Healthcare Disparities Symposium in Philadelphia
A MOT student from Philadelphia invited me to join in on this symposium via AIM…check out those statistics! 🙁
Health Care Disparities Symposium
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> 2/24/2008 – The Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) will be hosting a symposium on February 27th at 8pm. It will be held in the STC building, Room 337. The symposium will focus on the need for more minorities in the health care workforce. There will be a panel of speakers discussing the importance of increasing the number of minorities in the health care workforce.
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> SOTA believes that diversifying the health care workforce is vital in providing quality health care for all Americans. It has become painfully obvious that in a country full of culture and diversity, minorities do not receive the same level of health care as their white equivalents. By increasing the representation of minorities in the health care workforce, the underserved populations could receive better health care. A culturally diverse workforce (much like the population at USP) can more effectively care for a diverse clientele, as many people prefer to discuss their health concerns with someone from a similar background.
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> Notable Statistics:
> The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) reports that almost 91 percent of their members are white.
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> The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) looked at ethnicity in their membership in 2002. Out of 33,003 members, 20 percent did not list ethnic origin, but of those who did, almost 72 percent were white.
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> Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce reports in 2004, that African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indians as a group account for only 6 percent of physicians, 9 percent of nurses, and 5 percent of dentists.
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> This is a public discussion, members in the audience will be allowed to ask questions and express their concerns.
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> Speakers:
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> Tracey Vause-Earland, Occupational Therapist at Thomas Jefferson Hospital.
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> Cathy Poon, Pharmacy Faculty at USP.
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> Contact:
> Alaa Abou-Arab (419-340-7319)