Advancing equitable access to gastrointestinal care | Takeda Stories

It’s not surprising that gastrointestinal (GI) issues came up in these focus groups. In the U.S., research shows that Black women are disproportionately affected by certain GI conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)^*.^1,2 And additional community-level outcomes and socio-behavioral data provided by Surgo Health, a heath technology company and Public Benefit Corporation, found prevalent factors in the Albany area, such as lack of access to primary care, low health literacy, and lower rates of health insurance coverage that add to negative health outcomes and demonstrated a compelling need for more interventions to raise awareness and help people get the care they want and need.

Addressing health inequities and barriers to GI-related care are the goals of the Georgia Gut Health Program. It’s an initiative that brings community partners together to provide information to community health workers about two common GI diseases: IBS and IBD. The coalition behind this program consists of Mt. Zion Baptist church, part of the National Minority Quality Forum's Faith Health Alliance, and other faith-based organizations and stakeholders in Albany including the Albany Coalition of Churches and the Women of Wellness (WOW!), a community health worker training program. Takeda is a sponsor of the Georgia Gut Health Program.

Trust is a key concept in community health efforts. And given the renowned history of struggling for equality in communities such as Albany, the most trusted institutions are often faith-based. In fact, in 1961, Martin Luther King Jr. addressed a crowd of 1,500 at Albany’s Old Mt. Zion Church, emphasizing the importance of desegregation and unity in the fight for civil rights.

But first, the gut health Program leaders want to understand more about community needs. They are sending out a survey through more than 40 area churches. Each church will survey its female congregation members to identify their specific needs pertaining to gut health. The survey results will then inform the design of each local community outreach event. This way, when WOW! members share gut health knowledge, they also share information about resources to help improve health outcomes. These community-driven events will begin in April 2025.

Takeda has seen the Community Health Worker model be successful in connecting communities to care and resources in other initiatives that the company has supported elsewhere in the world. Vice President of U.S. Community Health, Dr. Chris Reddick says he and his team are eager to see the Georgia Gut Health Program take shape.

“We are increasingly supportive of the community health worker model, helping those who know their communities best to identify needs and resources to improve health equity,” he says. “We see community-driven models like this as an extension of our company’s legacy of collaboration and innovation in service of patients. We hope to see this model’s success replicated in other disease areas and in other U.S. communities going forward.”

Ursula agrees that different approaches are needed.

“We’re moving beyond the health fair model to a model of community empowerment. We’re moving from transactional to transformational,” says Ursula.

• Irritable bowel syndrome is classified as a functional gastrointestinal disorder, which means there is some type of disturbance in bowel function.

• Inflammatory bowel disease is an umbrella term used to describe disorders that cause chronic inflammation of your gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The two most common forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Source: https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/