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Response & Reflection:
A Partnership between The Proctor Conference and The National Center for Research and Health Care, Tuskegee University
By: Rueben C. Warren, DDS, MPH, Dr.P.H., MDiv and Wylin D. Wilson, PhD, MDiv, MS
In 1997, President Bill Clinton apologized for the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Syphilis
Study at Tuskegee and ordered the establishment of the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in
Research and Health Care located on the university campus. The mission of the Bioethics Center is to enhance
social justice and the Optimal Health of African Americans and other health disparity populations through
research, education and service in bioethics, public health ethics, health disparities and health equity.
Dr. Rueben Warren and Dr. Wylin Wilson discuss their perspectives with SDPC about the state of wellness
and health care in the African American community.
Q: hat is the importance of the church and the faith
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community collaborating with institutions
such as Tuskegee?
A: Director of the National Center for Bioethics in
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Research and Health Care at Tuskegee University, along
with the Associate Director of Education, we are pleased
to support the Proctor Conference wellness initiatives in
partnership with our churches. It is reassuring to reflect
on the history of Tuskegee’s engagement in health and
health care. In 1914, Booker T. Washington, founding
President of the Tuskegee Institute, (now Tuskegee
University) addressed the policy issue of the health of
African Americans with these startling facts: “45 percent
of all deaths among Negroes were preventable; 450,000
Negroes were seriously ill all the time; the annual cost
of this illness was 75 million dollars; that sickness and
death cost Negroes annually 100 million dollars.” These
health statistics remain in the twenty-first century.
The Pew Forum reported that African Americans are
significantly more religious than the general population
in the U.S., with the vast majority considering religion
very important in their lives. Therefore, we believe that
the black church represents an essential element in any
effort to improve health of African Americans.
Q: he health care environment is changing! What is the
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Affordable Care Act or ObamaCa re and why should
people take full advantage of it as soon as possible?
A: Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a historical
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opportunity to access health care and to also improve
the well-being of individuals and groups throughout the
country, particularly in Black communities. The more
people enroll, the more manageable will be the cost. The
enrollees must be demographically diverse to include all
life stages (ages), the healthy and the chronically ill, all
races/ethnic and economic groups and both sexes.
Q:
What is the primary challenge you see associated with
ACA?
A: major challenge confronting the ACA is enrollment.
The
However, our churches can best address this problem
because they are, and continue to be, the trusted place
that has safe guarded the well-being of Black and other
oppressed peoples in the U.S and beyond. Our churches
can make an extraordinary contribution by enhancing
enrollment. The ethical problem concerning the act
is that those who deny access to care to those in need,
for the most part, have health insurance themselves.
While geographic and financial access, availability, and
acceptability of care, as well as other economic challenges
exist, the major key to success revolves around social
justice and public health ethics. Social justice and ethics
undergird the role of the Black Church.
Q:
What do you see as the difference between health and
wellness?
A: ealth is the physical, social, psychological and
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spiritual well-being of the individual and the group
in their physical and social environment. Wellness is,
theoretically, an ideal state of health. In our view, wellness
is vague and difficult to measure. A more specific and
measurable term for wellness is, Optimal Health which is
a concept coined by the late John T. Chissell, MD. In his
book entitled, “ Pyramids of Power: An Ancient African
Centered Approach To Optimal Health,” Dr. Chissell
writes that Optimal Health is “your greatest state of
aliveness.” It is a continual journey, not a destination. “It is
the best possible physical, emotional, intellectual, socialeconomic and spiritual aliveness that one can attain.”
Q: hat are the basic things we can all do to take control
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of our health and wellness?
A: Eat the right foods
1)
2) Take care of your body
3) Get along with others
4) Respect and protect the environment
5) Believe in a divine order to the universe
Q: a Proctor faith community partner, what’s your
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vision for Living Well: The Faith Factor in our churches?
A:
Faith is trust both horizontal and vertical. The former
is trust in a supreme being beyond human existence
(Spirit). The latter is trust in the individuals around you.
Both are needed to be healthy!
To view the full Q & A with Dr. Rueben Warren and Dr. Wylin Wilson, including
references and footnotes, go to www.sdpconference.info/livingwell