Health Equity is a challenge in our community for a multitude of reasons. There are numerous opinions on what needs to be done or fixed from access to education to research. The American Cancer Society has started a new initiative “VOICES of Black Women.” They are calling this more than a study and are calling on Black women from all walks of life to join this movement to change the future of health for our community for many generations to come. Dr. Lauren McCullough, a principal researcher with the initiative joins us to discuss this new program.
I ask McCullough why the initiative is called VOICES and she explains that this is a long-term research study to understand why Black women are more likely to die from a cancer diagnosis. For the study to be successful it will not only be long-term but large. McCullough and her team are hoping that the results will inform the medical field with knowledge.
McCullough addresses some of the historic challenges that may keep our community away from medical research. For decades most medical research only involved white men and the results are limited to white men. For medical research to be culturally relevant it must include diversity in race and gender. McCullough emphasizes that another aspect of the study is actually to listen to Black women. We know our bodies better than anyone else. McCullough goes on to share that 80% of researchers on the initiative are Black women.
Enrollment is open in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, D.C
Black women between the ages of 25 - 55 are encouraged to participate McCullough walks us through the process after accessing their site Voices She speaks about some of the risk factors in a cancer diagnosis including environmental risks such as the BIO-LAB fire. McCullough speaks about her career in cancer research and how she came to become a scientist.
For more information on VOICES
#ListenLearnAct