the NUANCE // a community health podcast. · Medicine Explained.

106: Women's Health Disparities: Toxins, Fibroids, & Mistrust. | Brianna VanNoy

·41 min·1 clip

Healthcare racism has roots in slavery and forced medical experimentation.

Brianna Van Nooy discusses environmental chemical exposures' role in disproportionate reproductive health outcomes for Black women, specifically uterine fibroids. The conversation weaves environmental justice and reproductive justice frameworks, connecting historical medical racism (slavery-era gynecologic experimentation, Tuskegee study) to contemporary healthcare mistrust. With 80% of Black women developing fibroids by age 50 versus lower rates in other populations, the episode examines environmental toxins, social determinants, and healthcare access disparities. Expert guest emphasizes that health inequities don't happen in a vacuum but stem from deliberate historical and ongoing systemic causes.

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