first national black physician database paves the way for better access and representation in healthcare
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dr. somto ibezi, left, is the vice president of black physicians of canada and a community-based family physician in saskatoon. dr. julie sobowale, right, is the executive director of black physicians of canada and a lawyer focused on diversity and inclusion.
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when she came from her home in nigeria to continue medical training in england, dr. somto ibezi was keenly aware of not fitting in with the crowd. she was a young black woman and a mom, determined to be a doctor and have a fulfilling career.
“i grew up in an urban area in a very community-focused home. there were a lot of community events and activities, lots of people coming around, and you feel that you’re expected to help people,” she says of her upbringing and interest in pursuing medicine. “you have to love what you do. i have a genuine interest in people. i find people fascinating.”
but during her medical residency in the u.k., she experienced the isolation of being a black female immigrant and a young mother. “i didn’t have a mentor who understood my challenges and where i was coming from.”
she and her husband, who had previously worked here, decided to move to canada, where ibezi is a community-based family physician in saskatoon. she’s also a volunteer with the local immigrant community and is passionate about health equity.
black physicians of canada and the first national black physician database
when black physicians of canada, an organization dedicated to uniting, supporting and empowering black physicians, physicians in training and patients, formed in 2020, ibezi wanted to get involved. she now serves the organization as vice president.
“there’s a need to connect with other black physicians across the country who have similar life experiences and practice experiences. they probably graduated in other countries, or maybe they were educated here, but you have a lot of similarities and challenges,” she explains, adding she’s excited about a new initiative that will help address the need for networking and communication.
in a recent and monumental development, pharmaceutical company novartis canada has awarded black physicians of canada a grant from its $680,000 health equity initiative to create the first national black physician database in canada, supporting the organization’s efforts to unite and empower not only black physicians, but medical students, patients and the black community.
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in addition, the project also includes the formation of a digital health hub for healthcare professionals and the public to find verified information from black physicians, including webinars and other resources. “this is something that we’re working with the community on because we’re asking ‘what do you want and how can we help?’ so it’s going to be focused on what people want.”
understanding the unique health challenges facing the black community
ibezi recognizes the need for black canadians to have access to black physicians because it affects their health in many ways—which is well supported by research. studies on black newborns who are cared for by black doctors have a lower mortality rate, she points out. a 2020 study from the university of minnesota revealed that black newborns’ in-hospital death rate is in fact a third lower when black newborns are cared for by black physicians rather than white physicians. the findings were published in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america (pnas).
black women in the u.k. and the u.s. are nearly four times more likely to die in pregnancy or childbirth than white women, according to data. a 2021 u.k. study published in the lancet showed that black women’s risk of miscarriage is 40 per cent higher than white women’s. a recent report on deaths in 2023 from the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention found that the maternal death rate for white women dropped from 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 14.5 per 100,000 in 2023. the rate for black women went from 49.5 to just above 50, though the report says the increase was not statistically significant. in canada, however, that demographic tracking isn’t available.
as dr. modupe tunde-byass, a toronto obstetrician-gynecologist and past president of black physicians of canada, told cbc news: “we kind of live in this bubble whereby we don’t think there is disparity within our healthcare system, more so [because] our health-care system is free for everyone and is universal.” knowledge gaps have contributed to “unconscious bias within the healthcare system.”
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tunde-byass, now president elect of the federation of medical women in canada, also notes that black women tend to have shorter pregnancies and are at higher risk of pre-term births, necessitating the need for health professionals to be monitoring their pain symptoms because they could indicate labour. the canadian medical assocation journal in 2024 published a call for systemic changes, including race-based perinatal data collection, to address the harms of health inequity in reproductive care faced by black people in canada.
ibezi says black patients deserve healthcare that is culturally sensitive and informed. the reality is, if a doctor shares the same skin colour patients report higher satisfaction, communication and adherence to guidelines for better health outcomes, she adds. “black patients are even more likely to agree to aggressive medical treatment if they’re treated by a black physician, so that trust is there and it’s vital. you need to trust your doctor.”
building trust in the healthcare system
that trust comes much more easily when black patients see her in a clinic.
“this is something i’ve experienced multiple times. there is a visible relief you can see when a black patient walks into the consulting room and sees a black physician. that alone is telling.”
and when she’s counselling black patients about screening tests, they tend to open up, asking questions about breast screening and cervical cancer screening and wanting to know if they need it, meaning is it really beneficial for black people? or if they’ve had some emotional trauma, there is more honesty because they know they will be believed, ibezi says.
“you get straightaway to diagnosis and treatment. the verbal and nonverbal cues you pick up because you understand where this person is coming from. you understand the cultural nuances to every word and that makes a lot of difference.”
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julie sobowale, executive director of black physicians of canada and a lawyer focused on diversity and inclusion, has a deep personal connection to issues surrounding access to healthcare for black people. her younger brother has sickle cell anemia, an inherited disorder that disproportionately affects the black population. when her family was living in chicago, her brother had a black pediatrician who sobowale got to know well because her mom brought them both to her brother’s frequent appointments.
“i didn’t realize at the time how special it is for my brother to have a black pediatrician. so the first image i think of in my mind when i think of a physician is dr. smith, so that was normal for me,” she says of her brother’s pediatrician. when her brother needed a kidney transplant, his pediatrician helped make it happen. but none of the healthcare professionals involved in the transplant process were black, including hospital nurses, social workers, surgeons or receptionists.
when she moved later to toronto, she didn’t meet any black physicians for years until law school when she met some black medical students.
according to statistics canada, black populations have more than doubled in size since 1996, reaching 1.5 million people in 2021 and representing 4.3 per cent of the total population. finding a black physician could be called a luxury, as statistics canada also notes that only 1.5 per cent of black people are represented by black physicians.
“for my family, going through all of this with the kidney transplant and all of that, i felt comfortable because dr. smith was affiliated with that hospital, so the relationship had already been built.” when she joined black physicians of canada, she says she realized how much of an impact having a black doctor help her family actually had.
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opening doors to support and access to culturally-sensitive care
now she wants to help others have access to black healthcare providers, noting the creation of the black physician database and digital hub will promote visibility and start conversations.
access to culturally sensitive care is important, especially with certain health issues affecting black people differently. one close to home example for sobowale is having mandatory testing for sickle cell anemia for black pregnant women.
“my mother didn’t find out that my brother had sickle cell until after he was born. and he had a pain crisis. she did not have the proper prenatal care.”
the most common questions that come up for black physicians of canada relate to the database initiative, like ‘how many black physicians are in canada? and then, who are they? where are they? i’m looking for a rheumatologist who is a black physician in alberta.’
“people need access to the information, they need access to the physicians. they need to know who’s where and what they’re doing,” sobowale says, adding that doctors she’s spoken with about the database and digital hub are excited to participate and make change.
coming soon as well from the organization is a national census for black physicians to collect the demographic information for publishing in a peer reviewed journal and build on the database.
“we all want the same thing. we all want access to competent physicians. we want everyone to get proper care,” she says. “and we want this to happen in various communities, whether i live in toronto, whether i live in thunder bay or whether i live in sackville, new brunswick, we are all aligned.”
to apply to the 2025 health equity initiative by june 30, 2025 at 11:59 pm pst. visit: https://www.novartis.com/ca-en/esg/health-equity-initiative.
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