SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi, my name is Ajuwa Chemating from the National Minority Quality Forum, and this is For Your Health News. Your health, your news, your power. And I'm here with Jasmine Leonard, one of our 40 under 40 class of 2025.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Congratulations, Jasmine. Would you like to introduce yourself? Yes, thank you. My name is Jasmine Leonard. I'm a senior business consultant at CareFor Spoo Car Spoo Shield, and I'm from gorgeous Prince George's County, Maryland. You said gorgeous for George's County. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

Always working, always proud. We were just in Prince George's County yesterday at Sanctuary Church for one of our mini clinics. So it was wonderful to be there. But first, you know, how exciting is it to be one of the 40 under 40? You know, what what things, what what have you seen that has excited you as far as your class?

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Well, first of all, I don't know how I got into such an amazing class filled with so many amazing people that are doing the real work. And honestly, just in the state of the climate that we're in, it just feels good to be surrounded by people that are dedicated to health equity. Right. I think that's what drives me, that's what gives me hope, and that's what really just makes me say, okay, like we're in the right place. We can get through this.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

We can get through this. So let's talk about the environment, you know, and the importance, I guess, of recognition, perhaps, of folks who are dedicated, you know, to minority health and health equity, you know, it's tough right now, right? We just don't know where things are gonna go, you know, with funding cuts um to a lot of health equity programs. Um, what is driving you? What is helping you stay the course?

SPEAKER_00 1:53

So I think being dedicated to this work, not just when it became a buzzword, but before I even knew what health equity really was, knowing that my life was really looking at predicating, understanding the intersection between Black health and the history of health. And um, I was I did a concentration in Afrikaner studies and human biology in my undergrad. And so I always have been looking at why is it different for black people? Why is it different for minoritized communities? Yeah. And so I think when you're dedicated from the start, it, you know, no matter what you go through, no matter what happens, you're still gonna stead fast in that. Um, and so I think that that's what keeps me going, and that's what really is just why I'm here. So I'm about to call you, Professor Leonard. Uh, why is it different? Why is it different for black folk? Well, we have to think about how we got here. Um, we have to think about the culture of white supremacy and systemic racism and systemic oppression, and just understanding that we weren't given the same opportunities as everyone else when we got here. So we have a situation in which we are forced to really deal with the history. And I know sometimes we can't really talk about history, but you know, we have to talk about that if we're going to understand the disparities and then be able to work towards improving the health disparities.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

So, what does the history mean for the present? You know, what is that intersection with health care?

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Yeah, so I think we have to look into history to understand where we are right now and to understand where we don't want to go. A lot of the things that are happening right now have happened before. When we look at wanting to exclude populations, wanting to potentially say that, you know, we're going to remove protections and go back to situations in which we are not looking at the full totality of what is going on in the country, but just looking at subsections of it. Right. Um, we have to really understand that this everything that's happening now has happened before. And unfortunately, you know, we are in a cycle. And until we really look at the system and look at the causes, the root causes of everything that's happening, we are essentially just going to continue in this cycle.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Okay. So let's break this down. When you talk about removing protections and excluding classes, what has that meant for, I guess, uh the outcomes that we see today, right? When we talk about why is it so different for black folk? Um, particularly because I know you've also, you know, studied biology, right? So what does the science say about our history?

SPEAKER_00 4:49

So we are living our history. It's in our genes, it's in our bodies, it's in how we internalize and how we essentially go about the day. We have heightened levels of cortisol because of stress. What? Yes. That is crazy. So cortisol should only be running through your body when you're in a fight or flight situation, right? Like it's supposed to be there to help you get through a situation of extreme, dire circumstances. But because of racism and because of systemic oppression, our bodies are essentially excreting cortisol on a continuous basis because we think that we're in a situation of fight or flight. And so when cortisol is in your body for long periods of time, you have increased rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, all the things that we see in the black community as disparities. And so that is, you know, the biology behind everything. And it's in our genes, it's in our history.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

What is your take right now on sort of the anti-science um attitude that is pervasive across American society, including in communities of color? Is that preventative in even understanding our issues today?

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Yes. So I used to be a medical assistant in a pediatric office. And so I had to talk a lot about vaccines and being able to understand why it's important to be vaccinated. And I think a lot of it, a lot of the issues that we're seeing now in terms of anti-science and anti-vaxxers and just being completely against everything, um, is the fact that people are clenching onto buzzwords, clenching onto misinformation. And it makes it so easy because there's so much information misinformation going out there. But if we're really going to address the community and help them understand, we have to be able to have real conversations and difficult conversations. And I think a lot of times science is, you know, it's in words and things that are just not approachable. And we have to be willing to be able to talk to people where they are and help them understand that not everything is a Tuskegee experiment, not everything is Henrietta Lax. Right. Like sometimes things are actually out there to help you. And there are researchers that are that look like us that are in our communities that are wanting to help us, and we just have to be willing to have those difficult conversations.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

I'm so glad you mentioned Tuskegee and Henrietta Lax. What are the biggest misconceptions about those two cases, would you say?

