HJAR Jan/Feb 2022

38 JAN / FEB 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS DIALOGUE COLUMN UROLOGY QUALITY, equitable healthcare should be readily available to all Arkansans. Unfortu- nately, disparities do exist for certain popu- lations, including racial and ethnic minori- ties, those in certain geographic areas and those with a lower socioeconomic status. As physicians, it is our responsibility to address the inequalities in our healthcare system and eliminate, or at the very least reduce, these disparities to increase disease prevention in Arkansas. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH, defines a “health disparity” as “a health difference that ad- versely affects disadvantaged populations, based on one or more of the following health outcomes: • Higher incidence and/or prevalence and earlier onset of disease • Higher prevalence of risk factors, un- healthy behaviors, or clinical measures in the causal pathway of a disease outcome • Higher rates of condition-specif- ic symptoms, reduced global daily Disease. Illness. Cancer. None of them discriminate. They don’t care what the color of your skin is, howmuchmoney you make or where you live. They can arrive without warning and attack even the healthiest among us. So, why is medical care more accessible to some and not others? functioning, or self-reported health- related quality of life using standard- ized measures • Premature and/or excessive mortality from diseases where population rates differ • Greater global burden of disease using a standardized metric.” 1 As Arkansas’ population grows and di- versifies, there will be more challenges physicians face when it comes to providing quality healthcare for everyone. Health in- equalities can stem from factors beyond the physician-patient encounter, but the ability of physicians to communicate effectively with patients and understand their cultural and social context is crucial. Ethnic Factors Certain minorities, including African Americans, are often disproportionately af- fected by certain diseases and have an in- creased need for access to quality healthcare. We see this every day when it comes to cer- tain urologic conditions through the health screenings we provide across the state. Prostate cancer is the most common can- cer among U.S. men, and African American men in the United States have the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world. The rates for African American men are two- thirds higher than those for white men, and AfricanAmerican men are more than twice as likely to die from it. 2 Additionally, white men are more likely to get bladder cancer, but African Ameri- can men are more likely to die from it. For Latino and African American men, the risk of erectile dysfunction is higher. Research shows Latino men are also more likely to have diabetes and heart disease. Both of these conditions can contribute to erectile dysfunction. 3 Many men with prostate cancer, particu- larly men of color, have higher numbers of comorbidities than white men. Most com- monly, these conditions include diabetes, peripheral vascular disease and COPD. Since there are higher incidences of co- morbid conditions in minority and lower Mitigating Healthcare Disparities in Arkansas Sherry Denton, APRN Arkansas Urology