Chicago Tribune, July 27, 2020.
It’s an oft-quoted statistic: White families have significantly more wealth than nonwhite families in America — nearly 10 times that of Black families. The racial wealth gap continues to greatly impact the differences in opportunity and access, from long-term health outcomes of a global pandemic, to education and income levels, to what happens when a business doesn’t make enough money.
The inequities in access to health care have not only been maintained, but have gotten worse, said Dima Qato, an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
“Our pharmacy desert closure data shows it’s actually getting worse in Black communities in Chicago,” said Qato, who has extensively researched pharmacy access for years. “When pharmacies close most of them close on the South Side, which is an area that is already underserved. And I think the same for the clinics.