43 episodes

Have you ever felt intimidated, confused, or overwhelmed when trying to navigate the health care system? In those moments it can be hard to advocate for yourself and those you care about. Join our host Ashley Danyel Freeman as she speaks with patients, providers and caregivers who have found the strength to advocate for equitable access to affordable quality health care. Advocates in Action is created by the National Patient Advocate Foundation, a non-profit with the objective of prioritizing the patient voice to achieve person-centered care. We are dedicated to amplifying the powerful stories of individuals and the collective needs of various communities across the country.

Advocates in Action National Patient Advocate Foundation

    • Health & Fitness
    • 5.0 • 3 Ratings

Have you ever felt intimidated, confused, or overwhelmed when trying to navigate the health care system? In those moments it can be hard to advocate for yourself and those you care about. Join our host Ashley Danyel Freeman as she speaks with patients, providers and caregivers who have found the strength to advocate for equitable access to affordable quality health care. Advocates in Action is created by the National Patient Advocate Foundation, a non-profit with the objective of prioritizing the patient voice to achieve person-centered care. We are dedicated to amplifying the powerful stories of individuals and the collective needs of various communities across the country.

    The Answers are in the Community

    The Answers are in the Community

    There is a one of a kind connection you have when working to improve a community that you are from.  Darryl Jefferson is committed to being the change he wants to see in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. Between his work with the Mississippi State Department of Health, Fannie Lou Hamer Cancer Foundation, and his own business, Darryl is making intentional efforts in his community to bridge multiple industries together to help increase health equity. Listen as he shares about the importance of learning from communities by respecting the knowledge community members have and centering the solutions they believe in. This work is a part of National Patient Advocate Foundation's Shared Decision-Making at Critical Points in a Long Illness Journey, a project made possible in part by support from the Danaher Foundation. 

    • 20 min
    A Family United Against Cancer

    A Family United Against Cancer

    When a person is diagnosed with cancer they can choose to walk that journey privately or lean on their support system to help them through it. When Desiree Nuckols received her breast cancer diagnosis at 28 years old, she decided to go through that journey with the help of her family. Just a few years prior Desiree's mother passed away as a result of breast cancer. Although the journey she was about to embark on was scary, it also led to a couple of blessings such as Desiree giving her life to God, her family being more unified than ever before, her learning how to advocate for herself at the highest level, and her paying the kindness that she received forward to other patients. Listen to hear how in the midst of the challenge, her family found moments of gratitude and joy. 

    • 21 min
    I'm Their Only Patient

    I'm Their Only Patient

    Do you get treated as though you are your doctor's only patient? Vanessa Spurlock did and that empowered her to have the confidence to make decisions along her breast cancer journey. Trust, respect, and care were the cornerstones of her relationship with her health care team at Virginia Commonwealth University's Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Vanessa didn't have prior knowledge about cancer so her providers educated her, explained different treatment options, told her to seek a second opinion if desired, and set her at ease during challenging moments. Over the course of her diagnosis and treatment journey Vanessa journaled and found a new version of herself that was centered around freedom. Now in her sixth year of survivorship she partners with newly diagnosed patients to help them find that freedom as well through their voice so they can advocate for themselves.

    • 23 min
    Three Communities, One Mission

    Three Communities, One Mission

    Join us as we relive our year long journey of traveling to Ruleville, Mississippi; Richmond, Virginia and Los Angeles, California to co-create workshops to learn from patients who are living with cancer and other chronic diseases, their caregivers, and some providers to understand what shared decision making means to them. Along this journey we learned history, made connections with people, and gained an understanding of what matters to patients and how they make decisions about important issues related to their health and lives. This work is a part of National Patient Advocate Foundation's Shared Decision-Making at Critical Points in a Long Illness Journey, a project made possible in part by support from the Danaher Foundation. 
     

    • 17 min
    Hispanic Health is not Homogenous

    Hispanic Health is not Homogenous

    To reduce health inequities, there has to be a clear understanding of the unique challenges being faced by that community. When evaluating the health of Hispanic and Latino populations, accuracy is decreased if you make generalizations for the whole population instead of analyzing the specific characteristics of each group because they are not homogenous. Listen as Dr. Luisa Borrell, shares the framework she uses to gain a comprehensive understanding of the health status of the various Hispanic and Latino cultures. As a social epidemiologist, her lens examines: ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education level, income, neighborhood, immigration status, and length of time in the United States. In a world of intersectionality, the fullness of a person's health experience is lost if the independent pieces are overlooked.
     
    Resources for this Episode Include:
    Racial Identity Among Hispanics: Implications for Health and Well-Being: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2004.058172?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed
    The Impact of Salmon Bias on the Hispanic Mortality Advantage: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2546603/
    The First Birth Control Pill Used Puerto Rican Women as Guinea Pigs: https://www.history.com/news/birth-control-pill-history-puerto-rico-enovid 
    The Mexican-American War: https://www.thecollector.com/mexican-american-war-territory/ 

    • 24 min
    History, Empowerment and Preservation of Native People

    History, Empowerment and Preservation of Native People

    “There have been so many attempts to erase us, to destroy us, to take our lands. And we are still here, we're strong. We're one of the youngest and fastest growing populations in the country.” – Erik Stegman, Executive Director of Native Americans in Philanthropy. Imagine being forcibly separated from your family, home, and community. For hundreds of years that was the reality of many Native people who were removed from the lifestyle they were accustomed to and forced into boarding schools created by the federal government. Erik Stegman shares a historical and personal perspective on the generational trauma and impact caused by the multiple harms done to Native people. He brings every aspect of his identities into the work that he does around tribal law, policy issues and advocacy. Listen as he speaks about the hope he feels for the future of Indian Country.

    • 20 min

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