October 6, 2022
Even before the pandemic, lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities had taken their toll, especially in medically under-resourced populations of color. Once COVID-19 became widespread, it was clear that “underlying conditions,” mostly lifestyle-related chronic diseases, drastically exacerbated the virus’ most severe effects and fatal outcomes. What is available to start addressing the urgent need for improving the chronic disease trajectory and girding the foundations of our nation’s health against future illnesses? A new intelligence paper from the Institute for Advancing Health Value proposes that treating the root cause of lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities with therapeutic lifestyle interventions stands a good chance to make a difference. Learn more about the opportunity and the challenges in employing this high-value strategy.
This discussion with American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) covered:
- The prevalence and severity of chronic disease in populations of color.
- Distinguished health disparities from social determinants of health.
- Identified how lifestyle medicine can address health disparities.
- Examined the challenges and successes of lifestyle medicine implementation as a high-value approach in lifestyle-related chronic disease.
Featured Speaker:
- Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, FACLM, DipABLM, is Chief Health Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Officer, Adventist Health and President, Blue Zones Wellbeing Institute. He is past-president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and founder of ACLM’s HEAL (Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle Medicine) Initiative.