Black History Month message from Saroo Sharda, associate dean of equity and inclusion

February is Black History Month (BHM), a time for us to celebrate the brilliance of Black colleagues and learners, and a reminder to refocus our ongoing efforts against the systemic barriers and anti-Black racism which continue to create inequities in education, health and beyond. As a Faculty of Health Sciences, it is particularly important for us to remember that health inequities continue to persist for Black patients.

For example, research has found that race corrections on lab tests of kidney function have led to Black patients being referred later for kidney care, being less likely to receive home-based dialysis or a kidney transplant, and having higher mortality after kidney transplantation. While most Canadian labs have removed this correction, it was only in 2021 that national and international nephrology organisations formally recommended the removal of race from the calculation of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a blood test for assessing kidney function.  Similar recommendations for pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are now also being made by organisations such as the American Thoracic Society and others.

Black healthcare providers continue to be underrepresented in health professions. McMaster has made significant strides in this space by implementing the Undergraduate Medical Education Black Equity Stream, the Honours Health Sciences Equitable Admissions for Black Applicants process, and the Midwifery Facilitated Black Admissions Process, where applicants are required to meet the same rigorous academic standards as all other applicants. At the same time, we must continue to be vigilant about the experiences and support for these learners as they join our educational environments, dispel toxic myths about the qualifications of these applicants, and advocate for inclusive, supportive, and respectful cultures in our classrooms and clinics.

This year’s BHM theme at McMaster is Diasporic Dreams: Reclaiming Pasts, Shaping the Present, Crafting Futures. As allies, we are responsible for actioning our allyship in tangible ways all year round. Resources that may be helpful in this regard can be found via our FHS EDI webpage, including McMaster’s own anti-Black racism course.

Lunch Hour Talk with Oni Blackstock
With the support of a number of FHS Departments, the FHS Office of Equity and Inclusion will be hosting an event with Oni Blackstock, physician, researcher, and founder of Health Justice, who will deliver a virtual talk on health equity. We encourage staff, faculty and learners to attend.

This event has been made possible via the Office’s partnership with the Departments of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Medicine, Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), Faculty Affairs, the School of Rehabilitation Science, and the Black, Indigenous, Racialized Staff Employee Resource Group. This is a demonstration of the collaborative relationship of EDI leaders across the Faculty, and their ongoing commitment to this essential work. I am grateful to all the staff, faculty and learners who continue to advance the lifesaving work of health equity in line with the FHS tenets of  inclusivity, equity, cultural competency and safety. 

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, February 18 from 12 to 1 p.m. for our FHS BHM lunch hour talk with Oni Blackstock. Please be sure to register.

Other McMaster BHM events can be found on the university’s Equity and Inclusion Office website.

You are also invited to visit the Health Sciences Library to browse and borrow from a featured collection on the intersection of health and the Black Community experience, which includes books and graphic novels. The library also recommends exploring titles available freely through the National Film Board’s Black Communities in Canada channel and through our license to Kanopy’s Black History Month Collection.