The organizations will collaborate to advance strategic
initiatives that diversify the medical workforce to improve health
outcomes among communities of color.
ST.
LOUIS, April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --The
American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), an 11,000-member
society of medical professionals united to reverse chronic disease,
and the National Medical Association (NMA), the largest and oldest
national organization representing the interests of more than
50,000 African-American physicians and their patients, today
announced a partnership that will equip Black and other
underrepresented in medicine (UIM) physicians with education and
training in lifestyle medicine to better treat chronic disease
among historically medically underserved patients. As the nation
closes out the observance of National Minority Health Month,
the partnership was forged in support of evidence-based research
that shows that patients from minoritized backgrounds are more
likely to have better health outcomes if their medical provider
shares their race and ethnicity.
"The need to develop and support Black
medical professionals is critical to ensuring that patients from
historically medically underserved communities have quality health
care."
To that end, ACLM and NMA will collaborate to address
lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities and to
diversify the medical workforce.
Throughout its history, the National Medical Association has
focused primarily on health issues related to African Americans and
other medically underserved populations. According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,
in 2019 non-Hispanic Blacks were twice as likely as
non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes. In 2018, African American
adults were 60 percent more likely than non-Hispanic
white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes by a physician. The
long-term effects of diabetes are even more detrimental in people
of color. In 2019, non-Hispanic blacks were 2.5 times more
likely to be hospitalized with diabetes and associated
long-term complications than non-Hispanic whites.
ACLM's Health Equity Achieved through Lifestyle
Medicine (HEAL) Initiative was created to help improve these
alarming statistics by addressing lifestyle-related chronic disease
health disparities through lifestyle medicine solutions and
partnerships with organizations like the NMA.
"Thousands of Black physicians like myself and other medical
professionals look to the NMA for resources to stay abreast of the
advances and changes affecting medical practice," said Theresa Stone, MD, FACP, DipABLM, ACLM's HEAL
Initiative founding co-chair and NMA member. "Now, through this
partnership, NMA members also have access to resources that will
equip them with tools and education to address lifestyle-related
chronic diseases that disproportionately impact communities of
color."
Earlier this month, NMA hosted its highly attended annual
National Colloquium on African American Health of which one of the
keynote sessions was on "Food is Medicine: The Role of Nutrition in
Reducing Chronic Disease." While clinical guidelines attribute
nutrition and physical activity among the lifestyle factors that
can prevent, treat, and reverse most lifestyle-related chronic
disease, these factors are not typically part of medical school
curriculum. That said, continuing medical education in lifestyle
medicine can help to address these learning gaps.
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses
therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat
chronic conditions including cardiovascular diseases, type 2
diabetes and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are
trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive
lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse
such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a
whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity,
restorative sleep, stress management, positive social connections
and avoidance of risky substances—also provides effective
prevention for these conditions.
As an ACLM strategic partner, NMA members can register for
ACLM's 5.5-hour CME/CE-accredited Lifestyle Medicine and Food
as Medicine Essentials online course (valued at $220) at no cost. Eligible NMA members can also
apply for the Lifestyle Medicine National Training Initiative
Scholarship, awarded to primary care providers treating patients in
a health center setting. NMA members are also eligible for
ACLM's HEAL Initiative Scholarship Program, which provides
need-based assistance to UIM clinicians seeking training and
certification in lifestyle medicine.
According to research, Black and other UIM clinicians are more
likely to practice in and treat patients from disadvantaged
neighborhoods. ACLM's commitment to health equity is only made
valid when partnering with organizations like NMA and their unique
member-base that consists of primarily Black and other minoritized
groups of physicians and clinician leaders who are able to provide
culturally relevant, quality health care to patients from
communities of
color.
"The need to develop and support Black medical professionals is
critical to ensuring that patients from historically medically
underserved communities have quality health care," said
Joy D. Calloway, NMA Executive
Director. "In the ongoing fight to eliminate health disparities, we
seek to convene with and partner with organizations that are
committed to health equity and invested in efforts that support
education and training for those who are on the frontlines of
delivering care to our nation's most underserved communities."
This August, NMA is hosting its annual Convention and
Scientific Assembly in New York
City, bringing together Black medical professionals from
across the country alongside partners, vendors, and exhibitors
including ACLM.
About ACLM®
Serving as a transformative catalyst, disruptor of the status quo,
and a galvanized force for change, the American College of
Lifestyle medicine is the nation's medical professional society
advancing the field of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a
redesigned, value-based and equitable healthcare delivery system,
essential to achieving the Quintuple Aim and whole person health.
ACLM educates, equips, empowers and supports its members through
quality, evidence-based education, certification and research to
identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease, with the
clinical outcome goals of health restoration as opposed to lifelong
disease management.
About NMA
The NMA is the nation's oldest and largest organization
representing Black physicians and health professionals in the U.S.
and promotes the collective interests of physicians and patients of
African descent. We serve as the voice of Black physicians and a
leading voice for parity in medicine, elimination of health
disparities and promotion of optimal health. To learn more about
the NMA, please visit https://www.nmanet.org/.
Media Contact
Stacia Johnston, American College
of Lifestyle Medicine, 718-974-7213,
sjohnston@lifestylemedicine.org, American College of Lifestyle
Medicine
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SOURCE American College of Lifestyle Medicine