At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as waves of virus-stricken patients...

flooded hospitals across the U.S., many normally busy doctors’ offices sat vacant. Calm hallways and empty doctors’ outpatient schedules became the norm. That was in part because people across the country delayed necessary healthcare ̶ from routine appointments to necessary screenings and important elective surgeries ̶ due to the fear of contracting COVID-19 in a healthcare setting¹. Some even avoided care for emergent conditions, such as acute heart attack and stroke.

We are now facing a second, hidden pandemic following COVID-19. Of particular concern, research suggests that delays in screening, diagnosis and treatment for diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes nationally have already resulted in thousands of excess deaths^2,3. In addition to the human toll, the long-term financial costs of untreated or late detection of serious diseases could be substantial for patients and the healthcare system⁴.

What is more, research shows that people of color are more likely to delay health care than other groups⁵, demonstrating yet another facet of the systemic inequities harshly spotlighted by the pandemic. In fact, in one survey conducted by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, when respondents identifying as Black or Hispanic were asked about their willingness to visit a doctor during the pandemic, only about 1 in 4 people said they were comfortable scheduling a medical procedure, compared to almost half of the general population⁶.

That’s why Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies launched My Health Can’t Wait, an educational effort and resource hub designed to inspire people to prioritize their health and reach out to their healthcare professionals about how and when to seek needed care. In addition to the national effort, the company has also launched My Health Can’t Wait Illinois, a state-based effort to help patients in Illinois feel more confident about prioritizing their health, particularly Black and Hispanic patients in Chicago.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated delayed care among communities of color, inequities in our healthcare system have persisted for generations.  “There are a lot of reasons why people don't seek care,” says Dr. Monica Peek, an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago hospital system where she focuses on internal medicine and preventive healthcare. She also studies implicit bias in the healthcare setting⁷. She sees the problems that people of color face on a daily basis. Dr. Peek explains, “It's already a challenge when people are racialized minorities, because this group is disproportionately lower income and less likely to be insured, among other factors. Because of that, they are disproportionately saddled with these extra burdens in access to care, and that's just their baseline experience.”

In Illinois specifically, COVID-19 has only worsened the historical health inequities in the state, and particularly among communities of color. In Chicago, for example, where almost two-thirds of residents are Black or Hispanic⁸, these Chicagoans are significantly more likely to die from cancer, heart disease and diabetes than their white counterparts⁹.

"So much during this pandemic has been a function of where you live..."

-Dr. Monica Peek

“Chicago is a bit of a unique city, because we’re a very large and a very segregated city,” says Dr. Peek. “There are some sections of the city that are highly resourced and some that are very poorly resourced—that has had implications for a lot of things during the pandemic: which hospitals had the capacity to provide complex ICU care, where pharmacies were available, which pharmacies had early access to vaccine supplies… So much during this pandemic has been a function of where you live, and so that makes Chicago particularly unique, because the poor and the racial and ethnic minorities have been geographically clustered together with less access to the resources they need.”

What can be done address this alarming trend? Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies believes one of the keys to reversing it lies in tools, resources and communication between patients and healthcare professionals, like My Health Can’t Wait Illinois. Additionally, Dr. Peek feels the best way to encourage people to get back into doctors’ offices, hospitals and clinics is “a public health campaign championed by Chicago leaders and elected officials.” To date, the My Health Can’t Wait Illinois effort has been amplified by many state policymakers, including by Illinois House Speaker Rep. Chris Welch, Illinois House Black Caucus Chair Rep. Kam Buckner, Rep. Greg Harris, Rep. Theresa Ma, Rep. Ann Williams, Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, Rep. Will Davis, Sen. Julie Morrison, Sen. Sara Feigenholtz, Sen. Omar Aquino, Sen. Elgie Sims, and Sen. Robert Martwick.