In fall 2024, the College of Nursing and Allied Health at Southern University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Louisiana, enrolled the largest cohort of Black males into its nursing program in the university’s history. This milestone is important for the HBCU and the future of nursing, as it signals an increase in diversity in the profession while addressing representation in healthcare as a matter of public health.
“Public trust begins with public health,” said Sandra Brown, Dean of Southern University’s College of Nursing. “So, you have to have individuals who are culturally diverse to be able to relate and impact the outcomes of the patients they serve.”
Nursing student Ray Washington added, “I think now other males, younger black males, older males having the opportunity to see what we’re doing here is only going to ignite a fire in them and say we have the opportunity to decide our own story and not allow the world to make that decision for us.”
Ahead, we discuss some of the disparities in representation in healthcare that affect Black Americans and share how Mount Sinai’s Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit and Robert F. Smith’s work with the Prostate Cancer Foundation are working to alleviate consequences in health outcomes from these disparities through education and early detection.
How Representation in Healthcare Can Improve Black Patient Outcomes
The lack of representation in healthcare in the U.S. is stark. For example, there are proportionately fewer Black doctors compared to the number of Black Americans in the U.S. According to a 2021 University of California, Los Angeles study, the number of Black doctors in the U.S. has increased by only 4% in the past 120 years, with only 5.7% of doctors identifying as Black in 2023.
Black male nurses are even more underrepresented, with less than 1% of representation in the field, according to research published by Nursing Outlook. According to the latest U.S. census data, Black Americans represent about 13.7% of the population.
With fewer Black doctors and nurses in the field, disparities in the treatment of Black patients become a barrier to proper healthcare. According to a 2023 survey conducted by KFF, Black patients were more likely to report negative experiences and unfair treatment in the healthcare system, which included being refused pain medications and being judged based on their appearance.
In addition to unfair treatment, Black patient outcomes are also worse than other demographic groups. For example, certain cancers are more prominent in Black communities, and Black patients have a lower survival rate than other ethnicities in the U.S. In another example, Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer than other men, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Addressing Patient Outcomes Through Philanthropy
To address this urgent issue, the Mount Sinai Robert F. Smith Mobile Prostate Cancer Screening Unit brings state-of-the-art imaging equipment and specialized staff directly to the communities that need it most. This helps both increase the rate of early detection of prostate cancer among Black men and removes the stigma that they might encounter from other healthcare providers.
The mobile unit and screening initiative was made possible by a $3.8 million donation from Smith in 2021. In 2018, Smith also contributed $2.5 million to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to support research and development initiatives, the largest donation ever focused on prostate care for Black men.
Learn more about Smith’s work to improve Black health by following him on LinkedIn.
