The Health Pulse S2E3: Eradicating Disparities in Cancer Care with Social Determinants of Health Data
On this episode, Greg Horne talks with Dr. Robert Winn, Director of VCU Massey Cancer Center. In his role and his life, Dr. Winn focuses on two goals – eradicating cancer and removing disparities in access to quality health care. Dr. Winn is a national thought leader on using social determinant of health data to inform cancer epidemiology and increase access to quality treatment for all it. It’s a simple credo that isn't easy to put into action due to historical and structural barriers. Trust and affordability play a critical role in patient engagement. As he explains, in order to earn people’s trust in science, the scientific and medical community must be trustworthy, reliable and consistent.
On this episode, Greg Horne talks with Dr. Robert Winn, Director at VCU Massey Cancer Center. Dr. Winn is the second ever African American to be director of a cancer center in the United States. Growing up as the child of a 15-year-old mother, he didn’t dream of becoming a doctor, but two priests in his life saw his potential and helped him to get on a path that eventually led to medical school. In his role at Massey Cancer Center and his life, Dr. Winn focuses on two goals – eradicating cancer and eradicating disparities in access to quality health care wherever they exist. People who have access to quality treatment receive it. It’s that simple. And, trust and affordability play a critical role. As Dr. Winn explains, in order to earn people’s trust in science, the scientific and medical community must be trustworthy. That’s why Massey Cancer Center is working on a trustworthiness scale to measure how they are doing with their patients.
Dr. Winn also shares his perspective on the role of health data convergence in improving health outcomes and the importance of using data from the community to improve scientific questions and address social determinants of health. When it comes to disparities in health care, we already know that a patient’s zip code has a significant impact on their health outcomes. Taken a step further, we can look at the implications of racism historically and identify how it is impacting health outcomes for African Americans today.
Another foundational value for Dr. Winn is respect for humanity. He describes his awe and humility at both the power and limitations of science in treating cancer. He recognizes that there are some cancers and diseases that even today’s best medicine cannot fix. This is when it is imperative for cancer centers to ensure patients have the best possible palliative care to support their transition from this life. Finally, Dr. Winn leaves us with his thoughts on the cancer center of the future and the importance of data to better understand population health and communities.
All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.
Dr. Winn also shares his perspective on the role of health data convergence in improving health outcomes and the importance of using data from the community to improve scientific questions and address social determinants of health. When it comes to disparities in health care, we already know that a patient’s zip code has a significant impact on their health outcomes. Taken a step further, we can look at the implications of racism historically and identify how it is impacting health outcomes for African Americans today.
Another foundational value for Dr. Winn is respect for humanity. He describes his awe and humility at both the power and limitations of science in treating cancer. He recognizes that there are some cancers and diseases that even today’s best medicine cannot fix. This is when it is imperative for cancer centers to ensure patients have the best possible palliative care to support their transition from this life. Finally, Dr. Winn leaves us with his thoughts on the cancer center of the future and the importance of data to better understand population health and communities.
All presentations represent the opinions of the presenter and do not represent the position or the opinion of SAS.
