10/19/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/19/2021 09:43
Black Women's Health Imperative and Hologic hosted Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care A roundtable to Address Disparities in Uterine Fibroid Care
ATLANTA, GA (Oct. 19, 2021) - A multidisciplinary group of experts agree that elevating awareness of a woman's period as a vital sign of health would help to routinize and prioritize care for the uterine fibroids that impact eighty percent of Black women1 .This approach was one of several key initiatives proposed to reduce disparities in uterine fibroid care during Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care, a roundtable convened by The Black Women's Health Imperative (BWHI) in partnership with Hologic's Project Health Equality. Participants also cited the need to connect Black patients to culturally competent care and to get behind bipartisan legislation introduced to support greater funding for research, education, and access to care.
Uterine fibroids, which are benign uterine tumors, impact approximately 26 million women in the U.S. with a disproportionate impact on Black women2. Symptoms of uterine fibroids can include severe menstrual bleeding, anemia, fatigue, pain, bladder or bowel dysfunction, impaired fertility, and pregnancy complications and loss. These symptoms can have negative effects on workplace productivity and overall quality of life. Even in their 30's, 74 percent of Black women will have multiple fibroids versus 31 percent of white women3, and Black women are more than twice as likely to undergo a hysterectomy and have almost a seven-fold increased risk of undergoing myomectomies despite studies that show increased morbidity with both myomectomy and hysterectomy4.
"A nearly 80 percent incidence of any medical condition should be a major public health priority," said Linda Blount, President and CEO, Black Women's Health Imperative. "Unfortunately, despite the prevalence and severity of uterine fibroids experienced by Black women, there remain deep disparities in how we receive care."
Black women suffer greater severity of disease as evidenced by being twice as likely to be hospitalized for fibroid-related issues as white women5. While Black women are diagnosed with fibroids at younger ages, they will often wait four years or more before seeking treatment for fibroids4, in part due to being offered more invasive treatments vs. minimally invasive solutions.
"For too long, Black women have suffered with fibroids, often in silence, and when you listen to their stories about their fear, pain and their experience of not being heard by health providers, it's heartbreaking," said Rachel Villanueva, MD FACOG, the National Medical Association. "Knowledge is power. We need to empower women to understand their menstrual health as a sign of their overall health and well-being."
Critical actions identified by the roundtable participants include:
"Despite their prevalence and severe health and quality of life implications, uterine fibroids are in the bottom 50 conditions funded by the NIH," said Essex Mitchell, Division President, Hologic. "That is why, as part of our Project Health Equality, Hologic is proud to partner with BWHI and all the experts who participated in Unmuting Fibroids in charting a new course for awareness, research, and access to care."
Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care was moderated by Tiffany Cross, host of MSNBC's The Cross Connection, who shared her own personal experience with uterine fibroids. A complete list of participants is included below.
For more information on Unmuting Fibroids: Getting Loud for Equal Care please visit UNmuting Fibroids.
About The Black Women's Health Imperative
The Black Women's Health Imperative (BWHI) is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing health equity and social justice for Black women across the lifespan through policy, advocacy, education, research, and leadership development. The organization identifies the most pressing health issues that affect the nation's 22 million Black women and girls and invests in the best strategies and organizations that accomplish its goals. For more information, please visit bwhi.org.
About Hologic's Project Health Equality
Project Health Equality (PHE) is a multifaceted, multiyear initiative from Hologic, Inc. that uniquely combines research, education, and access to address the structural and cultural barriers that prevent Black and Hispanic women from receiving the same quality of healthcare as white women. The initiative seeks immediate change in how healthcare is experienced by thousands of Black and Hispanic women in cities across the United States and involves crucial partners such as BWHI and RAD-AID to drive meaningful, sustainable change for these communities.
For more information regarding PHE, visit https://www.hologic.com/ProjectHealthEquality
For more information on solutions for uterine fibroids, visit https://gynsurgicalsolutions.com/patients/for-patients/
Full Panelist List:
____________