DEI Special Edition Spring / Summer 2024
Why “Seeing Color” in Diabetes Healthcare is Vital
by Shay Webb, MS
Diabetes can feel like a paint palette while you are the canvas, but it ’ s important to recognize the colors and hues of your patients as a diabetes healthcare provid- er.
With the lack of healthcare provid- ers of color — specifically Black providers — it often feels like the only choice is a provider who does not share my background. While learning about different cul- tures is always valuable, having a healthcare provider who under- stands my culture firsthand is priceless for a person with diabe- tes.
“ Type white ” diabetes ”
Without that shared understand- ing and experience, many patients often go heard without being listened to while being stigmatized. As a person of color living with type 1 diabetes (T1D), this dis- ease has commonly been referred to as “ type white ” diabetes, because there were significantly fewer people of color living with the disease.
Or so we thought.
Upon entering college, I was introduced and relieved to see that there were more T1Ds of color than I had ever realized. I no longer felt so alone, no longer the black girl with a “ white ” disease.
The problem is that people of color are not well represented in the face of diabe- tes care. Whether in doctor ’ s offices, advocacy, or social settings, the face of T1D
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