SPEAKER_00 7:31

Hmm. I don't know if we have misconceptions. Okay. Okay. I think that we have in today's society, we have misconceptions that we think that everything that comes out in terms of a clinical trial is going to be a Siskiy or a Henrietta Lex. Those happened in very unique cases. At the time, they were more pervasive, but I think right now when we're looking at research and looking at who's directing a lot of the um disparities research, it's people that look like us. That's true. And so I think that there's a level of wanting to understand that we don't have to be in these situations and just wanting to be able to touch the communities in ways that are enhancing the health and the well-being. Um but I think that there's a level of scrutiny that's happening that is warranted, right? I think research hasn't done enough to really get to the people and to be able to, like I was saying, speak at a level that is approachable, that is um that is for the greater good. Right. And so I think that we're just, we have to get out of our towers and be willing to get on the ground and help people understand that this is this is work that has to be done and work that's important because when we don't have people represented in clinical trials, we have situations in which disparate outcomes happen.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Let's talk about that. Um, what happens when we don't participate in clinical trials? What exactly do you mean?

SPEAKER_00 9:14

So when we're not participating in clinical trials, essentially these medicines, these vaccines, whatever, essentially is just being looked at in the cisgender white population. And so not everything is going to have the same biological outcomes for populations that are within other minoritized historically excluded communities. And so if you're not in the clinical trials, you're not going to be able to stand up and say, hey, this feels different. This doesn't work for me, or I experience this differently, or like this doesn't, this doesn't do anything for me. Right. And so essentially you're not, you're excluding your voice from the conversation.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

That's an excellent way to put it. Because those are the medications that are going to be prescribed for to uh treat any particular disease anyway, right? So if we are not participating in clinical trials, that's to our own detriment. Is that what you're saying? Yes, in some ways, yes. Okay. Um I want to talk back a little bit about you mentioned stress as an example of ways that can impact us with other conditions and lead us to a road of other conditions. What could people be doing right now in their own communities, in their own families, for themselves, to follow the science in order to, you know, achieve better health for themselves or for their loved ones? Where do they go for the right information?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

So I think that there is a wealth of information that's coming from NMQF, right? Um, you all are always putting out information that is approachable and that is actionable. Um, but then I think that there is the opportunity to, if you're not connected to a doctor, to connect with like community centers, community organizations, nonprofits that are dedicated to the health and well-being of the communities, and then being able to just follow the knowledge, right? Right.

SPEAKER_01 11:18

You mentioned NMQF. Thank you for the shout out. But where else can folks, you know, equip themselves, empower themselves with the right information?

SPEAKER_00 11:27

So I would say if you're not connected to a primary care provider, there are a ton of nonprofits and organizations that have actionable information that can be used, right? If you think about looking for a therapist, there's therapy for black girls. There's health in her hue that is doing an amazing job and being able to do media communications on health and then being able to connect providers that look and sound like you to people that are like us, right? And so I think that there are a lot of digital platforms that are able to help connection and to be able to um just get you in a place and when where you're able to hear science that actually makes sense and that is approachable.

SPEAKER_01 12:12

Okay. Uh I do actually have one more question for you. And this is just, you know, what could you say to our viewers about what they may not know or understand or need to know about vaccination? Oh okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

So vaccine vaccines are needed, they are not as scary as people make them out to be. Um, and I think they've become politicized after COVID because there was just a rapid approach to vaccination at that point. Right. We had never seen a vaccine be made and formed in such a short period of time that it caused uncertainty. Right. I'll I'll be honest, I was skeptical too. I was just like, what? Wait a minute. We're able to do it this quick? Wow. We vaccinated against other things. Question. But that just shows the power of being able to build around something. And when there's the resources and the money and the desire to do it, we're able to fast forward and be able to, you know, produce a vaccine within a short period of time. Right. But the vaccines that we have for like MMR and for polio and for hepatitis A, right, those have been around for so long. An American tradition. Yes. Right? I mean, I look back and I had my vaccine card and I was vaccinated against almost everything. There are a couple things I had to get a booster for as an adult because again, we're learning what needs to be improved on. But vaccines don't have to be scary. They come with fact sheets. So if you're at a vaccine, if you're getting vaccinated and your doctor doesn't have their VIS sheet, like that vaccine information sheet, ask for it because it has all the information. It tells you about the efficacy, it tells you about the safety, it tells you about how long it's been around and just the way in which it's going to interact with your body and all of that. And so I think that there's a lot of understanding that could be improved on with vaccines. But it's also, again, like I was saying, in terms of being to be able to have approachable conversations, not everyone is willing to take the time to have those conversations. Yeah, but maybe they can start with the fact sheet. Yes, the fact sheet is there.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

Thank you so much. I appreciate your time today. Thank you.