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More than one year into the coronavirus pandemic it has become painfully clear that minority communities are especially vulnerable.
A recent McKinsey & Company report, for example, found that during the pandemic, rural communities with diverse populations experienced 1.7 times more COVID-19 deaths per capita than other rural communities around the country. The study also found that in rural counties where the population is comprised of at least 33% of racial or ethnic minority groups, deaths from COVID were 1.5 times higher than in other communities.
Creshelle Nash, MD, MPH, CHIE, medical director for health equity and public programs at Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently spoke with HealthLeaders about how she saw these disparities first-hand, and how the COVID-19 crisis has given the national healthcare system a vehicle to address social determinants of health (SDOH) and health disparities.