June HHT Global Awareness Month Highlights COVID-19 Risk for Those With Rare Genetic Disease: As Many AS 90% Unaware They Have HHT - PR Web

In the weeks before the St. Louis region saw its first patients with COVID-19, physician-scientists at Washington University School of Medicine began planning and preparing how best to collect blood and other biological samples from such patients so specimens could be quickly disseminated to researchers seeking strategies to treat, prevent and contain the novel coronavirus.

With financial support from The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Siteman Cancer Center and Washington UniversitysInstitute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), as well as input from theCommunity Advisory Boardof Washington UniversitysInstitute for Public Healthand ICTS, the School of Medicine created a repository to store and manage specimens collected from adult and pediatric patients who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 the virus that causes COVID-19. The sample-collection efforts are led byPhilip Mudd, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of emergency medicine, andJane OHalloran, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine.

To date, more than 350 patients have donated samples for the research effort, and over 7,000 samples have been distributed to more than 20 labs on the School of Medicine and Danforth campuses to help understand the basic biology of the infection and seek ways to prevent or treat it.

The biorepository is an important resource for scientists working in many different areas of COVID-19 research, Mudd said. We are hopeful that the analysis of these samples will speed the development of treatments and new diagnostics that will help patients in St. Louis and around the world. Were grateful for the support of the foundations donors and for the generosity of our patients and are optimistic that this work will lead to new and useful breakthroughs in the treatment of COVID-19.

According to the investigators, collecting such samples including blood, urine, stool and nasal swabs via one centralized process speeds research, prevents scientists from duplicating work already underway and relieves patients of the burden of being asked to participate in multiple studies.

The project includes research teams that span the entire university, including investigators who are internationally recognized for their research into other viruses, such as Ebola, SARS, West Nile, Zika and emerging strains of influenza.

Studies underway include research to:

To receive samples for research, investigators must submit an application to a committee that is part of Washington Universitys ICTS, led byWilliam G. Powderly, MD, the J. William Campbell Professor of Medicine and co-director of the universitysDivision of Infectious Diseases. The ICTS committee managing patient specimens led byChristina A. Gurnett, MD, PhD, the A. Ernest and Jane G. Stein Professor of Developmental Neurology and director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology is fielding many requests and encouraging a team science approach to enhance collaboration and reduce duplication of efforts. The biorepository has already led to new collaborations for researchers with complementary skills.

Its important to streamline this work from a research perspective, but its equally important to ease the process of participation for our patients, OHalloran said. Ordinarily, individual researchers design studies and approach patients separately. Knowing we would have many scientists studying COVID-19, it was critical for us to find a way to facilitate the process of obtaining patient samples. Were grateful to our patients for providing such a valuable resource to help us understand and combat this new virus.

Because some of the research may involve sequencing the DNA of patients with COVID-19 to understand each persons susceptibility to the illness, the researchers consulted the Community Advisory Board for guidance on how to address treatable genetic conditions independent of COVID-19 that might be revealed during the course of the research. The board, made up of 12 people with diverse leadership experience in local health-care and community organizations, provides advice to investigators on the conduct of clinical research involving the local community.

Anytime an individual undergoes whole genome sequencing, even people who may appear perfectly healthy, there is the potential to reveal genetic mutations that indicate a very high risk of developing a disease. Because some genetic conditions have treatments or prevention strategies available, doctors conducting COVID-19 research would like to have the ability to return this important information to patients, with patient permission, in a way that will allow patients and family members to make informed decisions about their health.

As part of studying the genetics of COVID-19, the researchers may learn information about a research participants risk of developing any one of 59 hereditary conditions that lead to very high risk of developing life-threatening but preventable or treatable diseases such as breast cancer, heart arrhythmias or blood-clotting disorders, said advisory board member Doug Lindsay, a personal medical consultant who advises patients with rare diseases or complex conditions. How do you best provide this kind of information if at all to patients or family members who are totally preoccupied with the immediate crisis of COVID-19 illness?

