HJAR Sep/Oct 2020

52 SEP / OCT 2020 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY HEALTH COVID-19 Presents an Opportunity to Address HEALTH EQUITY DIALOGUE COLUMN COMMUNITY HEALTH IT IS NO SECRET that health outcomes often correlate to ZIP codes, and are often worse for people who reside in rural and under- served communities. According to the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, to appreciate the relationship between health status and community, it is critical to also understand the physical environment, healthy behaviors, and the social and economic determinants of health. Mississippi OB/GYN, who previously practiced in Helena, sees firsthand the con- nection between patient health and their en- vironment. Dr. Kimberly Farmer has prac- ticed in Grenada, Mississippi for more than three years, and has four patients younger than 40 with breast cancer. She couldn’t problem regarding public health. “When I think about health equity, I usually associate it with improving patient care, which means access regardless of race, creed, religion, or ability to pay. We simply do not put enough funding in healthcare to improve the access and the environmental issues that affect resi- dents’ health status,” she said. Promoting health equity should be a criti- cal objective for healthcare leaders in preven- tive medicine, public health, and acute care, and for academic researchers. Health equity has been in the news a lot more lately due to COVID-19. The higher rates of infection and death among minorities are exhibit one in demonstrating that systemic decades-old health inequities in the United States haven’t, Efforts to improve health equity have traditionally looked to the healthcare system for answers. But more and more, there is the recognition that broader approaches must be advocated that address environmental, social, and economic factors. believe it at first, but then she learned there had been issues with a manufacturing plant investigated by the federal Environment Pro- tectionAgency. There seemed to be a connec- tion between a high number of community cancer cases and a highly toxic carcinogen released from the plant. “As a physician, this was my first time seeing up close how envi- ronmental practices impacted the lives of patients that I was now treating. Many of these patients have to travel a distance to see a specialist. Most physicians, especially specialists, do not want to reside in undesir- able communities,” Farmer said. She sees the issue of community cancer stemming from an environmental tragedy as indicative of a more widespread societal