Problem Pitch
For our problem pitch, our group is exploring healthcare accessibility and inequality in the Cincinnati area
and beyond. Before we began research into the problem, I felt that, while I had some understanding of the issue and what was at stake, I could not see the whole picture. I come from a middle-class suburban area outside of Columbus and what I know about healthcare inequality comes from the news, not from my personal experience. This is why interviewing Dr. Avant, a professor of Exploring Health Professions of one of my group members, was so enlightening for me, more so than reading reports from news sites and academic publications, though they have helped me understand the statistics and facts behind the situation. Dr. Avant is dedicated to promoting diversity and accessibility to healthcare and education to disadvantaged groups and is a Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, so she could provide the experience with these topics that my group members and I lacked. One thing that she emphasized was that ignorance was a major barrier to healthcare equity; people like us, from middle or upper-class areas, do not realize that there is a problem, and many people will get defensive if it is presented to them, which helped me see that education for the general public is key to raising awareness for the issue and thus bringing about change. She reinforced my knowledge that those most affected by this issue are people who are unemployed or have limited financial means, but broadened the group to include people who are incarcerated or undocumented. It makes perfect sense that these two groups be included, as some of society's most overlooked and disadvantaged people. They are also not guaranteed healthcare by the Affordable Care Act, which was a major step toward universal healthcare in the United States. I learned from Dr. Avant that universal healthcare would make primary healthcare more affordable and thus better the health of the general public, in turn decreasing our reliance on emergency rooms. However, she pointed out that there are some disadvantages to universal healthcare, such as hospital shortages, so it is not a catch-all solution to the problem. She encouraged us to consider how hospitals and other healthcare institutions can be anchored in the needs of the community and how the culture of healthcare could be more inclusive, such as hiring more diverse staff and helping all patients, regardless of their background, feel respected, valued, and heard. One way to help in this process would be to have interpreters for many languages so that people from many backgrounds can understand the care they are receiving and feel comfortable seeking out healthcare without fear of a language barrier. I came away from the interview feeling like I had a deeper understanding of healthcare inequality having heard from someone who has experienced it in a variety of situations, which helped shift my perspective and will continue to drive my research on the topic as my group prepares for our presentation next week.