Physicians, it’s time to listen up when it comes to treating Black patients with chronic weight challenges.
As a physician, you are acutely aware of how obesity disproportionately impacts our community, especially Black women. You may treat patients with overweight and obesity diagnoses. But do you look beyond their charts and hear what they have to say? It is time to listen up, to improve everything from the hidden perceptions of your patients, triggering language you may use, and opportunities to build empathy in your practice.
“Black Americans offer a mixed assessment of the progress that has been made improving health outcomes for Black people: 47% say health outcomes for Black people have gotten better over the past 20 years, while 31% say they’ve stayed about the same and 20% think they’ve gotten worse.”
