But that’s not where the inequality ends.
Some clinics specialize in offering the available therapies to menopausal people, but according to Dr. Todd, these clinics are much more accessible to ‘our white counterparts’.
This accessibility makes it challenging to find the care needed to manage symptoms, but it is not the only hurdle.
“Black women in particular receive fewer prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy,” says Dr. Todd. “So we’re just seeing some gaps in care.”
Dr. Wijayasinghe notes that these issues stem from systemic issues that have yet to be addressed within the healthcare system.
“Anti-Black racism exists and that is something that you know is being recognized more and more, but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that people are heard and cared for,” she said.
The systemic racism that exists within healthcare also makes it harder for Black women to come forward and ask for help, because if they are not heard or do not feel safe to do so, why would they “access” care?
“Providers are not asking questions, not offering the same level of detail and options to our Black patients, but also Black patients, because they have historically been mistreated within our health care system, are less likely to come for that support,” said Dr. Wijayasinghe.
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