Webinar: Understanding and Addressing Medical Mistrust in Communities of Color
Tuesday, May 4th, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST
About the webinar
This webinar will focus on strategies towards building trust between medical professionals and Communities of Color. Due to historical determinants, Black Americans have lower overall trust in the American healthcare system. A 2020 Pew Research Study found that only 35% of Black Americans have “a great deal of confidence” in scientists to act in the public’s interest as compared to 43% of White Americans. Moreover, only 57% of Black Americans have “a mostly positive view of medical research scientists”, as compared to 67% of Latinx Americans and 68% of White Americans. Due to these findings, the historic determinants of deteriorated trust between the medical profession and Communities of Color will be discussed. This will include conversations about medical atrocities, systemic racism, and pervasive differences in treatment. Best-practices to improve trust between the medical profession and Communities of Color will follow. Furthermore, the discussion will include how to establish accountability structures to respond to and support concerns of BIPOC communities.
Distinguished Speakers
Dr. Meg Frazer, MD
Senior Director at Pfizer
Dr. Meg Frazer, MD, is currently a physician in Pfizer medical affairs, vaccine division. Dr. Frazer is a neurologist by background, with a specific interest in Neuroimmunopathologic disorders. She has worked for Pfizer for over 20 years in different therapeutic areas. Her most recent focus and areas of involvement have been in vaccine education and building vaccine confidence, particularly with respect to gender and ethnic differences spanning all therapeutic categories. She has expertise in minority recruitment for clinical trials. Dr. Frazer also has expertise in health disparities. Her other areas of expertise include clinical trials, drug development, clinical development, and neurology. Dr. Frazer has an MD from the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Dr. Michael A. Rodriguez, MD, MPH
Professor, Vice Chair, Family Medicine, UCLA
Michael A. Rodríguez, MD, MPH is professor and vice chair in the Department of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, founding chair of the UCLA Global Health Minor, founding director of the Health Equity Network of the Americas, Co-Director of the UCLA Firearm Violence Prevention Center, and founding director of the UCLA Blum Center on Poverty and Health in Latin America. Dr. Rodríguez is published widely in the areas of research that include, ethnic/racial and immigrant health equity, gun and intimate partner violence prevention, and primary care systems. He has consulted for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute of Medicine. He is also a Board Member for Blue Shield of California, and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Dr. Rodriguez mentors and teaches UCLA faculty and trainees in a wide range of disciplines. Dr. Rodriguez completed his undergraduate training at the University of California, Berkeley; received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; completed his residency from the UC San Francisco's Family Medicine Residency Program; received his Master of Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health; and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Stanford University.
Mr. Joseph Gaspero (Moderator)
CEO & Co-Founder of CHI
Mr. Joseph Gaspero is the CEO and Co-Founder of CHI. He is a healthcare executive, strategist, and health disparity researcher. He founded CHI in 2009 as an independent, objective, and interdisciplinary research and education institute for reducing health disparities for marginalized communities of color. Joseph leads research and educational initiatives at CHI, including research focused on increasing diversity in clinical trials, building diverse, culturally competent teams, understanding how social determinants of health drive health disparities for BIPOC communities, decreasing medical mistrust, and understanding how chronic conditions disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities. He has been the lead organizer for one of the country’s preeminent health equity and diversity symposia in the U.S. In his role as CEO, he sets and executes CHI’s strategy, devises marketing tactics, leads fundraising efforts, and manages CHI’s Management team. His leadership stems from a wide array of experiences, including founding and operating several non-profit and for-profit organizations, serving in the U.S. Air Force in support of 2 foreign wars. Joseph’s skills include strategy, management, research, marketing, and finance. He has lived in six countries, traveled to over 40 more, and speaks three languages, and he brings a global approach to strategy and problem-solving. Joseph has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois at Chicago. When he’s not immersed in his work at CHI, he spends his time snowboarding backcountry, skydiving, mountain biking, volunteering, engaging in MMA, and rock climbing.
Patricia Green is the Founder of the Patricia Green Group, a relationship marketing and public relations firm. She is a leading expert on building partnerships, particularly relevant to African Americans and health disparities. Patricia honed her skills under the leadership of Dr. Dorothy Height, who was President of the National Council of Negro Women. Her early learnings have stood the test of time. Patricia tapped into her national African American influencer network in 2011. The CDC had awarded a contract to her employer, a health communications agency. The National Influenza Vaccination Disparities Partnership (NIVDP), a multi-city campaign, responded to low flu vaccination rates among African Americans. Historic medical wrongs contribute to vaccine hesitancy among many African Americans. However, Patricia knew that core members of her network were trusted at the community level. She armed them with health messages that resonated with who African Americans were culturally. By 2013, the campaign had expanded to 30 markets, and statistics showed the highest number of African American flu vaccinations in CDC reporting history. Patricia replicates her CDC successes in other health campaigns targeting African Americans. She just completed a Virginia Department of Health partnership building campaign central to flu and COVID-19 vaccinations. She exceeded expectations for the number of partners. The holder of master’s degrees in social work and public relations, Patricia employs both disciplines in her work. She will share multi-city partnership-building strategies that apply to increasing flu and COVID-19 vaccinations, even among the most reluctant African Americans.
Dr. Geraldine Luna, MD, MPH, MBA
Medical Director, COVID-19 Initiative at the Chicago Department of Public Health
Executive Board Director of the Medical Organization for Latino Advancement (MOLA)
Dr. Geraldine Luna is a Medical Director for the COVID-19 Initiative at the Chicago Department of Public Health, Executive Board Director of the Medical Organization for Latino Advancement (MOLA), Chair of the Financial Committee at MOLA, and Clinical Assistant Professor Faculty at UIC. She is also double Board certified in Geriatrics and Internal Medicine. Additionally, her passions for health equity and social justice for the underserved and marginalized community of color in Chicago moves her to actively partaking in community advocacy as a member of Illinois Unidos Partnership and the People Response Network COVID-19 National Initiative. Her research work is on minority health and equity.
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