A Canadian non-profit organization with goals to address the health inequality in marginalized communities just got a huge financial boost.
Black Physicians of Canada (BPC), a nationwide community network that supports Black doctors and medical trainees, was one of the recipients of the Novartis Health Equity Initiative in 2024, and plans to create a public-facing, culturally sensitive database of Black physicians across the country. The goal? To help Black, Indigenous, low-income, and rural communities get better access to care and tackle health inequities head-on.
The database will make it much easier for people to find doctors who understand their cultural background and specific health needs, something that can make a huge difference in health outcomes. Julie Sobowale, the executive director of BPC, shared the example of Black and Indigenous communities having higher mortality rates when it comes to childbirth as a reason why a project of this kind matters so much.
“Indigenous, Black and other equity deserving groups need not only just equal access to care, but culturally sensitive care,” Sobowale explained to Now Toronto.
“Research in Black health equity and healthcare in Indigenous communities is very underfunded… this funding will actually help us to accelerate that. With these dollars, we’re able to take projects and really put them into high gear.”
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BPC is also focused on mentoring Black physicians and those training to become doctors, offering support, guidance, and resources that help build leadership and research opportunities. In Ontario, Black physicians are severely underrepresented, making up only 2.3 per cent of the province’s doctors, according to the Canadian Medical Association. With this database, Sobowale says it would be a barrier-breaking central place for patients and doctors to connect.
“There isn’t a reliable number on how many Black physicians are in Canada.” she said.
“There’s a real need for all of this… I think at a time where things can be very fractured, this is an opportunity for us to really pull together as communities and figure out what we can do with what we have to make the most impact and find the most positive outcomes for people.”
BPC has received tons of positive feedback from Canadian doctors who want to be a part of the project so far, Sobowale says, and the database is expected to be launched by the end of the year.
WHY CULTURALLY-SENSITIVE CARE MATTERS
Dr. Mojola Omole, president of the Black Physicians’ Association of Ontario and a breast surgical oncologist at Scarborough Health Network, says decades-long barriers like mistrust of the medical health system, inadequate treatment and racism have prevented many racialized communities from seeking care. She classifies examples of Black people being denied pain medication, women being dismissed, and overall concerns not being taken seriously as medical gaslighting, and underscores the importance of culturally-sensitive healthcare in a field where Black physicians are disproportionately outnumbered.
“Providing culturally safe care is going to be dependent on not just Black physicians, but all physicians going through that cultural awareness training and understanding what patients are bringing in when they come to the hospital or they come to a doctor’s office,” Omole explained to Now Toronto on Wednesday.
“There is a distress in the Black population with the healthcare system, given the fact that our country was built on colonization, Indigenous genocide and the slave trade… people come into the room with a different luggage, and sometimes part of the treatment is to unpack some of that.”
Omole says the concept of BPC’s forthcoming database is significant, but emphasized the importance of doctors of all races taking the time to understand and care for racialized communities.
“I think it’s important to have those databases for patients to see who’s in their area, and who specializes in what condition that they’re having to better help them,” she said.
“But at the same time, we have to pair that with also helping to build up the skill set of all the other physicians… the onus can’t all be on Black physicians to do everything for Black patients and other patients too.”
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