Have you ever wondered which populations have the least access to basic health care and how corporations are trying to overcome these health disparities? Have you ever thought about how developments in pharmacogenomics -- the study of how one's genetic inheritance affects his or her body's response to drugs -- will change the world of medicine? Or, knowing that lung cancer is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States, have you ever wondered what you can do to reduce your risks of getting lung cancer?
Well, if you are like most people, these questions probably do not often cross your mind. This is the problem that the humanities in medicine department, based at the University Medical School, is trying to overcome. The department conducts a public conference called the "Medical Center Hour" every Wednesday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. to address these issues and more. The conference consists of one to four expert speakers who present the issue at hand, followed by time for members of the audience to ask questions.
The "Medical Center Hour" was co-founded in 1971 by former Medical School Dean Thomas H. Hunter and Joseph Fletcher. Although presentations were not originally held every week, the goal of the conference was to keep students, faculty and the community engaged about bigger medical issues and issues that directly affect the public at large.
Today, the program is directed by Medical Education Associate Prof. Marcia Day Childress. Although the Hour has evolved during its 34 years in existence, its main goal has stayed the same.
"The goal of the program is to lay out problems in our medical community and to get people to think about how hard and complex some of these issues are," Childress said. "An overwhelming amount of people, even professionals, are not even aware of many major issues in the medical community."
Evelyn Lewis, representing Pfizer Inc., was one of the visiting speakers at last week's presentation that addressed health disparities. Lewis said she believes the fundamental problem lies in the fact that many people, even experts, are not aware that health disparities exist.
"So many people don't have any idea about the existence of health disparities," Lewis said. "Even many professionals do not acknowledge and recognize these issues."
Audience members in last week's presentation, which included students, professionals and people living in the community, were noticeably perplexed and baffled by the data presented to them. Medical School Dean Arthur Garson was one of four guest speakers at the presentation. He stated that the populations who face most health disparities are racial minorities, the poor, those who live in rural areas or inner cities, women, children, the elderly and the uninsured.
"The life expectancy for an African-American in Harlem is lower than a [person living in] Bangladesh," Garson said. "Those living in poverty have a worse quality of care in 60 percent of measures. After a first heart attack, women are less likely than men to receive care and more likely to die after a second heart attack. The death rate among the uninsured is 40 percent higher."
Students are not the only ones in the audience. Physicians, Medical School residents and Charlottesville residents also make it a point to learn from what the experts on the panel have to say.
"Students usually make up about a quarter to a third of the audience at the conferences," Childress said. "Most of these students are bioethics majors, human biology majors, bioethics graduate students and medical students."
Childress was eager to state that a more diverse audience is encouraged and that people from the entire Charlottesville area are more than welcome to attend these conferences.
"If they come it just makes conversation richer," Childress said. "At the end of October [Oct. 26], there will be a presentation about the female breast. Questions such as what the breast signifies and how understanding this significance can help will be explored in an interesting way."
Read More
It’s okay not to be okay
By Mai Hukuoka | 3 days agoWhether talking to a friend, a loved one or a professional, it is so necessary, and human, to need more than you can provide for yourself.
Taking a break at Tangerines Kitchen
By Charley Thomas | 5 days agoWhat the restaurant somewhat lacks in ambiance, it compensates for in tasty dishes and prompt service.
Virginia Policy Lab — a hub for student-led policy action
By Katherine Haden | December 9, 2024Students propose their own projects and collaborate with other members to research their issues of interest, brainstorm solutions and write policy proposals.
