Racism and Disease

December 3rd, 2020

Is racism linked to disease? How does structural racism affect the treatment of diseases? Join BioBus in our final Student Town Hall in our series Racism and Society on December 3rd to hear directly from the experts! BioBus will be joined by cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. JaBaris Swain, and psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Dr. Gaby Ritfeld to answer your questions on racism and disease. Send us your questions today at www.biobus.org/townhall (http://www.biobus.org/townhall) and then watch live on YouTube for the answers!

Guest Speakers

Dr. JaBaris Swain

Cardiothoracic Surgeon and Scientist

Dr. JaBaris Swain is a cardiothoracic transplant surgeon-scientist and global health scholar with a dedicated focus on humanitarian cardiac surgery, cardiology education and global public health. His work focuses exclusively on augmenting access to clinical education and care delivery for cardiovascular diseases within resource-limited settings such as Rwanda and Haiti. He has lived in these areas and provided support to a number of projects designed to strengthen health care infrastructures for critically vulnerable populations in resource constrained settings as well as participated in the provision of surgery and critical care to patients in these regions.

Dr. Gaby Ritfeld

Neuroscientist and Psychiatrist

Dr. Gaby Ritfeld completed her MD and PhD in neuroscience in the Netherlands. She is a psychiatrist who is currently doing a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta. She is also a scientist and studies the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the health of children, parents, and the next generation of children.

Question Index

1. 3:44 - What is racism? 2. 5:28 - How does racism impact health care? 3. 7:36 - What is disease? 4. 9:16 - How do diseases hurt our body? 5. 11:20 - Does wearing a mask (due to COVID-19) help our health? 6. 13:28 - Do vaccines actually work? Or are they temporary? 7. 16:10 - How does racism affect health? Why are more people (who are not White) getting worse, sick, or dying from COVID-19 and other diseases? 8.18:53 - Can being exposed to constant racism actually cause someone to get sick? 9. 20:24 - Do people of different races have any small anatomical differences? Or are we all the same? 10. 23:42 - Are modern diseases increased in towns where African-Americans are exposed to toxic fumes and waste in their water (such as pig farming in North Carolina)? 11. 26:03 - Can a person's genetic makeup negate the effectiveness of vaccines and other medical treatment? 12. 27:40 - What is a good option for people who can't afford therapy? 13. 32:12 - In regards to the black maternal mortality crisis, what is the scientific community doing to address this? 14. 34:15 - Should we take the COVID-19 vaccine now? Or should we wait to make sure that it actually works? 15. 39:00 - What are some ways we can make a difference? How can we stop racism's effect on health and disease? 16. 41:57 - Would a therapist potentially end up going to another therapist for their mental health? 17. 43:37 - How does racism in the U.S. compare to racism in other countries? 18. 48:54 - Do all doctors understand racism and health the way you all do? 19. 52:39 - Does racism affect discoveries that could been made? 20. 54:08 - How have you been impacted by racism? 21. 58:29 - How do we address psychiatric problems that affect people of African descent in the United States?