#BlackHAPC: Elevating Voices to Increase Black Interprofessional Representation in Palliative Care (PC)
Underrepresentation of Black clinicians in Hospice and Palliative Care is a known issue yet the only data that exists is for physician fellows. In their 2017 profile of active Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) Physicians, it was reported that only 3.7% of HPM fellows nationally and internationally are Black. This number is quite small compared to the most recent national census data that shows 14% of the US population identifies as Black or as being mixed with Black. However, the reasons that Black interprofessional clinicians do not consider or remain in the field of PC is unknown. Through a three-phased approach, the focus of this project will be to archive Black clinician voices in PC and share the finished video product nationally as a mechanism to increase awareness within the Black community of PC as a profession.
My personal and professional interest in palliative care stems from carrying the collective spirits of my Black, Indigenous and Jewish ancestors who cared for loved ones throughout the serious illness trajectory at home, with traditional beliefs, medicines, and personalized care, that centered the individual’s values and priorities. I strongly believe that palliative care within the healthcare system can be provided consistently in a culturally responsive way similar to how my family cared for their loved ones at home for generations. My vision for leadership is one that includes collaboration and community. It includes archiving the voices of Black clinicians in palliative care in order to preserve them. It means encouraging the next generation of Black clinicians to consider palliative care as a specialty. Leadership means not just what I can achieve but what WE can achieve together to make palliative care a field that is even more rooted in culturally responsive and humble care for Black patients. Leadership means creating a roadmap to archive voices of other minoritized and oppressed identities within palliative care. This grant will enable me to have a tiny impact in righting the injustices of the lived experiences of racism and other inequities that Black people have suffered within healthcare, including palliative care.