“Why Black Women’s Health Matters”
- Host – Michele Heyward, Founder, PositiveHire
- Guest – Shellae Versey, Critical Health Researcher
All medical treatment is not equal. This is especially true when it comes to black women’s health! There is a huge disparity.
Shellae Versey, Ph. D. who is an assistant professor in psychologist & epidemiologist understands this as well. She’ll share the research she is doing into the health of black women and how you can help.
Here’s how to:
1. contact Dr. Versey: sversey[at]wesleyan [ dot]edu or hshellae [at] gmail [dot]com
2. participate in Dr. Versey’s research at www.ourstoryourvoices.com/
3. learn more about the Critical Health + Social Ecology Lab at Wesleyan University http://chselab.com/
Let’s understand Black Women from a very intimate perspective, as black women’s health and mental health is something we do not always talk about.
- From your initial research, what were some things that you found out that has happened to Black Women that doesn’t as far as getting better medical treatment?
It’s the reproductive health as being a black woman’s issue that I think deserves a little more light. They don’t receive that level of care or they’re fearing for their health when they go into the hospital to give birth or even for a checkup.
Black women, in particular, are disproportionately experiencing negative things from interacting with their physicians or their doctors, that becomes a problem and it becomes something that we need to fully understand if we want to eliminate health disparities or to
understand black women’s health more holistically.
- When you’re looking at your survey, are you looking for those experiences that let’s say that I directly have had or that we have seen our sisters and cousins and best friends go through as well or just strictly directed at us?
It’s personal. A lot of people have talked about sisters or family members that have had difficulties giving birth or labor complications when they were admitted to the hospital. I think it’s important that we count people’s experiences as mattering.
- Ovarian or breast cancer. In your survey, are you asking around that part of health?
We do ask women to tell us what their single most important health issue is that’s facing them.people can say whatever it is like what is concerning and some people have mentioned cancer. Diabetes is another big issue that people are worried about. It seems to be a big concern for people, as well as cancer and chronic diseases.
- What you’re looking for in your survey as far as preventative care when it comes to black women?
My work has focused on where people are in those social and physical environments, because a lot of the communities that we live in a lot of the factors that are part of our communities, ultimately influence how we’re able to manage our health.
- What mental health questions are you asking within the survey?
A lot of women self-identified as feminists. Even though it was a mixed, white and black sample, one of the questions that I have on the survey is how do you identify?
I think it’s interesting that a lot of black women have chosen too strong black women to identify as to how they described themselves, which the literature tells us is characteristic as black women, we think of ourselves as strong as mighty, able to conquer a variety of different challenges.
H. Shellae Versey
Shellae Versey is a psychologist and critical health researcher, and her interests focus on questions at the intersection of social determinants of health, the environment and an aging society. Her research examines links between health and social engagement, as well as implications of place and policy for older adults. In a separate thread of research, Shellae explores social epidemiology and intersectionality, with a focus on health outcomes among women. Shellae is currently working on a geographical mapping project for changing spaces, and exploring the dynamics of community and social engagement in cities. She teaches Healthy Places: Practice, Policy and Population Health and Community Psychology at Wesleyan University.
Michele Heyward
Michele Heyward is founder and CEO of PositiveHire, a tech company engineered to bridge the gap between enterprises and underrepresented women in STEM professions. Michele is a civil engineer who is an experienced project manager in the energy sector armed with technical sales and technology transfer experience.
Michele’s vision is to not only help black, Latina and indigenous women find inclusive workplaces, but to prepare enterprises to receive them, and help those enterprises recruit them. This approach makes PositiveHire the premiere recruiting platform for black, Latina and indigenous women professionals.
Michele has a B.S. degree in civil engineering and a M.S. degree in industrial management, both from Clemson University. A South Carolina native, Michele enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, Toastmasters, and making connections personally and professionally. Michele has a passion for engaging with others on social media.
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