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WHY WE'RE HERE

Health care is profoundly unequal. A more diverse health care workforce can help change that.

Research shows:

Health care in Baltimore, MD is alarmingly unequal.

Only 6% of practicing physicians are from underrepresented minority backgrounds.

Diverse representation in health care leads to markedly better health outcomes in underserved communities.

For too many people, the quality of their health is dictated by where they were born and the advantages they had growing up.

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In Baltimore, a person living in Roland Park, one of the city’s wealthiest communities, is expected to live almost 20 years longer than someone in Sandtown, a low-income neighborhood just five miles south.


Shocking health disparities based on socioeconomic status, education, and race persist across the country.

Life Expectancy: 83

ROLAND PARK

Life Expectancy: 65

SANDTOWN

Needs reference note here

Diversity within the health professional workforce can combat health care disparities.
Supporting
Communities

Minority physicians are more likely to practice in underserved communities.

Trust & Engagement

Patients are more likely to adhere to their care plan if they share a similar background or identity with their provider.

Advocacy

A diverse workforce is more likely to shift the research agenda to problems that  disproportionately impact minority patients.

Despite the benefits of increasing minority representation in health care, persistent inequality prevents many prospective students from pursuing a career in medicine. 

6%

of practicing physicians are from under-represented minority backgrounds (Latino, African-American, and Native American), though they comprise 26% of the U.S. population

5.5%

of medical students are from the lowest income quintile, while over 75% of students are from the top two income quintiles.

of NIH research grants were awarded to black and Hispanic researcher.

3.1%

MERIT-Health Leadership Academy is dedicated to combating these persistent injustices by empowering motivated students in Baltimore to become socially conscious change agents in the health care space.

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