KEYNOTE | Historical Perspective of People of Color and the US Medical System

<div><div><p><b>Repairing the Breach between Biomedical Research and the African-American Community in Milwaukee</b></p><p>Dr. Ryan Spellecy&nbsp; |&nbsp;&nbsp;Ursula von der Ruhr Chair in Bioethics, Professor of Bioethics and Medical Humanities, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Medical College of Wisconsin</p><p>The history of mistrust towards biomedical research in the African-American community, both nationally and in Milwaukee, is well known and sadly, well-deserved.&nbsp;In order to repair this breach in trust, we must understand the history, the current situation, and we must partner with the African-American community.&nbsp;Since the history is well known, this talk will focus on current healthcare disparities in Milwaukee and discuss the views of the African-American community regarding biomedical research.&nbsp;Based on focus groups with African-American churches in Milwaukee, our research team, which itself is a partnership between researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin and community partners, found that there are clear strengths in Milwaukee’s diverse African American community that can, through partnership, begin to repair the lost trust and make real progress on health disparities in Southeastern Wisconsin.</p></div></div>