How Can Diabetic Diagnostic Inequities Be Addressed?
More Programs and Publications Featuring Dr. Kyle Riding
In this program:
What are some solutions toward solving diabetic inequities? Medical laboratory scientist Dr. Kyle Riding shares his recommendations for policymakers and healthcare organizations to improve care.
Transcript
Interviewer:
So we just mentioned diabetic treatments and how the arsenal is growing, this is true. But there are still inequities that have remained in our society. So what role do you believe policymakers and healthcare organizations should play in addressing diagnostic inequities in diabetic care?
Dr. Kyle Riding:
I love this question, and I could probably spend an hour talking about this, but I'll spare you on that. There are so many different things that policymakers and community leaders could be doing to try and limit the inequities that are happening. When we think about the inequities that are going on and…when it comes to diabetes. We're really talking about folks at lower socioeconomic status in many cases. We're talking about folks with lower educational attainment in many cases. And, unfortunately, we're talking about individuals who may not be white. And we know in the United States that in many cases, those things can sometimes, unfortunately, be blended together because of history. So in terms of what policymakers can do, I would say, number one, let's get rid of food deserts. Because if you...
Interviewer:
Yes.
Dr. Kyle Riding:
[chuckle] If you look at lower income communities, it is so hard to find healthy food. You'll find McDonald's, which I'm not.. I like myself a McDonald's or Burger King every once in a while. But you won't find healthy produce. You won't find healthy meats to be able to eat if you enjoy a carnivorous lifestyle like I do. And so food deserts are really a policy level thing that we can address as a community.
The other thing is creating safe outdoor spaces where folks can get outside and be physically active, or safe indoor spaces that are meant to drive physical activity. I remember growing up, I grew up in a city, it was not really...my parents would say, "Do not go further than the sidewalk in front of the house." Because there was a busy street in front of us, and there were busy streets around us, and people drove like maniacs. It wasn't safe for my sister or I as kids to be outside playing much further than that sidewalk because we had risks of being, unfortunately, hit by a car.
When we moved into the town next door, which was of a higher socioeconomic status, they had walking trails, a bike path, they had a fitness center that was free for residents, and guess what? I was a heavy kid, I wore the...embarrassing enough. But when we moved to that town that had better access to physical activity, my weight changed, I went down, I was living a healthier lifestyle, and all of those things matter. So I would say those are two major things that policymakers would be able to address that can make a difference.
Interviewer:
And I was an inner city kid growing up in Boston and one of the worst parts of Boston, and there were parks, but we just were not advised to go to them [chuckle] because there was logging activity and things like that. So, yeah. There's a lot of things that need to change, and especially the food deserts are a major thing that force people to eat unhealthy foods without them having a choice too.
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