Do Some Female-Specific Diagnostic Tests Have Access Disparities?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dana Powell Baker
In this program:
Are access disparities shown in female-specific diagnostic tests? Dana Powell Baker shares information about female-specific diagnostics tests like mammograms and pap smears and how healthcare providers can help advance equity.
Transcript
Dana Powell Baker:
I would say yes, unfortunately, due to what we witness and observe with healthcare disparities and just having access to not just information about these tests, but also just availability of testing in your area or in your region. Sometimes patient education, unfortunately, is not always as detailed or as thorough with patients from across different populations, whether that's underrepresented populations where they may not receive that affordable sense of well-being or urgency when it comes to female-specific diagnostic test and why it's important, why it matters, and just education and how that test can lead to really important information that can inform their clinical decision-making.
And so through this effort, I would hope that we can increase or advance equity through providing better education to our patients, them understanding the importance of mammograms, how early detection is key, starting to get that screening process underway, staying on schedule with our pap smears. I know as a wife and mother myself, I can easily prioritize my schedule with my family or with work over my own self-care, and realizing that I need to put myself on the schedule and maintain that routine schedule of testing, because I realize that it is important not just to my own personal well-being, but also to the well-being of my family. And so again, making ourselves the priority, understanding that there are these recommendations and suggestions and best practice or scheduling for these tests for a reason.
Because we do want to detect early, so if anything does come up, we're able to get treatment as early as possible, hopefully get diagnosed as early as possible and get in front of the right, I'll say, clinicians and practitioners to best support us through said diagnosis, if it does reach that point.
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