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Standing up to ‘injustice in health’: The Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” – Martin Luther King Jr., March 25, 1966. 1
This single disparity – health care injustice – too often results in needless mental anguish, physical suffering, or death. In the spring of 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the convergence of injustices in health care and policing led to the disproportionate preventable physical deaths of Black men and women. This became the watershed moment for 11 gastroenterologists and hepatologists who collectively grieved but heeded the call of social responsibility to form the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists.
The mission of ABGH is laser focused. It is to promote health equity in Black communities, advance science, and develop the careers of Black gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and scientists. The vision is to improve gastrointestinal health outcomes in Black communities; to develop the pipeline of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists given that currently only 4% in the United States identify as Black; to foster networking, mentoring, and sponsorship among Black students, clinical trainees, gastroenterologists, and hepatologists; and to promote the scholarship of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists.
Through community engagement, ABGH stands to empower the Black community with knowledge and choices, which inherently strengthens the physician-patient relationship. ABGH also exists to implement positive change in long term outcome statistics in Black communities. Black Americans are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die from the disease. In addition to colorectal cancer, rates of esophageal squamous cancer, as well as cancer of the small bowel and pancreas, are highest in Black people.2 Through scientific research and clinical care, we aim to eradicate digestive health disparities.
Yet in this space, we know first-hand that, in the United States, the wellness of a community is not measured by the medical fitness of its members alone but also by the availability of equitable opportunities for fulfillment of nonmedical but health-impacting social needs. These needs, also known as social determinants of health, are made inaccessible to vulnerable populations because of systemic racism. Importantly, we recognize that dismantling racist systems is not a singular effort, nor are we pioneers in this work, but we look forward to executing health equity goals collaboratively with our fellow gastrointestinal national societies and other leading community and grassroots organizations.
The founders of ABGH are a distinctive group of practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists from across the United States with a strong track record in DEI work through their community, clinical, and research activities. The board of directors reflects only the depth of talent shared throughout the ABGH membership. The strength of the organization lies in its diverse and energetic constituents who all exemplify outstanding training and the readiness to redefine the standard of health care delivery to the Black community. From medical students to senior level gastroenterologists, we collectively embody a considerable momentum for formation of this organization at this point in our history.
ABGH fulfills a professional career development need for budding gastroenterologists not so readily available from other organizations. The compelling impact of representing the embodiment of what many of us were told we could not become is limitless. The personal and professional growth enabled by our networking and learning from each other is both motivating and empowering since, even after overcoming the obstacles needed to become a medical provider, Black professionals are often not afforded the bandwidth, range of emotion, and protection to reveal their specific needs. For this author personally, the ABGH provides a psychological safety that allows authentic self-identity without code-switching.3 Through this authenticity has arisen formidable strength, creativity, and productivity. The leadership and innovation cultivated in ABGH stands to benefit many generations to come, both within and outside the organization.
Reflections from a junior member of ABGH: Dr. Kafayat Busari
My desire to pursue gastroenterology was bolstered by determination, curiosity, and passion, yet ironically was often met with skepticism by many in position to help advance this goal. Although projections of incertitude on members of a community that are often made to feel inadequate can diminish even the brightest of lights, conversely it can fuel the creation of an organization emboldened to specifically address GI-related health disparities. When I was a second-year internal medicine resident, I encountered a GI physician who told me GI “wasn’t something I wanted to do”—despite me expressing my interest.
Confused by the statement, I reached out to Renee L. Williams, MD, of NYU Langone Health, who I had met during my medical school training. She suggested I join a conference call later that week. On that call and the many that took place thereafter, I was introduced to Black gastroenterologists who are luminal disease experts, chair members, journal editors, transplant hepatologists, interventional endoscopists, researchers, and professors (in other words, GI professional leaders). My time on the initial call lasted perhaps less than 20 minutes, but the impact has been immeasurable.
I was provided the emotional reassurance that GI was indeed for me and told “there’s always a seat, and if it feels like there’s not, we just need to get more chairs.” Little did I know, but those metaphorical chairs were being gathered so that I and other aspiring gastroenterologists will be able to sit comfortably at these tables one day. I was witnessing these GI professional leaders set in motion the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a pivotal component in the way I approach my career as a gastroenterologist. The experience reignited my mental determination to one day attain the level of success represented by the ABGH board members and to persevere in my quest to help redefine how Black medical students and residents serve their communities as physicians.