The overall thrust of our advice is, Give patients the choice to know or not know, Lindsay said. We also feel it is best to deliver this information at a later time, to give the patients, or family members if the patient has passed away, a chance to make an appointment to go over follow-up questions about the COVID-19 research study that they or their family members were enrolled in. The genetic studies of COVID-19 can reveal hereditary conditions, so the information is relevant for family members, too. We feel it is important to give people the mental space to deal with major medical decisions independent of the immediate pandemic.

The committee also has recommended that genetic counselors be made available to patients who are found to have any of these 59 conditions and choose to learn their genetic status. The committee also wants to ensure that patients and families know the kinds of medical specialists they should follow up with based on their genetic information.

These questions are about what a healthy relationship between participants and investigators looks like, Lindsay said. Participants who donate their data to these studies are real people. The information that the doctors are identifying may shape lives over more than one generation. We hope this kind of advice can help researchers be good stewards of the information put in their care.

Added Gurnett, The guidance provided by the Community Advisory Board has been critical to helping our investigators and clinicians provide the best possible care and conduct clinical research in the most ethical and respectful ways possible. We thank the patients and their families for their central contributions to the work of understanding this virus, as their participation is key to reducing its impact on our communities.

Originally published by the School of Medicine

WashU Response to COVID-19Visit coronavirus.wustl.edu for the latest information about WashU updates and policies. See all stories related to COVID-19.

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Patients with COVID-19 donate specimens to advance research efforts - Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom

MILAN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Epsilen Bio, a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for patients affected by underserved medical conditions through stable epigenetic silencing of genes involved in pathological processes, announced today the appointments of Julia Berretta, Ph.D, as Chief Executive Officer, and Mathieu Simon, M.D., as Chairman of the Board.

The company also announced it has entered into a strategic collaboration with the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget), a world-renowned research center devoted to gene therapy, directed by Professor Luigi Naldini. Within the collaboration Epsilen Bio will further develop the epigenetic silencing technology with the group of Epigenetic Regulation and Targeted Genome Editing led by Dr. Angelo Lombardo, and exclusively in-licensed by Epsilen Bio.

The announcements follow the successful close of a seed financing of 2.3 million from Sofinnova Partners, a leading European life sciences venture capital firm, through the Sofinnova Telethon Fund. The fund is the largest in Italy dedicated to early-stage biotech startups targeting cures for rare and genetic diseases.

Dr. Simon and Dr. Berretta join Board Members Paola Pozzi, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, Luca Guidotti, Deputy Scientific Director of the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, and Francesca Pasinelli, CEO of Fondazione Telethon and Board Observer.

Dr. Berretta is also CEO of Genespire, a gene therapy company that is part of a series of investments recently made by Sofinnova Partners. Additionally, she is an independent Board member of Treefrog Therapeutics, an innovative stem cell company. Previously, Dr. Berretta was part of the Executive Committee of Cellectis S.A., a Nasdaq-listed clinical stage gene editing company developing CAR-T cell therapies for cancer, where she led business development as well as strategic planning.

Dr. Simon is Chairman of the Board of Idorsia and Independent Board Member of VAXIMM and Lysogene. He is also a member of the AFFIMED supervisory board. Previously, Dr. Simon was Chief Operating Officer of Cellectis SA and CEO of Cellectis Therapeutics. He was the former head of global pharma operations at Pierre Fabre and also held EU regional management roles and senior corporate functions at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

We are excited to have Dr. Berretta and Dr. Simon joining Epsilen Bio, said Ms. Pozzi. These appointments add both an industrial and an international perspective to the company, and we are delighted to support such a distinguished global team working on highly transformative science.

Epsilen Bios scientific co-founder, Dr. Angelo Lombardo, added, Dr. Berretta and Dr. Simon have a deep knowledge of the pharmaceutical and the biotechnology industry. Their expertise will be crucial in helping to translate the science we developed at SR-Tiget into candidate therapeutic products for patients affected by underserved medical conditions.

I am extremely pleased to join Epsilen Bio as Chairman of the Board, Dr. Simon said The companys unique technology of episilencing, developed at SR-Tiget by Dr. Lombardo and Pr. Naldini, has the potential to be a game changer in the field given its versatility and applicability to a variety of diseases.

