The relationship between black and minority communities and medical institutions has long been plagued with mistrust and skepticism. In the United States, there is a long history of the exploitation and manipulation of members of black and minority groups in medical research which include the Tuskegee study of 1932. Throughout our country’s history, skepticism of medical institutions and the caregivers within has resulted in an increase in negative health risks and outcomes which disproportionately affect ethnic minorities, like anti-immigrant rhetoric contributing to mistrust among Latinx communities and increasing barriers to care-seeking. Today, we continue to see these influences playout in black and minority communities as the Coronavirus pandemic blankets the United States.

During this lecture, Dr. David Peters, Edgar Berman Professor and Chair of the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and the Director of the Alliance for a Healthier World, will highlight the research projects of Dr. Durryle Brooks and Dr. Daniela Rodriguez, recipients of COVID-19 grants for research. Their respective projects shine a light on the impact of medical mistrust in the black and Latinx communities in different ways. The discussion will focus how past perceptions influence strategies to educate these communities and mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Baltimore and beyond. To learn more, visit jhu.edu/hopkinsathome