Commemorating Juneteenth: A conversation with Dr. Yolanda Lawson, President of the National Medical Association
Yolanda Lawson M.D, F.A.C.O.G., is the 124th President of the National Medical Association (NMA). The National Medical Association (NMA) is the largest and oldest national organization representing African American physicians and their patients in the United States. It represents the interests of more than 50,000 African American physicians and the patients they serve.
Dr. Lawson has 20 years of clinical practice expertise in Women’s Health and healthcare leadership. She is the Executive Medical Director, of Maternal Infant Health for HealthCare Services Corp in Dallas, Texas, responsible for leading high-profile priority initiatives to improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Dr. Lawson spoke with ABIM about the importance of health equity and ways the NMA is working to accomplish this goal. Read more about Dr. Lawson and her work on the NMA website.
Let’s begin by talking about the National Medical Association’s (NMA) mission and why it’s important in today’s world.
The NMA was founded in 1895 in response to the exclusionary practices of the American Medical Association at that time, which banned African-American physicians’ membership. People often ask, why was that important and it was important for several reasons – including that often to gain privileges for hospitals you had to be a member of the AMA. Also, physicians have always had the requirement of continuing education which was an important reason to be a part of the societies.
What are the primary issues you’re currently working on?
While some things have absolutely changed, there is still a long way to go. I recently presented at the AMA and showed the timeline of the Black experience in America from 1619 to 2024. Eighty-five percent of the Black American experience has been under the auspices of racial oppression. And 100% of the Black American experience has been around fighting for equality and rights. Racial health disparities are still present in American healthcare. The disproportionate rate of chronic disease that impact African-Americans – whether it’s cancer, heart disease, infant mortality, childhood obesity, premature deaths, diabetes – is important and significant.
One of my key focus areas is Black women’s health, including the disparities around Black women and cardiovascular disease. Almost 60% of Black women aged 21 and over have some form of cardiovascular disease. I am also working on reducing disparities in HIV in Black women and their access to PREP, and of course maternal and reproductive health disparities.
My other pillar is digital health equity, and innovation and the bias that can be built into these systems. My last pillar is improving a diverse physician workforce.
How can we work to minimize or eliminate racial disparities in health care?
Racially concordant care is critically important. Studies show health outcomes for minority communities are improved when they have providers who look like them. The Supreme Court’s decision last year, to ban affirmative action concerns us at NMA because it will impact the pipeline of diverse individuals to replace those of us who will age out of the workforce. We know that 5.7% of physicians in this country are Black and the population of Blacks in this country is 14%. So, we want to achieve racial concordance, but have a long way to go. We need to also look at this from an interprofessional aspect—the Black nurses, Black pharmacists, Black physical therapists, Black psychologists, Black registered dietitians—and what we have found is that all of these professions are underrepresented. So, I think that’s one thing we can do—support diversity in all those professions.
This includes medical school faculty. When you look at medical school academic faculty, the number of Black faculty members hovers around 2 to 3% and that number has not changed in decades. So, there is a large amount of work that needs to be done to not only diversify our student bodies, but also the faculty in medical schools.
When you talk about healthcare disparities in this country, it’s important that policymakers are informed by individuals who understand Black America. We can’t reverse America’s history, but we can learn from it, and going forward we must work on reducing and improving health disparities, by providing information and guidance.
How can physicians or medical societies work to promote diversity equity and inclusion (DEI)?
Unfortunately, equity has become a buzzword in DEI and policies are being stripped away at the state level, and from many of our public institutions. This has led to private institutions and corporate America following suit. It’s a huge threat to progress.
When there is a loud and threatening voice against equity, we should be equally loud in informing and educating. While we continue to hear these attacks, DEI is anchored in civil rights and is an incredibly important issue in medicine. It is important for other entities and organizations to align and continue to use consistent language to ensure we continue to present the facts, and acknowledge the truth so we can move forward. Promoting the truth and making sure we continue to provide those sources of truth that are established and that are credible is important.
There have been well-documented historical harms perpetrated against Black people in this country. Blacks often refuse cancer treatment because of their fear of 40 years of radiation therapy and experiments on African-American men in Tuskegee.
J. Marion Sims operated on Black enslaved women without their consent and without anesthesia. These harmful events and mistreatment of Blacks are much of the basis of the mistrust of the healthcare system and for the ongoing health disparities in this country. There are facts, and there are truths—we can’t deny those.
How are you commemorating Juneteenth?
I will be speaking at a Day of Reflection event honoring 60 years of Civil Rights and the path to health equity. The work the current administration has put in place should be maintained and evolving. The executive order by President Biden recently mandated that all federal agencies embed racial equity plans into their work. I have personally heard that agencies are embedding equity into the foundation of their work That is progress and that is the direction we need to keep moving in.
Maternal health is very close to my heart and I will continue to raise awareness about the importance of embedding equity into all processes so that any and everyone who interfaces with the healthcare system are treated respectfully and consistently.
