Angelina Jolie is opening up about how a major blind spot in the medical field has impacted her children.
In a recent article for Time, the 46-year-old actress interviews Malone Mukwende.
A medical student who’s on a mission to teach other doctor hopefuls how conditions and diseases can be present in non-white patients.
Mukwende, 21, started his project after learning that, Jolie writes, “almost all the images and data used in its teaching were based on studies of white patients,”.
Which can lead to “misdiagnosis, suffering and even death.”
In response to Mukwende’s work, which has culminated with a handbook
Mind the Gap, and an online platform called Hutano, Jolie says that she’s seen the problem firsthand with her own kids. Jolie and her ex, Brad Pitt, share Maddox, 19, Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and 12-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
“I have children from different backgrounds, and I know when there was a rash that everybody got, it looked drastically different depending on their skin color,” Jolie explains. “But whenever I looked at medical charts, the reference point was always white skin.”
Jolie also experienced something similar when her eldest daughter, Zahara, who is Black, had surgery last year.
“Recently my daughter, Zahara, whom I adopted from Ethiopia, had surgery, and afterward a nurse told me to call them if her skin ‘turned pink,’” Jolie says.
Mukwende notes that experiences like Jolie details are “the kind of thing I started to notice very early on.”
“Almost the entirety of medicine is taught in that way. There’s a language and a culture that exists in the medical profession, because it’s been done for so many years and because we are still doing it so many years later it doesn’t seem like it’s a problem,” he says. “However, like you’ve just illustrated, that’s a very problematic statement for some groups of the population because it’s just not going to happen in that way and if you’re unaware you probably won’t call the doctor.”
Angelina Jolie’s conversation with Malone Mukwende sheds light on a crucial issue in the medical field – the lack of representation and consideration for non-white patients. This oversight not only leads to misdiagnosis but can also result in unnecessary suffering and even death.
Mukwende’s dedication to addressing this issue through his project, Mind the Gap, and the platform Hutano is commendable. His initiative is not only essential for aspiring doctors but also for current medical professionals to broaden their understanding and approach to treating patients from diverse backgrounds.
As Jolie candidly shares her personal experiences with her children, it becomes evident how the lack of diversity in medical education directly impacts patients. The fact that medical references primarily cater to white patients can result in crucial symptoms being overlooked or misinterpreted.
It is essential for the medical profession to acknowledge and rectify this blind spot. Mukwende rightly points out that this issue has been ingrained in medical practices for years, but it is never too late to bring about much-needed change.
By amplifying voices like Mukwende’s and shedding light on these critical issues, we can work towards a more inclusive and effective healthcare system for all.
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