About Epsilen Bio

Epsilen Bio is a biotechnology company developing transformative therapies for patients affected by underserved medical conditions, through stable and long-lasting epigenetic silencing of genes involved in pathological processes. Based in Milan, Italy, Epsilen Bio was founded in December 2019 by the renowned gene therapy experts Dr. Angelo Lombardo and Prof. Luigi Naldini, as well as Fondazione Telethon and Ospedale San Raffaele. Epsilen Bio is a spin-off of SR-Tiget, a world-leading cell and gene therapy research institute, and received seed funding from Sofinnova Partners. For more information, please visit: http://www.epsilenbio.com

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm specialized in Life Sciences. Based in Paris, France, with offices in London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of 40 professionals from all over Europe, the U.S. and Asia. The firm focuses on paradigm-shifting technologies alongside visionary entrepreneurs. Sofinnova Partners invests across the Life Sciences value chain as a lead or cornerstone investor, from very early-stage opportunities to late-stage/public companies. It has backed nearly 500 companies over more than 48 years, creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over 2 billion under management. For more information, please visit: http://www.sofinnovapartners.com

About SR-Tiget

Based in Milan, Italy, the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) is a joint venture between the Ospedale San Raffaele and Fondazione Telethon. SR-Tiget was established in 1995 to perform research on gene transfer and cell transplantation and translate its results into clinical applications of gene and cell therapies for different genetic diseases. Over the years, the Institute has given a pioneering contribution to the field with relevant discoveries in vector design, gene transfer strategies, stem cell biology, identity and mechanism of action of innate immune cells. SR-Tiget has also established the resources and framework for translating these advances into novel experimental therapies and has implemented several successful gene therapy clinical trials for inherited immunodeficiencies, blood and storage disorders, which have already treated >115 patients and have led through collaboration with industrial partners to the filing and approval of novel advanced gene therapy medicines.

About Fondazione Telethon

Fondazione Telethon is a non-profit organisation created in 1990 as a response to the appeals of a patient association group of stakeholders, who saw scientific research as the only real opportunity to effectively fight genetic diseases. Thanks to the funds raised through the television marathon, along with other initiatives and a network of partners and volunteers, Telethon finances the best scientific research on rare genetic diseases, evaluated and selected by independent internationally renowned experts, with the ultimate objective of making the treatments developed available to everyone who needs them. Throughout its 30 years of activity, Fondazione Telethon has invested more than 528 million in funding more than 2.630 projects to study more than 570 diseases, involving over 1.600 scientists. Fondazione Telethon has made a significant contribution to the worldwide advancement of knowledge regarding rare genetic diseases and of academic research and drug development with a view to developing treatments. For more information, please visit: http://www.telethon.it

About Ospedale San Raffaele

Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR) is a clinical-research-university hospital established in 1971 to provide international-level specialised care for the most complex and difficult health conditions. OSR is part of Gruppo San Donato, the leading hospital group in Italy. The hospital is a multi-specialty center with over 60 clinical specialties; it is accredited by the Italian National Health System to provide care to both public and private, national and international patients. Research at OSR focuses on integrating basic, translational and clinical activities to provide the most advanced care to our patients. The institute is recognized as a global authority in molecular medicine and gene therapy, and is at the forefront of research in many other fields. Ospedale San Raffaele is a first-class institute which treats many diseases and stands out for the deep interaction between clinical and scientific area. This makes the transfer of scientific results from the laboratories to the patients bed easier. Its mission is to improve knowledge of diseases, identify new therapies and encourage young scientists and doctor to grow professionally. For more information, please visit: http://www.hsr.it

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Epsilen Bio appoints Julia Berretta as Chief Executive Officer and Mathieu Simon as Chairman of the Board - BioSpace

By Maridith YahlNKyTribune reporter

The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky advocates for health equity in Kentucky. One way they do this is by education, including webinars. Covid-19 and Health Equity in Kentucky: Beyond this Pandemic is one that provided information about our status on health inequity and the questions to ask to transform healthcare.

Dr. Anita Fernander, associate professor of Behavioral Science in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky, discussed the health disparities through the lens of Covid-19, presenting a social justice approach to health.

From the time COVID-19 became apparent in the U.S., it became evident that communities of color were disproportionately burdened by the virus. Almost every state where racial data is available, African Americans have higher cases of exposure, infection, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19, said Dr. Fernander.

