to 16% of non-Hispanic whites. An August CDC report focusing on Utah workplace outbreaks found that 58% of outbreaks took place in the manufacturing, wholesale trade and construction industries, with Hispanic and nonwhite workers representing 78% of the cases.3


These surges arise


because individuals in such sectors often do not have protections like sick leave—and so are forced to choose whether to stay home and forego pay, or come to work and put themselves and others at risk of infection.


There are social determinants that also increase the impact on Black and Hispanic communities. Limited or unaffordable access to healthcare and insurance has led to high rates of underlying conditions such as diabetes or hypertension. These co-morbidities are exacerbated by lack of access to healthy food, clean water, and preventative care and guidance. All of this leads to individuals with existing health conditions working in public- facing “essential” roles during a health crisis.


According to a June 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC, “Hospitalized COVID-19 patients are more commonly older, male, of [Black] race and have underlying conditions.”4 The same report goes on to cite data from six Atlanta hospitals and associated outpatient clinics showing that, among COVID-19 positive patients, “older age, [Black] race, diabetes, lack of insurance, male sex, smoking and obesity were independently associated with hospitalization.”


COVID-19 Health Equity Response Team In my home state of Colorado, the Department of Public Health and Environment sought to combat these disparities by creating the COVID-19 Health Equity Response Team. The task force pursued multiple goals, including: 5


• Determining proactive measures to prevent infection in vulnerable communities


• Increasing access to testing and care


• Developing policy recommendations to better assist communities of color during the pandemic and in the future


sirweb.org/irq | 15


The need for more robust data will allow for a better understanding of which diseases disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and could inform how to treat a disease process amongst these communities.


Along with legislative suggestions to provide sick leave protections, the Health Equity Response Team highlighted the need for transparent racial and ethnicity data. This extends beyond COVID-19; the need for more robust data will allow for a better understanding of which diseases disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and could inform how to treat a disease process amongst these communities. Consider, for example, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)—just one of countless areas that lack quality data reflecting racial and ethnicity demographics.


In my experience, radiologists— particularly diagnostic radiologists— rarely look at race or ethnicity. We focus mostly on age and sex, and use these factors to inform our research and practices. This exclusion leaves on the table a tremendous opportunity


Percentage of


population working in service industry jobs, according to the CDC


Blacks & Hispanics Non-Hispanic whites


25% 16%


for better health outcomes. Collecting more robust data will provide better patient care—but implementing it will require reassessing and adjusting protocols and views.


Implicit bias and disease processing The first—and most important—step in rectifying healthcare disparities is acknowledging they exist. Once aware, physicians and health systems can keep them in consideration when developing treatment plans and seek to counteract implicit bias.


Implicit bias, as defined by Ohio State University’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, is an attitude or stereotype that impacts the way individuals interact with and understand others. These attitudes are formed by our education, environment and culture, and though


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