{"id":72296,"date":"2023-06-28T21:53:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-29T01:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=72296"},"modified":"2023-09-19T12:59:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T16:59:35","slug":"advocating-for-equity-in-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/articles\/2023\/advocating-for-equity-in-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocating for Equity in Healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin news-block-editorial-leadin is-style-emphasis-on-text has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-tertiary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1024\" height=\"664\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2-900x584.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2-768x498.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2-500x324.png 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2-992x643.png 992w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2023\/08\/22-1024x664-2-1000x648.png 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">Counseling Psychology<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAdvocating for Equity in Healthcare\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Maria Teresa Coutinho explores ways to address healthcare inequities for children of color<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar news-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 28, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/news\/authors\/finn-gardiner\/\">Finn Gardiner<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1500x1500.jpg\" alt=\"Photo of Maria Coutinho\" class=\"wp-image-63291\" width=\"224\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1500x1500.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-2048x2048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-826x826.jpg 826w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-344x344.jpg 344w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-529x529.jpg 529w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-682x682.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1032x1032.jpg 1032w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1321x1321.jpg 1321w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-688x688.jpg 688w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1058x1058.jpg 1058w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1364x1364.jpg 1364w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1652x1652.jpg 1652w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1000x1000.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-1200x1200.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-550x550.jpg 550w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/files\/2022\/09\/Maria-Coutinho_07_Square-scaled-710x710.jpg 710w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 224px) 100vw, 224px\" \/><figcaption>Maria Teresa Coutinho<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Although healthcare is often viewed as separate from race, ethnicity, and social equality, for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/wheelock\/profile\/maria-teresa-coutinho\/\">Maria Teresa Coutinho<\/a>, a professor of counseling psychology at BU Wheelock, they are inextricably linked. Coutinho, who studies how race, health, and psychology overlap, focuses her research on the ways psychology can address the inequities in healthcare for children of color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Coutinho works with families from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds to understand racial inequity in asthma treatment, identification, and support, especially for Black and Latinx children. We asked her about her work\u2014and why it\u2019s crucial for medical providers to understand the relationship between race, ethnicity, and healthcare outcomes.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a news-block-editorial-q-and-a has-primary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title\"><h2 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-heading\">Q<span>&amp;<\/span>A<\/h2><h4 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-title-subheading\"><\/h4><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Question:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>Your research explores racial equity in healthcare. What are you currently focused on?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Coutinho:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">My research supports families of color, adolescents, and caregivers in being more engaged with their asthma management and to feel that they\u2019re partners with their physicians. A lot of the work I do is focused on pediatric asthma disparities. I\u2019m interested in what doctors can do to support adolescents and parents to be more engaged.<br><br>One of my projects focuses on the transition to adult healthcare for adolescents diagnosed with asthma, which is a collaboration with colleagues at Hasbro Children\u2019s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, and the University of Puerto Rico. This study is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Specifically, we\u2019re studying how high school students with asthma work with their caregivers and healthcare providers to manage their care.<br><br>For adolescents and young adults with chronic conditions like asthma, this is an important period where without proper support they experience difficulty managing the illness. This is even more difficult for adolescents of color, who may experience inequities in care.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Question:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>Tell us more about the racial disparities faced by children and youth with asthma. What impact does this have on their families?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Coutinho:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">There are many inequities related to asthma. For example, Black and Puerto Rican children have higher prevalence rates. Children and adolescents of color are also more likely to use the emergency department for care.<br><br>My clinical work as a psychologist has always focused on children of color in urban settings. I often work with families experiencing multiple stressors, including parents whose children have chronic illnesses. As a Black psychologist, I know it\u2019s especially important for me to contribute to improving the lives of children of color with asthma and their families. I don\u2019t have asthma myself, but I have other experiences, even with my own parents. There are assumptions made about my appearance or the fact that my parents don\u2019t speak English very well. A lot of people of color don\u2019t feel comfortable talking to doctors, and I hear that from the families I work with.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Question:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>What ways have you found to address racial inequality in asthma care for children and youth?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Coutinho:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Some of my work involves community health workers, who are healthcare providers who know about different conditions. They\u2019re not physicians, so they\u2019re not prescribing medication, but they can still support families and help them make decisions. These families feel more comfortable talking to community health workers about their needs, for example, if they have questions about the medications their child is prescribed or about what they can do to make their home more asthma friendly. You don\u2019t need to be a doctor to help families with those concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-question\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Question:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\"><strong>What changes do you see are needed in the healthcare system?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-answer\"><span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-name\">Coutinho:<\/span> <span class=\"wp-block-editorial-q-and-a-content\">Healthcare is a right and that we should all have access to good healthcare. Some of that involves having healthcare consumers who are educated, engaged, and able to ask for what they need. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to understand when I work with families\u2014I want to know how we can have a healthcare system that\u2019s responsive to the needs of its constituents.<br><br>We need a system of care that\u2019s more responsive to people\u2019s needs, not just relying on physicians. There are more ways we can support better health outcomes rather than just relying on the disease model. That means being open to thinking differently about health and wellness and focusing on families\u2019 and children\u2019s experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although healthcare is often viewed as separate from race, ethnicity, and social equality, for Maria Teresa Coutinho, a professor of counseling psychology at BU Wheelock, they are inextricably linked. Coutinho, who studies how race, health, and psychology overlap, focuses her research on the ways psychology can address the inequities in healthcare for children of color. 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