I Wanted People to Know That They're Not Alone With Fasika Shimeles Teferra, MD: Healthcare Disparities in IBD
About IBD
07/25/23
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Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds.
IBD is still considered rare in some parts of the world, but incidence is increasing. Fasika Shimeles Teferra, MD of Ethiopia describes her journey to a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Being a medical doctor, she has been able to make connections in order to help other IBD patients in her country. Patients face stigma, less than optimal care, and a lack of educational resources for themselves and their friends and family members.
Dr Teferra was helping patients as best she could but discovered she needed a bigger platform. She founded a nonprofit, Crohn's and Colitis Ethiopia, in order to better support Ethiopian patients with IBD.
Find Dr Teferra on LinkedIn and Twitter and Crohn's and Colitis Ethiopia on Facebook and their web site.
More about Dr Teferra and IBD in Ethiopia:
- Interview with Dr Teferra on Lights, Camera, Crohn's
- Inflammatory bowel disease: an emergent disease among Ethiopian Jews migrating to Israel
- Inflammatory bowel disease in Africa: what is the current state of knowledge?
Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Credits:
Healthcare Disparities in IBD is written, produced, and directed by Amber Tresca.
Theme music, mix, and sound design is by Cooney Studio.
Previous Episode
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects people from all ethnic and cultural groups. In this limited series, we'll explore how inequalities in the healthcare system affect people from diverse backgrounds.
What is it like to not have anyone on your medical team that looks like you or understands your concerns? The diversity of the human experience is often not reflected in the healthcare system. In fact, there's little research into some areas of IBD, including the experience of LGBTQIA+ patients.
Dr Cedric Pulliam, Senior Public Health Advisor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, had a long journey to a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, punctuated by less than helpful advice from specialists. His experiences as a public health advocate, a patient, and a gay male have brought him to be an open advocate for those in the LGBTQ community. Dr Pulliam has advice on how the IBD community can learn from other disease states in how to truly meet the needs of patients.
Find Dr Pulliam on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Credits:
Healthcare Disparities in IBD is written, produced, and directed by Amber Tresca.
Theme music, mix, and sound design is by Cooney Studio.
Next Episode
Healthcare is political. That's why it's important to push legislators to ensure care is available and accessible to all patients, regardless of their socioeconomic status. Brooke Abbott, of the Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles and co-founder of IBDMoms helps illustrate the aspects of public policy that are important in achieving equity in healthcare. In this discussion you'll learn how lack of access to educational opportunities affects the healthcare space, how some provisions in the Affordable Care Act help reduce disparities, and why access to technology is an important part of healthcare.
Find Brooke Abbott on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Find Amber J Tresca at AboutIBD.com, Verywell, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Credits:
Healthcare Disparities in IBD is written, produced, and directed by Amber Tresca.
Theme music, mix, and sound design is by Cooney Studio.
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