The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Perspectives

Could Clinician Sensitivity to Cultural and Historical Considerations Help Reduce COVID-19 Deaths among Blacks?

Authors: David Kountz, MD, Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, Veronica Vital, PhD, RN, Setu Vora, MD, Ryan Gough, BS, Jessica Seyfried, MPH, MSW

Abstract

During the course of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many magazines and newspapers have published articles reflecting on lessons learned during the crisis. One of the most sobering lessons that data on the pandemic have highlighted is the fractured state of health equity in the United States. The staggering impact of the >600,000 deaths from COVID-19 has been most prominently felt by the Black community, where the rates of infection and mortality are far in excess of those of Whites.
Posted in: Infectious Disease156

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