Anita fernander

Dr. Fernander says there have been ongoing systemic inequalities to not only healthcare but all aspects that govern life. Understanding and recognizing what enables these inequities is what is needed to make the appropriate change.

People living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, COPD, and cardiovascular disease are more susceptible and have more severe cases of COVID-19. African Americans have these chronic conditions at much higher rates.

While it may be expedient to point to genetic differences, individual behaviors, or other racialized myths as the cause of pre-existing, chronic conditions, and COVID-19s accessibility among African Americans, it must be emphasized that these pre-existing, chronic illnesses are not accounted for by inherent biological predispositions due to race, she said.

What causes this, is systemic, in-place structures called social determinants. Social determinants account for 80% of health risks, include economic stability, educational opportunities, employment, neighborhood, and physical environment, community & social contexts, and health care, says Dr. Fernander.

The lack of financial stability is a main risk factor for health, especially when it comes to COVID-19. One good indicator is homeownership. Shockingly, 73% of white Americans own homes versus 41% of African Americans. Sadly, the rate of homeownership among African Americans is the same as in 1968, Dr. Fernander says.

African Americans have a much higher rate of jobs in the service industry, are twice as likely to not be in an early childhood education program, have an incarceration rate six times higher of white Americans, and are grossly underrepresented in civic engagement.

Dr. Fernander says that zip code matters more than your genetic code. Referencing environmental conditions such as air pollution, water quality, green space, and distance to health options (hospital and other providers). Distance, plus lack of medical insurance means African Americans are less likely to seek medical care. With regards to COVID-19, early reports indicate testing and treatment have not been equal among races.

The top 10 counties with the highest food insecurity rates are all at least 60% African American. African Americans of all socioeconomic levels are exposed to higher levels of air pollution and live in close proximity to toxic waste sites, says Dr. Fernander.

Heather Howard

African Americans make up 40% of the homeless population. Shelters, which were relied on for simple hand washing, showering, and meals, have not been able to fully function and/or operate since the Covid-19 outbreak. The Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky had to close doors briefly to set-up a temporary location at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

Heather Howard, JD, Program Director at State Health & Value Strategies (SHVS) at Princeton University, says there are five key questions the state should ask to develop strategies to transform the current healthcare system into more equitable and affordable.

The questions need to be asked right now for recovery efforts to advance.

Question one to ask is, Have we identified a person or team of people to apply an equity lens to all of our COVID-19 response and recovery efforts? Establish a Minority Strike Force, as Ohio did, to make recommendations. Including, expanding access to testing in African American communities.

Have we identified at-risk populations and targeted resources specifically to those populations, employing national cultural and linguistically appropriate standards (CLAS), is the second question to ask, says Howard. North Carolina is utilizing a Department of Commerce program to advocate for minority-owned businesses and ensuring equal distribution of relief funds.

Question three, Have we issued any guidelines that foster health inequity? In Alabama, officials released guidelines that excluded people with intellectual disabilities. With an outcry from citizens, the policy was changed.

The fourth question, Are we collecting, analyzing, reporting, and using demographic data for COVID-19 testing, hospitalization, and deaths? Is the data from Covid-19 being reported so that our responses are equitable? To ensure this, the more data that is reported by race, ethnicity, and geographically, the better it supports policy interventions, says Howard.

Have we collaborated with community organizations and members of heavily impacted neighborhoods to address gaps in outreach and build trust is the fifth question of this series. Ohios Minority Strikeforce encouraged a partnership to increase testing in high-risk and African American communities and employ health workers who mirror the community, says Howard.

Consider both economic and public health concerns as we shift from response to reopening and recovery.

Any steps no matter how small constitute a good beginning in the long journey of advancing health equity, Howard says.

Howard says Kentucky is doing well with data and policy response, but its about integrating data to your response and holding policymakers accountable.

Youve got some great initiatives going on, the Governor just this week announced an expansion to health insurance, but you need data to ground good policy, to drive the best way to address inequities, and especially its resource allocation, says Howard.

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Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky program focuses on health equity disparities exist, should be addressed - User-generated content