The creation of the ABGH could not have come at a better time in my training. In the wake of recent public protests for equity of African Americans within every institution (academia, housing, banks, policing, health care, and beyond), which were fundamentally built on racism, being a junior member of ABGH has not only given me a platform to speak my truth but has also provided me with tools to help others do so as well. As someone very passionate about research, primarily in colorectal cancer, I have been given an opportunity to connect with a dream team of mentors who have taken research ideas to new levels and have challenged me to dig deeper and expand my curiosity to investigate what still needs to be uncovered. It has created opportunity after opportunity for actively building relationships, leading to meaningful collaborations and the sharing of innovative ideas and discoveries.
It is important to emphasize that ABGH is not an organization wanting to exclude themselves on the basis of ethnicity. ABGH is an example of how shared health goals within a medical discipline can be achieved when inclusion and equity is at the helm. ABGH led and represented events that raise awareness of diseases affecting all patients and aim to make the GI community more culturally competent. ABGH is future-oriented and embraces all members who align with the mission regardless of ethnicity, gender, orientation, or disability. The institution that is and will be the ABGH impresses upon me a feeling of excitement, gratitude, and humility. I look forward to continuing the mission created by the founding members and being to others what ABGH is to me.
For more information on this organization, please visit blackingastro.org.
Dr. Busari is a resident physician at Florida State University-SMH and a junior member of ABGH. Dr. Guillaume director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Center at Stony Brook (New York) University Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. They have no disclosures.
References
1. Galarneau C. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2018;29(1):5-8.
2. Ashktorab H et al. Gastroenterology. 2017 Oct;153(4):910-923.
3. Blanchard AK. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 10;384(23):e87.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” – Martin Luther King Jr., March 25, 1966. 1
This single disparity – health care injustice – too often results in needless mental anguish, physical suffering, or death. In the spring of 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the convergence of injustices in health care and policing led to the disproportionate preventable physical deaths of Black men and women. This became the watershed moment for 11 gastroenterologists and hepatologists who collectively grieved but heeded the call of social responsibility to form the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists.
The mission of ABGH is laser focused. It is to promote health equity in Black communities, advance science, and develop the careers of Black gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and scientists. The vision is to improve gastrointestinal health outcomes in Black communities; to develop the pipeline of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists given that currently only 4% in the United States identify as Black; to foster networking, mentoring, and sponsorship among Black students, clinical trainees, gastroenterologists, and hepatologists; and to promote the scholarship of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists.
Through community engagement, ABGH stands to empower the Black community with knowledge and choices, which inherently strengthens the physician-patient relationship. ABGH also exists to implement positive change in long term outcome statistics in Black communities. Black Americans are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die from the disease. In addition to colorectal cancer, rates of esophageal squamous cancer, as well as cancer of the small bowel and pancreas, are highest in Black people.2 Through scientific research and clinical care, we aim to eradicate digestive health disparities.
Yet in this space, we know first-hand that, in the United States, the wellness of a community is not measured by the medical fitness of its members alone but also by the availability of equitable opportunities for fulfillment of nonmedical but health-impacting social needs. These needs, also known as social determinants of health, are made inaccessible to vulnerable populations because of systemic racism. Importantly, we recognize that dismantling racist systems is not a singular effort, nor are we pioneers in this work, but we look forward to executing health equity goals collaboratively with our fellow gastrointestinal national societies and other leading community and grassroots organizations.
The founders of ABGH are a distinctive group of practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists from across the United States with a strong track record in DEI work through their community, clinical, and research activities. The board of directors reflects only the depth of talent shared throughout the ABGH membership. The strength of the organization lies in its diverse and energetic constituents who all exemplify outstanding training and the readiness to redefine the standard of health care delivery to the Black community. From medical students to senior level gastroenterologists, we collectively embody a considerable momentum for formation of this organization at this point in our history.
ABGH fulfills a professional career development need for budding gastroenterologists not so readily available from other organizations. The compelling impact of representing the embodiment of what many of us were told we could not become is limitless. The personal and professional growth enabled by our networking and learning from each other is both motivating and empowering since, even after overcoming the obstacles needed to become a medical provider, Black professionals are often not afforded the bandwidth, range of emotion, and protection to reveal their specific needs. For this author personally, the ABGH provides a psychological safety that allows authentic self-identity without code-switching.3 Through this authenticity has arisen formidable strength, creativity, and productivity. The leadership and innovation cultivated in ABGH stands to benefit many generations to come, both within and outside the organization.
