Information is Medicine: Breaking Barriers to Black Women’s Healthcare

When it comes to Black women’s health, access to timely, reliable, and culturally relevant information can be the difference between early diagnosis and life-threatening outcomes. Whether it’s breast cancer, uterine cancer, clinical trials, or reproductive care, too many Black women face barriers to the information and care they need—often leading to higher mortality rates and worse health outcomes. At BlackDoctor.org’s second annual “State of Black Health: What Now” summit, hosted in collaboration with USA TODAY, the message was clear: health information is medicine, and Black women deserve better access, representation, and care. Kianta Key, Group SVP, Digital, and Head of Identity Experience at GCI Health, led a powerful discussion on health equity, advocacy, and the fight against misinformation. The panel, “Information is Medicine. Meet the Panelists Bianca Mayes, MPH, CHES of Planned Parenthood Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey, COSHAR Healthy Communities Foundation Kayla Nixon, M.Ed., Society of Gynecologic Oncology and Uterine Care Collaborative Horace Clark, VP of BlackDoctor.org (BDO) Key Takeaways from the Panel 1. Health Misinformation is Costing Black Women Their Lives Black women are more likely to die from preventable diseases—not because they don’t care, but because they aren’t receiving the right information in time. “Nearly half of Black women...