Chronic stress from life in an unjust society can have measurable negative impacts on the health of people from marginalized backgrounds.

The concept is known as weathering, and it’s the focus of the aptly named book by Arline Geronimus, a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a professor in the school of public health at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.

Weathering is exacerbated by racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination, and can contribute to health disparities, leading to earlier onset of diseases like cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.

Geronimus compares modern-day stressors to the literal predators of the past and urges listeners to come together to explore systemic solutions that can help mitigate the effects of weathering.

“We all have to commit to seeing each other, to understanding the differences in our lived experience,” she says, “to seeing that different people have different ‘lions’ and ‘tigers’ …and figuring out what it is we have to do to change that.”

Geronimus joined Movement Is Life’s summit and spoke with Board Member Christin Zollicoffer for this podcast episode.

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Professor Augustus “Gus” White III didn’t just pioneer the understanding of unconscious bias through research methodology during his illustrious career as an orthopedic surgeon. The Harvard Medical School professor and author of “Overcoming” & “Seeing Patients” has also spent a lifetime fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion wherever he has worked, often by emphasizing our common humanity; his use of the term “fellow humans” to start speeches has become legendary.

“I think diversity and inclusion is a very important reality ideal to address,” White says. “It has numerous values for institutions, for people who are involved and for making progress in the direction of beginning to eliminate and adjust and correct for and protect our humanity, as well as our ethnic citizenship, if you will.”

This episode was originally published in 2019 with host Dr. Bonnie Simpson Mason.

Respectful, patient-centered communication can play a huge role in improving health outcomes and helping eliminate health disparities.

In today’s episode hosted by Movement Is Life’s Conchita Burpee, we explore the critical elements of effective, patient-centered communication. Our guests:

• Dr. Mauvareen Beverley, an executive-level physician with 20 years of experience advocating for improving patient engagement and cultural competency and the author of the book, “Nine Simple Solutions to Achieve Health Equity: A Guide for Healthcare Professionals and Patients”
• Dr. Janet Austin, the founder of JSA Chronic Disease Foundation, a national nonprofit aimed at providing resources and support to help people who experience pain due to chronic diseases have a better life.

Beverley says effective doctor-patient communication starts with heightened human value for each patient, regardless of their background or circumstances: “Everybody talks about being respectful and this and that, but if you don't value me, you think respect is going to come into your mind or your brain?”

Austin shares her personal experience as a lifelong chronic disease patient in explaining how small acts of kindness from healthcare providers can go a long way.

“I was having a really rough time just a few months ago, and of course, I'm there to talk with [my internal medicine doctor], and I'm crying,” Austin says. “She actually said, ‘Janet, I'm going to go ahead and book you to come back to see me in three months, I'm just going to make time for me to listen.’ And I just… I left so optimistic because someone said that they wanted to listen.”

Never miss an episode – be sure to subscribe to The Health Disparities podcast from Movement Is Life on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.