Reflections from a junior member of ABGH: Dr. Kafayat Busari
My desire to pursue gastroenterology was bolstered by determination, curiosity, and passion, yet ironically was often met with skepticism by many in position to help advance this goal. Although projections of incertitude on members of a community that are often made to feel inadequate can diminish even the brightest of lights, conversely it can fuel the creation of an organization emboldened to specifically address GI-related health disparities. When I was a second-year internal medicine resident, I encountered a GI physician who told me GI “wasn’t something I wanted to do”—despite me expressing my interest.
Confused by the statement, I reached out to Renee L. Williams, MD, of NYU Langone Health, who I had met during my medical school training. She suggested I join a conference call later that week. On that call and the many that took place thereafter, I was introduced to Black gastroenterologists who are luminal disease experts, chair members, journal editors, transplant hepatologists, interventional endoscopists, researchers, and professors (in other words, GI professional leaders). My time on the initial call lasted perhaps less than 20 minutes, but the impact has been immeasurable.
I was provided the emotional reassurance that GI was indeed for me and told “there’s always a seat, and if it feels like there’s not, we just need to get more chairs.” Little did I know, but those metaphorical chairs were being gathered so that I and other aspiring gastroenterologists will be able to sit comfortably at these tables one day. I was witnessing these GI professional leaders set in motion the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a pivotal component in the way I approach my career as a gastroenterologist. The experience reignited my mental determination to one day attain the level of success represented by the ABGH board members and to persevere in my quest to help redefine how Black medical students and residents serve their communities as physicians.
The creation of the ABGH could not have come at a better time in my training. In the wake of recent public protests for equity of African Americans within every institution (academia, housing, banks, policing, health care, and beyond), which were fundamentally built on racism, being a junior member of ABGH has not only given me a platform to speak my truth but has also provided me with tools to help others do so as well. As someone very passionate about research, primarily in colorectal cancer, I have been given an opportunity to connect with a dream team of mentors who have taken research ideas to new levels and have challenged me to dig deeper and expand my curiosity to investigate what still needs to be uncovered. It has created opportunity after opportunity for actively building relationships, leading to meaningful collaborations and the sharing of innovative ideas and discoveries.
It is important to emphasize that ABGH is not an organization wanting to exclude themselves on the basis of ethnicity. ABGH is an example of how shared health goals within a medical discipline can be achieved when inclusion and equity is at the helm. ABGH led and represented events that raise awareness of diseases affecting all patients and aim to make the GI community more culturally competent. ABGH is future-oriented and embraces all members who align with the mission regardless of ethnicity, gender, orientation, or disability. The institution that is and will be the ABGH impresses upon me a feeling of excitement, gratitude, and humility. I look forward to continuing the mission created by the founding members and being to others what ABGH is to me.
For more information on this organization, please visit blackingastro.org.
Dr. Busari is a resident physician at Florida State University-SMH and a junior member of ABGH. Dr. Guillaume director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Center at Stony Brook (New York) University Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. They have no disclosures.
References
1. Galarneau C. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2018;29(1):5-8.
2. Ashktorab H et al. Gastroenterology. 2017 Oct;153(4):910-923.
3. Blanchard AK. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 10;384(23):e87.
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and inhuman.” – Martin Luther King Jr., March 25, 1966. 1
This single disparity – health care injustice – too often results in needless mental anguish, physical suffering, or death. In the spring of 2020, at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the convergence of injustices in health care and policing led to the disproportionate preventable physical deaths of Black men and women. This became the watershed moment for 11 gastroenterologists and hepatologists who collectively grieved but heeded the call of social responsibility to form the Association of Black Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists.
The mission of ABGH is laser focused. It is to promote health equity in Black communities, advance science, and develop the careers of Black gastroenterologists, hepatologists, and scientists. The vision is to improve gastrointestinal health outcomes in Black communities; to develop the pipeline of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists given that currently only 4% in the United States identify as Black; to foster networking, mentoring, and sponsorship among Black students, clinical trainees, gastroenterologists, and hepatologists; and to promote the scholarship of Black gastroenterologists and hepatologists.
Through community engagement, ABGH stands to empower the Black community with knowledge and choices, which inherently strengthens the physician-patient relationship. ABGH also exists to implement positive change in long term outcome statistics in Black communities. Black Americans are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 40% more likely to die from the disease. In addition to colorectal cancer, rates of esophageal squamous cancer, as well as cancer of the small bowel and pancreas, are highest in Black people.2 Through scientific research and clinical care, we aim to eradicate digestive health disparities.
Yet in this space, we know first-hand that, in the United States, the wellness of a community is not measured by the medical fitness of its members alone but also by the availability of equitable opportunities for fulfillment of nonmedical but health-impacting social needs. These needs, also known as social determinants of health, are made inaccessible to vulnerable populations because of systemic racism. Importantly, we recognize that dismantling racist systems is not a singular effort, nor are we pioneers in this work, but we look forward to executing health equity goals collaboratively with our fellow gastrointestinal national societies and other leading community and grassroots organizations.
