Dr. Angelica Hardee joins me on Leading with Health to discuss black women’s health. She emphasizes the need to develop strong support systems and habits of self-care.

Dr. Hardee is the Vice President of Health Strategy for the American Heart Association in Cincinnati. Her doctorate is in Health Education with an emphasis in global health systems and health policy. Dr. Hardee is the President of Urban League of Young Professionals of Greater Southwestern Ohio. She is a Board Member of Cradle Cincinnati, which focuses on decreasing black infant mortality, and she teaches at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Hardee is a community advocate who is passionate about developing future leaders. You can find her at doctorhardee.com.

Highlights include:

3:44 – AH: “Black infants are three times more likely to pass away than their white counterparts. So there is a huge difference.”

4:12 – AH: “Black women are three to four times more likely to experience pregnancy-related deaths than white women.”

6:15 – AH: “As a college-educated black woman, my child still is three times more likely to pass away. And I’m a health professional and I do all the things I’m supposed to do. So there’s something there that we’re not being able to really address.”

9:30 – AH: “We really are starting to unpack where the disparity is and most of them are systemic. So we’re seeing something at a systems’ level … diversity, equity and inclusion work needs to be done.”

10:50 – AH: “We have to stop pushing inclusion. And I still say it but every time I think inclusion, the word still means that the person is then outside of the circle. We are bringing them in.”

15:00 – AH: “That social connectedness piece is so key.”

16:28 – AH: “How do you bring your true and best self, and how do you take care of yourself when you’re not working?”

24:00 – AH: “All of the people that I hang around also are passionate about taking care of themselves and have goals. And those are professionally but also personally.”

30:32 – AH: “I wanted to be that person that someone could call and ask a question. I wanted to be that person that was writing recommendation letters for my students. And that’s actually what I do.”

Leading with Health is hosted by Jennifer Michelle. Jennifer has a Master’s in Public Health and Epidemiology and is a certified EMT. As President of Michelle Marketing Strategies, Jennifer specializes in healthcare marketing. She is on a mission to help women find their voice so they can create a stronger, more responsive healthcare system.