Our Interview with Kearie Daniel, Founder & Executive Director, The Black Women’s Institute for Health

Kearie Daniel is the Founder and Executive Director of The Black Women’s Institute for Health.

What are the biggest barriers to healthcare access for Black women, and what changes are needed to make the healthcare system more equitable?

Black women face barriers that extend beyond accessing healthcare services. These include anti-Black racism, medical bias, having their symptoms dismissed, long wait times, financial barriers, and a lack of culturally responsive care. These experiences can erode trust in the healthcare system and discourage women from seeking care when they need it.

Our Voices Unheard report highlights the extent of this issue: 67% of respondents reported that their health concerns had been dismissed or not taken seriously by a healthcare provider, while 42% had delayed or avoided seeking healthcare because of concerns about how they would be treated as Black women.

Creating a more equitable healthcare system requires systemic change. This includes collecting and using disaggregated, race-based health data to identify disparities, strengthening accountability within healthcare institutions, improving culturally responsive medical education, and ensuring Black women are meaningfully involved in decisions that affect their health. Equity must be reflected not only in policies but also in the everyday experiences of patients.

How can medical schools and healthcare institutions better prepare future doctors to provide culturally responsive care and address racial disparities in healthcare?

Medical schools and healthcare institutions must move beyond simply acknowledging diversity and actively address how racism and bias influence clinical decisions and patient outcomes. This means integrating anti-Black racism, cultural humility, and the social determinants of health into medical education and ongoing professional development.

Future doctors should learn to listen to patients without making assumptions, take their symptoms seriously, and recognize how systemic inequalities can shape a person's health and access to care. Black patients' lived experiences should be incorporated into curricula, case studies, and clinical training, with opportunities to learn directly from Black communities and healthcare professionals.

Institutions must also be accountable for the quality of care they provide. This includes collecting race-based data, evaluating disparities in patient outcomes, creating safe ways for patients to report discrimination, and ensuring that Black healthcare professionals are supported and represented in leadership. Culturally responsive care should be a standard of quality healthcare, not an optional skill.

What's a Black Women’s Institute for Health initiative you are proud of and why?

One initiative I am particularly proud of is our Voices Unheard report, BWIH's national research initiative focused on the health and lived experiences of Black women, girls, and gender-diverse people in Canada.

For too long, the experiences of Black women have been overlooked in health research and policy discussions. Voices Unheard brings these experiences to the forefront by gathering community perspectives, identifying systemic barriers, and translating findings into recommendations for meaningful change. Nearly 2,000 participants contributed their experiences to this groundbreaking work.

What makes this initiative especially important is that it goes beyond collecting data. It creates a foundation for advocacy, policy reform, public education, and greater accountability within healthcare systems. I am proud of the way BWIH is helping ensure that Black women's experiences are not only heard but also used to inform the decisions and changes that affect their lives.

What advice would you give to students pursuing careers in medicine or public health who want to help address health inequities?

My advice would be to approach this work with curiosity, humility, and a commitment to listening. Addressing health inequities requires more than good intentions; it requires understanding the systemic conditions that shape people's health, including racism, income, housing, education, and access to resources.

Take the time to learn from communities, especially those whose experiences have historically been excluded from research and decision-making. Use evidence and data to identify gaps, but remember that behind every statistic is a person whose experiences deserve to be taken seriously.

I would also encourage students to think beyond individual patient interactions and consider how they can contribute to broader systemic change, whether through research, policy, advocacy, or community-based programming. Most importantly, make space for the leadership and expertise of the communities you hope to serve. Meaningful change happens when people are not simply the subjects of healthcare initiatives but active participants in shaping the systems that affect their well-being.

Kearie Daniel, was interviewed by Arush Chandna, the co-founder of Inspira Advantage, a medical school admissions consulting company.