HJAR Jan/Feb 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  JAN / FEB 2022 39 Ken Mitchell, MPAS, PA-C Arkansas Urology screening programs in Southeast Arkansas. The region has lower cancer screening rates than other parts of Arkansas and the U.S. In addition, mortality from cancer is much higher in this area, and the stage of cancer at discovery is higher due to low screening rates and late discovery. It’s important that physicians reach out to rural communities and provide access to checkups and screenings where they are. InArkansas and beyond, we also need more urologists practicing in these rural areas. Offering telemedicine for rural residents is also a great way to connect with patients and help mitigate some of these geographic disparities. Socioeconomic Factors There are several factors that can influ- ence the physical and mental health of a person, but socioeconomic factors are the foundation. Society and the economy have a huge impact on an individual’s ability to make healthy decisions. Having access to stable jobs, safe neigh- borhoods, good schools, nutritious food, health insurance, transportation and afford- able healthcare and housing make all the dif- ference in an individual’s quality of life and their overall health. Those who are unable to meet these basic needs are less likely to seek out and receive regular healthcare for chronic diseases or preventative care and are more likely to forego or delay medical care altogether. Those with low economic status have obstacles when it comes to health literacy, affording healthcare treatment and prescrip- tion costs, logistics and transportation issues and more. When physicians are treating patients with a lower socioeconomic status, it’s im- portant to recognize the barriers that might be keeping patients from coming to the doc- tor regularly for routine or follow-up care and to provide solutions. What can we do as physicians? To eliminate health disparities across the state, it’s vital that physicians examine their best practices to help ensure equal- ity in healthcare. At Arkansas Urology, we try to eliminate some of these disparities by offering free men’s health screenings in several locations around the state through- out the year. But, we knowmore needs to be done. If we can all work together as healthcare provid- ers to reach these underserved populations, we can provide more Arkansans with the highest quality healthcare where and when they need it most. n REFERENCES 1 National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. “Minor- ity Health and Health Disparities: Definitions and Parameters.” https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/ strategic-plan/nih-strategic-plan-definitions- and-parameters.html 2 Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Cen- ters for Disease Control and Prevention. Aug. 23, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/prostate/ basic_info/risk_factors.htm 3 Henry Ford Health System. “Minority Men’s Health.” https://www.henryford.com/services/ urology/minority-mens-health 4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Cancer Statistics at a Glance: Leading Cancer Cases and Deaths, All Races and Ethnicities, Male and Female, 2018.” https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/ USCS/#/AtAGlance/ 5 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. Health Outcomes: Overall Rank. Accessed Dec.12, 2021. https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/ arkansas/2021/rankings/outcomes/overall Sherry Denton, APRN, joined Arkansas Urology in November 2021 and has been practicing in Urology since 2013. Prior to joining Arkansas Urology, Den- ton was anAPN at UrologyAssociates in Denver and Georgia Urology in Atlanta. Ken Mitchell, MPAS, PA-C joined Arkansas Urology in 2021, re-entering clinical practice after serving on the faculty at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a certified physician assistant with over 26 years of clinical experience overall and 24 years in men’s health. socioeconomic communities, it is impera- tive we encourage men to take control of their overall health and give themselves a fighting chance to survive a cancer diagnosis and live longer, healthier lives. It is our job to provide men’s health screenings, health and wellness informa- tion, improved communication and access to high-quality treatments to all minority populations with cultural sensitivity. Geographic Factors With limited availability to medical spe- cialists, patients who live in rural areas face challenges in finding quality medical treat- ment compared to those who live in urban areas. This is true for urological care as well. Patients who have to travel long distances to find the care they need often decide not to seek care at all or do somuch less frequently. In urology, this means more men are not be- ing screened for health conditions and taking preventative care measures. A lack of access to local urology care is associated with high urologic cancer mortality rates. According to the Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention, Arkansas has one of the highest rates of new cancers in the U.S. and one of the highest death rates from cancer. 4 A new report shows that the health of Ar- kansans can vary greatly depending on their geography. The annual County Health Rankings re- port ranks each state’s counties for overall health, or health outcomes, among county residents. The 2021 report shows that geo- graphic health disparities continue to exist in Arkansas, with the highest-ranked counties being in Northwest and Central Arkansas and the lowest-ranked counties being in the Arkansas Delta. 5 We have also seen a great need for comprehensive, sustained and inclusive