The founders of ABGH are a distinctive group of practicing gastroenterologists and hepatologists from across the United States with a strong track record in DEI work through their community, clinical, and research activities. The board of directors reflects only the depth of talent shared throughout the ABGH membership. The strength of the organization lies in its diverse and energetic constituents who all exemplify outstanding training and the readiness to redefine the standard of health care delivery to the Black community. From medical students to senior level gastroenterologists, we collectively embody a considerable momentum for formation of this organization at this point in our history.
ABGH fulfills a professional career development need for budding gastroenterologists not so readily available from other organizations. The compelling impact of representing the embodiment of what many of us were told we could not become is limitless. The personal and professional growth enabled by our networking and learning from each other is both motivating and empowering since, even after overcoming the obstacles needed to become a medical provider, Black professionals are often not afforded the bandwidth, range of emotion, and protection to reveal their specific needs. For this author personally, the ABGH provides a psychological safety that allows authentic self-identity without code-switching.3 Through this authenticity has arisen formidable strength, creativity, and productivity. The leadership and innovation cultivated in ABGH stands to benefit many generations to come, both within and outside the organization.
Reflections from a junior member of ABGH: Dr. Kafayat Busari
My desire to pursue gastroenterology was bolstered by determination, curiosity, and passion, yet ironically was often met with skepticism by many in position to help advance this goal. Although projections of incertitude on members of a community that are often made to feel inadequate can diminish even the brightest of lights, conversely it can fuel the creation of an organization emboldened to specifically address GI-related health disparities. When I was a second-year internal medicine resident, I encountered a GI physician who told me GI “wasn’t something I wanted to do”—despite me expressing my interest.
Confused by the statement, I reached out to Renee L. Williams, MD, of NYU Langone Health, who I had met during my medical school training. She suggested I join a conference call later that week. On that call and the many that took place thereafter, I was introduced to Black gastroenterologists who are luminal disease experts, chair members, journal editors, transplant hepatologists, interventional endoscopists, researchers, and professors (in other words, GI professional leaders). My time on the initial call lasted perhaps less than 20 minutes, but the impact has been immeasurable.
I was provided the emotional reassurance that GI was indeed for me and told “there’s always a seat, and if it feels like there’s not, we just need to get more chairs.” Little did I know, but those metaphorical chairs were being gathered so that I and other aspiring gastroenterologists will be able to sit comfortably at these tables one day. I was witnessing these GI professional leaders set in motion the beginning of what will undoubtedly be a pivotal component in the way I approach my career as a gastroenterologist. The experience reignited my mental determination to one day attain the level of success represented by the ABGH board members and to persevere in my quest to help redefine how Black medical students and residents serve their communities as physicians.
The creation of the ABGH could not have come at a better time in my training. In the wake of recent public protests for equity of African Americans within every institution (academia, housing, banks, policing, health care, and beyond), which were fundamentally built on racism, being a junior member of ABGH has not only given me a platform to speak my truth but has also provided me with tools to help others do so as well. As someone very passionate about research, primarily in colorectal cancer, I have been given an opportunity to connect with a dream team of mentors who have taken research ideas to new levels and have challenged me to dig deeper and expand my curiosity to investigate what still needs to be uncovered. It has created opportunity after opportunity for actively building relationships, leading to meaningful collaborations and the sharing of innovative ideas and discoveries.
It is important to emphasize that ABGH is not an organization wanting to exclude themselves on the basis of ethnicity. ABGH is an example of how shared health goals within a medical discipline can be achieved when inclusion and equity is at the helm. ABGH led and represented events that raise awareness of diseases affecting all patients and aim to make the GI community more culturally competent. ABGH is future-oriented and embraces all members who align with the mission regardless of ethnicity, gender, orientation, or disability. The institution that is and will be the ABGH impresses upon me a feeling of excitement, gratitude, and humility. I look forward to continuing the mission created by the founding members and being to others what ABGH is to me.
For more information on this organization, please visit blackingastro.org.
Dr. Busari is a resident physician at Florida State University-SMH and a junior member of ABGH. Dr. Guillaume director of the Gastrointestinal Motility Center at Stony Brook (New York) University Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. They have no disclosures.
References
1. Galarneau C. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2018;29(1):5-8.
2. Ashktorab H et al. Gastroenterology. 2017 Oct;153(4):910-923.
3. Blanchard AK. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 10;384(23):e87.